NI Komplete 14

[Trensharo]

3rd party NKS effects working outside of an instrument. Being able to bus to them, for example.

What is a 3rd party NKS effect? Fx inside an instrument isn’t 3rd party be definition. And Fx working outside as separate plugin can be used that way anyway…???

I want to use my Komplete Kontrol to control NKS effects without having to load an instrument. That can't be done as far as I know.

This, and allowing Maschine MK3/+ to function as Komplete Kontrol controllers, as there is no reason why this cannot be done (other than to make money by getting people to buy generally redundant hardware controllers to cover everything).

That being said, I think the NKS Controller stuff is a lot more useful on a Maschine MK3/+ than it is on a keyboard controller. For many NKS instruments, the Knob pages are such a mess that it kind of defeats the purpose of having the hardware control, anyways.

I think a Kontakt UI Revamp is the best thing they can offer me in Komplete 14, but I'd just upgrade Kontakt and ignore the rest, as I don't need more content and am more apt to seek out specialist companies for specific sample libraries than acquire more Native Instruments stuff (which are great for bread-and-butter use, but not if I want top-tier quality).

I don't need more synths, and Battery isn't that useful as it doesn't Live Sample... Battery 4 is good enough as a Sample Playback instrument (Expansion Content, etc.). Groove Agent 5 is a far better [actual] Sampler, and I could never use something like MPC or Maschine as a plug-in over Groove Agent 5 - considering the disparities in workflow and user experience. I only consider them usable standalone with their respective hardware devices (Maschine MK3 can be mapped to Cubase/Groove Agent 5).

I feel like Native Instruments have backed themselves into multiple corners:

1. It feels like they are not willing to make Battery a Sampler, because that would compete internally with Maschine 2.
2. It feels like they are not willing to allow Maschine hardware to control Komplete Kontrol, because they want to sell keyboards to Maschine owners.
3. They aren't partnering with companies to make consistent bundles of instruments, because they are the Microsoft of plug-in companies and don't want to be seen as playing favorites, (e.g. Native Instruments Symphony Series vs. Steinberg Iconica).

Though, with companies jumping ship on Kontakt, #3 seems a bit too little too late.

And, ironically, I actually feel like while Kontakt definitely has dominated the Sample Library market... REAKTOR has really failed to catch fire as few third parties have developed and released REAKTOR Ensembles. I actually think HALion has better development in that area than REAKTOR, ironically.

Right now, the only thing that would get me to move off of K13 UCE would be Native Instruments completely dropping support for those products and disallowing me to even install them with Native Access... And by the time that happens, I'll probably have gotten to the point where most of it is irrelevant (would be several years down the line).

[ghettosynth]

The transition to Apple Silicon is going to determine a few things. EG How likely is it they'll bring products like Absynth or FM8 over to a new Komplete? If they ditch some legacy stuff what changes will they make to keep present bundles attractive? Without major efforts those changes are coming, whether this year or next..

Hopefully, if they version bump Kontakt, it's a justified update and not just a cash grab for native AS support. I only really use NI's products for legacy stuff now (mostly Kontakt / Reaktor). It likely makes more sense for me to ditch the bundles, at this point, and just use individual licenses..

Yes, all of that. I will continue through the next revision of Reaktor and maybe Kontakt, maybe not.

Given NI's history of dropping legacy products, I suspect that they will drop anything lackluster that's too much work to port to AS.

[machinesworking]

Given NI's history of dropping legacy products, I suspect that they will drop anything lackluster that's too much work to port to AS.

So Massive 1, Absynth and FM8 probably won't make it. That's been my guess for a while.
We will see, but that's almost to be expected IMO.

Honestly, if they get Reaktor, Traktor and Maschine to AS by 2023 I'll be surprised.
Not to mention all the FX and Massive X.

[LoveEnigma18]

Komplete 14 is going to be an interesting release, not for the new products, which everyone knows about, but for all the uncertainty surrounding the points being discussed here.

[fedexnman]

Sniffff sniffff sniffff ....... I smell subscription .. lolz

[Trensharo]

Given NI's history of dropping legacy products, I suspect that they will drop anything lackluster that's too much work to port to AS.

Tons of Native Instruments Expansions have MASSIVE, FM8 or ABSYNTH patches in them. Removing those synths will break all of that. There simply isn't a practical reason for taking them out. I don't see this happening in Komplete 14.

Besides, doing so would create a pretty significant synthesis hole in Komplete, which kind of runs counter to the point of the bundle. People who buy Komplete Standard would then have to either whip up their own Ensembles in REAKTOR, or buy 3rd party synths that can fill the niche left unattended by the removable of FM8 and ABSYNTH 5 (which may not be a cheap affair).

I think MASSIVE is the only synth that "makes sense" to remove, ignoring the number of expansion patches that would break without it, due to Massive X effectively replacing it (nitpicking comparisons be damned).

Honestly, if they get Reaktor, Traktor and Maschine to AS by 2023 I'll be surprised.
Not to mention all the FX and Massive X.

Many of the FX plug-ins are developed by third parties (lots of the Mix/Master FX by Softube). I can see them replacing many of the FX stuff with Plugin Alliance and/or iZotope.

While Plugin Alliance's stuff is definitely good... I don't necessarily think I would want to use them. I find the UIs to be... not great.

Traktor and Maschine depend heavily on the code bases at play. Porting stuff from x86 to ARM is not always as simple as flipping a switch and recompiling. Traktor and Maschine have a ton of DSP code in them that don't exist in other products, so they're likely having to do a ton of work to port those over. Same with REAKTOR. Does not surprise me that those are the three "big products" that have yet to make it over.

I also think they may be intentionally holding some of this back to make the next Komplete (or product) upgrades more lucrative to users... We've seen other companies do this (Steinberg, MAGIX, etc.), and it is rather common.

[Trensharo]

Sniffff sniffff sniffff ....... I smell subscription .. lolz

Subscription doesn't matter as long as they maintain a way to buy perpetual licenses without artificially increasing prices to discourage users from going that route.

Like PreSonus Sphere.

The fact that a company has a subscription isn't bad de facto. Therea re a lot of people on the planet who want to make music and find paying a subscription both easier and more viable than forking over hundreds of dollars for a perpetual license.

Both business models have merit. The only thing that can be good or bad, is how a company chooses to balance the two - but their interest is always in their bottom line. Unless you're willing to donate millions to them, do not expect them to operate in a manner that is beneficial only to you (or us).

[machinesworking]

Tons of Native Instruments Expansions have MASSIVE, FM8 or ABSYNTH patches in them. Removing those synths will break all of that. There simply isn't a practical reason for taking them out. I don't see this happening in Komplete 14.

The developer of Absynth is now Rhizomatic, the fact that NI will have to backwards engineer his 20 something years of code for Absynth IMO gives it a low chance of porting. Same applies to FM8 I would guess. I would love to be wrong about this, but it's IMO likely that the engines being used sans GUI in a few Expansions that get ported might be all we can hope for.

Besides, doing so would create a pretty significant synthesis hole in Komplete, which kind of runs counter to the point of the bundle. People who buy Komplete Standard would then have to either whip up their own Ensembles in REAKTOR, or buy 3rd party synths that can fill the niche left unattended by the removable of FM8 and ABSYNTH 5 (which may not be a cheap affair).

Well there is certainly a lot of room in Reaktor for new synths, we've seen a ton of them over the years.

Many of the FX plug-ins are developed by third parties (lots of the Mix/Master FX by Softube). I can see them replacing many of the FX stuff with Plugin Alliance and/or iZotope.

One thing those are all pretty recent GUI's which would indicate a higher possibility of porting. We will see, but seemingly replacing them with PA gear is going to tick some people off.

Traktor and Maschine depend heavily on the code bases at play. Porting stuff from x86 to ARM is not always as simple as flipping a switch and recompiling. Traktor and Maschine have a ton of DSP code in them that don't exist in other products, so they're likely having to do a ton of work to port those over. Same with REAKTOR. Does not surprise me that those are the three "big products" that have yet to make it over.

Reaktor is a mess to recode GUI wise I'm sure, same with the other two. In the end though we're all making excuses for them, they had all the time in the world to do this, other companies did it, Arturia, AAS, Waves, U-He, Fab Filter, Max/MSP etc. etc. There's no real excuse, there's too many examples of 20 something year old companies that did the work and ported complex software over in less than two years. Even little PSP is turning over their entire line up plug in by plug in. They haven't even finished porting to VST3 for chrissakes, they will be last in line for CLAP if/when it takes off as a default plug in standard for DAWs not named Pro Tools, Logic, and Cubase.

I'm glad they ported Kontakt, that's by far the most important plug in from them for the most people, but this is getting stupid.

[soulata]

I only want resizable Kontakt. Everything else is a bonus.

I'm in K12U anyway and won't upgrade until Kontakt is at v7.

k

[digitalboytn]

I have developed a deep appreciation for the original Massive,so I hope that they keep that one alive...

It hasn't been made redundant by Massive X and I consider it to be a far more practical instrument to use than Massive X for so many reasons...

It really is a classic and as such,it deserves to be maintained and not left to wither on the vine...

Battery is also a real gem and it is such a powerful instrument...

So I hope that NI step up to the plate and revive some of their rich heritage because,after all,we have to be respectful of our past as we move into the future

[LoveEnigma18]

I don't think Massive will be discontinued, not possible. For one, as someone mentioned, the Expansions still contain presets for Massive. For Massive X, they seem to be continuing with the preset packs idea. I love both Massive and Massive X.

The only thing I hope NI did was to, somehow, add a resizable (hi-res) GUI to at least Massive if not FM8 and Absynth 5 as well. That would be enough for me as far as these legacy synths are concerned.

[LoveEnigma18]

It's been 5 years since Komplete Kontrol MK2 keyboards were released, so I wonder if there will be any new hardware/keyboards announced this year. Chances seem to be less though due to Covid19 impact and electronic components shortages in the last couple of years. However, a new major version of Komplete Kontrol software V3 would be great - assuming they don't intend to maintain a 1:1 relationship between KK hardware and software iterations.

[SLiC]

Yup- Komplete Kontrol software V3 is the think I want the most....I have KK MK2 and all in all I think its pretty good, but the software feels like it could really use some love (its better as a Machine controller than a software instrument controller IMHO)

[noiseboyuk]

Komplete Kontrol has always been free, so doesn't really factor into Komplete as such.

But as a tangent, it is from my perspective quite unbelievably terrible.

[nightjar]

Komplete Kontrol has always been free, so doesn't really factor into Komplete as such.

But as a tangent, it is from my perspective quite unbelievably terrible.

I agree… KK needs a lot of improvement