NI Komplete 14

[digitalboytn]

It’s kind of amazing how bad this is. There’s actually fewer NI synths in this Komplete than there were in the last one. They just updated one browser and threw in a bunch of random third party clutter.

In some strange way the only good thing about this is how bad it is. Currently I'm looking at Tracktions synth sales, Zynaptiqs out of the blue upgades to their products and package, and thinking these things will serve me better. Tracktions synths etc. are all resizable GUI, VST3, Apple Silicon and MPE compatible. All things I wish NI had taken care of years ago. So I have to ask myself why I would buy the Komplete 14 package when the only remotely interesting thing in it to me is Kontakt 7?

Biotek 2 and F-em are both very powerful synths that cover a lot of ground and the JRR sale price is insane ..

NI have a rich heritage,but in the last few years,they seem to have lost the plot and shifted their focus to getting rich quick,rather than developing inspiring products and building up their business that way...

It must be something to do with "The Future of Sound"...

As far as soft synths go,NI are really scrambling and playing catch up,because the smaller developers have been focusing on creating inspiring instruments and have more flexibility in their "corporate structure"...

The Massive X debacle is testament to this...

Peeps who want to fill up their HDs with gazillions of GB of samples will be happy with the direction that NI is taking,but for the others,there seems to have been a general sense of disallusionment and a gradual exodus away from the the private equity funded offerings

[noiseboyuk]

NI approach toward their costumers who just recently bought the upgrade/update is unfair.
only thing they would offer you is TIME LIMITED 50% discount until Dec 31st, 2022.
which worth nothing as you could get same 50% off in their near 50% winter sale.

Every grace period / upgrade strategy in history has been found to be unfair by someone, somewhere.

I’d gambled on them continuing their past policies for the last decade or more on grace periods, thought it was a pretty safe bet and it looks like I lost (don’t weep for me, I have options). But it’s not fundamentally unfair, NI have every right to do that.

Anyone who just bought K13 before today got it for half price in a sale. You don’t have a basic human right to therefore also get all the new goodies for free. Half price on that is actually not a bad deal. Yes, everyone will get offered that eventually, but likely next summer, not December. And you’ll have made award winning music with all the new goodies for 9 months by then.

[aMUSEd]

Killing one of the best synths in the history of the synths. Well done, NI, bravo! Thank God Brian Clevinger looks like a smart guy so he will probably reincarnate Absynth in some form in the future under his company. Cant wait and my money is already ready, Brian!

I think it will be hard to make it preset compatible though - there is such a huge historical legacy of great sound design that could be lost

[machinesworking]

Anyone who just bought K13 before today got it for half price in a sale. You don’t have a basic human right to therefore also get all the new goodies for free. Half price on that is actually not a bad deal.

It is a sketchy deal at best, you get K13 in a half off sale, then a new version comes out. The offer is half off, so basically bean counters get you to pay full price for Komplete 14, a month or two before it's out and you get the "privilege" of using K13... In essence you never signed up for paying full price, but buyers remorse will get a few people to bite, and eventually you will buy they figure. It's marketing, yes, we live mostly in capitalist countries, but it's not at all "fair".

I've rode the Komplete train since v2 so I'm well aware of how to buck the system, probably 9 months to a year from now the upgrade will drop from $400 for me to $200-250. If they fix their GUI's and get Apple Silicon support together by then I might bite, because I know their pattern I've only been bit by deprecated products. I think it's worth noting to yourself at times that whingers may not be as knowledgeable as you about how a company works.

[machinesworking]

Killing one of the best synths in the history of the synths. Well done, NI, bravo! Thank God Brian Clevinger looks like a smart guy so he will probably reincarnate Absynth in some form in the future under his company. Cant wait and my money is already ready, Brian!

I think it will be hard to make it preset compatible though - there is such a huge historical legacy of great sound design that could be lost

He mentions in the video posted here that he might be able to incorporate parts of his Absynth concepts into Plasmonic. I would guess that depends on how NI and their parent company react to that idea. But yeah, hardly an idea that sounds like patches will work in it.

[mothra]

Killing one of the best synths in the history of the synths. Well done, NI, bravo! Thank God Brian Clevinger looks like a smart guy so he will probably reincarnate Absynth in some form in the future under his company. Cant wait and my money is already ready, Brian!

I think it will be hard to make it preset compatible though - there is such a huge historical legacy of great sound design that could be lost

Nah. NI barely changed anything over the last 20 years. NI bought it when it was still 1.0, and Brian was still the head developer from then up until he left (at some point after Absynth 5). He's more than likely the ONLY one that knows how it works front and back and the architecture has not changed at all since Absynth 1. I bet he has no trouble making everything 'right' again.

NI finally dropping it, might turn out to be the best part of the whole Komplete 14 announcment after all hahaha.

[fedexnman]

Surprised NO subscription ?

[machinesworking]

Nah. NI barely changed anything over the last 20 years. NI bought it when it was still 1.0, and Brian was still the head developer from then up until he left (at some point after Absynth 5). He's more than likely the ONLY one that knows how it works front and back and the architecture has not changed at all since Absynth 1. I bet he has no trouble making everything 'right' again.

NI finally dropping it, might turn out to be the best part of the whole Komplete 14 announcment after all hahaha.

The problem with that is NI from what I could tell in the video posted owns the rights to Absynth. He didn't even know they were deprecating it. It doesn't seem to be the sort of deal with UVI and MOTU where they codeveloped MachFive until the deal ran its course or UVI decided not to lease the code to MOTU anymore.

Basically Brian has to get permission to use his own code or risk being sued by NI or their parent company. So the likelihood of preset compatibility is pretty low IMO. Unless NI are somehow more generous than I think they are. I hope I'm wrong about this but I doubt it. He can of course use similar code to get close, and he mentions that in the video about all this.

[machinesworking]

Appropriately enough I came into Komplete via the Absynth upgrade, and it's likely I leave Komplete at the version they drop Absynth in.

[VitaminD]

If you upgrade Komplete, do you lose access to older Komplete synths on the downloader?

[bungle]

If you upgrade Komplete, do you lose access to older Komplete synths on the downloader?

No

[digitalboytn]

I'm sure that BC knows the code,so incorporating some of the features from Absynth into a new framework won't be that difficult without breaking any agreement...

I understand why some of these prehistoric synths and effects are retired and I'm OK with that,but I'm certain that all of NI's decisions in the last few years have been made at a corporate level,with the focus firmly on the $$$....

Even their updates are primarily to incorporate the NI software and hardware and further strengthen any dependency on that co-existance for the end user...

Komplete Korporate Kontrol

[dune_rave]

Seeing this, I think I will only use Kontakt from NI. I tried Reaktor many times, built some racks, but VCV Rack can be better.
Currently i could update for 199 to K14 -I skip this- maybe for their next sale (black friday, winter sale etc)
Or Komplete 12 forever!

[darkinners]

I guess Kontakt 7 is only available with K14 and up and considering how underwhelming the K14UCE is, as a K13UCE user, Kontakt7 is the only incentive for me to upgrade.
$499 for a Kontakt 7, I guess I will wait for K15 then.

[machinesworking]

I guess Kontakt 7 is only available with K14 and up and considering how underwhelming the K14UCE is, as a K13UCE user, Kontakt7 is the only incentive for me to upgrade.
$499 for a Kontakt 7, I guess I will wait for K15 then.

It will eventually be available as a stand alone upgrade, and in a few months when its stable NI will have a sale and the upgrade will be reasonably priced. At least that's been the way it's been for the last 15+ years.