NI Komplete (with Kontakt) being blown-out for $399

[David Polich]

Over at KVR forums they're bashing NI a lot, saying that this "deal" obviously means Komplete 6 is due out soon
and it's about time, they've had nothing new in ages, blah-blah yadda-yadda.

Personally I'd recommend getting Komplete 5 at this price point - it will be cheaper to upgrade
to Komplete 6 even if there is a charge for doing so, as opposed to shelling out full pop for Komplete 6
if and when it is released.

As to what NI will do for Komplete 6 - I'm not sure. My gut feeling is they'll include a lot of the
Kore add-on packs as part of it. Maybe a Pro-54 with a better GUI - Arturia's Prophet V is awful,
although it's got a better GUI. Most people never delve into anything beyond the presets in
any NI instruments, particularly Reaktor 5 and Absynth 4. You could work with those for the next
two years and not get everything out of them that there is to get. I'd like to see Massive's
GUI get a facelift and most importantly, the addition of a virtual keyboard like Absynth and FM8
and Elektrik Piano have.

[mhschmieder]

I just remembered, that aside from Snow Leopard compatibility and 64-bits in general, NI may also be quite busy preparing the UAD versions of their plug-ins (which they showed a preview of at AES in San Francisco last October).

[James Steele]

I just remembered, that aside from Snow Leopard compatibility and 64-bits in general, NI may also be quite busy preparing the UAD versions of their plug-ins (which they showed a preview of at AES in San Francisco last October).

Wow... now THAT would be cool! Too bad they probably won't work on my UAD-1/PPC.

[mhschmieder]

I remember them showing Elektrik Piano running on UAD-2, but I don't recall if any of the others were slated for release in that format. I think they were first focusing on the ones most likely to get used for bread-and-butter sounds in a live context. So probably they are especially concerned about laptop use.

[aprael]

Economy or no economy this is a great deal. I bought this unit last year and have been extremely satisfied. I use pretty much every aspect of this library, retiring much of my "Rack" systems. These instruments smootly interface with DP6, bouncing to disk with speed and simplicity. For this price I'm recommending this deal to all of my musician friends.

Anthony

[FutureLegends]

Thanks for the tip!

I was eyeing EWQL Goliath as I need a good all-round sound library. I found the included set in MachFive not very useful and not diverse enough. If the ones in Kontakt 3 are at least almost as good as the Goliath ones the added value in Komplete 5 would make that a good choice. Anyone ave experience with both Kontakt 3's sounds and those in Goliath? Also which of the two is more processor/hd friendly?

Upgrading now (probably special offer too) from Komplete 4 to Komplete 5 is $229 so I suspect an upgrade from 5 to 6 will be more in the lines of $3-400, don't you think?

cheers

/DZ

[mhschmieder]

I use both Kontakt 3 built-in library and Goliath, and depend heavily on both, but only for a small handful of sounds each,

I wouldn't recommend buying Kontakt for its library -- especially if you already have Mach Five. But it is worth its price for the flexibility it gives you moving forward, with other libraries in that format.

For me personally, Kontakt 3 is worth $399 on its own, for the few sounds I use from it, as they are sounds I use in almost every project. Prime among these is Chris Hein's trombone. Until Sample Modeling does one, that will be my first call 'bone.

The Kontakt library is somewhat similar to Mach Five's, in that both include an adequate World Instrument section as well as a subset of Vienna Symphonic Library (though I think I remember Mach Five's being more detailed and extensive).

Goliath gets used for a few oddballs that get beglected by other libraries because they are considered cheesy and/or passe. But as I do 80's covers as well as originals, and some of my originals and/or arrangements for stage shows (plays/comedy/etc.) and film are deliberately in an older style, I have a great need for these sounds.

In particular, I use its GM set, which includes the best Orchestra Hit I've ever heard (it even works well in sequence -- the classical term, not the MIDI term), as well as a few other cheeseball patches that are part of the General MIDI spec that no one much uses anymore.

I also depend heavily on its basses and guitars when in a rush. The basses come from Hardcore Bass and are quite convincing once in a mix. Soloed is more obvious. The fretless bass is particularly good and well-suited to reggae. Rich/deep tone.

The thing that is odd about Goliath is that it is partly a "best of" the EWQL libraries, but it also contains stuff that can't be found in any of the specialty libraries that are more focused and detailed. And that is why I need it even after getting the others.

Goliath includes a subset of RA, but as RA itself is uneven (like all large ethnic libraries), that is a mixed blessing.

My point is that many of the sounds in my MOTIF-Rack XS and my upcoming Kurzweil PC3x beat both Goliath and Kontakt 3 core library. Even those ROMplers have smaller samples, they tend to be well-programmed, and due to the unevenness of larger sample libraries, sometimes even the raw samples are about the same size or larger anyway.

In short, Kontakt gets you in the door, and does have a good-valued core library for those who do not have redundancies (as would be the case for you, being a Mach Five owner). And Goliath doesn't give you discounts on other EWQL products, which I think they should consider changing since it means you're "buying the samples twice" (or at least a subset of them).

As for how they run, there are too many configurations to make a blanket statement. And the answer would have been different a few months ago (and may be different again in a month or so, when Kontakt 3.5 comes out officially). In my specific case, the PLAY engine is currently far more stable than Kontakt 3, which is currently my most crash-prone.

[FutureLegends]

Some food for thought there, thanks!

Leaning towards trying to pick up the Komplete 5 bundle though. It's only €335 and get's me lots more than Goliath which is €339. But then SoundsOnline have their Buy 1 get 1 free campaign. Gah! Decisions...

[dgrussell]

Just a caveat... NI usually does these blow out prices just before the release of the new Komplete. If you buy it, consider not registering it until Komplete 6 comes out. If you do that, you may be able to upgrade for free where as if you register it (even just a few days before K6 is released) you might have to pay an upgrade fee. Found that out when I bought K3 at a "blowout" price...

[Babz]

NI has done this a few times in the past, usually right before a new version comes out. I became a Komplete user myself (back in Komplete 3, I think) because of one of these deals. IMO, it is a great deal and I would go for it, if you can. It is worth it for Kontakt alone! And in the future you should be able to upgrade to Komplete 6 for like $149. At least that's how it was for me. I got in cheap on one of these deals and then have only had to pay the upgrade price with each new version (now up to Komplete 5). There are so many great VIs in Komplete. But I admit I haven't even had time to explore them all. I mainly use Kontakt, FM7, and Guitar Rig 3 ... and sometimes Battery. But there is so much more! And there are so many great third party stuff based around the Kontakt engine.... NI rawks!

FWIW, IMO, etc.

Babz

[James Steele]

Don't forget to look at this thread:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =1&t=36775

There's a coupon code at Musician's Friend that knocks this deal down to $334!!! I ordered mine night before last I think.