The ideal for me would be if NI provided a version that was highly optimised, high performing and completely stripped down. No bloat or anything unnecessary. Also, that they finally simplify the process of configuring Kontakt as a multi-output device. That they have ignored the issues with performance and multi-outputs for so long really doesn’t fill me with confidence that NI know what they are doing.
Honestly, none of the new composing features interest me. What would interest me greatly is if it is more CPU efficient for live performance. Any buzz on that?
I thoroughly appreciate the fact that Somerville Sounds (in a similar fashion as other companies like Crow Hill) have their own player,thus circumventing Kontakt. Please remain in this realm. Native Instruments forces us to upgrade as new libraries are released that only work with their latest version… something that is very frustrating to say the least. It appears that NI have decided to build in some features of standalone packs like Scaler2. While the functions seem to be nice, I still think that Scaler2 and some of the others are better tools overall.
I didn't use the new view much in kontakt 7, since you had to go to a different window I like the new view in kontakt 8 though It's better than the classic view imo Give it a shot in the player version Much faster to find sounds and audio previews What's not to like? I don't have the full version of kontakt 8 yet Just using the player, but I only have player libraries installed atm anyway
such a large variety of instruments has a bad effect on creativity, that's how the psyche works. there is a proverb - "Where there is choice, there is torment"
I share you nervousness John. I like to be in control of all my notes! Maybe I'm too much of a control freak but I prefer my music to work as a score as well as audibly. I got Kontakt 7 in the recent sale (qualifying for an upgrade price with Post Felt) and I'm happy with that.
Well it's not like those with musical ability is getting anywhere in the industry now. Let people enjoy themselves. I'm quite sure you have at least 10 grammys and about 150 million in the bank from your music.
I have the previous Ultimate Collectors Edition but I'm not sure there's enough new useable stuff to justify $500-$600 for the upgrade. What do you think about just updating to the basic edition for the new version of Kontakt and then doing a full upgrade next year?
@@SuperIZLYou don’t lose access, I’ve purchased CE and then later on a newer Komplete Standard version, you don’t lose access to previous purchased version’s libraries or plugins.
That’s what I did with 14, had 13 UCE and added 14 standard to it later. Pretty sure I’m going to skip komplete 15 and maybe i’ll just purchase the kontakt update to 8 at some point.
My view is that I won't upgrade for now. I think paying for Kontakt to have features that are long oversude (and promised a long time ago) is not fair. I like the scaleable interface but come on - that should have been a free upgrade!
hi Jon! long time. Thanks for the evaluation and will watch it. I get and NFR version usually form NI, so we well see what they have done. One thing I would like to be able to import saved presets that I create with third party especially.
My nervousness is mainly that I don't know how much off my efforts inside Kontakt 8 is lost when this version-number is not supported... Makes me want to skip NI and use Kontakt 7 as little as possible... All my Kontakt 5 channel strips in Logic Pro are gone in MacOS Ventura
Well, as a seasoned Kontakt user, I will upgrade to 8. The sound libraries that come with it, certainly don't inspire me, never have, can stay up in the clouds. Like you say Jon, I also like to do my own creations. Nice one. P.S. Going through the Batch Resave all again could be iffy and makes Kontakt 7 kinda redundant if using in a previous project. You have to replace 7 with 8 and all the settings are lost. I hope 8 solves that problem, so be careful.
No matter what I do, Kontakt 8 only displays about 1/3 of my library. It shows them when I go into options and library paths and there aren't any filters set on the main library page. As a last ditch effort I tried a batch resave. It acted like it found everything, took quite a while to scan the entire library, and then just closed out on its own with nothing else found when I reopened it. So far I'm not impressed and it definitley needs some patching.
In the top left of the instrument gui, there's the button with the two gears. That must replace the edit mode wrench button. Does that section still look like Windows 98? That was never pleasant to work in.
I tried it few minutes ago and it is ok. Kontakt 7 felt junky af. New one is more stable and visualy pleasing. Chords and Phrases is almost bare minimum of what could be done but it's alright. And I have ads in the instrument, it feels so fucking predatory, dude, if someone cares, they buy your shit anyway, tf? I hope to see new Reaktor, but it is almost impossible that someone cares about it, new Komplete Start doesn't have not a single ensemble for it.
why does sooooo much of this new stuff sound wonky and stupid ... , old man syndrome, I guess. the synths on Stevie Wonders Higher Ground still cooler than most of this stuff... (that was 50+ years ago !!!) I do like the Somerville stuff !
Great review. I wish Kontakt would let me use VST and AU plug ins within its architecture. We know wrapping plug ins is easy there are dozens of plug in hosts out there. And the Native Instrument effects are ok. But considering how sophisticated the effects integration is in Kontakt it would be nice if I could choose my own…. Mad?
Of course. It would be a nightmare for developers. But then, it could also stimulate sales, like “Kontakt Waves edition”. Hang on that sounds terrible….
But it could just be an option for power users (ugh). The NI effects would still be there for developers to use, but could be replaced on a per effect basis for the nut jobs.
But why? To me one of the annoying features of Kontakt is that it's a middle layer between the instrument and the DAW. I have the opposite wish: that people stopped creating Kontakt libraries and made plain VSTs instead. At least they'd be resizable and have much better interfaces. Oh, and when they joined the VST world, maybe they'd find out that weavetables were not just invented by NI but have been around since forever, lol.
I think, in terms of the little rant, you are spot on in saying that if you want to make money out of this, then you're going to need to know your stuff and know how to play and know what sounds right for whatever circumstance. But I think this is just capitalism taking over. NI and all the companies (probably including Somerville Sounds because that's how the world works) want music and music creation to be more accessible to everyone so that they sell their project to more people and rake in more sales... So if the average Joe wants to use AI to create a track for them so they can call themselves a musician then good for them. But those who end up making a living from this industry will be those who know what they're actually doing when it comes to writing. There'll be a difference between a well-constructed melody and the phrasing that supports it compared to a bloke pressing a button on his computer.
This is a trend that have been around for a few years - tools for those who don’t know music and don’t want to learn about music. A bit lazy if you ask me but just disappointed that Kontakt is following that trend even more .
At least they kept the classic interface. Got to be honest, although I will be upgrading, there’s nothing in this release for me. The loops, one shot, chords & sequence features pander to those who ‘make beats’ as opposed to those of us who went the extra mile and actually figured-out how to ‘make music’. To me, it seems like they’re cashing-in on the bedroom (so-called) ‘producers’ who wouldn’t know their Aeolian from their Dorian. Pro Tools have similarly started to cater for this ‘Lego Blocks’ Composer generation too, with their ‘Sketch’ arrangement session format. Is it a ‘valid’ compositional format? I guess it is, if like NI, you stand to cash-in on the hype for the Emperor’s New Clothes.
NI have lost the way focusing on graphics and products for people that doesnt know anything about composing real music and that doesnt have any intention on learning how to do it. This is useless.
Return of the guitars will fix the one finger composer syndrome which seem to be the premise for Kontakt 8 devs. Midi seem to have reached it’s full potential, and it’s called the couch potato.
Is Kontakt 8 buggy for anyone else? Since installing it, I’ve tried to do a batch resave in standalone 3 times and it crashed each time. I need to batch resave because the instruments are loading super slow. I’m a little frustrated with that.
Very fair. Personally, I'm a total fan of generative music making tools. I thrive on the inspiration they provide. True, it's easy to get stuck in the weeds - but then again, if a generative phrase or loop has grabbed me, why not spend a while exploring it? I dunno, horses for courses. I'm not a technical musician by any standard (I do have a good understanding of chords, though), but - as you say - generative tools are fun. I do think that counts for a lot, especially if making music is a hobby, rather than a living.
Not overly excited about any of that new stuff. Really interested in how the wave editor and mapping look. I've watched 5 or 6 videos today and no one is showing it. I'm guessing it's the same and not worth showing.
