Native Instruments "K" stuff

[Russell]

I have seen some instrument plugins (free) I was interested in but that say they require N/I Komplete or Kontact. I was looking through the stuff they (N/I) have to see if it was something I wanted to mess with. I have Guitar Rig 4 Pro from N/I installed already and I saw that a Guitar Rig 6 "Player" (free) is included in the free Kontact player download.

I'm guessing a bunch of y'all here are using this stuff so can you tell me . . .

Will it break my (paid) version of Guitar Rig if I install all the free stuff?

Is it worth using to begin with. I've picked up so many plugins over the many years of using Sonar / Cake that I'm not using or didn't like and not sure I want to clutter up mu system with more stuff. But . . . I also don't want to miss out on something useful that maybe takes advantage of newer technology.

What are the feelings and advice from those of you using the N/I stuff? Use it a lot? Hardly use it? Any specific modules that stand out as "must have"?

Where do I start? What do I *need* to have to installed?

So many questions!

And what's with all the freakin' K's . . . ? LoL

[daveiv]

2 hours ago, Dega said:

And what's with all the freakin' K's . . . ? LoL

Ze Germans

 

[Alan Tubbs]

NI charges 3rd parties (say Heavyocity) a fee so that their libraries run on Kontakt free.  That is part of why they are expensive.  Free libraries run on the paid version.  your best solution is waiting for the the twice a a year sell by NI and get the paid version.  Or buy their hardware if you need a keyboard:  they come with the cheap version of komplete.  Spending $200 to get the most used sampler isn’t outrageous, unless you don’t want or can’t to make the investment.  But Kontakt comes with plenty of instruments and more free ones are out there.  I use it on every project.

Latter better synths or effects shouldn’t overwrite older ones.  If you don’t mind re inserting the newer plugs into older projects you can delete the free ones.  But is shouldnt come to that. 

if you need a sampler, it is the best bet.  The other synths etc are good and Komplete covers most forms of synthesis except they’ve recently dropped FM.  But for my money Arturia’s Pigment covers the other forms of synthesis in one synth and I picked it up for $100 a couple of months ago.  But NI is a great long term investment.  It took a few years for me to splurge on Komplete, but once you are in their universe it is relatively cheap to upgrade.  Every other year I upgrade Komplete for $100-200.  It includes a lot of effects too, the whole range.  You can do complete projects with only the cheapest version of Komplete.   NI also has certain Libraries for Kontakt for soundtrack underbed production that I always pick up.  It isn’t terribly expensive long term when done over years.

 

[Russell]

Thanks @Alan Tubbs - That's the kind of info and advice I was looking for! I'll probably go the paid version and see if my old brain can start figuring out how to actually use synths in my projects. Never used them before but have been wanting to pick that skill up for a while!

[Starship Krupa]

On 10/14/2022 at 1:55 PM, Dega said:

I've picked up so many plugins over the many years of using Sonar / Cake that I'm not using or didn't like and not sure I want to clutter up mu system with more stuff. But . . . I also don't want to miss out on something useful that maybe takes advantage of newer technology.

This can be an issue, especially if one is a curious sort who likes to take all opportunities to try out free things just to see what they do.

Based on what I learned during a recent new system build, I've adopted the policy of making sure to delete plug-ins as soon as possible once I've auditioned them and deemed them unsuitable to my current needs. If I fail to do this, if I leave them around "in case they might be useful someday," they invariably just become clutter. And there's a real danger that I might on a whim try throwing one on a project-in-progress, then later cull the plug-in from my collection only to call up that project and see that it's missing. It's a trap!

Try all I want, but only keep what I can see an immediate or near future use for. This is especially true for mixing FX: Compressors, EQ's, limiters, reverbs. I no longer even try new ones of those even if they come out at my favorite price: free.

With synths, it's harder, because they of course do all sound different, but if it doesn't catch my ear right away, when will it?

A good test for me is to open up the plug-in browser and just look at the names. If I don't even recognize a plug-in by name, that means I'm probably not using it enough to keep it around. My DAW is a tool, not a museum!

[Bobby Thistle]

On 10/14/2022 at 4:55 PM, Russell said:

And what's with all the freakin' K's . . . ? LoL

I know what you mean about all the "K" stuff.  Keep in mind that I didn't have a clue and put all my faith in my sales rep.

I found 3 libraries by Indiginus that I just HAD to have.  Their site said that I would need a paid version of Kontakt in order to use them.  So I went shopping for Kontakt.  Sales guy pointed out an open box version of Kontakt 13 Select package for $179 US dollars.  I live in Canada and have to pay the exchange rate, tax and $48 duty.  Total cost was north of $250  I installed it only to find out that it was Kontakt 6 PLAYER.  I needed the full version of Kontakt in order to use the plugins I wanted.  Long story short;  Another $400 plus and I now have the full version Kontakt 7.  Of course I didn't buy it from the same store.  I got it directly from NI and was even able to pay for it in Canadian money.  It came bundled with a few libraries that I'll never use... oh well... at least I have it now.

This expensive experience can be chalked up to being my own fault because I didn't do enough research.  But I can say that I know what all those "k"s mean now.

I also noticed that Indiginus have now made it very clear what is needed to use their libraries on their site... in big bold font.

[jesse g]

On 10/14/2022 at 4:55 PM, Russell said:

I have seen some instrument plugins (free) I was interested in but that say they require N/I Komplete or Kontact. I was looking through the stuff they (N/I) have to see if it was something I wanted to mess with. I have Guitar Rig 4 Pro from N/I installed already and I saw that a Guitar Rig 6 "Player" (free) is included in the free Kontact player download.

I'm guessing a bunch of y'all here are using this stuff so can you tell me . . .

Will it break my (paid) version of Guitar Rig if I install all the free stuff?

Is it worth using to begin with. I've picked up so many plugins over the many years of using Sonar / Cake that I'm not using or didn't like and not sure I want to clutter up mu system with more stuff. But . . . I also don't want to miss out on something useful that maybe takes advantage of newer technology.

What are the feelings and advice from those of you using the N/I stuff? Use it a lot? Hardly use it? Any specific modules that stand out as "must have"?

Where do I start? What do I *need* to have to installed?

So many questions!

And what's with all the freakin' K's . . . ? LoL

Get Komplete start first, it's free and then if you think you're ready,  purchase the next level. 
 

Get it Free ~~~> Komplete Start

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by jesse g

[azslow3]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:15 PM, Oscar Myer said:

I know what you mean about all the "K" stuff.  Keep in mind that I didn't have a clue and put all my faith in my sales rep.

I found 3 libraries by Indiginus that I just HAD to have.  Their site said that I would need a paid version of Kontakt in order to use them.  So I went shopping for Kontakt.  Sales guy pointed out an open box version of Kontakt Komplete 13 Select package for $179 US dollars.  I live in Canada and have to pay the exchange rate, tax and $48 duty.  Total cost was north of $250  I installed it only to find out that it was Kontakt 6 PLAYER.  I needed the full version of Kontakt in order to use the plugins I wanted.  Long story short;  Another $400 plus and I now have the full version Kontakt 7 (included into Komplete 14 Standard).  Of course I didn't buy it from the same store.  I got it directly from NI and was even able to pay for it in Canadian money.  It came bundled with a few libraries that I'll never use... oh well... at least I have it now.

This expensive experience can be chalked up to being my own fault because I didn't do enough research.  But I can say that I know what all those "k"s mean now.

I also noticed that Indiginus have now made it very clear what is needed to use their libraries on their site... in big bold font.

In your post "K"s have a bit misleading meaning. There is no "Kontakt 13" nor "Kontakt Select". There are just "Kontakt Player" (free) and "Kontakt" (payed), current version 7. There was "Komplete 13 Select", which  (as free "Komplete Start") 'includes'  "Kontakt 6 Player" only.

"Komplete Select" full price is around 200 $/€. It's upgrade to "Komplete Standard" full price is around 400 $/€. So my corrections match these numbers.

For "Kontakt 7" alone full price (without upgrade/cross-grade) is 300 $/€. But cross-grade is 200 $/€, and I think there are still free libraries for cross-grade. I mean over $400 just for Kontakt is way too much.

---

The cheapest routes for Komplete which was possible 2022 - NI M32 during "special sale" with "Komplete Select" included (normally includes "Komplete Collection"), update to "Komplete Standard" during "upgrade sale". Total price ~300. Or just NI M32 -> "Komplete Select" (offer after registration) -> "Komplete Standard" during "upgrade sale". Total price ~350. Sure, that was for Kontakt 6. But includes Komplete Kontrol hardware, well usable for NI products (not so usable as keys, but for some synth sounds can be sufficient...).