i am thinking of purchasing a VSTi package to run alongside my Halion SE and Sonic. i am sure lots of people on here use and are familiar with such packages.
So, what i would like is one single pack which provides a collection of high quality SAMPLES. For the most part, i would want Woodwinds, Choirs, Brass, Strings, Percussion, Guitars and Synth for Jazz/Pop/Classical usage.
i am not too bothered about World, Atmospheric, Pianos, Organs.
A few of my mates suggested Komplete 9 as the best way to go :-
i have always been impressed with NI Samples but Komplete 9 seems to offer other instruments which i am really never going to use (for instance all Pianos, Organs, Clavinets etc are generated by my Nord Stage Classic keyboard). So i do not need these types.
What i am not sure about is that because NI are SAMPLERS, do i need a dedicated NI SAMPLER to be able to play them ?? Or can i simply open them in my Cubase ‘project’ and use them as you would any normal Preset(s) ??
So what might anyone advise please ?? i was hoping to keep the price under £499.00.
Thanks in advance and i am anticipating i might get quite a few replies !!
REAKTOR 5 is a powerful modular studio with over 70 synthesizers, sound
generators, grooveboxes, sequencers, and effects at your fingertips, as well as
3,000+ instruments freely available in the Online User Library. REAKTOR 5 is a vast
playground for creative minds.
KONTAKT 5
KONTAKT 5 is the industry-standard software-sampler, renowned for its audio
engine, super-flexible architecture and vast 43 GB library of state-of-the-art sounds.
With new effects like Solid Bus Comp and Solid G-EQ, and the new Adaptive
Resonance filters, it’s more powerful than ever.
DRUMS AND PERCUSSION
BATTERY 4 is the completely redesigned powerhouse drum sampler with advanced
workflow improvements and stunning new sound-shaping possibilities such as drag
and drop sidechaining. The new library comes packed with inspiring new sounds
especially created for electronic music producers.
STUDIO DRUMMER gives you three premium acoustic kits, plus powerful studio
tools and over 3,500 grooves.
ABBEY ROAD I 60s DRUMMER delivers two famous 60s kits, recorded with vintage
equipment at Abbey Road.
WEST AFRICA offers vibrant percussion and enchanting melodic instruments plus
an intuitive pattern sequencer.
GUITAR AND BASS
GUITAR RIG 5 PRO’s 17 amps and cabinets and 54 effects deliver perfect guitar or
bass tone. Not only for guitars, it’s also the ultimate rack for creative effects.
RAMMFIRE is an officially endorsed emulation of Rammstein guitarist Richard Z.
Kruspe’s own amplifier.
SCARBEE MM-BASS puts the creamy bass sound of 70s disco and funk at your
fingertips.
STUDIO EFFECTS
SOLID EQ gives you a six-band equalizer with two fully parametric bands for
anything from pinpoint accuracy for surgical problem solving to broader sound
smoothing.
SOLID DYNAMICS combines a stereo compressor with a gate/expander. Based on
a classic 80s mix console, it gives you a clean, responsive sound for drums, vocals,
and more.
SOLID BUS COMP is inspired by a legendary compressor, delivering a tight and
transparent sound to your finished mix adding power and punch without
compromising clarity.
TRANSIENT MASTER is an intuitive tool for re-shaping sounds and dynamically
placing drums and percussion in the mix.
CREATIVE EFFECTS
TRAKTOR’S 12 delivers twelve celebrated effects from the TRAKTOR PRO effects
suite.
THE FINGER – from Tim Exile – is a live performance and real-time remix tool
featuring 40 playable effects. Serious audio mayhem.
REFLEKTOR is a highly versatile convolution reverb with 350 IRs, supreme audio
quality and zero latency.
SYNTHESIZERS
FM8 features crystalline, razor-sharp digital sounds. FM synthesis has never been
so easy and dynamic.
ABSYNTH 5 is a modern legend – a semi-modular synthesizer for pads, grooves
and abstract soundscapes.
MASSIVE is the acclaimed heavyweight synthesizer built on an analog concept.
Perfect for heavy basses and piercing leads.
REAKTOR SPARK is an aggressive, dynamic synth designed by Stephan Schmitt,
the creator of REAKTOR.
MONARK is an uncompromising software version of the holy grail of monophonic
synthesizers, recreating every nuance of the original as a powerful new instrument in
REAKTOR.
REAKTOR PRISM makes use of modal synthesis to produce a highly responsive
and unconventional sound.
RETRO MACHINES MK2 offers over 20 sought-after analog synths and keyboards
from the 70s and 80s.
KEYS, PIANOS AND STRINGS
SCARBEE MARK I is a sampled replica of a classic 70s electric piano, ideal for jazz,
funk and soul.
SCARBEE CLAVINET/PIANET provides the sounds of two legendary keyboards,
expertly sampled and brimming with unique character.
SCARBEE A-200 is a classic electric piano, sampled to perfection with its dynamic
range intact.
VINTAGE ORGANS gives you all the charm and character of classic organs of the
golden age.
SESSION STRINGS produces immediate results without hours of fine tuning and
tweaking, while boasting an incredible set of expressive features accessible from a
highly intuitive interface. The perfect choice for anyone looking for a high-quality,
ready-to-go string section for modern productions.
THE GIANT delivers an intense, dynamic playing experience with a sound that’s
nothing short of inspiring.
NEW YORK CONCERT GRAND is a high-definition reproduction of the Big Apple’s
most popular concert grand.
VIENNA CONCERT GRAND reproduces the legendary ‘singing’ sound of a classic
continental grand.
BERLIN CONCERT GRAND is a poetic and well-balanced piano.
UPRIGHT PIANO is the alternative option – unique, warm, charismatic sound.
There are a couple of samplers which have high quality third party libraries.
Kontakt is very popular. The reason why someone probably recommended Komplete is because just buying Kontakt for $400 (unless you get it on sale) doesn’t make any sense when you can get Komplete for $500 (which is Kontakt plus several good libraries plus a BUNCH of other very good stuff). Kontakt, Reaktor, and Guitar Rig alone would be worth it… The rest is bonus.
You could even use the free Kontakt Player with some libraries but I think you will find it limiting.
Two others, which I have never used, are the East West Quantum Leap and Vienna Pro. I don’t know much about them but they seem highly regarded to me.
HTH
So i could buy this product and play/use it within Cubase Artist 7 as you would do normally with any regular VSTi ?? And overall, are you saying that it would provide me with what i need plus more ?? i can see there is a lot included but i am not sure if its got enough in terms of the Orchestral and Jazz Big Band genres ??
Or would you buy something like two seperate dedicated Jazz Band and Orchestral packages ??
I am no expert… But I would say that Kontakt by itself (which does include orchestral and jazz instruments), or even Komplete (which gives you some more libraries for Kontakt) is PROBABLY not worthy of being called a fully professional jazz and orchestral package. Maybe in the intermediate range (there are a good range of articulations and adjustable parameters, options, etc.)
What you DO get with Kontakt is a great choice of professional third party libraries (which will cost more).
I do hope that someone who is familiar with East West as well would offer some opinion/advice.
I have and often use Komplete. I forget what version I am on. Only gripes I had was phasing out a few instruments which they moved into kontakt. Session recall no more. Had to print the tracks after loading earlier version for archiving.
It is a rarity that I would use solely one instrument for a sound. There were times I had used a sole patch and I found the quality good. You have to know though that I am hyper critical of sound. If it sounds artificial in a way I don’t like, I will move onto something else, but that being said, I find most sample libraries to sound fake, especially programmed drums. Can’t stand programmed drums.
Anyway, I think kontakt is good. A loooooooot of people use it and there is a lot of additional libraries available for it. I think you want it but just need a nudge to pull the trigger. I don’t think you will be dissatisfied, I wasn’t and I would tell you if I was. Just what I wrote above.
It is a rarity that I would use solely one instrument for a sound. There were times I had used a sole patch and I found the quality good. You have to know though that I am hyper critical of sound.
Thats interesting to here your experience with it. And i will be checking out some of your music !!
__
Anyway, I think kontakt is good. A loooooooot of people use it and there is a lot of additional libraries available for it. I think you want it but just need a nudge to pull the trigger. I don’t think you will be dissatisfied, I wasn’t and I would tell you if I was. Just what I wrote above.
So am i correct in that you can buy Komplete and then ADD extra NI Libraries to it later down the line ??
If you buy Komplete, you can add libraries to it later (both NI and third party). If you buy Komplete Ultimate, you will get the ENTIRE line of NI libraries for Kontakt AND Reaktor. Of course, the third party stuff is all separate, which is probably where the HIGHEST quality libraries are.
I notice you have HALion Sonic. The Kontakt libraries are similar to Dark Planet, Hyptonic Dance, Triebwerk, etc., in that they are “expansions” to the basic instrument that can be added at any time.
So what i am trying to distinguish is that with Komplete 9, do you get EVERYTHING which in is Kontakt 5 ?? Or just a selection ?? i think that there might be all i need in Kontakt 5 :-
The KONTAKT 5 library is a a vast, ready-to-use musical toolset, containing more than 43 GB of high-quality samples and well over 1000 production-ready instruments. The palette spans from world music instruments and big band sounds to legendary synthesizers and contemporary club sounds. From fuzz tone guitars to orchestral instruments, and from realistic acoustic drum kits to the latest hip-hop loops.
The library contains numerous exclusive instruments that you won’t find anywhere else and many instruments use NI’s Authentic Expression Technology®, which provides an unparalleled degree of responsiveness and realism. What’s more, everything is completely editable.
Download the Library Documentation for a complete list of all instruments and presets.
The library is divided into eight Instrument Collections: Choir, Band, Orchestral, World, Synth, Vintage, Urban Beats and the new RETRO MACHINES MK2.
Yes. If you buy Komplete, you will get everything you would get if you bought Kontakt (i.e. the all the factory content) PLUS several more add-on libraries (pianos, Vintage Organs, MM Bass, Retro Machines, Studio Drummer, and others).
Mmmmmmm, so surely everyone is just going to spend the extra £99.99p and purchase KONTAKT 9 ?? i mean if you get all those extra bundles for another mere hundred quid !!
i really do appreciate the advice given by members of this forum in helping me decide which VSTi(s) to purchase for my needs. i have since looked around and enquired online to various supliers but everyone says something different (and obviously i am dealing with SALESMEN here !!). But anyway, i do now have a much clearer idea of what i am lookin for.
So, i came up with a fairly small handful which slightly exceed my budget of around 500GBP, but i think it would be worth paying the extra. i just wondered if anyone on here has had any experience of these following products ?? They are all from the ‘TIME-SPACE UK’ website. As you can see, i am now really looking for INDIVIDUAL DEDICATED VSTi’s instead of ‘multi instrumental packages’. i thought long and hard about the Kontakt and Komplete packages and while they do sound very good and are moderately priced, there is so much on there which i would never use etc.
i think the two i like best (from the demonstrations etc) are the vir2 MOJO HORNS and the PROJECT SAM ORCHESTRAL ESSENTIALS.
Thanks very much indeed in advance for any kind help offered. If i can narrow my choices even further then i have a few more ‘tech specific’ questions that i will definately need expert help with.
Or what if i was to pay the extra and chose BOTH paths !! ??
So, purchase one of the Kontakt/Komplete AND (say) the MOJO HORNS and PROJECT SAM ORCH ESSENTIALS ?? i have spoken today to a couple of expert collegues who say that NATIVE is (and will always be) the way forward and so is something i will always use now and in the future.
And then, as suggested on here, purchase 3rd Party VSTi’s as and when needed. i have learned that a lot of the 3rd Party VSTi’s i am very interested in require the FULL (not the FREE) version of Kontakt 5 to be able to play them. In other words, if i can only use 3rd Party VSTi’s which utilise the FREE Kontakt player then i will be limited in my choice of plug-ins.
Basically, I agree with this. It is a great toolbox of stuff. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I believe the Komplete (particularly Kontakt, Guitar Rig, and Reaktor) will continue to be popular and well supported for a while.
Yes. Think of the Kontakt Player (the free version) like HALion Sonic SE. It will play the library but the editing capabilities are very limited or non-existent. The paid Kontakt is like HALion in that you can fully edit the instrument. They LOOK the same in the GUI but one allows more editing of the instruments.
HTH
J.L.
GUI = Graphical User Interface (The part of the program you see)
Kontakt player and Kontakt LOOK nearly identical, you just can’t get to the fancy controls when using Player.
I have VSL libraries and for sample orchestra, it is untouchable IMO. The sheer number, quality and unique articulation behaviors is staggering. It comes with a complexity cost however. Very expensive. Very complicated. But, when you get your head wrapped around their player which they call “Instrument”, it is VERY VERY powerful. You can probably accomplish the same things in the scripting engine of Kontakt. But, no way do you have the same level of control with the out of the box LASS for example. Just my 2cents.
Also, to really use their products effectively you need to upgrade to the Pro player. This is back to them providing a FREE general sample playback engine, or an advanced PAY version. A lot of the larger sample library manufacturers are going to their own sample player and usually have a FREE and PAY version of that play back engine.
I have some of the SAMs free stuff from ages ago, and I converted from Garritan to VSL. All of those products are good. They all come with pros/cons. It’s hard to say which ones would bug you, or that you couldn’t live without. I chose the expense/complexity finally. Now that I have it rolling, I don’t regret it for a second.
).