ESX24 Vs.Kontakt or Halion??

Hi I am a serious Logic user and am like the ESX24 as it is simple ,nice filters and low cpu.I have bought Logic 5 Mac and had not yet bought the ESX24 , as I am thinking about buying maybe Kontakt for Mac..So for now I use the 60 day demo..

So my ? is to you lucky PC users of Kontakt ,who also know the ESX24.. What do you say now about ESX24??
Is there benefits over each other Or is Kontakt a ESX24 killer??
I'm also told there is a multi output version on ESX24 due very soon with some new filters as well..(Now on beta with Logic 5.2)

I also tried Halion but find it kinda wimpy in terms of filter and use of CPU is not very friendly..

 

Kontakt is in a category similar to the exs24 and HALion and that category is called a -softsampler. Outside of this and the notion that a softsampler lets you take a sampled sound and stretch it across a keyboard so you can play the sound- the comparison stops there. For me at least, Kontakt didn't just set out to emulate a hardware sampler- it has a boat load more features then just this. Whereas other "softsamplers" seem to have just done hardware replacement you will find that Kontakt has features that these other pieces of software do not. So a direct comparison is not really in order- unless you wanted to know performance details or what protocols it supports. (and if that is the case Kontakt will be a bit more aggressive in this realm too) So what are these features that are unique to Kontakt-

Well for starters you have the time machine and tone machine, do a little peaking around on our product page to see what is up with this beautiful feature.

Also the built in FX are of absolute necessity for me now that I have worked with a sampler that has them. You will love this and the ability to load the effect as an Insert or as a send effect is key.

Another cool thing is the semi-modular architecture of Kontakt. With this feature it is like every new day in front of Kontakt can lead to a new sound that you would have never thought you were going to come across. God I love the semi-modular concept integrated into a sampler! You will find this quite refreshing, I promise

Speaking of semi-modular, because of this you will find the CPU usage is incredibly good in comparisons to any other Software Sampler on the market. This is due to the fact that at it’s core level all instruments are simple until you add in the needed components. What happens if you don’t load in components your not going to use???? Well you have better usage of CPU, KONTAKT does this, weather it is 1 LFO or 27 LFO’s you add what you want and that’s when CPU comes into play.

Also while I am at it, download the demos (I don’t even know if the others offer demo’s) but if you can do so-do it, because what you might find is working with a certain interface will make you feel more apt to use the program to its fullest potential. And I (once again personally) feel that the interface and workflow in Kontakt is hands down the BEST!

and the sourece destination modulation section of kontatk is so amazing- i use this like sythnisis, combin that with the sampling aspect and add in a like bit of a step modulator and flex envelope.. can you say ENDLESS control. (oh and midi learn.. a must!)

Oh one more thing.. Talk about nice filters… Ahhhhhhhh Kontakt has 17 NICE FILTERS, or as I like to call them KICK ASS filters. I am a filter freak and NI is the same company that brought you Reaktor –so you can figure that one out.

I will stop now, but it hurts to do so,
Hope this helps, I really feel that you are on the right track in asking these types of questions before making a purchase-
Have a good one,
::chris_borgia::

 

Thanks..sounds good..

I think you answered my ? well..
I love filters too..How is the cpu load though when using.
What is a good PC to use for audio.I may switch and get a PC from my Mac..

 

Hi there Robx, (cool name)
As for CPU load -a spec that has been kicked around is the fact that for instence on a 900mkz PC most "Other" softsamplers are going to get around a total of 70 voices... with kontakt on the same computer you will get around 256. This is due to the simple nature of a basic instrument in kontakt- no frills! (add frills and that number decreases bit by bit)

As for what PC to have... most will tell you to BUILD your own and use commonly used components that other pro Audio guy's are using. -just peak around the internet a bit and there is a boat load of info out there.

hope this helps,

::chris_borgia::

 

specs for mac?

hey chris,

that's exciting to hear those pc specs.. do you guys have any real-world numbers with the mac version (i know it's still under development)?

you and i have chatted about powerbooks and i have the new version of the 667 and sometimes in DP i can jam out on a battery stereo kit and push that CPU up to 50%, especially if i have a sampletank piano running at the same time, it can go even higher. (a little disappointing)

my thoughts are to buy kontakt and if it's still not enough power just move up to a powermac. but it'd be nice to get a heads-up on how your guys are seeing the performance thus far, especially if any testing and benchmarks have been done under DP.

thanks

» a

 

Hello RobX,

i am using Logic and EXS24, and just bought Kontakt. I think they complement each other rather well. EXS24 is a real workhorse, I use 10-15 instances in every project of mine. It is very well integrated into Logic, and for single sample sounds and most AKAI sample CDs the EXS is good enough.

Kontakt is the bigger brother, with more filters and sound sculpting possibilities. It has most of the features I wished for in a sampler, and even some more. And building sounds is just FUN, it has much better sample/loop/modulation management than anything I have experienced.

The only negative thing I can say about Kontakt, is that it still has some bugs, it has crashed on me a couple of times. I understand that, as it is a bit more complex than EXS24. But EXS24 never fails.

Conclusion: I would have both! If you have to choose, I would say it depends on your need: If you need a bread and butter sampler, EXS24. If you are a sound designer/tweaker: Kontakt.

 

i own exs24 and kontakt.

just forget about exs24. the only benefit on exs24 is stability,
but kontakt runs fine on my system too and it will get more
stable on other systems with some more bugfixes.

kontakt is good to your cpu when used with the exs24 features
and gives far more possibilities to go beyond standards.

in my opinion it is easier to use too.

best wishes

self oscillate

 

Thanks..

Great input..
Hope Mac Version is better than Mac Reakor version..
I'd wait for OSX version..OSx rocks!!

 

Modulation of sample start

Hi

I am one of the alienated Logic Windows users who are considering my alternatives to Logic.

I have a fairly extensive EXS24 library that hopefully at one point will be able to translate into the format of what future softsampler I end up buying. Why didn't I buy a VST based one in the first place? Bugger!

Anyway, I am a fairly long time Reaktor user and therefore know a bit about the sick minds ) of the NI developers. I do think that Kontakt is my favourite EXS24 alternative. There is no doubt that it is a sampler slash sound mangling tool on a different level from EXS24.

One specific question that I haven't found an answer for yet. Is it possibe to modulate sample start via velocity. Some of the most interesting EXS24 instruments I have use this feature to great effect.

One more: Are there any news regarding EXS24 import in Kontakt or alternatively have you NI guys had time to give the CDXtract developer the Kontakt specs so he can create a Kontakt export function?

Thanks for you help.

Kind regards,

Soren

 

yes:

you can modulate the sample start with whatever modulation source you like, including velocity, MIDI controllers, LFO's, envelopes and step sequencers...

featurewise, i think Kontakt BUTCHERS any other sampler out there.

it still has some stability and bug issues, especially regarding group editing and separate output assignment, but these will hopefully be addressed soon.

 

months later,new updates any new thoughts?

I am getting kind of lonely without a sampler now..and about to buy ESX24 as I cannot wait around much more for NI to deliver..I though it would be by now..but looks like Sept or so..
Now Logic 5.2 offers mulitile ulimited ESX24 outs so it could be nice..
Any new thoughts on comparing these two monsters?Or is it still thumbs up for Kontakt?

 

i used kontakt for a couple of weeks now and all i can say
is that i don't use exs24 anymore.
on my system kontakt runs stable without problems,
but i never needed more that 4 instances simultaneously.

if you want to use many many instances at the same time,
then you should think about exs24, because of the cool
integration in logic. but in all other cases, kontakt will
do better that exs24. i wouldn't buy exs24 again,
kontakt is much better in my opinion.

unfortunately i don't know anything about halion
except that it had many bugs in the beginning.
don't know if this got better now.

best wishes

self oscillate

 

I have a question:does anybody whose used both the EXS & Kontakt know how they compare in the CPU usage department??? TIA

 

Hallo,

here some numbers, some EXS24 users might want to compare.
I imported the EXS24 Stage Piano into KONTAKT 1.1 beta and achived 256 voices on my 1.2 GHz Celeron machine at 84% CPU usage.

Regards,
Julian