Kontakt 5 Library in comparison to Kontakt 4

Hi all,

does anybody know the difference of the libs in Kontakt 4 and Kontakt 5?

Thanks a lot and best regards

w.

 

As I understood library in 5th version remains the same as in 4th. It only will be NCW compressed.

 

That's how I understand it too.

Plus, when you register you can also download the Retro Machines MK2 for FREE from your account.

 

From here: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kontakt-5/?page=2522

That's sounds like what was said for K4.
As ben_horwood said, you can get a free RETRO MACHINES MKII download when you register KONTAKT 5.

 

Thanks a lot! That's what I've thought as well.

 

So now, what's my insentive to upgrade to Kontakt 5?

- no new/updated factory library
- K5 required third party patches will run on (free) Kontakt 5 Player
- K5 patch editing updates will likely be of interest to those creating patches from scratch (mostly professional VI developers)

I'm going to estimate that only about a fifth of all Kontakt owners have ever created a patch from scratch, and most of us that do aren't going to think to make use of algorithmic time stretching and advanced DSP. The vast majority of users purchase professional libraries and then tweak from there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Komplete owner, and I'll probably eventually upgrade to Komplete 8 or maybe wait for Komplete 9, but on the Kontakt end, it just doesn't seem like NI has given users much incentive to upgrade.

Guess I bought in at the wrong time (K2), when an upgrade to K3 meant an entirely new library on a completely different scale. I guess I've been waiting for something on that magnitude ever since. K4 may have not drastically updated the library either, but at least they created a new interface structure for patches that allowed more flexability for performance tweaking. And any user could take advantage of that from day one.

And look, I know I may be exadurating, and I know that K5 will have some nice innovations, but it's just not the update that K3 and K4 were.

 

Prime Mover,

What do you think that Kontakt is missing in it's sound library that you think would justify the same sort of "radical update" as seen between K3 and K4?

Or for that matter what features do you consider are still missing from K5?

I just don't think you are going to see the same type of dramatic changes that you once did, because from my point of view Kontakt IS a pretty fleshed out product already, with very little that it can't do.

Also, perhaps there does not appear to be a lot more for the end user, but then again the end user is never fully aware of how the new features are benefitting them anyway.

It's much like trying to explain to someone that Kontakt has "scripting" and most people go glassy eyed and think "big deal."

 

While true to a point, there is one major thing I'd like Kontakt to embrace, and that is to include other sound generation techniques such as physical modeling algorithms and modular analog. Now I know that Massive, Reaktor, Absynth, and FM8 already duplicate this functionality, they do not share the same dsp or sophisticated effects processing. I think there would be a real benefit to rolling all of these products into the same engine, so they could share other features of their neighbors. NI is already trying to market Kontakt as the engine for great tonewheel simulation as well as analog simulation, but they're forced to use samples in order to achieve this. Roll all these engines together under the Kontakt umbrella, sell the products as add-on libraries at the same price, and I think it would be a great achievement. I was pretty sure that NI was going to move in this direction that I was pretty shocked when K5 was announced with nothing of this paradigm, since NI has been so adament about throwing all of their various products under the Kontakt umbrella, even if it didn't immediately make sense (Vintage Organs, Retro synths, and all the drum synths). THAT'S the kind of innovation I'd come to expect from Kontakt updates. So I disagree that Kontakt has reached a stage where it doesn't need improvement.

 

Ok. I can understand that.
I don't think they are going to go there though.

I mean, they already had the multiple synthesis engine hybrid thingy with Kore, and they killed that off. :/

 

I'd really want to see ring-mod and FM and hard sync in Kontakt, though...

 

It would be nice to see more improvements but I'm interested in upgrading just to get improved timestretch.

Depends on the library, some didn't run on the free K4 player and the same will likely be true for K5 sooner or later.

 

True, but I don't think it was because because it was a multiengine. The fact is, Kontakt is NIs biggest name. There's a lot of people who don't even realize it's a sampler, they just think it's the master of all VIs (which it sorta is these days). So any product that NI tries to put out to utilize Kontakt in a meaningful way is likely to be overshadowed by the Kontakt brand.

What I'm saying is that with a huge and powerful brand like Kontakt, they could quite easily make huge additions to it, and people wouldn't balk. Would more people buy Kontakt? Probably not. But it would probably sell a whole lot more copies of the libraries.

I think there's a very good chance, for instance, that:
"Massive - The premiere wavetable synth for Kontakt"
would sell more than it does now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that NI have already chosen Kontakt as their go-to for various synthesis techniques, they just have to resort to sampling to achieve their goals, which is just weird.

 

I think the goto for what your are talking about in NI's eyes is Maschine. It already has a huge following

 

Well, Maschine's a totally different animal. It's NIs new baby, and it sells a piece of hardware, so they're pushing it a lot, but it's hard to imagine that the user base is anywhere near as large as Kontakt's. But that's neither here nor there, it's not an instrument.

 

Okay, I'm a little late to all these discussions about K5 / Komplete 8. The upgrade price for Komplete 8 makes it tempting, but now that I'm reading about the K5 vs. K4 library, I'm a little hesitant. I just want to settle some worries:

1) Is there no difference between the K5 and K4 LIBRARY except for compression? (I realize there's a difference between the two samplers in terms of capabilities...)

2) Will K5 be able to recognize the zillion little instruments / banks that I've meticulously put together in the Quick load window (that pops up when you right-click in the main K4 window)? Those files have come in very handy and I wouldn't want to have to go through the pain of having to put them together again....

Thanks!

 

If I'm not mistaken, aren't many of the new soundpacks/"instruments" in Komplete8 run by Kontakt 5? Eg STUDIO DRUMMER, WEST AFRICA, EVOLVE MUTATIONS, EVOLVE MUTATIONS 2, SESSION STRINGS PRO. all new instruments save Prisim which is Reaktor? Also, aren't the new goodies in K5 enough for you to "update" existing libraries to something different?
+ effects:
SOLID G-EQ clean 4-band EQ switchable to shelf on the low and high bands, plus two full parametric mid-bands.
SOLID BUS COMP reproduction of a legendary compressor for glue
TRANSIENT MASTER re-shaping any kind of percussive sound
TAPE SATURATOR harmonic compression of analog tape for warmth
+37 new filters, including formant & "Daft"
+vintage sample modes re-create the sound and feel of the MPC60 and the SP1200
+upgraded Time Machine Pro algorithm by z-plane/Elastique Pitch, providing super-high-quality time-stretching
+16 CHANNEL BUS SYSTEM separate effects chains/channel
+MIDI FILE SUPPORT helps with drum loops & riffs

I don't think you'll see more new "libraries" included "inside" Kontakt, ever. Lots & lots more 'Powered by KONTAKT' instruments for certain! Some up coming new instruments will be included in Komplete 9, & all the rest will also be in Ultimate 9. That is how NI is marketing things now. & Perhaps a new "free download" for Kontakt also...

 

West Africa, Evolve Mutations 1/2 and Session Strings Pro all load in K4.2.3. Only Studio Drummer is loading in Kontakt 5.

 

Oh, thanks for that info! I wonder what Studio Drummer needs from Kontakt5?
edit: Ah, the MIDI clips for drum loops that is new to Kontakt5.

 

I would like to see a detailed comparison - I know it's the "same" as the K4 library with NCW compression but I'm not sure it is structured the same way on the disk actually. Would be useful to know file locations and all that.

 

Also instrument busses and the new compressor, EQ and tape saturation FX added in K5.