Pro-53 has been discontinued - please read here for the details

Hello everyone,

As of this week, the following instruments have been discontinued: Akoustik Piano, B4 II, Bandstand, Elektrik Piano and Pro-53.

This means that these instruments will no longer be available for purchase, and that no future software updates will be developed for them.

However, you will still be able to get regular tech support from NI as long as you use these instruments under a supported operating system. Also, you can still install and activate discontinued products, as well as buy or sell them privately. They also won't be removed if you install the new Komplete 6 over a previous Komplete version.

So most importantly, the discontinuation will not prevent you in any way from further using these instruments under the system configurations that they are guaranteed to work with.

In the larger context, the fact that we will not maintain these individual instruments any longer has very real benefits for the wider NI userbase.

Our developers and QA testers have to spend a good share of their time to make sure that products stay compatible with new versions of host sequencers and operating systems. With a focused product portfolio like the one we have now, we can maintain the remaining products more efficiently and release new fixes and features faster. The resources that we save on legacy instruments like B4 II and Pro-53 will now be utilized for more popular and versatile products like Kontakt, Guitar Rig etc.

Here is some more information on the individual products both for existing users and for people interested in these instrument categories:

Akoustik Piano: The sounds of this instrument can and should be used with the free Kontakt Player, which is a much better platform regarding its sample engine and compatibility. The four individual piano models will also be re-issued as Kontakt-Powered instruments for download in the near future.

B4 II: The affordable "'57 Drawbar Organ" instrument is our alternative offer for drawbar organ fans. You can check it out here.

Bandstand: Same as with Akoustik Piano, the free Kontakt Player is the new recommended playback platform for the sounds contained in this instrument.

Elektrik Piano: Same as with Akoustik Piano, please use the free Kontakt Player. The sounds of Elektrik Piano are also now part of the Kontakt 4 factory library, so they continue to be available within Komplete.

Pro-53: While there is no direct replacement for this instrument in the NI product range, a wide range of vintage synth sounds can be achieved with Massive and Reaktor.

I hope this clears things up and provides a good perspective for all users of these and other NI products. If you feel that any info is missing in this post, just send me a PM and I will look into it.

Best, Thomas