[Shell vent] Komplete venting! :D

Hi gang!

Synth evening!

It's Friday evening, I just finished assembling my new chair because my old one was pretty much dead (didn't lift, would go down on its own and although it was said to be a leather chair (got it 10 years ago) no one told me that the layer was 1mm thick at that time, so that came off pretty easily too ). But no more! I now have a pretty solid gaming chair which is quite comfortable (and that is important to me because I spend a lot of time behind my computer & audio equipment).

So then I turned on my complete 'studio' (= Komplete Audio 6 audio interface, Casio CTK 4000 keyboard, obviously my Push plus the Maschine Mk3) and I decided to hook up my keyboard's line out with one of the the inputs of the almighty audio 6 (yeah, yeah.. I'm being a little silly here but in all honesty I do think highly of my Komplete audio interface: affordable, quite robust, you can hook up just about anything and it. just. works.! (I also love how Asio4All keeps track of your setup, I currently only use the Audio6 inputs)).

Anyway.. I then fired up Live, pushed some keys on the Push ( ) and loaded up Kontakt and started messing with some of the expansions which recently became available to me. Then I wondered where all of my stuff was which reminded me that some of the expansions apply to Battery & Mashcine. Best excuse to hop over ever! Loaded Maschine using Push (it doesn't mean anything but I really enjoy that small bit of "inter-operability" between my controllers) rolled my chair over (which is now a lot easier) and there it was

My attention got pulled to 'Caribbean Current' and when I noticed a preset called "Bahama Mama" I couldn't help but laugh for a moment (here's to you Tony Prince! (only GTA players will understand this one! )) and man, did it deliver! But you know.. the thing is: this is an expansion, part of the expansion series and I didn't even realize I had this

No, not an overlooked purchase but a "hidden" one.. See... I'm a Komplete collector now and I am so impressed with this whole thing that I just had go vent a bit Get a blog you say? Working on it! I have one but it needs a major overhaul and I simply lack the time right now. But it's coming But even so I still think my post isn't too far off not to be posted here. You'll see!

So anyway... How did this expansion get there? Because I did the unthinkable... the Thanksgiving XXL event gave me the opportunity to really go all out and nab the collectors edition of Komplete 12 Ultimate (which was already impressive in itself) and man.... This is seriously impressive, hence the need to vent a bit

But the true story here is that it's not about the Bahama Mama's but.. wait, what? Bad spelling because this isn't the right presets name? Ok, ok, so this is what I meant:



Happy now?

But all pun aside.. My story started with Komplete Elements 7. A slim ("intro") version you actually had to pay for (costed E 99,-) but it even got you a E 50,- discount coupon which (in hindsight) seriously made it worth it! What's that now? I had too much to drink so now I'm talking nonsense because the only entry level intro Komplete ( ) is Select, going for E 199,-? And there are only E 25,- coupons now so that makes it obvious I'm making up a (still nice?) sounding story?

So about that....


This is how it all started for me

I could write an essay but I'll spare you that but when I had finally decided to go for Ableton Live I knew I should get something extra. Another sound engine so that I could truly apply variations and wouldn't risk getting stuck with "DAW specific sounds". And therefor I grabbed Reason 4 Which even surprised some of my "Live friends" (= people I know within the Live community) because Komplete was the more common route to take: a true 'Komplete' addition to Live, no matter what version you had. Thing was though: I got Suite (which included the Ableton instruments) and I did not want to "over specialize" (I was plain out a synth newbie back then) so I aimed for Reason 4 which really managed to get out some creativity for me.

But the seed was planted So when I saw the above I nabbed it! Best buy ever! I had so much fun with this!

True story: this is the reason I got into contact with some of the Komplete instruments and it made me buy into the Finger and Mouth (notice the coupon? ) but I eventually also bought into Guitar Rig 5 pro which I still favor today. Available as an insert ("FX") effect?! I did so many crazy and weird stuff with that, especially in combination with Max (but let's not go there).

So in a way Komplete has always been a pillar within my setup, even though I mainly relied on Live 8, Reason 4 and Max 5.

Fast forward to today....

So the Propellerheads (the original developers of Reason) decided to change the name of their company (it's now "Reason Studios") and they also applied some drastic changes to their software. As of Reason 11 ReWire support got dropped. What's ReWire you ask? A legit question indeed considering that Komplete doesn't use any of this.. ReWire is (was?) a standard developed by the props themselves (!) and it was a sure interface to "connect" DAW's. Meaning? So if I have Live started and then fire up Reason then Reason will detect that another audio environment is present and it'll demote itself to a "rewire slave" instead of sending out an error that it cannot take control of the audio interface.

And that gives me a new option in Live: I can acknowledge the connection which allows me to send in MIDI data into Reason (so from Live) after which the audio that gets generated will be sent out back into Live. In short: it allows me to play Reason instruments from within Live.

But there's so much more... The other DAW (Reason in my example but this applies to any (!) major DAW on the market) is still fully functional and it really 'attaches' itself "into" the master. So if I start the transport within Live then Reason follows suit. Oh, and I did mention that because of this 'link' I also have full access to the sequencer of the other DAW? I can set up patterns in Reasons sequencer which will then get activated as soon as the transport gets started. And while having full access to all audio and other effects too, np!

I cannot begin to tell you how much I (ab?)used this setup

BUT.. my story is about Komplete, fair enough. So the thing is: Reason 11 came along and did away with all of this. No more ReWire, no more linking, no nothing. Instead they released a VST which was supposed to mimic the Reason rack (let's not get too offtopic) within other DAWs but its functionality didn't even come close to what diehards such as myself were used to. It also didn't help that the VST wasn't just a plugin, no, it was effectively a second installation of the Reason program (with all data attached) and it could only be installed on your C drive (which is usually precious SSD space ).

Having just picked up on my passion (I had recently upgraded Live, Reason & got a full Max 8 license) I was also thinking about the upcoming future. And given the close minded direction I am not going to settle for a VST. I love Reason and its workflow, it's so specific and can truly inspire you, but this?!

But since VST apparently seemed to be the future (which I didn't agree with), which other company also relied on VST's again? hmm...

Oh that's right: YOU GUYS! (= Native Instruments)

So I decided to buy into Komplete 12.

Komplete completion

Komplete 12, what can I say, is living up to its mock name. Yes, the price is steep because you're buying into a collection of stuff which isn't even a real DAW ("DAW not included!") but if you look closer into what you're buying into.. ye lords... several sound engines, several instruments and effects (usable as VST) and even a specific workflow because most (not all!) instruments follow a specific standard.

And then there's the sound... I was already sold on Absynth 5 back in 2012 or so but this collection really takes the biscuit. Not to mention full access into Kontakt and Reaktor (unfortunately Kore has left the stage (a reasonable decision though)).

NI was my ticket into a better future (I know how cheesey that sounds).

And then I noticed that my trusty Akai MPD24 was basically "so so". It's good, but it didn't come close to percussion using my Push controller. The only problem: I liked those big pads! Push is awesome, I am plain out just as much excited about Push as I am about Komplete, make no mistake about that. But Push also isn't perfect, and when I need specific percussion I turn to Reason's Kong drum designer. Ending up with Push in "note mode", now what?


Ableton Push "Note mode", every pad hits a note and the coloured pads which you see here resemble C notes (I'm in a C major chord).

This is not good for percussion. And yes, there are ways to trick Push to go into "drum mode" (to keep things simple) but even that means that I'll only have the lower left quadrant for percussion at my disposal. One pad is roughly the size of one finger (a little more). Two handed drumming? I don't think so....

I wanted more, something better, and I managed to get it!


The Maschine MkIII; this thing is awesome!

But this left me with a dilemma too; if I was to upgrade my setup with NI equipment then... would it (maybe) make sense to up my Komplete license as well also considering that Komplete can definitely be a back up 'power' into Maschine?

At this point in time there was no doubt on my mind that the complete Orchestra setup was going to amaze me. No doubt. (= Komplete collectors edition, I am getting ahead of my story ). So I decided to do just that and went 'Ultimate'; Razor, Skanner, Abbey Roads, the Gamelan, and oh my lord: those symphony essentials..

True story: even though I didn't really need it (and could barely afford it at that time) I upgraded to Live 9 because Ableton had decided to include the Ableton Orchestral Instrument Collection ("OIC") within Live 9. And orchestral music has a serious soft spot with me

Seriously? => Ableton Live + Push + Kontakt + Symphony essentials Brass = Take my money already!!

This is a very specific setup, don't be fooled, but Live + Push allows me to focus on sound (any sound!), and in the right key too. I hit pads and I roughly know what to expect but because it's always "in-key" it always has a good sound (and feel) to it because it fits the expectation. Now add an orchestral monster into this mix (do NOT underestimate the potential of the Orchestral essential series!(!)) and I have no doubt that you're going to be blown away too. In this vent I focus on Brass but ye goods.. wait until you open the String ensemble for example...

And then things went black (or did they?! )

Curse you Native Instruments, if it wasn't for you and that Maschine controller I would have gotten away with this too! (yes, a very lame attempt at some Scooby Doo pun ). But since knowing is half the battle ( ) I had no problems with the idea to transform my (digital) studio into the ultimate setup... Synthbots, play out! )).

So I went 'collectors' and loved every moment of this. I didn't plan for it, I didn't expect it, but when I saw that I could go Collectors (= the full NI Orchestral series!) for half the price? I was sold!

The point of this rant you ask? You already lived it, me finding an outlet for my Komplete admiratrion.

BUT I also want to share this: I went through the different "stages" of Komplete. From regular to Ultimate to Collectors and with enough time in between to get a good feel for the differences too. And in my opinion all products are very carefully balanced, worth their while but that worth is very specific, it depends on your intentions and goals. Also easily found in the descriptions and such if you look for it.....

From Komplete Elements 7 to Komplete players and then up to Komplete 12, Ultimate and thanks to NI's generous thanksgiving deal all the way up to being a complete Komplete collector and I love it.

My new 4Tb HD is hopefully going to arrive tomorrow (for those going to the Netherlands: PostNL is about the worst you can get when it comes to sending (or receiving) parcels, if you want to make an good first impression on customers: go ANY other company but PostNL). (mods: this is no sneer, no hate, but based on experience, and if you want to I'll be more than happy to share how their mismanagement doesn't only manage to disappoint me but also several others (like Vodafone support and Bol.com who all acknowledged my misfortunes).

... but going offtopic nonetheless... My HD is hopefully going to arrive tomorrow and with some luck I'll have the full orchestral Komplete at my disposal the day after. I'm sure to review

Thanks for reading, hope you didn't get bored and go Komplete

 

Thanks for the vent I just got Komplete 12 myself as an upgrade to Komplete 12 Select, which I got through the Summer of Sound sale. Somehow I just know that I'm going to end up with Ultimate at some point, probably during the next sale, mostly for the cinematic and symphony essentials libraries ;-) after I give myself some time to get to know the new libraries, of course

 

i too bought komplete 12 ultimate collectors edition this summer. you know what? i haven't touched 80% (or so) of its content.
enjoy your huge arsenal of sound-possibilities. i mean LIVE allone comes with a lot of absolutely lovely sounds/synths and on top of that komplete 12.

i remember the time when the only sounds i had ot my disposal were the ones from my roland xp80 workstation back in the 90s/early 00s i think...(its sold long long ago...had to pay for my wedding....other gear needed to get sold because of the divorcement...)...

happy jamming to everybody.