NI Kontakt 8 and Komplete 15 - RELEASED

[Guy Rowland]

Komplete 18 and Kontakt 8 are released on September 23. Kontakt 8 doesn't look like it is the ground-up rewrite I was looking for after the debacle of Kontakt 7, but it does appear to be substantially different and does host a new hybrid synth called Conflux - with Reaktor deprecated, I was wondering if we'd see this happen. There is a whole new interface illustrated above - instrument headers have vanished and there's a new navigator with these controls. There is also a new tools section and what sounds like a new sampler-within-a sampler called Leap.

The latest version of Kontakt introduces fresh additions designed to inspire. New Chords and Phrases Tools offer smart features to quickly spark ideas and can be paired with your favorite Kontakt instruments to unlock new creative possibilities. Meanwhile, Leap opens a world of looping and experimentation, and Conflux, a new hybrid instrument using enhanced wavetable features, allows you to modulate organic and synth-based sounds in real-time.

What's new in Komplete?

In some editions there is Kithara - "A cinematic collection of guitars and plucked string instruments transformed with creative performance techniques and lush sound design".

Here's a list of the new instruments:

Standard - £539 / £179 update
Conflux
Electric Keys: Diamond & Phoenix
Karriem Riggin Drums
Rudiments Drums
Scene: Saffron
Session Electric Sunburst
Session Percussionist
Trash
Vocal Synth 2
12 Leap Expansions

Ultimate - £1079 / £359 update
Action Woodwinds
Alicia's Electric Keys
Session Bass - Upright
Session Bass - Icon
Session Acoustic Sunbird Deluxe
Session Electric Sunburst Deluxe
Session Ukulele
Spotlight: Ireland
Vocal Colors
Schema Dark & Light

Collector's Edition - £1619 / £449 update
Valves Pro
Fables
Kithara

There's also new Play instruments and expansion packs.

Pre-orders also get Neutron 4.



https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... mplete-15/

[Guy Rowland]

To add - there was a lot of confusion of Reaktor 6's inclusion or otherwise in Komplete 15. It wasn't mentioned anywhere on the Komplete 15 and comparison pages, but on the Reaktor 6 page it said it was in Collector's Edition.

NI have now updated their comparison website, and Reaktor 6 is in all versions. So it lives a little longer.

[X-bassist]

Komplete 18 and Kontakt 8 are released on September 30. Kontakt 8 doesn't look like it is the ground-up rewrite I was looking for after the debacle of Kontakt 7, but it does appear to be substantially different and does host a new hybrid synth called Conflux - with Reaktor deprecated, I was wondering if we'd see this happen. There is a whole new interface illustrated above - instrument headers have vanished and there's a new navigator with these controls. There is also a new tools section and what sounds like a new sampler-within-a sampler called Leap.

The latest version of Kontakt introduces fresh additions designed to inspire. New Chords and Phrases Tools offer smart features to quickly spark ideas and can be paired with your favorite Kontakt instruments to unlock new creative possibilities. Meanwhile, Leap opens a world of looping and experimentation, and Conflux, a new hybrid instrument using enhanced wavetable features, allows you to modulate organic and synth-based sounds in real-time.

Holy Smokes, looks like a spaceship with a designer gone wild. Their interfaces use to be so reasonable. What happened?

I'm wondering when they are going to start making things more intuitive and maybe add a new feature... labels!!

Seems to me like they are making trouble with this sampler inside a sampler/ extra tools that still need development and stability testing kind of talk. I'd really like them to make it super stable first, but I guess that doesn't sell. K7 still doesn't work for me as Komplete replaces my K5 and 6 instances with empty K7 instances (so helpful!) every time it opens, so I've had to delete it. I won't even buy 8 until it works and I'm forced to. But between this and the new design with extra things to break that I don't need, I'm seriously considering switching to developers with their own engines. Even though I've held off on OT, Spitfire, and other engines, I'd rather not get jerked around every 2 years so they can sell something flashy.

I get the feeling the more they head toward bedroom pop producers the more real sample developers will find something else besides Kontakt. I'm not happy with what we have atm, but I think if one big developer gets far enough with it, like OT or SFA, geared toward composers, and they are willing to come up with an open version, then they could become the next NI/ Kontakt that starts to dominate that sector. And although film and media composers don't make up a huge crowd, the amount of people doing orchestral music on their own I believe will continue to increase. It could eventually be a market that could rival others, since the sound is so big and catchy, and the money spent to build your orchestra can get extensive. Even though I have a lot of gear- Studio/Live Sound/ Lighting/ Camera Packages - I have spent more the last 10 years on VI's and plugins, probably because the storage is a much simplier issue, even at 40TB. I hope that Kontakt solution will come. NI has been a silent ruler make changes for the sake of changes, and beta testing on their customers.

[Guy Rowland]

I'd really like them to make it super stable first, but I guess that doesn't sell. K7 still doesn't work for me as Komplete replaces my K5 and 6 instances with empty K7 instances (so helpful!) every time it opens, so I've had to delete it.

I don't quite understand what's going on there.... a few DAWs can auto-replace with a later version of Kontakt if the earlier version is missing. I've had an issue when the new version is unpopulated, but it turned out I'd not deleted all the old versions of the plugin.

As to stability / reliability / efficiency, K7 was awful. We have to wait and see if K8 has fixed any of this, Mario says NI have been making progress on the slow windows loading. I can imagine K7 being the Windows 8 of Kontakt, the one to forget.

[Guy Rowland]

Komplete 15 and Kontakt 8 are out today. I ended up beta testing Kontakt 8. I'll hold fire on full thoughts for just now, but one quick positive to share - K7 had extremely long first load times for me on Windows 11 (not Mac), this is massively better in K8. In fact I think it's a little faster than K6 now.

[Guy Rowland]

[playz123]

I’m not seeing the standalone version of Kontakt 8 in my Mac Applications folder this time. I installed K8 twice, but it still doesn’t show up, unlike all previous versions. Strange.

[Guy Rowland]

I’m not seeing the standalone version of Kontakt 8 in my Mac Applications folder this time. I installed K8 twice, but it still doesn’t show up, unlike all previous versions. Strange.

Very odd indeed - fine here on 13.5. It sits in the Native Instruments applications subfolder.

[Guy Rowland]

Some thoughts on Kontakt 8.

PERFORMANCE
K8 loads MUCH quicker than K7 in Windows, in fact it’s probably quicker than K6 on my system. Unfortunately there is an issue with RME drivers in standalone in Windows, making responsiveness approx 4x slower. WASAPI driver is fine, as are all plugin versions.

NEW NAVIGATOR
I think the concept of the new Navigator is strong. Eliminating the instrument headers (optional) in the main pane does allow you to fit more in. However it’s still not quite there – you can change a midi channel but only by right clicking; you can’t set the output at all, so for that reason alone it’s not yet ready for prime time. Mutes and Solo indicators should be clearer – use colours for crying out loud. Having Tools always visible at the top is a criminal waste of prime real estate, as most people won’t use them. Also the preference to open as a new instrument does NOT work here. A promising work-in progress, but too many pitfalls currently.

NEW DEFAULT VIEW
The browser on the left hand side is also a work in progress. The small tile size is good, but not being able to read / display file folders is still a dealbreaker for most third party content. There’s no way to use tags, and worst of all no way to search globally from here (I believe this is coming). The chevron does nothing that clicking on the library graphic doesn’t – why is it even there?

LIBRARY VIEW
A very mixed bag. One supposed “improvement” is a step backwards – just a single column on the right hand side for results is notably worse than K7 which showed more results. Incredibly, this single pane cannot be expanded in width beyond a very limited point, so not only is there only one column, many file names are truncated while most of the real estate is taken up pointlessly with huge graphics. This is a major UX fail. Also annoying, reducing the size of the overall plugin or the left hand pane makes the huge library tiles even BIGGER, letting you see even less. Why they don’t reduce to the same much more useable smaller size seen in the mini browser in default view is a mystery.

You still cannot view multiple fields in the tags like every other browser on earth – if you shift-clicked the tabs with the different fields (Brand / Sound Type / Character) which opened beneath one another in library tile pane it would be an improvement.

Finally and most importantly – the fact that it STILL cannot read or display folders makes it a non-starter. It only really functions properly for NI libraries, not third party.

NI cannot seem to get a basic browser right. It’s been many years at this point. As it stands, a combination of the traditional view and Quick Load is still the least bad option. Here's hoping the dot releases see genuine improvements.

LEAP SAMPLER
The little sampler-within-a-sampler is very welcome. Very quick to drag a sample and have a playable instrument with various effects ready to go. Great to layer up a kit of samples.

TOOLS
I can’t find a use for either of the initial bundled tools – chords and phrases. Perplexing and convoluted. Tools for divisi / keyswitching etc may be handy if they ever come.

OVERALL
It’s better than K7, but that’s a low bar. Mostly the performance alone makes it better for Windows users. Leap is welcome. Almost everything else feels very like a work-in-progress, maybe by 8.5 we’ll start getting some real progress.

[mickeyl]

Without having actual insights, to me K7 seemed to have been a transitional piece of software, an unhealthy mix of old and new technologies. I sincerely hope that with K8 they have addressed the technical debt and are onwards rewriting the core.

[playz123]

I’m not seeing the standalone version of Kontakt 8 in my Mac Applications folder this time. I installed K8 twice, but it still doesn’t show up, unlike all previous versions. Strange.

Very odd indeed - fine here on 13.5. It sits in the Native Instruments applications subfolder.

NI replied that this happens due to server problems during the rollout of Komplete, but haven’t yet mentioned how to fix it. After a reinstall, I could open the app using the “Open” button that pops up in Native Access, but still no app being installed in Applications. LOL, leave it to me to encounter abnormal behaviour. Will try again in awhile and maybe NI will eventually fix the problem.

EDIT: 'Third time lucky'. I had to completely uninstall Kontakt 8 first, but the app is now appearing where it was supposed to appear. No idea why the first re-installs didn't work, but that's the way things happen sometimes.

[Ashermusic]

Is K8 a paid upgrade from 7?

[Guy Rowland]

Is K8 a paid upgrade from 7?

Yes.

[Ashermusic]

Is K8 a paid upgrade from 7?

Yes.

$99 update. I will try the free player out for a while before I decide if I want to do the full version update.

Watching the walkthrough. Great, just what we need, more ways to help people who don't know how to compose, compose

[wst3]

$99 update. I will try the free player out for a while before I decide if I want to do the full version update.

Yeah, I think is pretty cool of NI to offer the free player as a way to really test Kontakt before shelling out $99.

Watching the walkthrough. Great, just what we need, more ways to help people who don't know how to compose, compose

You say that as if it is a bad thing...

[EvilDragon]

I sincerely hope that with K8 they have addressed the technical debt and are onwards rewriting the core.

The core is never getting rewritten. The core is solid and has been for decades now.

[Guy Rowland]

Kontakt - any version - isn't as efficient as some of the other samplers. It's no slouch, but it can't make use of NVMe speeds, unlike Opus or Spectrasonics STEAM engine.

Will that ever get addressed? is that part of the core?

Honestly, with all the bells and whistles, the most important thing in K8 by far is that this launches normally in Windows now. It really should be something of collective corporate shame that NI let their flagship product not work properly for 2 whole years until the successor was released. I do hope they patch it now for Windows K7 users. You shouldn't be made to pay just to restore normal working conditions.

K8 does FEEL quite snappy and solid otherwise I have to say. There's still a lot to do as per my long post above, but I am very cautiously optimistic a corner has been turned.

[Ashermusic]

I sincerely hope that with K8 they have addressed the technical debt and are onwards rewriting the core.

The core is never getting rewritten. The core is solid and has been for decades now.

I am disappointed that they still haven't made multi-output assignment easier and more elegant. It's still not great for drum libraries, although I have created a default that accommodates them. So much easier though in Opus, just to mention one.

[EvilDragon]

In fact, this was made easier out of the box in K8, as Kontakt now starts with 28 stereo outputs already created and routed to plugin outputs. So you can just keep on assigning channels from any drum library you load, simples. Now, it depends how each particular drum library handles this multi-out routing. Some do offer handy shortcuts to route all channels incrementally in one go, some not. This part is not up to NI to fix (apart from their own drum libraries).

[EvilDragon]

Kontakt - any version - isn't as efficient as some of the other samplers. It's no slouch, but it can't make use of NVMe speeds, unlike Opus or Spectrasonics STEAM engine.

Will that ever get addressed? is that part of the core?

It is indeed a pretty crucial part of the core, so it would have to be done very carefully and systematically.

SSD queue depth (parallel disk I/O) support would only really impact initial loading times (and a lot of this is CPU-bound, parsing the NKI before you even see the GUI and samples start loading), it doesn't really do much for runtime DFD performance (as you cannot really saturate even the regular SATA SSDs at basic QD1 (synchronous/serial disk I/O) with thousands of voices being streamed simultaneously).

[Ashermusic]

In fact, this was made easier out of the box in K8, as Kontakt now starts with 28 stereo outputs already created and routed to plugin outputs. So you can just keep on assigning channels from any drum library you load, simples. Now, it depends how each particular drum library handles this multi-out routing. Some do offer handy shortcuts to route all channels incrementally in one go, some not. This part is not up to NI to fix (apart from their own drum libraries).

Ah, good to know, thanks.

It would be nice if developers for Kontakt would agree on a standard for drums. I think almost all of us want pretty much the same, mirroring how we would rout mics into a console.

[Guy Rowland]

It is indeed a pretty crucial part of the core, so it would have to be done very carefully and systematically.

SSD queue depth (parallel disk I/O) support would only really impact initial loading times (and a lot of this is CPU-bound, parsing the NKI before you even see the GUI and samples start loading), it doesn't really do much for runtime DFD performance (as you cannot really saturate even the regular SATA SSDs at basic QD1 (synchronous/serial disk I/O) with thousands of voices being streamed simultaneously).

I can't pretend to understand all the intricacies. All I know is that Omni and HOOPUS benefit from blazing fast NVMes, but Kontakt doesn't. (VSL too I think).

[Tanuj Tiku]

Guy, thanks for your detailed thoughts on this.

I just did not like Kontakt 7 and have stayed away. I am currently on 6.8 and I have made a massive new template. Do you know whether Kontakt 8 will replace 6.8? If I remove Kontat 6.8 and 7, I suppose Kontakt 8 will just load the template in the new version and hopefully without any issues!

Otherwise, I may have some painful hours of work redoing the template.

[Guy Rowland]

Guy, thanks for your detailed thoughts on this.

I just did not like Kontakt 7 and have stayed away. I am currently on 6.8 and I have made a massive new template. Do you know whether Kontakt 8 will replace 6.8? If I remove Kontat 6.8 and 7, I suppose Kontakt 8 will just load the template in the new version and hopefully without any issues!

Otherwise, I may have some painful hours of work redoing the template.

NI should really do a short explainer video on this, everyone is asking this same question!

If you are using Logic, Cubase or Nuendo, then you have an auto-migration option. Removing all earlier versions of Kontakt from your plugin folders will make the DAW automatically load K8 instead, with the instruments, routing and everything perfectly intact, just as you hope. Magic.

The big omission here for most of us is VE Pro, which doesn't support this feature. So if your template is VE Pro, you have to do it the very old and laborious way. For me I've never seen the point, I couldn't much care what version of Kontakt Sable (or whatever) is on in the background in VE Pro.

There is a lot of pressure now on VSL to support migration. This far they haven't said anything publicly, but anyone so-minded can add their support on the VSL forum thread here - https://forum.vsl.co.at/topic/59860/vst ... ontakt-7/1

In the meantime it might make sense to have an extra VST3 Kontakt folder with all the old versions in it, that is scanned only by VE Pro. That way all Cubase / Logic projects will always be up to date, but VE Pro will still function normally.

[EvilDragon]

NI did a knowledgebase article about the migration, at least.

https://support.native-instruments.com/ ... W-Projects