Kontakt 8 First Look - Should you upgrade (and a rant)

[@JohnMarshall-NI]

The ideal for me would be if NI provided a version that was highly optimised, high performing and completely stripped down. No bloat or anything unnecessary. Also, that they finally simplify the process of configuring Kontakt as a multi-output device. That they have ignored the issues with performance and multi-outputs for so long really doesn’t fill me with confidence that NI know what they are doing.

[@garthwick19]

multi outs is a massive PITA in kontakt. For this reason I do not touch it for anything drum related.

[@jimsanger]

I'm another classic view user. I'll stick with 7 for now I think, depending on what other programs they bundle

[@DJKennethA]

yeah I am also not a fan of the new view and prefer the classic one.

[@arranger1977]

It would be a great option to be able to create folders into which you could move your libraries. This would make things clearer.

[@jakeperl5857]

Honestly, none of the new composing features interest me. What would interest me greatly is if it is more CPU efficient for live performance. Any buzz on that?

[@WhitbyStuff]

Totally. Just make it leaner, faster, and better to search. It's going to bloat more and more.

[@STARRIDER2276]

More CPU performance here’s an observation. If your using Native Instruments live you need a high performance laptop and that’s pricey.

[@ABStudioProductions69]

​@@STARRIDER2276 100% Agreed I was on Windows 11 Pro Desktop with 64 Gig Ram 4 TB SSD etc etc and it was slow even with those specs - I saved up and bought my Mac pro and after many 25 years as a PC home studio owner "once you go Mac you won't go back" - I couldn't find or build a spec PC based laptop for portability for the same price and speed and reliability - PC was 2.5 the price and 1/2 the specs 8 months later no regret 16 inch Macbook Pro Apple M3 Max 96 Gig Ram 4 TB SSD Machine MK3 Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2 Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88 MK3 Alesis Q88 Midi controller DAW - Native Instruments Collectors edition 14 Software - Ex Studio One 6 (unsubscribed due to their greed on subscriptions), 👎 Software current Logic & Cubase Pro 13 Audio interface Focusrite 6i6 MAC has never crashed as the PC even with big specs was unreliable and crashed at least every 2 months

[@michaelllewelynbarker1621]

Bloody hell. I bought Kontak 7 over a year ago, and still haven’t installed it 😂

[@ELLIOT8209]

😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@tiffanyanthony]

I’m so glad they left classic view as an option. I can’t stand the Komplete layout vibe. I think Leap has potential.

[@nemoralismusic]

I share you nervousness John. I like to be in control of all my notes! Maybe I'm too much of a control freak but I prefer my music to work as a score as well as audibly. I got Kontakt 7 in the recent sale (qualifying for an upgrade price with Post Felt) and I'm happy with that.

[@Targetdrew]

Okay, I literally watched Unison Midi Chord Pack commercial before this video came on!!! 🤣

[@daviHuggMonster]

finally a good scalable ui, I always waited to get into kontakt because I never liked the UI limitations

[@BH-ep2vd]

We have 2024 and scaling UI is worth to mention? Paying for an upgrade? Such features are basics...

[@daviHuggMonster]

@@BH-ep2vd don't worry won't buy or upgrade anytime soon^^

[@gands8464]

Wow! Kontakt is going after Arcade right now.

[@philipford6183]

Very fair. Personally, I'm a total fan of generative music making tools. I thrive on the inspiration they provide. True, it's easy to get stuck in the weeds - but then again, if a generative phrase or loop has grabbed me, why not spend a while exploring it? I dunno, horses for courses. I'm not a technical musician by any standard (I do have a good understanding of chords, though), but - as you say - generative tools are fun. I do think that counts for a lot, especially if making music is a hobby, rather than a living.

[@matteastland62]

Good review, Jon . . . Thanx for your valued opinions! 👍

[@yosoysoloyo4024]

My first look, what I am missing is that I used to like the original pane on the left where I could organize instruments my own way - which is like drums, then keyboards, then other percussion instruments..... and so on. Also the pane itself wasn't very obtrusive and was easy to see. Now I can't organize, as far as I can tell, and the thing is so crowded my poor tired eyes have trouble making out what's in there. Ugh... I hope I can figure it out.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

There is a classic view so you can see things the old way instead.

[@jimrogers7425]

I thoroughly appreciate the fact that Somerville Sounds (in a similar fashion as other companies like Crow Hill) have their own player,thus circumventing Kontakt. Please remain in this realm. Native Instruments forces us to upgrade as new libraries are released that only work with their latest version… something that is very frustrating to say the least. It appears that NI have decided to build in some features of standalone packs like Scaler2. While the functions seem to be nice, I still think that Scaler2 and some of the others are better tools overall.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

@@jimrogers7425 CrowHill *and* Spitfire Audio, strange coincidence ;)

[@certifiedbeatz]

Nice video. I like u didn't say "this is a game changer" like others..😅😅 I'll wait a while before upgrading

[@Mr-vp8kw]

Amen so over that 😂

[@BraddSpencerHexon]

GREAT!!! REVIEW!!! AWSOME Feed! Keep broadcasting!

[@nomore6167]

I think loops and phrases, as well as tools which suggest chords/notes/melodies, can be great, but (for the most part) only when used as inspiration, not used directly.

[@guyvermearns]

Great video, I think you navigated the topics really well!

[@Cefshah]

Great video and helpful points!! Bravo!! 💙💙💙

[@peterkoval]

Apparently with Leap, as opposed to Arcade, you can upload your own samples and you're not bound to the predetermined kits.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

I have the previous Ultimate Collectors Edition but I'm not sure there's enough new useable stuff to justify $500-$600 for the upgrade. What do you think about just updating to the basic edition for the new version of Kontakt and then doing a full upgrade next year?

[@redalcatel27]

Agree!! NEVER pay full price!

[@SuperIZL]

Wait, maybe I’m confused…. Wouldn’t you loose access to some libraries you now have access to to?

[@greedokenobi3855]

@@SuperIZLYou don’t lose access, I’ve purchased CE and then later on a newer Komplete Standard version, you don’t lose access to previous purchased version’s libraries or plugins.

[@greedokenobi3855]

That’s what I did with 14, had 13 UCE and added 14 standard to it later. Pretty sure I’m going to skip komplete 15 and maybe i’ll just purchase the kontakt update to 8 at some point.

[@jameshaesslon]

Same

[@banditalley9592]

The interface in '6' was fine, I didn't see anyone complain. I hate this look

[@anonunknown7999]

Version 5 was also great! Never used 4 or earlier.

[@richertz]

My view is that I won't upgrade for now. I think paying for Kontakt to have features that are long oversude (and promised a long time ago) is not fair. I like the scaleable interface but come on - that should have been a free upgrade!

[@dirkschiller9060]

Hey Jon, it is Preset randomization, not the Chords itself in Minute 3:21.

[@JuanAMatos-zx4ub]

The thing that matters the most to me is performance improvements. Does it load libraries faster? K7 can be a real slog, even after batch resave.

[@AMBIOSIS]

Well, as a seasoned Kontakt user, I will upgrade to 8. The sound libraries that come with it, certainly don't inspire me, never have, can stay up in the clouds. Like you say Jon, I also like to do my own creations. Nice one. P.S. Going through the Batch Resave all again could be iffy and makes Kontakt 7 kinda redundant if using in a previous project. You have to replace 7 with 8 and all the settings are lost. I hope 8 solves that problem, so be careful.

[@neveser]

Not overly excited about any of that new stuff. Really interested in how the wave editor and mapping look. I've watched 5 or 6 videos today and no one is showing it. I'm guessing it's the same and not worth showing.

[@ABStudioProductions69]

My biggest Gripe is Komplete Kontrol not Kontakt player version 5,6,7&8 which is great as when you load a drum kit as an example in Kontakt Player any version you see the Keyboard key lightings on both the NI physical keyboard as well as the software, In Komplete Kontrol software there is no option not show the keyboard - or am I stupid and Komplete Kontrol software is just software to preview sounds, which Kontakt 5,6,7 & 8 does any way - does anyone have an answer on why even bother with Komplete Kontrol and what is its purpose?

[@gregoryivesdolbyatmosmusic]

hi Jon! long time. Thanks for the evaluation and will watch it. I get and NFR version usually form NI, so we well see what they have done. One thing I would like to be able to import saved presets that I create with third party especially.

[@DJKennethA]

The chord tool seems interesting but it seems like they just took the functionality of playbox and then put it into the main interface as a "tool"

[@watchaddicts1213]

ONLY ONE MAIN QUESTION: CAN YOU ENLARGE the GUI or is it STILL RIDICULOUSLY TINY?? LIKE, can I spread the UI out to like 30" PLUS?

[@tobytodelafontena]

Maybe in Kontakt 25.

[@alexgloor5359]

Yes you can, i am using a 42" tv as monitor...

[@pablodelpinomusic]

I think we all know the "MIDI Pack commercial" that Jon is talking about....😂

[@sharkflower123]

My nervousness is mainly that I don't know how much off my efforts inside Kontakt 8 is lost when this version-number is not supported... Makes me want to skip NI and use Kontakt 7 as little as possible... All my Kontakt 5 channel strips in Logic Pro are gone in MacOS Ventura

[@t3br00k35]

My OS is now non-updatable. I’m stuck at iOS 11.15. Everything is crumbling around me. I can’t afford another iMac.

[@nyambe]

I really wonder how many reviewers of actually bought Komplete 15 and Kontakt 8. Please let me know if you find one

[@jacey714]

Kontakt 7 used to crash all the time. Wonder if they fixed that.

[@harveyjones6564]

Great review. I wish Kontakt would let me use VST and AU plug ins within its architecture. We know wrapping plug ins is easy there are dozens of plug in hosts out there. And the Native Instrument effects are ok. But considering how sophisticated the effects integration is in Kontakt it would be nice if I could choose my own…. Mad?

[@michaelllewelynbarker1621]

@@harveyjones6564 I think the problem is that it would make sharing the instruments with other people more difficult

[@harveyjones6564]

Of course. It would be a nightmare for developers. But then, it could also stimulate sales, like “Kontakt Waves edition”. Hang on that sounds terrible….

[@harveyjones6564]

But it could just be an option for power users (ugh). The NI effects would still be there for developers to use, but could be replaced on a per effect basis for the nut jobs.

[@harveyjones6564]

It’s the only flaw with Kontakt in my opinion is the NI effects keep it in Korg M-1 territory. Especially the dodgy reverbs. I promise I’m done now…

[@SongOfItself]

But why? To me one of the annoying features of Kontakt is that it's a middle layer between the instrument and the DAW. I have the opposite wish: that people stopped creating Kontakt libraries and made plain VSTs instead. At least they'd be resizable and have much better interfaces. Oh, and when they joined the VST world, maybe they'd find out that weavetables were not just invented by NI but have been around since forever, lol.

[@jamesewanchook2276]

good vid, good presentation and best, good advice. Cheers from Vancouver!

[@ClassicCaleb]

No matter what I do, Kontakt 8 only displays about 1/3 of my library. It shows them when I go into options and library paths and there aren't any filters set on the main library page. As a last ditch effort I tried a batch resave. It acted like it found everything, took quite a while to scan the entire library, and then just closed out on its own with nothing else found when I reopened it. So far I'm not impressed and it definitley needs some patching.

[@ainnelrosirrosias3338]

Hey Jon what's the lens ur using here? really nice

[@Aldorelaxingguitar]

Thanks for sharing! 🎸😎✌️

[@nickmeredith002]

I think, in terms of the little rant, you are spot on in saying that if you want to make money out of this, then you're going to need to know your stuff and know how to play and know what sounds right for whatever circumstance. But I think this is just capitalism taking over. NI and all the companies (probably including Somerville Sounds because that's how the world works) want music and music creation to be more accessible to everyone so that they sell their project to more people and rake in more sales... So if the average Joe wants to use AI to create a track for them so they can call themselves a musician then good for them. But those who end up making a living from this industry will be those who know what they're actually doing when it comes to writing. There'll be a difference between a well-constructed melody and the phrasing that supports it compared to a bloke pressing a button on his computer.

[@motomuso]

I use the Purge function a lot in Ko7. Is this available in Ko8?

[@musicmould]

Seems like NI is trying to make Kontakt into Komplete Kontrol or can’t decide where they should draw the line between them both. Lots of shiny toys but apart from the GUI scaling I can’t see any real reason to upgrade at this time. 🤔

[@naellsitumorang]

I heard that if I don't upgrade it, I can't use it. Is that true? 😢😢😢 someone please 🙏🏽

[@lmenascojr]

When NI gets an AI interface that lets you verbally query a type of sound/instrument you’re searching for instead of having to search through them yourselves, then the massiveness of its library will finally be usable. Right now it eats up a sh17 load of time with instruments that have useless titles that tell you little to nothing about the underlying sound and often sounding so similar that you end up spinning your wheels deciding which one to use. I got more done on my old Ensoniq sampler gear with a sample library that was less than 200 instruments (still a lot of floppy disk!). I’d spend my time reworking what was sampled, adding effects, getting to the sound I was looking for, and in the end realizing that the crafting of the song itself made much more of a difference than any arrangement you pour your sweat and time into - that and a good lead vocal!

[@chasvox2]

Nice, Jon! Thanks!

[@delphisignal]

In the top left of the instrument gui, there's the button with the two gears. That must replace the edit mode wrench button. Does that section still look like Windows 98? That was never pleasant to work in.

[@wizzoli]

Why there is no TRIAL mode in NI? .... You know the answer :)

[@SIKKYBEATS]

The damn midi pack commercial 😂. Awesome video dude!

[@RegYoungBeats]

Is Kontakt 8 buggy for anyone else? Since installing it, I’ve tried to do a batch resave in standalone 3 times and it crashed each time. I need to batch resave because the instruments are loading super slow. I’m a little frustrated with that.

[@therearenoruleshere]

Why aren't my 3rd party vst loading in it?

[@timspencer1]

I can't komplain. I won K13 CE on Metapop. The upgrade to 14 was a lot of money. There is not enough in here to tempt me to go for K15 CE. Not for the money they are asking for. Throwing in Neutron Standard doesn't exactly get my juices flowing. I want some interesting instruments, something like LORES or Ashlight.

[@mindjob]

Being new to Kontact I’d like recommendations for sound banks. The amount available is overwhelming

[@karolis.burzinskas]

I tried it few minutes ago and it is ok. Kontakt 7 felt junky af. New one is more stable and visualy pleasing. Chords and Phrases is almost bare minimum of what could be done but it's alright. And I have ads in the instrument, it feels so fucking predatory, dude, if someone cares, they buy your shit anyway, tf? I hope to see new Reaktor, but it is almost impossible that someone cares about it, new Komplete Start doesn't have not a single ensemble for it.

[@joaopin]

Firs Post! 😉 (There's a typo in the video title)

[@blueeyedsoulman]

So if I get this do I need to go fish out any paid libraries that they have now chosen to give for free?

[@mindspanconsultants]

Companies continue to dumb down everything that once required talent and creativity. It's everywhere... and culture suffers as a result.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Smart slaves aren't good slaves ;)

[@simonecampetemusic7632]

20% of cpu! For some chords, what?

[@jacquibrookes8257]

Yep, mine shot up to 34 mac m1...😮

[@robst247]

Are all views of the UI now vector-based and fully scalable up to full-screen? If not, I won't buy it.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Soundpaint is so much more fun to use. Not just UI look, actual experience is much better. Didn’t even install Kontakt on my new Mac. 🤷‍♂️

[@Adgravacoes]

por favor tem como parar no 8 não aguento mais instalar kontakt kkkk

[@BillyBanter100]

Been using the Kontakt 8 player for a few weeks. The chorus and melody tools are underwhelming to be honest. I may update from Komplete 14 when the upgrade price comes down in the new year but I must say in the six years I've been using NI Komplete this is the least attractive offering to date. As many users have mentioned, NI software is becoming over complicated and sluggish.

[@jacquibrookes8257]

Leap cpu %35 spikes Mac mini m1

[@Cubase-sb8nn]

There's far, far, far too much meaningless 'choice', and don't get me started on pre-made chord selections/phrases. When it comes to creativity I think less is most definitely much more, and too much tech feels like a calorie rich, nutrient poor diet - you might get an initial 'hit', but will make you feel sick in the long term. (Makes me wonder sometimes if this music-tech eco-system is more for people into tech than into music)

[@steviek6484]

Just what we needed - tools for people with no musical ability

[@eyeque7]

It’s great isn’t it! NI Supporting everyone who needs assistance. They’ve really considered everyone which shows how much they care.

[@77majestic77]

Well it's not like those with musical ability is getting anywhere in the industry now. Let people enjoy themselves. I'm quite sure you have at least 10 grammys and about 150 million in the bank from your music.

[@VHF.brunoverdoni]

This is a trend that have been around for a few years - tools for those who don’t know music and don’t want to learn about music. A bit lazy if you ask me but just disappointed that Kontakt is following that trend even more .

[@StollerEaven]

Somehow nothing new. 🤔

[@EXE4098]

At least they kept the classic interface. Got to be honest, although I will be upgrading, there’s nothing in this release for me. The loops, one shot, chords & sequence features pander to those who ‘make beats’ as opposed to those of us who went the extra mile and actually figured-out how to ‘make music’. To me, it seems like they’re cashing-in on the bedroom (so-called) ‘producers’ who wouldn’t know their Aeolian from their Dorian. Pro Tools have similarly started to cater for this ‘Lego Blocks’ Composer generation too, with their ‘Sketch’ arrangement session format. Is it a ‘valid’ compositional format? I guess it is, if like NI, you stand to cash-in on the hype for the Emperor’s New Clothes.

[@subwooferroads]

I think it's w😮nk

[@GianCarloFeoli]

NI have lost the way focusing on graphics and products for people that doesnt know anything about composing real music and that doesnt have any intention on learning how to do it. This is useless.

[@ericheiberg3310]

why does sooooo much of this new stuff sound wonky and stupid ... , old man syndrome, I guess. the synths on Stevie Wonders Higher Ground still cooler than most of this stuff... (that was 50+ years ago !!!) I do like the Somerville stuff !

[@MaPa60]

Return of the guitars will fix the one finger composer syndrome which seem to be the premise for Kontakt 8 devs. Midi seem to have reached it’s full potential, and it’s called the couch potato.

[@theboofin]

Only care about crisp vector scaling of size. Pay a lot of money for that... Everything else you showed was pointless...

[@LoudnessWarsSurvivor]

*yawn*

[@StevenClements]

8:37 I think 🙄