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Hi, as with most folks I’m locked up in my unit. Being locked up and with some extra money our Government gave some of us pensioners I have a little extra. Should I spend it on full Kontakt in AUD it is $599 which is a lot. Spending it might keep me sane learning something else.
Is the full Kontakt worth the money? What are your thoughts.
Looking for advice. Thanks in advance.
Tony
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Hi Tony.
I would try to find a bargain. Perhaps on KVR trade section, (KVR->Forum->buy and sell) "second hand" sort of speak. The transfer is fairly easy process, takes a day. You have to register with kvr(free) to search forum and ask sellers. Usually you get things "second hand" 30%-50% cheaper than retail. I bought several titles from there, never had an issue. Just look how long person had been on KVR and their selling history to be safe.
Better yet, I would look into "Komplete" which Kontakt is a part of, but has great many instruments that are not included with Kontakt.., that you might want to buy as a separate things anyways, which would cost you (far!) more if bought separately. Similar idea with BIAB. A little more money will get you much further.
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Hi Tony,
Yes IMHO Kontakt is a great buy. I have it as well as a ton of third party presets for it. However I would save your money and wait for a sale. A couple of times a year Kontakt goes on sale for half price. This is no guarantee it will happen soon, or at all, but based on previous years it will happen.
It takes courage for a man to admit his wife was wrong.
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I second the Komplete idea. I downloaded the free komplete and it had some nice sounds in it and seemed to pick up 2 or 3 of the synths I already had and list them. It would give somethings to tinker with and maybe upgrade to next. Komplete select is only $199 US right now. It has some nice sounds.
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I bought the full version of Kontakt, but only after it went on sale during the summer. I had purchased some Kontakt instruments that made me eligible for an upgrade. Even now, most of the libraries that I use don't require the full version of Kontakt. But there are a handful of libraries that I've got from Indiginus and Fluffy Audio that I really like that use the full version. Those were really the reason I finally got the full version. Before I had that, I'd just run Kontakt in demo mode, and reload every 15 minutes. Because I worked in my DAW, I could render the tracks out once they were complete and not worry about it. It wasn't terrible, but it was less than ideal. But the upgrade price was only about $150, which is a lot less than the regular price. Otherwise, I suspect I'd still be limping along in demo mode. I will say, the 15 minute demo limit was helpful in forcing me to make decisions, instead of dawdling on stuff like I tend to. 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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I agree that Kontakt is a GREAT synth... one of the best. I'd seriously consider looking at the KOMPLETE package which includes Kontakt as well as a bunch of other really nice NI synths and tons of samples.
The cool thing is there are a bunch of third party vendor companies that are making sound sets and sample libraries specifically for Kontakt. It's a very popular synth AND.... it allows you to do PRO quality work regarding sound quality.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I bought the full version of Kontakt, but only after it went on sale during the summer. I had purchased some Kontakt instruments that made me eligible for an upgrade.
Even now, most of the libraries that I use don't require the full version of Kontakt.
But there are a handful of libraries that I've got from Indiginus and Fluffy Audio that I really like that use the full version. Those were really the reason I finally got the full version.
Before I had that, I'd just run Kontakt in demo mode, and reload every 15 minutes. Because I worked in my DAW, I could render the tracks out once they were complete and not worry about it. It wasn't terrible, but it was less than ideal.
But the upgrade price was only about $150, which is a lot less than the regular price. Otherwise, I suspect I'd still be limping along in demo mode. This sounds exactly like my experience! 
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Thanks folks. At this stage I might just have a Really good look at the manuals.
I was under the impression that Kontakt rarely went on sale. The KVR idea might be worth exploring I hadn’t considered or ever known about that. I’ll have a look at that option.
Thanks again
Tony.
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Tony -
Kontakt doesn't go on sale very often, but I've also seen where if you have already bought a library from Native Instruments (even if it is just being run in Kontakt Player), they tend to send you sale notices subsequently. That's how I ultimately got the Komplete Ultimate package; it was on sale and then the upgrades over the years ended up on sale (as long as I had the patience to wait for it). It all started with the purchase of, I think it was Guitar Rig 3, many years ago.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 8TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 11TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting and construction)
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Thanks John, I own several NI libraries (strummed Acoustic stuff). I’ve owned Guitar Rig 4 & 5 (full versions) and also FM8 and some other stuff for years. I also have some Realivox stuff and some other libraries that work in Kontakt Player.
I think learning the ins and outs and technical bits of Kontakt will appeal to me.
I agree it is rarely on sale. I don’t even know if I’ll end up using it. Since I’ve been using RealTracks I rarely touch midi anymore but I have some files that I did years ago using TTS1, Dimension Pro, Z3TA and other Cakewalk stuff as well as FM8 that I’d enjoy editing again. I really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of this stuff even creating some of my own SFZ instruments (not that I’d recommend it with the good stuff that is about).
I think I need to learn more to keep me sane in lockdown. I need something for further inspiration. At this stage I’ll get onto Groove3 and really go through the Kontakt lessons rather than just a cursory glance. That’ll keep me occupied for a while.
Thanks once again,
Tony
Last edited by Teunis; 04/09/20 12:23 PM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Tony one last thought. Like you I really enjoy the real tracks but find that real tracks alone sometimes don’t give me what I want. So I am really experimenting with a combo of real tracks and midi tracks it seems to keep The projects from getting to sound all the same. Having both tools Seems to help with creativity
Last edited by Rob Helms; 04/09/20 01:55 PM.
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2025, Realband, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 9 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app.
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Well I bit the bullet and got a real surprise. Last week I spent some money on the VI-ONE library for Kontakt which was valid for a discount. The discount was for more than the money I spent On VI-ONE so Kontakt cost me AU$369 as opposed to AU$599.
I already feel better. I guess they’ll now put it on sale or upgrade it. (That’s cynical)
Tony
Edit: Actually it was a Cross-grade but no matter as long as I get what I want.
Last edited by Teunis; 04/09/20 04:27 PM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Now I need extreme patience. It looks like it will take several days for the new library to down load. (Been going for a couple of hours to get to 2%). Took a few hours to get the Kontakt program to download. Looking at the web this seems a very common complaint with Native Instruments downloads. It is a pity Native Instruments destroy a good reputation by such a silly thing.
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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That Happened to me and I contacted them and they sent a link through Email to d/load from and the speed/time was night and day, I would contact them.
win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
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Thanks Beatmaster, I have contacted the help folk but that might take a week or so according to the email reply.
What gets me is Native Instruments won’t fix the issue. Probably they are too busy dealing with the complaints. This is not the first time I’ve had an issue with them.
Thanks and keep well.
Tony
Edit: dunno what happened but yesterday I improved a little in download speed. I thought the download time would go from 4 days to about 2. Then overnight it arrived and installed. However a file size that takes maybe 1.5 hours from most suppliers took over 1.5 days.
Last edited by Teunis; 04/11/20 10:25 AM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
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Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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