Is Komplete important?

[Chuku]

Hey there,

Basically i was planning to invest some of my saving on a good String vst and i googled "best vst plugins 2017" and got a recommendation on KOMPLETE and KONTAKT. I'm new in the production thing and heard this name for the first time.... So i'm not able to understand what are they actually.. Komplete and Kontact... They are more than 300 GB plus the cost is also very high and i'm not sure if i should put my money on these..
What are they basically and how will they benefit me? Any good answer please? i googled but couldn't find any answer on my query so... Sorry if it sounds dumb question.. i'm learning production by my own so it's not easy every time

Thanks

[AAdel]

Actually, There isn't any complete sound bank that's great in every instrument, synthesizer and etc.
Each company may have one or two high end VSTs.

[AAdel]

But in my experience NI Komplete is an out-of-the-box solution which gets you an overall good sounding production with a really cheap price.

[Stace30]

Hi Chuku,

I've got the Komplete 11, NI have got everything covered when it comes to production especially for someone just starting out in computer music. AAdel is right, straight out of the box you are ready to go (once installed and registered that is).

Komplete = KOMPLETE 11 is the world's leading collection for music production, performance, and sound design. All the tools you need. (Taken straight from the NI site)
KONTAKT = KONTAKT is the world's leading software sampler. Its sophisticated sound engine, wide array of effects, powerful modulation possibilities. (Also taken straight from the NI site )

Basically if you can afford it now, get it now. You won't regret it.

[Stromkraft]

Hey there,

Basically i was planning to invest some of my saving on a good String vst and i googled "best vst plugins 2017" and got a recommendation on KOMPLETE and KONTAKT. I'm new in the production thing and heard this name for the first time....

What version of Live do you have? There are some nice string sounds to be had also with the Live instruments, depending on taste and any realism requirements.


Kontakt is part of Komplete. I don't use it because i have Sampler, but many like this quite advanced sampling synthesizer.

I have Komplete 9, that runs fine in the latest Live 9.7.x and macOS 10.12. You can pick that up, or a later version, second hand at a good price. Make sure you understand the license transfer process and possible upgrade paths for each version.

These instruments alone are worth the price, also for a new version:

• Reaktor
  • Monark (Reaktor synth)
  • Spark (Reaktor synth)
  • Prism (Reaktor synth)
  • Many other community Reaktor synths and others that comes with Reaktor
• FM8
• Massive

These are the ones I enjoy the most, but check out the whole package at some point. Later versions, 10 and 11 have even more possibilities, but I haven't emptied this lot yet.

[login]

Komplete is almost a one stop solution for a lot of productions needs, as pointed above it includes a lot of stuff. I would say that since you seem quite clueless about this either don't get it because you can't figure exactly what it is or get it and avoid further research into other instruments.

[v00d00ppl]

I have komplete 10 ultimate. I have had it since the 2016 summer of sale. I don't need to use everything bundled, but here are my go to's

Kontakt for acoustic instrument patches to play melodies too. It's good enough to write melodies too and that's what counts for me. Also it's a powerful sampler to use if you've got a loop you love mangling. If you take the time to learn it through various tutorials you can really do some good sound design with your go-to loops and one shots. The effects in Kontakt are also great.

Battery 4 is my main instrument out of the bunch.The program includes a lot of bread and butter drum sounds without needing to look for these one shots on other libraries. You can't sample directly into it but if you record loops in another program you can import it in a cell and start copying it do nondestructive chopping of the sample. I use this program with my push 2, mpd232 and maschine studio. The most fun I have with it is using the mpd232 because I like the pad feel the most. Routing of sounds into different busses are great. I use the transient shaper all of the time. The lo-fi mode is decent too. The solid state effects built in are also what you need to write that beat. All I need is a 96khz recording session, a mouse, pad controller, and battery 4.

Monark is good too when I'm too lazy to carry my Moog Voyager to the next room and warm it up for 15 minutes. I can assign those knobs to my midi controller and write basslines right away.

I also use the solid state series compressor, dynamics, and EQ. I think they did a great job emulating the SSL sound. Again use these effects in a 96k session and you will understand the more you practice with it.

The softtube EQ and compressor are also great to use. It can be neutral or more aggressive.

I do want to upgrade to 12 ultimate when it comes out, but with Battery 4 and the solid state series of effects I can keep writing and practicing my beats all day long. I've been using battery since version 2 so I know what I need to do. When I hear some loop on the radio or internet radio I already want to record it and bounce into battery to mangle.

The trick with owning komplete is to master one sampler and one synth. Once you can blindly start sessions and practice immediately without thinking about what to do you can have fun with those two instruments.

[Shift Gorden]

Like everyone has said, Komplete is a good all-rounder. It's good value (if you got the $$).

For strings specifically, Komplete doesn't come close to Spitfire Albion One (orchestra) or Spitfire Solo Strings in terms of realism and *wow* factor. But, do you really want to pay $400 for just a few string sounds?

Actually, what kinda music you making mate? You want real string sounds or electronic string sounds? You know, Output's Analog Strings is a really interesting one...

[jestermgee]

Komplete is as many have said, a great toolbox full of stuff to get you started. I invested in that and Omnisphere when I wanted to get more into samples instruments than soundfonts and synths. From there it helped me to find what extra I needed such as more realistic strings (east west) and more natural/easy to program drums (toon tracks). There is a lot I never really touch but it's nice to have when I need a certain type of sound or just feel like playing around.

If you get it on sale it's a great investment. I'm still on KU10 because I simply don't see enough for me in the K11 update even at the $300 it is now. Hopefully a K12 will entice me next time.

[Chuku]

Thank you everyone.. I got it.. Cheers

[Richie Witch]

Sorry I'm coming so late to the party....

In your post you said you were specifically looking for a "string vst". Komplete is going to be "komplete" overkill for what you're asking, especially since the orchestral parts of Kontakt are just average.

Have you looked at UVI Workstation? The Workstation software is free and their Orchestral Suite sounds much more realistic than the Kontakt libraries. For a fraction of what you're going to pay for Komplete, you could have what you're looking for and better sound too. If you haven't spent your money yet, I'd head over to their website and listen to some of their samples.

I'm not saying UVI Workstation is a replacement for Kontakt--I own and use both, but UVI does some things better.

[Khazul]

I have komplete ultimate 11 and with each iteration I find its covers more and more of my sound and processing needs. You cant go wrong with it really. The only warning - if you get komplete and find yourself tempted to buy another NI instrument or two - seriously consider just upgrading to ultimate instead.

My biggest complaint is I almost wish it was a subscription (at least the ultimate edition) so that you just got the latest new instruments automatically as they have a tendency to update the whole bundle, then release a cool new instrument that isnt in the bundle and wont be until the next major update (ie a year+ away).