I dunno why I never just consolidated all my ST libraries under SampleTank 2 and got rid of the Sonik Synth and Miroslav apps (I also have SampleTron, though I hardly ever mess with that one and keep forgetting I have it). I was thinking of upgrading to SampleTank 3, but other than the 64-bit integration, I don't see the point. Part of the charm of ST 2 is how basic and lo-fi it is compared to current sampler VIs and libraries.

I agree, Miroslav Philharmonik is awesome! After I first got it back in 2007, I used it to score a movie. I have no idea how the new version stacks up, but again, you could use any number of better orchestral libraries out there, if you were interested in being current. There's just something about that original Miroslav library and its GUI that works so well. Also, it doesn't hurt that it has almost zero CPU footprint and you can sketch out a 16-part orchestra with reverb and other effects in one instance in your DAW with no major resource usage.

 

Did you hear of aliasing? Of a dithering and why all the DAWs have it on their board?

 

kontakt is NOT a true sampler, It's nothing more than a fancy ass Sample player with tons of FX and other bullshit, A real sampler can take an audio input and record it, in fucking real time.The recording can be saved and tweaked after the fact..... Kontakt can't do that, So with all of that being said, To answer the O.P. question, I hate it because it is not a real sampler. I'll choose my E-Mu or Akai hardware on any given day over some bullshit sample Rompler all day long. I although do have to admit that there are some real nice content for it and I use it a lot but for me , still not the same as hitting the record and simply getting down. Now I do understand that most do not have hardware and everything is in the box and this is all they have to use, And I feel either sorry for you kids and feel very old but in reality Kontakt is by definition NOT a sampler. FFS my old ass D.J. mixer has real sampling and that is only 4 secs but at least I can record in real time and not have to record in to my DAW then import that noise into Kontakt for further tweaking.

 

Last edited: Jun 1, 2019

My first sampler was the Roland S-50. Then came the S-550 that I still using with the same pleasure. Probably one of the best in its class.
You can't record an external audio signal directly in Kontakt. So, this is not a sampler but I like it.

 

I'm going to be a little less cantankerous than Mykal, and just say, he's right about the reasoning, and that this toy is even more of a Sampler than Kontakt: It's true!

 

..... And, I am not cantankerous ,well maybe , depends on the day

 

I still have "Sounds of the 70s", which is an Intakt instrument. I dunno if it still works in Windoze, but you can't even install it anymore (the old-school Vise installer isn't even recognized) on the Mac, let alone use it ... which is a shame, because the Intakt interface is pretty awesome. The library kind of loads in Kontakt, but you don't get the GUI and the sliced samples load as a one slice per key, so they're useless unless you know a way to recombine the slices in Kontakt's sample editor (which is apparently no longer a thing in v6, unless I'm missing something). It's weird that Kontakt didn't fully integrate Intakt and Kompakt capabilities into Kontakt and Kontakt Player.

 

I haven't read all 7 pages of this thread, but as to the OPs original question: Could it be that Kontakt is very popular, and as such there will be many that don't feel the same way and thus are voicing their critical opinions. For something more obscure, they likely wouldn't bother, but since Kontakt is so popular, it becomes controversial for those who aren't fans.

 

It's extremely utilitarian. Nothing inspiring about the interface . . . tiny controls. But of course . . . it's the big daddy of soft samplers with lots of native sounds and a zillion 3rd party.

 

I wish UVI Workstation had a version that could save sounds. That's a sweeter looking interface and simple to use.

 

Hi, OP here. I'd like to emphasise the fact that I love Kontakt and use it predominantly in much of my work and I simply asked why some people did not find it a great tool and the answer seems to be that it is not actually a sampler. I didn't make any controversial statement about the app, so I'm not sure why, when I look at my question, a few people disagreed with me. For asking a question? Clearly after 7 pages of thoughts and opinions it was a valid question and indeed it seems some people don't like it.

 

I just want to remind you:

"Whenever anybody agrees with me I always feel that one of us must be wrong."

 

Ok, as I promised, the link to that blind test comparison of sound cards...$25 vs $1000

and the best comment there (IMHO): watching this regularly always saves me so much money...

 

I'm guessing most people wouldn't know and the moment they move the library folder NI customer service will explode

So true. I was surprised to find it doesn't sample. So I guess the best definition would be: Kontakt is a Sample Player with designer tools

 

I'm actually really, really glad it's not an option. I normally batch re-save all my libraries every time I upgrade to a newer version on the Mac. However, since v6.1, I've been having issues with batch re-saving -- first with a couple of Big Fish Audio libraries, then, also with my Orchestral Tools libraries in v6.1.1. I've also noticed some performance issues across the board. Last week, I decided to downgrade to v6.0.4, which was the last completely stable version I've used. Unfortunately, since I'd batch re-saved to both v6.1 and v6.1.1, this meant having to reinstall all my Instrument and Multi folders from the original archives, which was a giant-sized pain in the ass. Glad I did it, though, because, like I said, v6.0.4 is completely stable on my machine and has zero problems batch re-saving all my libraries. So, while having automatic batch re-saving for each new version of Kontakt seems like a good idea, you might encounter a version or versions that completely mess up your libraries, and once you batch re-save, it's a bitch to go back to an earlier version.

 

I seed all my libraries, so sometimes depending on the lib size I can't batch resave if it's 100 GB.
I'm currently seeding a few TB of libraries for everybody.
I guess you don't use torrents at all then?
Or if you do, you don't bother seeding after? You just hit and run?

 

It'd be likely it wouldn't work on other folders. And sometimes it just fails. Always make a copy of the original nkis and nkm's.
Also, you can lower the pre-buffer size. You probably know/late to the party stuff but perhaps some people doesn't.

Well, it's true that years ago many people used to say hardware sampler instead of "sample player". But within the technical context of a software plugin in a computer everyone can record with it's misleading.

As far as I'm concerned if it can record is a sampler.

 

Last edited: Apr 12, 2021

I do think Kontakt could do with a lot of improvements, could list a lot of of my gripes, but calling it a "rompler" does it massive disservice, leading me to think that someone has no idea how to operate it.

I mean you can create custom wavetable synths (and plenty more) with it. And custom UIs. So, really not an apt comparison.

The thing is as well, that, say, Ableton can record in audio and you can drag and drop your samples in a sub-second time and it works real time (Looper and Sampler/Simpler are a good starting point).

I loved my Korg DSS-1 (esp. the input section overdrive) but let's be real about how software samplers work.