Just got it now. waiting for BOB DULES version. Gonna check this out though, see how it holds up. What do you guys think?

 

I think I've barely got used to Kontakt 7 yet!
But, yeah, I'll get the portable if/when it lands and start using that for new stuff.

The Chords/Phrases thing looks decent.

 

I don't know which version to install, Bob's or R2Rs.

 

My first impression makes me suspicious of the copious functions added to this version; I suspect that they might take some updates to smooth-out. But who knows? I don't really need them, and I've just gotten used to using version 7. There are expansions, now, for version 8, which I don't quite understand. Borderline development-as-marketing. I might wait until some new or updated library I want to use required version 8, which I'll run in parallel with 7 and 6.

 

My opinion is eventually Reaktor will be phased out and Kontakt will basically become a huge multi-instrument, which is probably also beneficial for NI, because they already put a shopping carousel on the library page (bruh) and they could control the platform easier instead of having to build a bunch of different plugins (building a vst3, au), they can consolidate every synth/sample-library into one big engine.

Is that a good thing? Probably not. I haven't used Falcon myself, but from what I understand it doesn't have the same amount of legacy code NI products have. And combining a bunch of legacy code into one product and managing all of that? Yeah, that's a tough job.

 

Is it faster to load libraries?

 

I just need it to load instruments for me, and it hasn't gotten better at that in a long time. I still use 6 whenever I can.

 

Up until a few years ago I was happy when Kontakt was updated. Now I just feel annoyed. I want to focus on the music, and not on the constant updates and all the problems they create every time. I will stay on Kontakt 6 and 7, I have enough libraries to make music until the end of my life, many of which I have not even started to use... If one day I switch to Kontakt 8 it will only be because I will be terribly bored. And personally I think that NI should change its marketing strategy. But these are my personal opinions...

 

I think NI got to big for their own good, the corporate logic takes over all other aspects. They went from highly innovative company that could deliver genre defining plugins unrivaled during the span of a whole generation into repetitive, boring sample library conveyor. Still able to drop jams thow, but I dunno, the coolest libraries comes from 3rd party developers even when it's labeled NI. They seems to focus more on sustaining the framework than developing something interesting and feels like they are taking the wrong turn and prioritize the look and "cool factor" over the real functionality. The fact that they can't fix browser customization (or rather don't want, that would offend vendors) speaks volumes to me. I would prefer to merge say 10 guitar libraries into 1 rather than to scroll every time. So I'm NOT excited for Kontakt 8, I've been avoiding Kontakt 7 and still use 6 whenever possible.

 

Probably not even going to mess with "8" unless there is some compelling reason to do so. Like a must-have library that requires it. Until then I'm sticking with 7.x...

 

ditto...

 

Seems to be quicker than version 7. Like the left layout. Much improved there.

 

Like the layout vs version 7 so far. Also seems that the audio engine has been improved. Much richer sound using the Fractured Sound & Heavyocity free libraries. Will do a more in depth inspection later this week when I have time but, definitely seems to be an improvement in sonic quality.

The added features may or may not become useful. Time will tell for sure.

Also like that installed libraries did not have to be reanimated with Kontakt manager. Early days...

 

sonic quality is definitely placebo

 

I think 8 goes after 7 and I'll wait for the portable version

 

seriously?

 

Man I really, really hope this doesn't happen. That would be such a sad day. I used to think it could never happen, but now I'm not so sure seeing what NI has become.

Reaktor started it all for NI in the mid-90s, their most vocal and loyal fans are Reaktor users. It would be such a stab in the back to them to shut it down. But I imagine hosting all those GB worth of ensembles in the user library is not cheap, even for a behemoth company like NI. It bums me out to no end even just thinking about visiting the UL and being met with an RIP notice ...

 

Last edited: Sep 24, 2024

there is not a single release of kontakt in the last 10 years that provided a "much richer sound". This is 100% placebo effect due to marketing and GUI introducing bias in the brain

 

it just looks a bit differently, loads faster.,