It sounds Shit compared to the Sampler in Bitwig and Studio One, which is more transparent. All sound shit next to my old Akai 3200 stand alone into the desk (the converters make a huge difference). Ever wonder how the Chemical Brothers, Norman Cook, Finger Lickin..ect got their sound (aside from talent and Skill) ? Hardware, nothing mixed in the box (although thats come a long long way) . That aside I moved to Kontakt from the EX sampler in Logic when I moved from Mac to PC. I use it essentially as a Librarian with scripting that I almost always re sample at some point. I also had MOTO for a while which was awesome (I dumped it because after paying a bomb they wanted to bend me over for a crossgrade, so fuck them) Like almost all pro's doing project's, inevitably VST's end up as stems in the mixing phase.

Does Kontakt sound sterile? It doesn't matter what you use there is always an opinion praising or dissing it, in the end Kontakt is what it is. I dont use it as a sampler, more a sample player that can be tweaked, tracked and re sampled.
I wouldn't pay much attention to "Opinion" they are like assholes. Everybody has one, foll of shit and smell. If you want opinion form your own with your ears and your commitment to making art. Its a just another tool.

 

Last edited: May 27, 2019

I agree, but the main reason analog is touted as "better" than digital these days is actually pretty simple: job security.

When digital (CD, ADAT, then sound cards, high-powered DAWs and interfaces later on) first arrived, most analog studios couldn't wait to get rid of their old gear. They stopped making vinyl, then cassette tape, and then, reel-to-reel analog tape was down to like one manufacturer. "CD quality" was the industry standard. Then suddenly, anybody could afford to get into high-quality multi-track recording, once DAWs that were cheaper than Pro Tools, fast home computers and affordable audio interfaces arrived on the scene. This was bad news for commercial recording studios and audio engineers.

To counter this, the pros suddenly decided that digital (which everybody had access to) was shit and the only way to make good recordings was by going back to analog reel-to-reel, high-end consoles and racks of vintage gear ... all out of the price range of the average consumer. In reality, it's propaganda and it's bullshit. Software manufacturers like it because it means they can sell shitloads of plugs and DAWs tweaked to sound like "analog", hardware manufacturers like it for the obvious reasons, almost all the record-pressing plants were out of business and now, they're thriving again (and, in some cases, emerging as offshoots of CD replication plants, which were also dying, as home-burning rigs are pretty cheap and most people just stream or download .mp3s), and sound engineers/studio owners like it because it flips the script: now, the bedroom producer guys can't afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear needed to "sound good" and are forced to record and mix in studios again. The truth, however, is the same as it was in 1985 when CD and digital emerged on the scene and everyone was into it. Analog tape is noisy and doesn't actually capture the full spectrum of sound being recorded onto it (plus, decks are prone to break down at the drop of a hat), and yes, I'm sorry, but vinyl still sounds like complete shit.

Just remember, guys, that old chestnut about "the Beatles did all their greatest material live on a four-track" is horse shit. Do you honestly believe that, if they'd had access to Pro Tools, samplers and unlimited plug-ins during the White Album, they would have waved it away and said "Nah, we're good just doing the whole thing with this crappy old broken-down four track and an echo chamber"?

 

Last edited: May 27, 2019

Kontakt uses 75MB of RAM with NOTHING loaded. With that, I could stick in 3 other VSTi instruments. Same with disk.

 

I'm sorry I wasn't taking down names and addresses when I mentioned that I'd read a few comments about Kontakt, but I think Iggy has now put it into context and the explanation behind those bemoaning Kontakt lies in how fond they were of their Akai S950 or Ensoniq Mirage. Digital is bad and analogue is good. New digital is bad but old digital is good. I'm surprised nobody has posted how Kontakt 1 was brilliant compared to the later versions. Anyway, I use it probably more than any other single instrument because that's the sort of stuff I do and I've always been happy with it. Don't use it to its full potential, but that's part of the beauty of it.... I can just load it up and get on with it.

 

If you're concerned about something taking up 75 MBs of RAM, maybe your problem is more computer-related than app-related?

 

He could be using an Atari 1040St

 

A bit of both, i prefer my plugs to be lite & fast. kontakt stuff tends to be contrary to that at 300-3GB per instrument (avg?) Here's what I use.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...9w0zzAVpLonouGqPehEiXKEPtCC6qGj71Zl3O/pubhtml

 

Way to go! Some of the developers think that everyone has an Oak Ridge National Lab's Summit supercomputer in their bedroom.

 

Christ Where do I start???
How about.. Have you ever owned a high end console and tape machine?
Have you ever owned a hardware sampler?

 

Last edited: May 27, 2019

Thats actually funny .. cause its true..

 

Kontakt User Experience in a nutshell: front end: peacock, the back end: naked mole rat.

In other words:
Very capable and usable as a Sample Player
Completely irrelevant as an actual Sampler

I would never pay 400 Euros for the way it is now. Even Reason's NNXT is more useable – and that's more that 15 years old by now.

 

Are you saying Iggy is a clueless ignorant consumerist fanboy with a pink Ipod calling himself a "producer" with a laptop and some plug ins in his boudoir? How did you arrive at that foaming at the mouth conclusion?
I'd give you a rating for your aimless diatribe, but I can't find anything that sums up my reaction.

 

Maybe saying .. vinyal is shit, digital is way superior or maybe my Electrical engineering degree, Owning two studios, using all manor of high end gear making records of over 30 years..
I started using digital since SD2, PT 3 nubus.. Now have a few super powerful native systems which are awesome.. but seriously?
Yeah.. vinyl is shit... digital has a superior dynamic range..
yeah yeah... seriously is there any point?
Well its just a car? my little datsun does the same thing as the Ferrari... its all food my Big Mac has the same nutritional value as that fancy steak dinner...
Why does it make me angry? Dunno? maybe it was something he said because any producer I know worth their salt would not not utter such bollocks...
I'm out

Yes.. its a good sample player, not much of a sampler but it has good scripting. I dont think it sounds bad at all. Like I said I use Studio One and Bitwig both of which have awesome samplers.

 

My friend, now you are starting to sound like one of those guys from Gearsluts. I think you were too harsh toward @Iggy in the post you edited. I think editing was a good move on your part and I commend you for it. Yet there is no need to take personal someone's opinion just because it is opposite to yours. Whether you, or I agree or disagree with what he said, it is his opinion and he made some valid points. You sounded offended by what he said about vinyl. I agree with him. Vinyl is shit. Who wants to hear all those crackling sounds? I don't. Old vinyl is even worst. Who wants to hear the vocals on one side and the instruments on the other? Like a vocalist playing inside the club and the orchestra in the parking lot. Analog tape? Noisy. You know it. We hated al that hiss. Remember DBX? How about Dolby? All that wow and flutter. Do you love vinyl and analog tape? I don't have any problem with that. I would not even try to change your mind. Want to sell your AKAi 3200 gathering dust? Let me know. I love those sumbitches.

 

Oh my, I don't believe it.
As if we didn't have the choice.
As if the tools were more important than music.

 

Don't try this on audio cassettes, kiddies.

 

New rule, any subjective opinions shared by convinced commentors must be backed up by audible examples, otherwise any readers will interpret said commenters as bedroom DJ's with pink beats by Dre headphones and weak analog emulations who may or may not make good shit

 

So how did you know about the pink beats, huh? Huh?

 

Another "I read something about software xxx" by dumb people...
Move along, nothing to learn here.

 

From Ethan Winer - The Audio Expert:
"I wasn’t present in 1951 when the Pultec equalizer was designed, but I
suspect the engineers were aiming for a circuit that affects the audio as
little as possible beyond the response changes being asked of it. I’m quite
sure they were not aiming for a ‘vintage’ sound. The desire for ‘warmth’
and a ‘tube sound’ came many years later, as a new generation of
engineers tried to understand why some old-school recordings sound so
good. Failing to understand the importance of good mic technique in a
good-sounding room coupled with good engineering, they assumed
(wrongly IMO) that it must be the gear that was used. Personally, I want
everything in my recording chain to be absolutely clean. If I decide I
want the sound of tubes, I’ll add that as an effect later."
—Ethan, posting in an audio forum

"I agree with this in every respect."
—George Massenburg, famous recording engineer, and designer
of the first parametric equalizer, response to Ethan’s comment