- Native instruments kontakt free download install#
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- Native instruments kontakt free download software#
One of the principal new navigation aids is the Instrument Navigator pane below the two Browser panes at the bottom left. This affects the total output level of all Kontakt's outputs, and is a lifesaver when the combined output of all your loaded sounds takes your DAW into the red. The Master Control section, which deals with tempo sync and master tuning, has a welcome new addition: a master volume control. This provides extremely useful information when you're not sure what something does just point the mouse at a knob, button or other screen element, and the strip displays a short description of its function to guide the way. A new 'i' button reveals a contextual help strip at the bottom of the main K3 window. The View button at the far right collapses Kontakt to a compact version that shows just one loaded instrument at a time, which is useful for conserving screen space. The right-hand group of icons access loading/saving tasks, Options, global sample Purge and main window size. The main 'view' controls are clearly laid out at the top of the main screen: of the two groups of icon buttons across the top, the left group allows you to show or hide the Browser, output section, virtual keyboard and Master Control strip. Kontakt 3 offers numerous improvements to enable you to navigate all these different levels at far greater speed than before. Each instance of Kontakt can have four Multi pages. Finally, up to 16 Instruments can be loaded into a Multi page, and each can be assigned its own MIDI channel. Instruments are, in turn, stored within Banks, much like you would find on a hardware synth. Groups are contained within Instruments, which can be seen as being rather like the patches in a synthesizer. Before we go any further, it's worth noting that K3's hierarchical architecture is identical to that of K2, which is as follows: samples are placed onto a keymap within what are known as Zones any number of Zones can be placed inside a Group, which can be viewed as a sub-instrument and offers parameters such as filters and envelopes for everything within it. Much as I liked the slightly dour, militaristic look of K2, K3 has an altogether more modern, friendly appearance and a fresh, neutral colour scheme that helps clearly differentiate one section from another. Kontakt 3's new cosmetics are immediately apparent. Interestingly, NI have chosen to abandon the DXi version.
Native instruments kontakt free download pro#
Kontakt 3 itself works on both PC (under XP and Vista) and Mac, as a stand-alone program and a plug-in that is compatible with VST, Audio Units and RTAS (for Pro Tools 7). Product activation is via the NI Service Centre application included on the installation disk, which allows for both on-line and off-line registration. See the 'Kontakt 3 Library' box later in this article for more information.
Native instruments kontakt free download install#
You can also opt to install the entire shooting match, or just specific parts of the library. The Kontakt 3 library can be installed at the same time, or at a later date, to your destination of choice. The program installs alongside any previous versions (should you have any), ensuring that projects using Kontakt 1 or 2 will continue to function correctly. Included in the roster of changes are numerous workflow enhancements, a substantially reworked and turbo-charged waveform editor, an improved mapping editor, a speedier and more elegant database, some new effects, another cosmetic makeover and a generous 33GB sound library that spans five DVDs. The increment to Kontakt 3, whilst not being quite as all-encompassing as the last major integer change, brings some perhaps less dramatic but nonetheless beneficial improvements over Kontakt 2. To fully appreciate the differences, it's worth catching up with the reviews of Kontakt 1 and Kontakt 2 in the August 2002 and July 2005 issues of SOS. Amongst the enhancements were a more attractive cosmetic appearance, easier modulation routing, more flexible effects routing, a variety of new effects including a convolution reverb, a searchable database, instrument banks, universal file import and the KSP script engine, to name just a few highlights.
Native instruments kontakt free download software#
The jump from Kontakt version 1 to version 2 brought a huge number of improvements to all areas of Native Instruments' software sampler. It's over five years since Native Instruments released the original version of their flagship soft sampler, and its third incarnation takes the Kontakt concept even further, with a streamlined user interface, a new waveform editor and a massive sample library.