Kontakt 6

Don't think Kontakt needs too much of an introduction and with this new updated version it seems song creation has reached an entirely new level with a wealth of deep editing and new  instruments!

With KONTAKT 6, you can sound like a snare drum, a symphony orchestra, or anything in between, from a universe of sampled instruments. It’s a simple sampler when you want it to be, and a deep sonic scripting laboratory when you need something more. The next generation of the world’s favorite sampling platform gives you new instruments and new features under the hood – so you can layer, link, stretch, and shape your sounds any way you can imagine.

What's new?
Over two decades, KONTAKT has become a highly-developed engine for creating and playing sampled instruments. KONTAKT 6 offers more for players and builders alike:

Introducing KONTAKT Play Series: Three new instruments for the KONTAKT library, offering pristine, contemporary sound in a creative and streamlined interface

Wavetable synthesis module: Build hybrid instruments for entirely new sounds

Enhanced effects: Even more effects for your creations, for greater expression and realism

Creator Tools: New standalone application dedicated to improving the library creation and editing process.

THREE NEW INSTRUMENTS
KONTAKT 6 introduces the KONTAKT Play Series: Sonically rich sample libraries that combine powerful sound design with simple playability. Each offers eight intelligently mapped macro knobs giving you a wide-sweeping, intuitive range of control. They all showcase KONTAKT’s new wavetable module, each offering two blendable sound sources and a unique take on a speciality style.

ANALOG DREAMS
Iconic 20th century hardware synthesizers captured with an intricate level of detail, and creatively processed with seminal outboard effects. This hybrid analog/digital instrument utilizes blendable sound sources to deliver a modern take on classic electro and synthwave, which have seen a resurgence in recent cinema.

ETHEREAL EARTH
Hybrid organic/electronic instrument that takes myriad acoustic instruments from around the world, and combines it with digital synthesis, organic foley layers, and effects processing. The result fuses traditional and digital, with basses, strings (bowed and plucked), wind instruments, tuned percussion, bells/metals, pads/drones, leads, and textural ambiences.

HYBRID KEYS
A contemporary, creative, and ultimately new take on keys and piano sounds. HYBRID KEYS moves away from conventional sampling processes and instead focuses on inventive techniques such as re-amping, creative mic positioning in interesting spaces, and vari-speed experiments with tape.

NEW FEATURES FOR BUILDERS
KONTAKT has long since grown beyond its origins as a software sampler, and now provides a solid foundation for building advanced sample-based instruments. We’ve been supporting this platform, and the people who use it, with continuous updates to KONTAKT 5, and KONTAKT 6 builds on this strategy with some big additions for you builders out there.

NEW EFFECTS

Replika Delay: Based on the dedicated Native Instruments plug-in REPLIKA XT, it offers multiple delay modes, each with a vastly different sound character.
Room Reverb: A new high-quality algorithmic room reverb that offers options for real time modulation.
Hall Reverb: Another high-quality algorithmic reverb, tuned for hall sounds.
Plate Reverb: Emulates a plate reverberator for for classic vintage metallic sounds.
Cry Wah: Wah-wah effect module, based on the most popular wah pedal of all time.

WAVETABLE MODULE
The latest version of KONTAKT adds wavetable synthesis to the ever expanding KONTAKT toolset. All three of the new Play Series instruments incorporate this new module, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you create with this powerful new building block.

CREATOR TOOLS
Creator Tools is a standalone application designed to improve the workflows of library builders and instrument creators. It consists of two elements: A Debugger, for identifying and fixing problems in KONTAKT script, and an Instrument Editor, which can load and run Lua scripts to automap samples, duplicate and batch rename groups, and copy settings from one part of an instrument to another.

Maschine 2 - Native Instruments

Not one of the most intuitive  but Maschine remains a real leader in it's field.Although  mainly used as a plugin to your DAW, with the recent updates it is now becoming closer to a fully fledged DAW in itself. The recent additions of a bass synth and the isomorphic keyboard brings it ever closer to the likes of Abletons Push2. With the Maschine Jam hardware this is really a great music making combo!!  


POWER OF SOFTWARE
The included MASCHINE 2 software is exploding with cutting-edge technology. Improved browsing, arranging, and sampling, plus a new mixer, plug-in strip, and exclusive drum synths. Get ready for the most responsive, fluid, and musical beatmaking experience ever.

MASCHINE 2.6.8 WITH NEW BASS SYNTH
MASCHINE 2.6.8 introduces a monophonic, internal bass synth exclusive to MASCHINE.

MASCHINE 2.6.8 introduces a new monophonic bass synth plug-in. Design and shape rich bass tones with intuitive, fun, and fully-automatable controls directly from the hardware. Morph seamlessly from sine to saw to square – and all spots in between – to create your own unique sound. Or load any of the presets to get bass tones for any genre, including booming sub-bass or dripping acid. Unleash the full power of the bass synth with MASCHINE JAM to program classic acid glides directly from the hardware.

PLAY HARMONIES ON JAM IN ISOMORPHIC KEYBOARD MODE
MASCHINE 2.6.8 also introduces an isomorphic keyboard mode to easily play harmonies and melodies on the MASCHINE JAM 8x8 grid. In this mode, the notes on the keyboard are only the notes from the scale. Each chord also has its own hand shape – regardless of key – so you don’t need to know musical theory to play with perfect pitch. Plus, it’s easier to learn and play than on a traditional piano. Learn the shape for a chord in one key, and use the same shape in another.

Kontakt 5.6 - Native Instruments

Got to love Kontakt and it's wealth of instruments.

KONTAKT is the world’s leading software sampler. Its sophisticated sound engine, wide array of effects, powerful modulation possibilities, and advanced scripting brings a universe of sound to life with unrivaled playability and realism. And with an ever-growing feature set, KONTAKT continues to be the sample engine behind the future of sound.

INFINITE SOUND

The KONTAKT Factory Library includes a versatile range of instruments right out of the box – a ready-to-use toolset of over 43 GB of high-quality samples and more than 1000 production-ready instruments, including synths, choirs, acoustic and orchestral instruments, drum machines, and much more.

KONTAKT’s cutting-edge features and advanced performance possibilities are the driving force behind Native Instruments' growing list of premium sampled instruments. An open platform for development, KONTAKT powers a vast array of third-party instruments from the world’s top instrument builders.

EDIT AND BUILD

KONTAKT is a playground for anyone working creatively with samples. Arrange, edit, loop, slice, and time-stretch your samples using seven playback modes. Shape samples in ways subtle to extreme using 84 built-in effects. Animate any sound with endless modulation possibilities and take control of multiple sample groups with sophisticated routing options.

LIGHTING THE WAY

The KONTAKT interface mirrors the Light Guide on KOMPLETE KONTROL S-SERIES keyboards for one-to-one visual feedback when looking for key switches, setting up key splits, and more. It also helps instrument builders turn their original concept into an integrated software/hardware solution that works flawlessly out of the box.

Kontakt 5 – current: 5.6.6

The update includes the following improvements and fixes:

•Improved the On-Screen Keyboard’s color legibility based on user feedback
•XY Pad: Individual cursors can now be hidden via KSP ($HIDE_PART_CURSOR)
•The customized string representation of parameter values in XY Pad is now shared with the host correctly
•Updating the value of a cursor from within the control’s callback is now reliable in XY Pad.
•No longer any potential crashes when trying to view the Host Automation tab with certain NKIs loaded
•Crash when trying to view the Infos (sic) tab of the Instrument Options dialog with certain NKIs now fixed
•Certain NKIs no longer trigger the “Really quit…” dialog every time they were closed

Poyplex- Native Instruments

Another fantastic drum/synth machine. Apart from the excellent sound quality and FX one can add to your drum sounds, this is amazing at randomization. Click the dice icons which are peppered everywhere in Polyplex and one can come up with new drum sound variations in seconds.The posiblities are infinite here! Along with Rob Rapens 'Punch' this is another must have and these two plugins are probably my own personal favourites when it comes to drums.

NI’s Battery has been its go-to drum sampler for quite some time, and of course the company also makes Maschine, though both are geared primarily towards the sequencing of relatively conventional kinds of beats. The many drummer series hosted inside Kontakt are also mostly recreations of real drum kits.
Polyplex is something quite different: an “experimental drum designer” with an emphasis on randomization of many parameters to create new and unique kits. Designed by the team at Twisted Tools, it runs in Reaktor 5 or Reaktor 5 Player and weighs in at a modest 200MB. The idea is to make a smaller amount of content go much further.

The Layout
There are eight sound slots in Polyplex and each one can hold four separate samples. Each sample forms one layer of a drum sound and for each sound slot you can specify a layer type and a subtype, choosing between kicks, snares, hi-hats and so on. The slots are colour coded for easier recognition across the interface and they also tie in with the new Light Guide features of NI’s Komplete Kontrol keyboard.
There are then a range of controls for each one, helpfully arranged in layers across the edit section so you can trace the layer across and see each of its settings easily. Layers can be modified individually or linked together. The edit section starts with Samples and lets you control which sample to play back for each layer, defined as a MIDI value between 0 and 127.
If you choose User here you can add your own samples, though this means accessing Reaktor’s Sample Map Editor, which requires a bit of research if you’re new to the software. Then there are pitch, start position and pan controls each with min / max parameter range sliders, and finally a volume section so you can balance the layers’ levels.

Taking Effect
There are 18 effects onboard and up to four can be used at once, ranging from reverb, compression, glitch and autopanning to stutter, stretch, frequency and pitch effects. Each has its own controls and can be switched on or off for each slot, and you can set up MIDI modulation of effects as well as using LFO, envelope and velocity to control the parameters mentioned previously such as pitch, pan, volume and so on. This also applies to the two further sub-pages, Envelope and EQ, that are used to shape the sound.

All of this is great, but it’s not the main focus of Polyplex: that comes when you start to randomize parameters. Sound tweaking is nothing new but the ability to endlessly come up with new variations and, crucially, really usable variations is somewhat more unique.
By clicking on the Master Randomizer button at the top (these buttons all have dice icons) you can instantly randomize the way the layers behave, completely changing their sound but within boundaries that keep them usable. What we mean by this is that it’s not going to randomize things so much that you end up with a bunch of bleeps and white noise that don’t play nicely together.
Going Further
In addition you can choose to randomize each individual sound slot in different ways. Click the button for a slot and its parameters are randomized but the other slots are not. Go into the parameter section and you can randomize just one thing at once, such as pitch, but leave everything else the same.
You can even lock a layer to make sure it’s not changed and also deselect any randomizable section so that it is not included while everything around it is. There are seven kit slots and you can copy and paste settings between them to create up to seven variations on your kit and flip between them easily.Polyplex sounds incredibly cool, as a listen to the audio demos will reveal.
The sounds it can make are cutting edge and amazingly useful for all kinds of electronic music. This is thanks to the amount of organic stuff that’s going on with modulation of parameters and effects meaning that sounds twist, echo and morph in very desirable ways.

Although you can manually tweak everything, the randomizers do their job of coming up with endless variations supremely well and the results are stunning. That the onboard effects are so much better than the usual delay / reverb / compression toolkit is a factor as well. You will need to add few, if any, external effects to the sound because the processing inside the instrument is first class. As a quick solution to drum sound design, Polyplex is a winner. Review from 'Musictech'

Polyplex _ native instruments

Wonderful beat making machine with an intuitive interface and limitless possibilities. I love the fact that one can totally randomize everything and vary the levels to what you like . Great FX and modulation features too. One of the best for beats.



Polyplex by Native Instruments has been designed in collaboration with Twisted Tools and is an eight-part drum sampler with an emphasis on randomizing all kinds of elements to create new, interesting and unique kits. It’s probably aimed most directly at producers making electronic music though these days that means casting a net much wider than EDM and can encompass soundtracks, TV music and other genres. It runs in the free Reaktor 5 Player or in the full version of Reaktor 5 and thus can run either as a standalone app on your Mac or PC or as a plug-in inside your DAW in all of the major plug-in formats. At just £59 / $69 it’s remarkably good value too as you may agree after having read about its capabilities.

Color-codedPolyplex has eight slots and each one of these can hold up to four samples which make up the different layers of that specific drum sound. Layering sounds together to build beefier sounding kits isn’t new but the way the instrument works with them is much more ambitious than you might expect. Each layer can have a type and a subtype selected such as Kick > Analog or Snare > Acoustic for example. Polyplex comes with around 200 MB of samples which isn’t a lot but once you see how flexibly it lets you work with them, will almost certainly seem like enough. There is a “User” option in each layer which allows you to use your own samples as layers, though this does mean delving into Reaktor’s Sample Map Editor which might mean spending some time teaching yourself how that works if you don’t already know. In truth although it’s nice to have the option (albeit a slightly fiddly one) of using your own samples you may well be happy with the bundled content.

Next to this section are various sound control sliders. Samples lets you specify which sample to use and is set as a MIDI value between 0 and 127. Pitch and Pan do what you probably guessed they do and Start sets the starting position of each layer in time. Finally there’s a volume section to mix the layers against each other. If you click through to the other control sections you will find similar sliders for Envelope parameters and also for EQ and all these controls have configurable minimum and maximum values so you’re not always varying between 0 and 100% of any given control.

Totally at random

Here’s where stuff starts to get interesting: you can randomize almost anything in Polyplex. Starting with the master control panel at the top, you’ll find a Master Randomization button. If you press this, Polyplex will alter each slot and each layer within each slot plus the controls of any layer that has randomization enabled. You can actually switch randomization on or off for any slot and also for any parameter where the small dot button appears. So you can either randomize  a whole kit, or if you’re mostly happy with it, just randomize one drum sound to alter it. Or, just randomize the start position of one layer and nothing else, or any combination of the above!
There are seven Kit Variation slots available per instance for copying and pasting setups and creating modifications as well as the ability to map MIDI keys or notes to individual slots using MIDI learn. For any sound slot, there’s also a quick controls bar where you can control volume, balance, tuning and decay with the mouse for quick sound alteration. You might notice the sound slots are color-coded, and these sync up with the colored keys (Light Guide) on NI’s new Komplete Kontrol range of hardware MIDI control keyboards.

Sounding great

This all works brilliantly and it’s a breeze to create whole new kits or make cool sounding changes to existing ones using these randomize controls. There are also some great onboard effects to liven things up: 18 to choose from including dynamics, reverb and glitch and you can use up to four at once, two inserts and two sends. These are very cutting edge, modern-sounding effects and encompass stuff like stutter, grain delay, frequency and pitch shifting, and they sound awesome!

These are very cutting edge, modern-sounding effects and encompass stuff like stutter, grain delay, frequency and pitch shifting, and they sound awesome!

Better still, you can add movement and life to the effects by assigning the envelope follower section to effect parameters for rhythmic modulation. Also assign the LFO, envelope or velocity sections to modulate many different parameters, such as the attack envelope or sound pan with variable amounts and you can quickly create a fluid, dynamic, shifting effect. And remember that all this stuff can be set up for each individual layer of each of the eight slots. You can see how much control you can have over the drum sounds.

Poly is a cracker

All of this would be a bit dry were it not for the fact that Polyplex sounds excellent. Check out the audio demos on NI’s website and you will surely be blown away by just how usable these sounds are. They beg you to build epic tracks around them, with their huge kicks, crisp, animated snares and cymbals and a weird and wonderful assortment of bleeps, sweeps and futuristic sound effects. This is a very different instrument to something like Battery that comes with a stack of content and focuses on waveform manipulation. Here, you are presented with a rather different set of controls but ones which are even more useful for the majority of electronic producers. The 142 presets are mostly great too.

Final Thoughts

Let’s be honest, building drum kits can be pretty dull, cycling through hundreds of vaguely similar sounding samples until you start to go nuts. Polyplex does away with a lot of that tedium. Sure, you can go into great detail with tweaking the sound if you like, and sometimes you might. Maybe you’re obsessive about this stuff, and that’s cool. If on the other hand you want to keep hitting a button until the snare sounds like you want, you can do that too. Or hit the Master Randomize button to just fire all-new settings across the instrument. Dial in some cool sounding effects, tweak them and use MIDI to modulate them too for an even more interesting and dynamic sound, and you’ll wonder why you ever spent hours looking for drum hits that worked well together. With the really quite affordable Polyplex, it’s a snap to build massive, cutting edge kits and tailor them to your needs quickly and easily.Review from ASKaudio

Form - Native Instruments

The new sample instrument from Native Instruments is quite the beast,Dragging and dropping one of the most mundane of samples in here can be transformed into sounds unimaginable. Completely destroy it or mangle it to your hearts desire. A relatively simple looking interface hides the true depth that lies within. Wrap your head around how this works and you will be amazed, like i was! Definitely the most fun i have encountered with any sampler for sure!

TRANSFORMATIVE SAMPLE-TRACKING SYNTHESIZER

Discover a powerful new form of expressive sound design

Expand your sonic versatility – create anything from evolving soundscapes and textured pads to earth-shaking basses and searing digital noise

Generate original results quickly and easily with an intuitive interface, or dig deep for detailed tweaking

Extend sound creation beyond traditional synthesis, and transform samples into anything you can imagine. Intriguing and playful, FORM offers a refreshing approach to sound creation that delivers beautifully organic and powerful results. 

START WITH A SAMPLE

Start creating something new – just drag and drop a sample into the FORM interface. Using a sample as the primary oscillator for the synth engine, FORM lets you craft complex new sounds rapidly. Scrub the sample to discover new worlds within its waveform, then select the section you want to manipulate.

CREATE MOVEMENT

Breathe life into samples and enhance the sense of realism by generating movement from even the most static starting points. Choose the direction and behavior of sample playback, and set playback rates according to sample length, frequency, or BPM. For in-depth manipulation, carve up and modify the amplitude curve, applying presets or using the Curve Editor to redraw segments.

Massive - Native Instruments

Can't really say anymore than whats already been sound about this extremely popular synth. The routing possibilities and sound quality being two of the main reasons for its popularity. Definitely another one of the top synths, especially suited for todays modern music.

A MODERN MASTERPIECE
MASSIVE is a sonic monster – the ultimate synth for basses and leads. The virtual-analog concept belies the contemporary, cutting-edge sound it generates. Clearly laid out and easy to use, MASSIVE gives you earth-shuddering sounds from the very first note.

UNCOMPROMISING SOUND
MASSIVE gives your tracks a solid foundation with the creamiest, punchiest basses. Razor-sharp leads cut through the mix even with grit and dirt piled high. And an overwhelming array of wavetable oscillators, modulation options, and filters and effects offer a sonic spectrum as broad as it is inspiring.

MASSIVE SELECTION
MASSIVE contains over 1300 sounds, all crafted by leading artists and sound designers. The efficient search and intuitive filter functions let you find presets according to specific characteristics and attributes – a particularly musical and intuitive approach.

CENTER STAGE
MASSIVE is ideal for live performance. The integrated step sequencers, effects, and a highly flexible modulation concept deliver incredible versatility. All these features have been implemented with a focus on usability so MASSIVE is just as easy to use on a hectic stage as it is in the studio.

Flesh v1.0.0 - Native Instruments

Am yet to try this one. Should report back later on my findings. Sounds very interesting indeed!
UPDATE! So much you can do with this that it will transform any sound into something quite different, so that it resembles many sounds melded together. Great for rhythmic stuff .

 FLESH is the latest creation by producer, musician, and inventor Tim Exile – a fun and innovative performance synth that turns anything you feed it into an electronic symphony.

AUGMENTED SONIC REALITY

Flesh out your rhythmic samples into full tracks
Made for hands on performance – in the studio and on the stage
Create inspiring melodies dripping with feel – no music theory needed

A BLAST OF INSPIRATION
FLESH augments your source material with dynamic basslines, riffing melodies, throbbing pads, and more. Switch, bend, and warp your way to twisted breaks and harmonic progressions with incredible hands-on performance power. Prepare for a blast of new inspiration.

MUSICAL MAGIC
Working with FLESH is easy. Load up to 12 samples and FLESH analyzes the transients and spectral profile of the sound. This information is transformed it into curves and triggers which gets sent to four audio engines for re-synthesizing new sonic material. All this happens automatically in the background. The result: Naturally dynamic riffs and grooves dripping with a feel faithful to the source material.

PERFECT PERFORMANCE
FLESH features a streamlined control set that lets you radically change the rhythmic and tonal output of the instrument. Play rich harmonic progressions on the fly. Trigger and switch source samples and sound snapshots in real time, then tweak parameters across all engines at once – all at the drop of your finger.

A clever system of global macro controls allows for consistent and tactile live tweaking. Four main controls – Spectrum, Character, Length, Mod – let you to subtly transform a sample or tear it apart into something completely new. And the clear labels make it easy to predict what you can expect from each knob turn.

DESIGNED FOR KOMPLETE KONTROL KEYBOARDS
FLESH is the first REAKTOR Instrument designed from the ground up to get the most out of the KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboards. Color-coded control octaves on Light Guide make it easy to see keyswitches – even on a dark stage. FLESH also uses the Light Guide to provide tight visual feedback, highlighting sounds and samples, and sequenced harmonies. Thanks to Native Map, parameters are perfectly pre-mapped to the eight control knobs on the KOMPLETE KONTROL keyboards. Plus, you can save presets – including samples – and recall them in real time.

ABOUT TIM EXILE
Audio maverick, technical genius and boundary-pushing performer, Tim Exile has seen his career move from performing small clubs, to big stages around the world and releasing albums on Planet Mu and Warp. For the last years, Tim has worked closely with Native Instruments to design his own set of ‘audio instruments’ including THE MOUTH and THE FINGER.

Native Instruments Reaktor 6 v6.0.1

 

Amazing update  to an already great piece of software. This has a multitude of instruments and a great effects section too. Still exploring all these at the moment but one that i have fell in love with is the Metaphsical sculpting drone machine. If your into ambient scapes like me it's a winner!

MODULAR DSP LAB
Build custom synths, samplers, effects, and sound design tools
Experiment with rack-style modular patching using Blocks
Discover 70+ included instruments plus thousands of sounds in the User Library

TRUE SONIC PLAYGROUND
REAKTOR 6 is the ultimate creative toolkit for deep sound exploration, featuring cutting-edge DSP and high-fidelity sound.

WHAT’S NEW
REAKTOR 6 makes advanced sonic experimentation more accessible than ever. Primary and Core Macro libraries are refined for ease of use with new categories and intuitive folder structure. Workflows are now more efficient thanks to a modernized interface, improved structure editing, and a revised property and navigation. Plus, new features like Table Framework, Bundles, and Scoped Buses unlock a new level of power to REAKTOR builders.

INTRODUCING BLOCKS
Blocks is a new framework that turns REAKTOR 6 into a fully-equipped, rack-style modular synth. Over 30 Blocks – including oscillators, filters, effects, modulators, and sequencers – come with REAKTOR 6. Among these Blocks are components from acclaimed NI synths such as ROUNDS and MONARK – all you need to start creating elaborate modular synth patches.

What's New?

introduces the player version for Reaktor 6
fixes a crash bug with AU component in Digital Performer 9
fixes a bug in the table framework, which could cause crashes on snapshot switching
fixes bugs in the core macro library (Oscillators and LFO)