Kontakt's strengths....

[rlcmusic]

Hi,I'm having a dilemma and wondering if the gear hounds can help.....I'm going to purchase the EWQLSO Gold Bundle soon. Either I wait for them to release it with the PLAY engine which looks like mid-March at the earliest or I buy now and then cross-grade to Kontakt 3 so everything works on my iMac G5. I cannot actually see many cross-grades available/in stock at the moment - that's another story.... (U.K based).I'm wondering what Kontakt's strengths are? For example, for orchestral work - would you ever turn to certain instruments from the Kontakt library? or does E/W really "rule" in every respect for orchestral work when considering these 2 programs? I'm looking to do a broad array of instrumentals / various styles (not all orchestral) in the future and cannot decide whether I should wait for the new E/W version or whether I'd benefit from paying more and having the Kontakt library too. I'm not familiar with Kontakt at all so I don't know if it focuses on certain genres/styles or whether it really is a mixed bag.Thanks for any feedback and best wishes,Rachel

[crs7string]

Rachel,I've been a Kontact user since version 1 and have upgraded to version 3. I also use EWQL Gold.I think Kontact 3 can be a good investment for you. The library is very good and very usable. It includes a Vienna Symphony Library that is recorded very dry and is sometimes a better choice than the wet EWQL. The ethnic instruments are very good as well. Not a huge selection, but stilll very good.I do not have experience with PLAY, but I do like the ability to open EWQL Gold in Kontact 3.Visually, it is much easier to use. You have the ability to have 64 instruments in one instance of Kontact (subject to system limitations) as opposed to 16 in the Kontact Player with EWQL Gold. Kontact is a very deep instrument and I feel at times that I've barely scratched the surface. The bottom line is that it sounds great, there are a lot of third party libraries available, and is fairly user friendly while at the same time you can get into some very deep editing and sound manipulation.Hope this helps.Chuck

[davewalton]

Quote:Hi,I'm having a dilemma and wondering if the gear hounds can help.....I'm going to purchase the EWQLSO Gold Bundle soon. Either I wait for them to release it with the PLAY engine which looks like mid-March at the earliest or I buy now and then cross-grade to Kontakt 3 so everything works on my iMac G5. I cannot actually see many cross-grades available/in stock at the moment - that's another story.... (U.K based).I'm wondering what Kontakt's strengths are? For example, for orchestral work - would you ever turn to certain instruments from the Kontakt library? or does E/W really "rule" in every respect for orchestral work when considering these 2 programs? I'm looking to do a broad array of instrumentals / various styles (not all orchestral) in the future and cannot decide whether I should wait for the new E/W version or whether I'd benefit from paying more and having the Kontakt library too. I'm not familiar with Kontakt at all so I don't know if it focuses on certain genres/styles or whether it really is a mixed bag.Thanks for any feedback and best wishes,RachelHi Rachel,I'd say that for orchestral work (like doing film scores for smaller, independent films), I'd doubt that very few if any composers could make a living doing orchestral music using only what Kontakt provides. Everyone I know that has Kontakt also has something else specific for orchestral stuff. Many on the forum have EWQL Silver, Gold or Platinum. For the price it just can't be beat. Having said that, a lot of good samples are part of Kontakt and I think that the samples would work very well for anyone who was making orchestral sounds as part of what they do. Doing an orchestral film score with Kontakt only... probably not.I've been a EWQL user for several years. Even though Play is basically around the corner, I recently picked up Kontakt. Mostly I "cross-graded" to pick up additional flexibility in working with sampled instruments. For example, Matto has several excellent piano samples. They don't come with a player themselves and you need something like Kontakt to use them. I need a good, quality piano and that's basically the route I've decided to go. Also, I have some good samples but they're in older formats like Akai. Kontakt reads all those old formats so I can continue to use those. Basically I see Kontakt as opening doors to additional sampled instrumentation that otherwise have been closed up till now. Although I can use it for EWQL instruments (at least until the Play versions arrive) I don't see that as a big deal given that Play isn't far away.I have to say that I think your music is very good and that you'd just be even more so with additional tools for creativity. Matto has Kontakt, Chuck (CRS7String) has Kontakt, Mazz probably has Kontakt in an unopened box somewhere in his studio... I just wanted to be like those guys.

[rlcmusic]

Thank you very much Chuck and Dave for your replies.Chuck - Thank you for letting me know your experience with it and also highlighting that it's a very versatile tool. You've also reminded me that it comes with some VSL samples. Mr Walton - Thank you for your nice comments - it means a lot. I have lots of instrumentals that are not getting finished because I don't have quality samples. Since I am very eager (impatient) to get my hands on EW, I just wanted to make sure it isn't silly going for Kontakt simply to get EW up and running when the PLAY engine is just about to be released. Obviously not - I am sure I will make use of both extensively in the long run and also be able to add additional sample libraries. I will be looking for cross-grade availability this afternoon and "kissing goodbye " to more money.Thanks again to you both,Rachel

[stick]

Quote:Matto has Kontakt, Chuck (CRS7String) has Kontakt, Mazz probably has Kontakt in an unopened box somewhere in his studio... I just wanted to be like those guys. Oh yeah!? Well I don't have Kontakt. So there. Then again, I don't use EWQLPDQ or whatever it is. I've been running mostly Vienna samples in EXS24 in Logic, and now if I need them in ProTools, I can use Structure Free. I've had my eye on the newish Vienna Special Edition. I have a feeling I'd feel more comfortable with the sounds than I will with the EW stuff. I think having it laid out with all the keyswitching and whatever built-in would save a lot of hassle. That said, I think Kontakt would probably be a nice place to start for someone building a core sound library. Well, unless you're thinking of getting into Logic Studio... there's a pretty nice assortment of sounds included now, including some decent sounding strings and other orchestral instruments. Not with all the articulations that you'll find in the bigger libraries, but certainly enough to get you going... especially if it's "orchestral elements" you're adding to rock or electronica or whatever.

[rlcmusic]

Hi Stick!Quote:Then again, I don't use EWQLPDQ or whatever it is. I've got Logic Studio and agree there are some quality orchestral sounds but it's the articulations I'm missing. Just one example - I've been trying to do a flute solo and the piece goes like this:-.... "la la la la lovely lovely short notes"......."longer held on note....wha wha wha whirly whirly computer sounding wha wha"!. I've seen in the EXS24 that you can edit instruments but unless I'm missing something (I did post about this not so long ago), I can't change the sound fundamentally - ie: I guess the annoying vibrato is built in/in the sample/not easily editable. I just thought East West sounds so much easier to get the realism you need without too many headaches........I realise you need skill to use any program but it's obviously good to make your life as easy as poss.I'm going to check out your link - thank you. At the moment - it's solo instruments that are causing probs. Thanks again,Rachel

[stick]

Rachel, Yes. Solo instruments are always the hardest. I know in the Vienna set I've got there are sustained versions of the solo instruments with and without vibrato (generally). I think one of the cool things about that newer Vienna instrument is that it can tell what you're trying to play and will play the right articulation sample automatically. I've not played with it, so I'm not sure how well it works... One thing that we've talked about a little here and there on the forums, is that often you have to write your parts "to your sounds". If your sound won't represent the line you hear in your head convincingly, you have to modify it so that it does. When I'm writing for orchestra, I usually think to myself, "I need something from the horns here." I'll play around with the horn sound I've got loaded until I find a part that functions in my piece right, and also sounds good with the specific sound I'm using.

[rlcmusic]

Hi Stick,Just listening to the demos off your link.... Yes I totally agree, thing is....with many of my pieces, there really is a melody/theme that needs to be played by a solo instrument - ie: that's the essence of the piece so I need to find the tools to create it. I've left out small parts in the past for sound reasons but when it comes to the main theme!.....ummmm. I have tried substituting various instruments for different solos but it's definitely time I got some more samples so I can improve my chances of getting the right sound!Rachel

[stick]

Since that's the case, you're on the right track trying to find the best samples to do what you need them to do. If you need cello or violin, check these out... I don't have them yet, but I will at some point... Gofriller CelloStradivari Violin

[crs7string]

Another thumbs up for the Garritan Cello and Strad.I got both of these late last year and have begun using both as solo instruments and section leaders. (this was a trick I learned about from Matto)This is a track with the Cello :http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... ream=1It's also fairly easy to use.Chuck