Kontakt 8 opens fast!

[lokeyfly]

It's no small secret Native Instruments Kontakt can be a real love-hate relationship. However.....

Kontakt 8 opens very quickly, as in a few seconds! The last numerous versions of Kontakt 7, were horribly slow when opening with Studio One. Even in standalone, but really dragged with S1 even more. Sometimes loading an instrument into a song took as long as over one minute. Add to that the poor instrument selection interface, and while having a great selection within Komplete Ulitmate, the Kontakt 7 in particular was komplete krap!

In case you Don't have Kontakt 8.x, you might very much experience the same progress that I'm seeing. If you're already using 8, good deal!

P.s. Yes, I always made sure that I had the NI library updated with Kontakt, Komplete, and Native Access. A must to always do. It just works better now with Kontakt v8. Happy camper, here.

 

[AAV]

Been reluctant to upgrade from V7 because it has been such a dog. So this is really great to know. There's an upgrade to v7 too which is supposed to help load times and performance but NI hasn't had a very good record on any of their updates, including Native Access. I don't have Komplete but use and update Kontakt and a few NI synths - so will definitely update/upgrade K7 if it gains some performance.
Thanks Lokeyfly!

 

[lokeyfly]

Hey AAV, If the 7.x update doesn't improve startup times, you may seriously want to try v8. It is really an improvement from the standpoint of instrument startup, though I know we all are hesitant with the "if it works, don't fix it" mindset. It was that way with me, and a bit if a rocky road when waiting and waiting. Man, sometimes I'd open Task Manager just to give it a shove!

I came (kame?) across version 8 only because I went to load "Analog Dreams" from my Kompkete Ultimate library. Native Access informed me that to load AD, I had to load Kontakt version 8. Very glad I did. So I hope it helps you guys. Seems I'm not the only one experiencing fault with kontakt 7.
The Kontakt v8 opening screen has a better breakdown of instruments as well.

 

[John Pihel]

It's no small secret Native Instruments Kontakt can be a real love-hate relationship. However.....

Kontakt 8 opens very quickly, as in a few seconds! The last numerous versions of Kontakt 7, were horribly slow when opening with Studio One. Even in standalone, but really dragged with S1 even more. Sometimes loading an instrument into a song took as long as over one minute. Add to that the poor instrument selection interface, and while having a great selection within Komplete Ulitmate, the Kontakt 7 in particular was komplete krap!

In case you Don't have Kontakt 8.x, you might very much experience the same progress that I'm seeing. If you're already using 8, good deal!

P.s. Yes, I always made sure that I had the NI library updated with Kontakt, Komplete, and Native Access. A must to always do. It just works better now with Kontakt v8. Happy camper, here.

Indeed. Thanks for the info.

 

[Vocalpoint]

I came (kame?) across version 8 only because I went to load "Analog Dreams" from my Kompkete Ultimate library. Native Access informed me that to load AD, I had to load Kontakt version 8. Very glad I did.

That is a bit of a scam - and it is the exact trap that got me crossed up back in the fall of 2022 when I still had V6 on my machine.

All of a sudden I go to load something one day and I am told I "needed" Kontakt 7 - which seemed to have no way around - so I reluctantly installed K7 and then spent the next month navigating the havoc.

To prove this - I just loaded Analog Dreams here - and received no such message. Opens just fine in K7 - and always has.

I took this nonsense to Ni and even they could not explain it.

VP

 

[lokeyfly]

That is a bit of a scam - and it is the exact trap that got me crossed up back in the fall of 2022 when I still had V6 on my machine.

All of a sudden I go to load something one day and I am told I "needed" Kontakt 7 - which seemed to have no way around - so I reluctantly installed K7 and then spent the next month navigating the havoc.

To prove this - I just loaded Analog Dreams here - and received no such message. Opens just fine in K7 - and always has.

I took this nonsense to Ni and even they could not explain it.

VP

Thanks VP. I was thinking the same, because prior to loading K8, I had seen that Analog Dreams was available to me last year. So I figured, ok k8 is out now so that is likely the new message. However, your point is, it doesn't always revert to the k8 message.

What I can say from just my experience is that K8 is hugely better (on the surface) than k7. Both in startup time, and with starting up their instruments is way faster. Maybe by a factor of 10.
So just pointing this out that others should experience the same results.

I think v7 was littered with issues due to the Komplete Kontrol, other supporting mfr's, and their own Komplete III series hardware. That's largely what I took from different sources.
L8 looks to be an improvement.

 

[Vocalpoint]

What I can say from just my experience is that K8 is hugely better (on the surface) than k7. Both in startup time, and with starting up their instruments is way faster. Maybe by a factor of 10. So just pointing this out that others should experience the same results.

NI backported the load fixes baked into K8 - into K7.10.7 - so anyone still on 7 - should really get this final v7 update installed for best results.

There are tons of threads about this "loading" issue on the NI boards - but it all comes down to library config and to some extend - plugins in the end. My K7 install here - even without 7.10.7 - was 5.1 secs in standalone since I built this DAW. Even 7.10.7 could not make it any faster.

But 5 secs is fine by me standalone. And when I actually do use drag a Kontakt instance into S1 as an actual instrument on a track - the load time is (and was always) instant.

99.99% of the time now - I only ever use Kontakt specific instruments via Komplete Kontrol (strictly V2.9.6) I have never (and will never) install KKv3 until they establish feature parity (and stability) with KKv2 - so I rarely need to see the Kontakt UI.

I only really see it when I need to use a non-NKS instrument that would load via the Files area in the Kontakt. AND - my default view is never set to that goofy Library view - I use Rack View as my start point.

Old habits die hard

VP

 

[lokeyfly]

All good and thanks. I'll also update my k7 to the latest. Only it's been a dog for its whole existence. I've never had to re adjust any library folders or instrument paths because I'm a stickler for keeping that stuff uniform and on the fastest possible drives. Also maintaining files in Native Access. I also run k(any) or KK in standalone for them to update to any latest rev, before starting Kontakt in Studio One. What I'm seeing is k8 is allowing me to no longer roll my eyes, about if I should use a useful instrument or not. Just sharing the wealth. ; )

Hey, there's a super nice preset on Analog Dreams 2, I'll have to tell you about later. Not at my computer, but I'm already using it in a song I started yesterday. It has a really good mellotron sound. Sort of like the intro to "Watcher of the skies" - Genesis. Very lush.

 

[Vocalpoint]

What I'm seeing is k8 is allowing me to no longer roll my eyes, about if I should use a useful instrument or not. Just sharing the wealth. ; )

Great news.

I will say that from what I have seen over on the NI boards and elsewhere - K8 has not been as enthusiastically welcomed as it appears to be at your place.

I have read reams of reports ranging from "it won't even open" to "it's worse than K7" for speed and ease of use. Also some folks who bought it - were so annoyed they ran back to K7 kicking and screaming. So - there are all sorts of things going on with it and in peoples environments.

I haven't found any reason to move to K15 yet (and along with that - Kontakt 8) but it's nice to know there are some good reports out there.

For me personally - I think I need to see at least 2 or 3 more maintenance releases before I decide where to go. K8 has only had a single update since late September and judging by the general vibe out there - that has not exactly made the world beat a path to the NI Shop to upgrade to k8.

VP

 

[lokeyfly]

Here's a thought, how many reports rave how great Kontakt is?
I'm just being facetious. I'm seeing a huge improvement, so that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Lol.

For a lot of reasons, I usually don't want to know what's going on under the hood of many user complaints (oy-vey), but coming from strictly your points, I have an open ear. Not music radar, or such places. There's a Lotta chatter out there.

So to all, take my observations as I do the diligence of making sure kontakt runs lean. And with version 8, in this camp it is faster, demonstrably.

 

[lokeyfly]

Indeed. Thanks for the info.

Anytime, John.

 

[Vocalpoint]

Here's a thought, how many reports rave how great Kontakt is? I'm just being facetious. I'm seeing a huge improvement, so that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Lol.

I am glad you are having great experience. And trust me - if I saw more reports like yours - I would be all over it. But I am not.

And it is pretty clear why. It's new. It's cranky. It has issues. Just like Studio One 7.x.

Greatness is around the corner - just not yet.

VP

 

[Jemusic]

I have been using Kontakt V7 for a while before the latest update and certainly after the V7 latest update it seems to load much faster as stated.

 

[lokeyfly]

Good deal. K8 has still a number of improvements I'm seeing with a better startup screen. I mean, K7 has a hideous startup that reveals little, with oversized instrument icons. Kontakt 8 has multiple groups that just make more sense, not tripping over one large group, or comparison selecting. Its just easier that way as well. K8 also auditions preset sounds a bit faster. Overall, it's obviously an imprpvement. Of course it's still Kontakt, and I was never thrilled at it's layout from its inception, but it's taken a turn on the improvement scale. I'm glad to hear K7 is better and I'm seeing that as well. Given the choice of opening the same instruments in K7 or K8, for more than just opening speed, K8 is a justifiable improvement. But faster was the point here, that I'm seeing with an all new version 8.

Since I have Komplete Ultimate, K8 is free. Perhaps that's the case for numerous packages. I suspect it depends on what you've already loaded out of your Native Access, or what is available on a case by case basis. Kontakt 8 wouldn't be something I'd be buying just to upgrade to.

 

[chuckwow]

K7 update better than before. K8 better still.

 

[lokeyfly]

K7 update better than before. K8 better still.

Yes, that's what I'm seeing. K8 looks quite usable, and additionally has improvements. Thanks for verifying. It's all helpful.