Just over a year ago, Native Instruments graced us with Komplete 9, boasting an upgraded Battery 4 and a full new synth called Monark. This year, Komplete 10 is getting announced, carrying three new instruments (Rounds, Kontour and Polyplex) and three new sampled piano sets. The big news, wrapped up in all of this, though, is Komplete Kontrol, an application which will probably resemble Maschine’s browser, allowing users to “browse all KOMPLETE Instrument sounds from one interface…”. Komplete will run $500 and Komplete Ultimate will be $1000, with upgrade pricing available in the NI store. And if you are going to purchase a Kontrol S-Series keyboard, Komplete Kontrol will be free for Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate users.
I’ll let their words speak for themselves, and then discuss afterwards.
Native Instruments announces KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE
10th generation of KOMPLETE Instrument and Effect suites debut six new instruments and come with all-new KOMPLETE KONTROL software for integration with KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboards
Berlin, September 2, 2014 – Native Instruments today announced the next generation of their industry-standard production suites. KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE come with six brand-new instruments – ROUNDS, KONTOUR, POLYPLEX, and the three new sampled pianos that comprise THE DEFINITIVE PIANO COLLECTION. KOMPLETE 10 now includes 39 instruments and effects. KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE includes all 75 current KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects at the time of release and over 440 GB of content. Notably, the prices of these bundles remain the same, increasing the saving to almost 90% over the cost of purchasing the instruments and effects separately.
Both KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE debut the brand-new ROUNDS, KONTOUR, and POLYPLEX. ROUNDS combines powerful sound design capabilities with advanced sequencing techniques, allowing users to play melodies, chords, and arpeggios while sequencing and morphing sounds in real time. KONTOUR is the latest synthesizer from NI founder Stephan Schmitt – an extremely responsive synth capable of organic textures from mallets to plucked and bowed strings to distorted, aggressive and noisy sounds. POLYPLEX delivers an intuitive, fun way to design drum kits. Up to four samples per sound slot are randomized on the global, sound or sample level. A host of effects including dynamics, reverb, glitch, and more are also on board for additional sound shaping.
Also included in both KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE is THE DEFINITIVE PIANO COLLECTION – three new high-definition pianos offering unprecedented detail, and a varied and nuanced sonic range. THE GENTLEMAN is a sampled instrument based on an upright piano from 1908. Sampled with all the original parts, the instrument’s delicate and expressive sound gives producers distinctive, turn-of-the-century character with a supreme level of control for their recordings. THE GRANDEUR is a detailed sampled instrument of a beloved concert grand piano. Its bright, silky top end and booming, full bass are equally suited to a variety of styles including mainstream pop, jazz, and classical productions. THE MAVERICK is a recreation of a sonically singular instrument – a 1905 concert grand made for the Prince of Prussia. THE MAVERICK delivers a wide range of color and an unconventional sound where each note is full of character. These three pianos are also available for purchase separately or as a specially-priced bundle.
KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE also ship with the KOMPLETE KONTROL software. This allows users to browse all KOMPLETE Instrument sounds from one interface, accelerating workflow and providing a clear overview of all related sounds tag-based simplicity. KOMPLETE KONTROL also allows producers to access key functionality directly from the new KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboards. Registered users of KOMPLETE 9 and KOMPLETE 9 ULTIMATE will receive a free download for the KOMPLETE KONTROL software, giving them the same functionality on KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboards as KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE users.
Along with these brand-new instruments, each bundle comes with several new additions released since KOMPLETE 9. KOMPLETE 10 now features 39 products, over 12,000 sounds, and over 130 GB of instruments and effects, including DRUM LAB, SESSION HORNS, and SUPERCHARGER. KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE delivers 75 products, over 17,000 sounds, and over 440 GB of instruments and effects, such as ACTION STRIKES, MOLEKULAR, and RISE & HIT – all stored on a USB hard drive for convenient installation. Both bundles also feature best-selling KOMPLETE Instruments and Effects such as the award-winning KONTAKT 5, GUITAR RIG 5 PRO, and NI’s flagship modular synthesizer REAKTOR 5. MASSIVE, FM8, and ABSYNTH 5 cover the complete spectrum of synthesis for any production task.
Pricing and availability
KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE will be released online and in retailers October 1, 2014. KOMPLETE 10 costs $499 / 499 €. KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE costs $999 / 999 €. Special pricing for KOMPLETE 10 and KOMPLETE 10 ULTIMATE upgrade, update, and crossgrades, as well as preorder are also available.
Komplete is, well, huge. It has been for a very long time. While you get a lot, and I mean a lot, for your money, it’s still not a small cost. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of information at this time regarding the new tools NI will be releasing, just very, very basic screen shots.
So really, that’s all we got. I haven’t seen any of those tools, and I can’t speak to their power or epic-ness. NI has always been good at getting me excited, though. As an owner of Komplete 9 Ultimate, I’m not sure I’ll be upgrading. There are so many tools here, just so very many tools and sounds that can be taken advantage of, I’m not sure what has been added, no matter how cool it may be, warrants the output of funds. Those individual tools do sound like they add some really awesome power, but until we get our hands on them to try them out I can’t speak to their added value.
As far as the Kontrol S-Series goes, we’ve seen what you’ve seen. Native Instruments’ specialty over the last few years has been shown to be hardware and software integration, and I’m extremely curious to see how they improve upon the classic synthesizer design and implementation. Screens are definitely the way of the future for them, and since this is a DJ blog first and foremost it raises even more excitement about a future Traktor controller.
A lot of us were hoping for updates to more of the existing tools within Native Instrument’s suite, and while Battery was a welcome update last year, I personally think that Native Instruments is saving something very big to come now that their line of products is starting to cover everything. Kontakt, Massive, FM8 and Reaktor have all been waiting on a full version upgrade for years. I would be more surprised to see those tools get upgraded before something much larger comes out, and I keep leaning toward a full DAW experience to tie all of their tools together. I was actually really surprised Battery came out last year with Maschine taking over so much of their marketing.
So, unfortunately, I don’t have a lot to rattle off to you guys except hopes, dreams and speculation. In the next few weeks we’ll be getting more information, though, and you can rest assured that we will be getting you the best updates to this extremely powerful software once we can.