The sounds from the main synths (Absynth 5, FM8, Massive, Kontakt 5 and Reaktor 5.6) are worth the cost of admission. Guitar Rig, Battery and Kontakt are industry-standard for a reason; add Reaktor and you have limitless possibilities for sound design/manipulation. Reaktor's included synths (i.e Razor, Spark) are stunning, and we're talking just the factory presets. Add everything else (Alici'a Keys, Studio Drummer, 70's Drums, Session Strings Pro, etc., etc.), and you have everything you need to make anything you need, from a Top-40 hit to a full-blown film score. Top-notch, Pro sound all the way.

I've read complaints about the hard drive being DOA for some people, but mine worked fine. I suspect the packing methods used in the first run weren't refined like they were by the time I ordered mine, as those with faulty drives said the drive was loose in the box, flopping around during shipping. Anyway, it's very convenient to simply plug it in, choose a folder to install and let it do its thing for the next (approx.) 2 hours. The box also comes with a fairly basic install guide and some 'Komplete 8' stickers. No hard copy manuals for the included vst effects or instruments.

Similar to a full-blown synth/workstation; you may have to spend a little time with each VSTi to figure out the logic (and you'll have to spend the rest of your life realizing Reaktor's potential). Some effects and instruments are fairly straight-forward, while others offer a steep learning curve. I gave this an 8 instead of 10 mainly because I have the attention span of a nat, and want instant gratification when tweaking a new patch. To benefit fully from (mainly) the 'Big 5', you're just going to have to be patient and spend some time with them.

Sound quality of all the instruments is 100% professional. A few of the factory patches in the Kontakt library are a little dull, but there are over 11,000 (yes: 11 THOUSAND) other sounds in K8 Ultimate to choose from. If you can't find enough material in here to make music, you're in the wrong business.

Over $3,000 worth of Industry-standard instruments and Pro effects for $499?!? If you're still thinking about making the upgrade (or are a $999 first-time buyer), you're not thinking correctly. Yes, this IS currently the best value in the music industry.

Support is mainly through the NI forums; I've had fairly good luck with questions getting answered from the user community. My bonus downloads (and e-voucher) were e-mailed within a couple days. NI is about as good as you can expect by today's customer support standards (Spectrasonics being the best).

This suite has everything a musician could ever dream of. It will allow you to materialize the music stuck inside, which will land you music jobs, which will generate royalty checks (i.e. money), so you can afford food and a girlfriend (or your wife will stop telling you to get a 'real job' because you're now making more than her). This product has more "sex appeal" than James Bond.

Professional composer

Electronic/Multi-media soundtrack

why to many preset sounds for me to say its not good.... can customize sounds which makes it a lot better... no problems here...

i haven't even scratched the surface of what this baby can do... i'm still learning a lot every day...

its very easy to use with presets, but learning how to make your own sounds and effects is another story in its own... although i've learned so much already, its just a lot to absorb, you just have to take your time and learn each individual program and what it can do... the only reason why i give it an 8 for learning curve is the manuals are huge, and without videos, its a little bit complicated to understand some of the concepts, but thanks to youtube, you can learn a lot of things... its just called time...

i have no problems installing took about 5 hour or a little more, the hdd seems pretty sturdy being that its incasing is metal...

its worth much more.... this is a bargain deal.. for all the software you receive, its well money spent

well i had no problems, but the forum is a great place to vent and ask question, and i've been there, and i received tons of advice...

i like the fact that its loaded with preset instruments and you can customize those sounds to make them sound different, and once you learn it, you can spend hours building your own sounds.. example.. with program absyth you can morph two or more sounds together with ease creating a substantial about of sounds in a matter of minutes and saving only the ones you like as you go, or you can go back in time and recall a sound you might have over looked... its wicked

home studio

hip hop, r@b, pop

DJ/Producer

Hip-Hop, Reggae, House

Producer, engineer

Hip hop, R&B, Pop