Native Instruments Kontakt (Macintosh and Windows)

No longer available at zZounds
The flagship sampler with a vast ready-to-play instruments library.

Now in its third incarnation, KONTAKT 3 builds on its reputation as the industry standard for professional sampling. The outstanding audio engine and state-of-the-art modular architecture provide unlimited sonic potential for your music. Universal file import ensures global compatibility.

A huge sound collection connects you to a multitude of instruments, and the reworked interface makes playing and tweaking them effortless. KONTAKT 3 is the premiere sampler for artists and producers from across the musical spectrum.

Immense Library including 33 GB and 1000 instruments:
KONTAKT 3 contains an immense arsenal of instruments. Six stunning Instrument Collections are included: Orchestral, World, Vintage, Band, Synth and Urban Beats - containing over 33 GB of world-class samples and 1000 instruments, all instantly accessible with the lightning-fast Quick-Search function. Rich and diverse, every instrument in KONTAKT 3 now also features Performance Views that group together all the important parameters - connecting you to any sound - immediately.

Unprecedented Tweak-ability:
For really getting inside your samples, KONTAKT 3 delivers endless possibilities. Edit, loop, slice or tempo-sync your samples with the powerful Wave Editor. Freely draw customized envelopes directly into the sample waveform to modulate any parameter, with ease and precision. Perfect your sound using the 18 high-quality effects, including new amp and cabinet emulations and a powerful convolution effect.

Features: read more
* Six Instrument Collections - over 33 GB of sounds
* Ready-to-rock "Performance View" for each of the 1000 instruments
* Reworked Wave Editor with tools for intuitive looping, slicing and editing
* Freely drawable envelopes per sample
* Improved navigation: Modulation Quick-Jumps, Instrument Navigator
* Over 18 high-end effects
* Enhanced Workflow for Scripts with tabbed views
* Universal Import of virtually any sample format
* MIDI loop drag & drop into host application
* New Info Pane in the GUI, 7 tutorial videos

Crossgrade Offer Details
The Kontakt 3 Crossgrade is valid for registered users of NI samplers such as INTAKT, KOMPAKT and the NI samplers on third party sample libraries plus GigaStudio owners.
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Compatibility:
EXS-24, KOMPAKT, Akai S-x000/Z8, BATTERY, GigaStudio, INTAKT, Apple Loops, Reason NN-XT, REX I/II, HALion 1/2, REAKTOR, ACID WAVs, Emu EOS/ EIV/ EIII/ Esi/ Emax II and many more

Interfaces:
Stand-alone, VST, Audio Units, RTAS (Pro Tools 7), ASIO, Core Audio, DirectSound

System Requirements
Mac: G4 1.4 GHz or Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz, 1 GB RAM

Windows: Windows XP (SP 2) or Windows Vista, Pentium or Athlon 1.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 866-556-6487 or 323-467-2693

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (47 ratings)
Submitted June 12, 2007 by a customer from gmail.com

"Kontakt Rocks my world"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
What else do I need for software sampling? Nothing I think.
Sound
Out of all the other soft samplers I've used I'd say what makes this best is how good it sounds stretching or compressing samples. Using the Time Machine 2 mode I'm able to get great results and then modify it live for instant granular fun.
Features
I love the import functionality, I was able to easily import my Akai sample CDs and keep them in my database. There are tons and tons of things this thing can do, but the routing seems confusing sometimes.
Ease of Use
Once you learn the workflow in Kontakt it's really easy to get in and edit one or multiple samples I'd definitely recommend getting the tutorial to get you up and running.
Quality
No other soft sampler sounds nearly as good.
Value
Pretty good price, just wish the tutorial was free with it.
Manufacturer Support
I had to move Kontakt from my old laptop to my new one and I was able to have it all taken care of in a reasonable amount of time, but what was great was that I got some good suggestions for working with Kontakt.
The Wow Factor
I wasn't so sure that I wanted it till I got it and found out how much more editing I could get done in a short amount of time.

Musical Background:

Editor and composer

Musical Style:

Orchestral, jazz, and ambient
13 of 15 people (87%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
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