Apparently, most computer musicians using virtual studios and sequencers to write music do not need to imagine the Kontakt software player / sampler. Today it is almost the most popular and most sought-after tool. But sometimes even professionals do not always clearly imagine which library for Kontakt 5 should or can be used in the process of arranging to create sound in a certain direction. What can we say about newcomers? We’ll try to determine some important aspects regarding the player itself and the sound sets loaded into it.
What is a library for Kontakt 5?
To begin with, a little theoretical information that will come in handy in understanding some of the actions that involve loading and using the necessary sets in the sampler itself. The fact that Kontakt is not only a player, but also a sampler, apparently, does not need to be said. The player, as well as the rompler with an unchanged set of sounds, sequences or effects, because it only plays (plays) sounds without the possibility of editing, and the sampler allows you to change them at will. But what is a library for Kontakt 5?
Usually this is a set of files consisting of samples for the “Contact” itself in the form of tools and sets in the NKI, NKC, NKX formats with sometimes a file of the library itself with the extension .nicht intended to add it to the list, as well as with additional folders of sampled sounds in WAV format, which correspond to specific notes and contain additional parameters for MIDI control.
Best libraries for Kontakt 5
Alas, it is impossible to even say approximately which of the currently proposed sound sets designed for playback and use in this sampler are considered the best. The choice can be influenced by the preferences of the musicians themselves in terms of the style or musical direction of the track and exactly what sounds or effects will be used to create the composition (nonexistent in nature or futuristic sets, full copies of the sound of live instruments, analogs of sound sets of “iron” synthesizers ) etc.
Nevertheless, among the developers of the libraries for Kontakt 5, one can especially mention such giants as Zero-G, Big Fish Audio, Samplephonics, SamplOddity, Best Service, Sonokinetic, 80Dio, Prominy, Vir2, Heavyocity, Orange Tree Samples, Sample Logic, Soundiron , MonsterShop and even the creator of the player - Native Instruments.
How to load tools or add libraries to the sampler?
Regarding the loading of tools, the initially defined library for Kontakt 5 can not be added to the list at all.
Simply select the desired tool as a single file in the program’s own browser.
But adding full sets can be done from the Libraries menu , in which you need to click the Manage Libraries button, and then simply select the directory containing the .nicht file by clicking the Add Library button. At the end of the scan, the set will be added to the main list in the left pane. But this is done solely for ease of use. In principle, you can add any set, even if there is no library file for it, but for this you will have to perform quite a lot of complex actions with creating special objects in the form of files and registry keys.
Kontakt Sampler Update Issues
Finally, when loading some sets, you should pay attention to the version of the player with which they can work.
If one of the latest updates is required, it should be installed without fail, since the instrument in the outdated version will not only not play, but will not load at all. The sampler itself can be used in the form of a stationary version (Standalone), and in the form of a VST plugin or other format, moreover, it is paid, not to mention the sound sets themselves. However, to find hacked versions of this software in the Russian-language part of the Internet can be quite easy, and with activation keys, and with key generators, and with installers in the form of SimLink Installer, although their use is, to say the least, illegal.