Native Instruments Komplete 6: Heavy-hitting software bundle's price drops like a brick
Sometimes, and especially in the last two years, price breakthroughs are more exciting than technology breakthroughs in new music products. When Apple released Logic 8 as part of the Logic Studio bundle two years ago, the Logic upgrade and new Mainstage software were significant, but even more revelatory was its low price of $499 for a huge bundle of applications and soundware. That was a true game changer at the time for pricing a major, pro-level DAW package.
Looking over the month of September, there was another price breakthrough announced that should have virtual instrument lovers licking their chops. Native Instruments (NI) announced the update to it’s flagship bundle, Komplete 6, at a retail price of $559, more than half off of Komplete 5’s price of $1,149. While it may not be as earth-shaking as Logic Studio was, Komplete 6 (scheduled to ship in October), represents undeniable value for a bundle of programs that would sell individually for a total of $1,713.
Of course, part of the point is that Komplete 6’s price drop is so exciting simply because Native Instruments only makes top-shelf instruments and effects. Komplete 6 includes major updates to three of its titles, Absynth 5, Kontakt 4 and Guitar Rig 4 Pro; more than 60 GB of audio samples; and the rest of its impressive toolshed, Battery 3, FM8, Reaktor 5 and Massive. One should note, however, that NI discontinued a few instruments — Akoustik Piano, B4 II and Pro-53 — so they are not part of Komplete 6.
Also, the former Elektrik Piano instrument has been absorbed into the Kontakt factory library. Now bigger than ever, Kontakt 4’s library includes seven of NI’s Instrument Collections and has 44 GB of audio material, and a new browser to help you navigate that archive. You also get custom instrument control panels, an expanded convolution reverb section and NI’s new Authentic Expression Technology, which is supposed to make acoustic instruments sound more authentic while giving you more options for sound design.
Absynth 5 includes more than 1,700 sounds that vary wildly, from keyboard sounds to curiously complex and evolving synthscapes, including 250 brand-new presets. A new Sound Mutator lets you try your luck with a one-click combination of Absynth’s enormous synth capabilities, such as its 68-stage envelopes.
Finally, the Guitar Rig 4 Pro all-in-one guitar and bass processing environment offers more amps, cabinets, microphones and effects than before, and an optional Guitar Rig Kontrol foot controller/audio interface is available separately ($449 retail). NI updated its speaker emulation technology for this version, which was the basis for the new Control Room module, where you can mix and match up to eight phase-aligned microphones for each cabinet.
Despite losing a few titles from the bundle, NI’s programs are so deep and powerful that Kontakt, Reaktor and Massive could be considered a complete virtual instrument bundle in and of themselves, and you get much more than those, as well. While $559 is still no small chunk of change, it’s a huge deal considering the prices of Komplete 6’s individual titles. If you’ve ever considered owning the panoply of Native Instruments’ tools, there’s no time like the present.