thepianist65
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Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
I enjoy Kontakt, particularly because so many great sample libraries support it. But now that NI is having their half price sale on Komplete 10 and Ultimate, I'm wondering, is it worth it. I already own Kontakt full version, and several of their electric bass and organ libraries. So there is duplication there. And I don't know if I would use many of their plug-ins, as I am very happy with my Izotope plug ins, for example. But the Session Horns Pro and Strings Pro, plus the many varied other libraries, synths, etc., might come in very handy, indeed, as I do a range of projects, from jazz to rock to orchestral, etc. Just wondering what people think about it, is it worth even the $400 crossgrade price to you?
Thanks.
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arachnaut
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 15:51:02
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For me, Reaktor is what makes my day.
It's a synth, it's a physical modeller, it's an effects rack, it's a mastering module, it's a mangler, but wait!
There's more!!
While it will take a lifetime to master and another lifetime to explore the User Library, simple changes like stringing together some synths and effects are easy.
I have had Komplete 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 and I am a Reaktor, NI effects, Kore, Machine and Kontrol beta tester.
I don't think I would upgrade to Ultimate unless you have the cash.
- Jim Hurley - SONAR Platinum - x64 - Windows 10 Pro ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0; Core i7-2600K@4.4GHz; 16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X; GeForce GT 740; Saffire Pro14 MixControl 3.7; Axiom 61 64-Bit audio, SR: 48kHz, ASIO 256 samples latency, Rec/Play I/O Buffers 512k, Total Round Trip Latency 13 ms, Pow-r 3 dither
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thepianist65
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 15:55:48
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thanks for the feedback. I think I have the reaktor free version, but never really used it. I'm not as much into the synths, but the "real" instruments seem much better in the Ultimate version, such as the session horns and strings, etc. I could learn to like the synths, as I have a need for it, but I don't do a lot of "electronic" or dance music, mostly try to sound as convincing as [possible on emulated "acoustic" instruments. I already have pianos, guitars and flutes, etc. that I love that are compatible with Kontakt, so perhaps something like Chris Hein Horns and a separate strings product would be more up my alley if the price is right. Putting all of my eggs into Komplete seems a bit or overkill in a way, but it's tempting to have such an array of tools from a company whose products I do like and use regularly.
Sigh, always a balance between investment and return....
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dcumpian
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 16:09:20
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I'd say it really depends on how much you've already invested in other sampler libraries. K10U comes with a huge pile of stuff, but if you aren't like ly to use the synths and effects, then you are ignoring half of your investment. Also, if you already have good piano and orchestral libraries from elsewhere (East West, Kirk Hunter, Embertone, OrangeTree, etc...) then you may end up with a lot of redundant libraries in K10U.
What I did, was start with K8 way back when I had my DAW built, then I added the things in Ultimate that I wanted when NI had big sales on Black Friday and so on. I have everything I want in K10U, without buying things I won't use.
There is so much good stuff out there...
Regards,
Dan
Mixing is all about control. My music: http://dancumpian.bandcamp.com/ or https://soundcloud.com/dcumpian Studiocat Advanced Studio DAW (Intel i5 3550 @ 3.7GHz, Z77 motherboard, 16GB Ram, lots of HDDs), Sonar Plat, Mackie 1604, PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL, ESI 4x4 Midi Interface, Ibanez Bass, Custom Fender Mexi-Strat, NI S88, Roland JV-2080 & MDB-1, Komplete, Omnisphere, Lots o' plugins.
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thepianist65
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 16:12:18
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Dan, that makes sense to me, kind of where I was leaning. For example, with the sale they are having now, I could pick up the Session Horns, and upgrade it, and it would be 100 bucks less than just buying the Pro version. Of course, if I can make do with the regular version, than I'm all set for 100. I do tend to prefer to purchase what I need at the moment rather than investing in a huge bundle of stuff that I may or may not use some day. Only if the price was ridiculous would I be able to justify having all that stuff that I wasn't using regularly.
Thanks for the response.
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cclarry
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 16:17:23
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There are some very nice new instruments...the Piano's are quite nice, theres Polyplex, Rounds, and Kontour...the Piano's alone are $199 when not on sale...so for $99 actually about $88.11 at JRRShop you can get all of them... https://www.jrrshop.com/n...nts-komplete-10-update
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Jim Roseberry
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 16:29:55
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The SoftTube Dynamic/EQ/Reverb plugins included in Ultimate are quite good.
If you don't already have favorite 3rd-party plugins, this makes Ultimate an even sweeter deal.
The new Pianos are pretty good. I like them enough to where I haven't even (re)installed Ivory-II.
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MachineClaw
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 16:42:02
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yes it's worth it......if you will use the products included.
I like a lot of the 10KU only products but many people simply don't want or would use them.
If you have kontakt and a few libraries you can upgrade and sell off the individual sample libraries (you have to keep Kontakt as that this the base of your sidegrade upgrade).
the PRO versions of Session Strings and Session Horns are vastly better than the regular versions.
only you can decide if it's worth it or not really.
I didn't want to have to think about it anymore and bought 10KU so I have everything, no need to worry about sales or whether I have a product or not. When 11KU comes out I'll buy the upgrade and get all the newest products included. I just don't want to worry about it any longer - and if you catch a great sale you can get Komplete products pretty cheap.
I think JRRShop has the best deals going just so ya know.
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rtucker55
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 20:09:03
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I have K10 with session horns and session strings. K10 Ultimate comes with session horns Pro and session strings Pro. I'm curious if those larger Pro libraries replace the smaller libraries or if you still have that smaller stuff just taking up drive space.
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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cclarry
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 20:12:03
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rtucker55
I have K10 with session horns and session strings. K10 Ultimate comes with session horns Pro and session strings Pro. I'm curious if those larger Pro libraries replace the smaller libraries or if you still have that smaller stuff just taking up drive space.
You still keep the smaller ones I believe...I kept all my pianos from K9...
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bapu
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 20:12:52
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rtucker55
I have K10 with session horns and session strings. K10 Ultimate comes with session horns Pro and session strings Pro. I'm curious if those larger Pro libraries replace the smaller libraries or if you still have that smaller stuff just taking up drive space.
I have session string and session strings pro (purchased not in Ultimate). They are different libraries. Hence they use their own disk space AFAICT.
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rtucker55
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 20:16:07
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oooh, I was hoping the small strings and horns libs were just a sub-set of the larger libs. Oh well, spent this much, might as well add another sample drive too... Wouldn't happen to have another kidney you could spare Larry? 
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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Fleer
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 21:54:09
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☄ Helpfulby cclarry 2015/06/02 22:13:42
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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cclarry
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Vastman
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/02 23:29:39
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I will not upgrade again. Have upgraded everytime but never use anything beyond kontakt and a bit of Reaktor. I think Dan summed it up best. I have upgraded historically and foolishly bought all the NI orchestral packages but they have turned out to be totally cheesy compared to Spitfire, Project Sam, and Kirks...Maybe if you're just starting out but if I were I'd just go for Omnisphere 2. It is beyond unfracking believable and it's a unified package that blows the socks off of anything NI has put out beyond Kontakt. Personally I find it so far beyond everything else I own that it's a no brainer. That $400 gets you Omnisphere2. before you spend the duckets, checkout all the PluginGuru vids... no fluff and no bunch of garbage you'll probably never use.
post edited by Vastman - 2015/06/02 23:36:13
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Rob[at]Sound-Rehab
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 01:20:51
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I had K8 ultimate and just upgraded to K10 ultimate (never bothered about K9) ... in terms of Kontakt instruments it's mostly pianos (of which I had tons already), libraries for sound scaping and some more drums ...
The reason I upgraded was the added reverbs RC24 and RC 48 (which by themselves cost as much as the upgrade) and I do like them a lot ... and the Softtube/NI plugins ... very good price/value ratio just for that ...
Now what I hadn't expected is that the Rickenbacker and Drum Lab (Kontakt instruments) are really killer. like those a lot.
But of course it depends on what you own and what kind(s) of music you create/produce/mix ...
GOOD TUNES LAST FOREVER +++ Visit the Rehab +++ DAW: Platinum/X3e, win10 64 bit, i7-3930K (6x3.2GHz), Asus Sabertooth X79, 32 GB DDR3 1600MHz, ATI HD 5450, 120 GB SSD OCZ Agility3, 2x 1TB WD HDD SATA 600 Audio-Interface: 2x MOTU 1248 AVB, Focusrite OctoPre, (Roland Octa-Capture) Control-Surface: VS-700C VSTi: WAVES, NI K10u, FabFilter, IK, ... (too many really)
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bitflipper
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 10:04:00
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☄ Helpfulby thepianist53 2015/06/03 15:29:14
Dave, I've heard your music and my instinct says that a large collection of synthesizers probably isn't what you're looking for. Much of it would likely never be used, and the added Kontakt content wouldn't justify the cost. I could be wrong, though. It might open up a whole new avenue of musical exploration for you. Zebra and Omnisphere did that for me. But even though I use synths more nowadays I'm still drawn to natural, organic sounds first, and that always leads me back to Kontakt as my primary tool. My recommendation to you would be to spend that money on at least one high-end string/orchestral library instead. Just seems that would fit nicely into your style. Have a look at some of the stuff from Strezov Sampling or Kirk Hunter for example. Or, if you don't mind dongles, EWQLSO for a broader range of instruments beyond just strings.
 All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. My Stuff
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vintagevibe
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 12:34:27
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Jim Roseberry
The new Pianos are pretty good. I like them enough to where I haven't even (re)installed Ivory-II.
Really? Thats impressive.
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vintagevibe
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 12:43:50
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Vastman
I will not upgrade again. Have upgraded everytime but never use anything beyond kontakt and a bit of Reaktor. I think Dan summed it up best. I have upgraded historically and foolishly bought all the NI orchestral packages but they have turned out to be totally cheesy compared to Spitfire, Project Sam, and Kirks...Maybe if you're just starting out but if I were I'd just go for Omnisphere 2. It is beyond unfracking believable and it's a unified package that blows the socks off of anything NI has put out beyond Kontakt. Personally I find it so far beyond everything else I own that it's a no brainer.
That $400 gets you Omnisphere2. before you spend the duckets, checkout all the PluginGuru vids... no fluff and no bunch of garbage you'll probably never use.
I've thought about Omnisphere but all the drums and percussion that come with K10U tip the scale towards NI for me. Vintage, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80s, Modern, Studio Drums, African, Cuban, Drumlab, Action Strikes. Covers a lot of ground. All I really wanted was to upgrade Session Horns to Pro but for $215 more I get a lot. Add the reverbs and pianos and it's no-brainer for me. I can sell my NI Rick, Alecia's Keys, and Session Horns.
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bapu
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 13:21:06
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vintagevibe
I can sell my NI Rick, Alecia's Keys, and Session Horns.
If they were non-media delivered, you'd better check that out. Time was when NI would not allow the resale of downloadable products.
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arachnaut
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 13:38:57
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If you are interested in acoustic instruments, Reaktor has a number of physically modelled ensembles, most are in the User Library.
SteamPipe, Clarkinet, Silverwood, many more.
Chet Singer's models (in the UL) are very impressive.
My interests are mostly on the weird side of things, so I like to warp these models and play things out of range, particularly in the bass.
I don't want to sound like a Reaktor shill - it is my favorite piece of software and I've invested about a decade of learning/study/building with it.
- Jim Hurley - SONAR Platinum - x64 - Windows 10 Pro ASUS P8P67 PRO Rev 3.0; Core i7-2600K@4.4GHz; 16 GB G.SKILL Ripjaws X; GeForce GT 740; Saffire Pro14 MixControl 3.7; Axiom 61 64-Bit audio, SR: 48kHz, ASIO 256 samples latency, Rec/Play I/O Buffers 512k, Total Round Trip Latency 13 ms, Pow-r 3 dither
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thepianist65
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 15:27:29
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Bit, thanks for the listen, I agree with you. I do have Kirk Hunter Spotlight Strings, which is excellent, haven't used it much lately, but off and on--got it on a group buy a while back for a pittance, BTW.
As far as opening up new avenues of musical exploration, I did think of that as well, although at the moment I'm up against it with some retro-60's music project from my high school days (geezer alert!), so it would be some time before I could begin to explore--maybe when I get ready to do my 4th CD of jazz fusion stuff I'll re-examine going off on the synth train--Omnisphere has always intrigued me, but the cost vs. how much I have time to explore it make it not a great investment right now.
Appreciate all the comments, suggestions, etc., it is quite helpful.
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SmokeyJ628
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 16:01:13
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bapu
vintagevibe
I can sell my NI Rick, Alecia's Keys, and Session Horns.
If they were non-media delivered, you'd better check that out. Time was when NI would not allow the resale of downloadable products.
They definitely allow resale of download products. Years ago that was an issue, but now it's ok. Contact them first to de-activate the serial number. The buyer will then need to contact NI to activate the serial number in their account.
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Fleer
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 22:12:57
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That's what I'll do, sell my K10 and get the K10U Crossgrade from my Kontrol keys.
Interestingly, when you sell NI stuff, you don't have to send any disks or upload any files, as NI will give the buyer access to disk image files. Quite nice.
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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BassDaddy
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 22:58:32
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That's a nice deal for you. I would love to hear what you think of the Kontrol keyboard.
It's Bass, not Bass. i7 2700K, 16GB DDR3, 2 SSD sample drives and OS drive, HDD SATAIII for projects, 2 24" monitors Focusrite Saffire Pro 24, Focusrite VRM Box, LAVA Lamp, SONAR Platinum 64 bit, Mackie MCU and 1 MCU XT, Akai Advance 49, Windows 10, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Cakewalk, Toontrack, IK, AAS, XLN, UVI, Air Music Tech, Waves Factory, Sample Tek and Sonivox VSTi's. Overloud, T-Racks, Audio Damage, D16, Nomad Factory, Waves Gold FX
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BassDaddy
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 22:59:11
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It's Bass, not Bass. i7 2700K, 16GB DDR3, 2 SSD sample drives and OS drive, HDD SATAIII for projects, 2 24" monitors Focusrite Saffire Pro 24, Focusrite VRM Box, LAVA Lamp, SONAR Platinum 64 bit, Mackie MCU and 1 MCU XT, Akai Advance 49, Windows 10, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Cakewalk, Toontrack, IK, AAS, XLN, UVI, Air Music Tech, Waves Factory, Sample Tek and Sonivox VSTi's. Overloud, T-Racks, Audio Damage, D16, Nomad Factory, Waves Gold FX
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Fleer
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 23:06:34
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Mid size, 49 keys. Love its quality feel. It's a very solid keyboard with Fatar action. I also like all those small screens, even the keys' lighting, definitely not a gimmick. Perfect for Komplete, but will be able to control much more. Compared it to the Akai at Musikmesse, so happy I went for this one. If you get it, there's even a Komplete Select instrument pack included. And if you get it this month, you can crossgrade to K10 or K10 Ultimate for a fraction of what these would normally cost.
post edited by Fleer - 2015/06/03 23:13:19
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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rtucker55
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/03 23:31:10
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Congrats on your purchase Fleer! I think you'll really enjoy it.
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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Fleer
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/04 23:48:33
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Cheers guys, now waitin' for the K10U crossgrade ...
"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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BassDaddy
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Re: Is Komplete 10 Ultimate worth it
2015/06/05 21:39:11
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Would love to hear how K10U works with the keyboard. To have button and knobs ready for tweeking the NI Insruments would be great.
It's Bass, not Bass. i7 2700K, 16GB DDR3, 2 SSD sample drives and OS drive, HDD SATAIII for projects, 2 24" monitors Focusrite Saffire Pro 24, Focusrite VRM Box, LAVA Lamp, SONAR Platinum 64 bit, Mackie MCU and 1 MCU XT, Akai Advance 49, Windows 10, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Cakewalk, Toontrack, IK, AAS, XLN, UVI, Air Music Tech, Waves Factory, Sample Tek and Sonivox VSTi's. Overloud, T-Racks, Audio Damage, D16, Nomad Factory, Waves Gold FX
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