Over the past year I have invested quite heavily in third party effects - mainly Waves, but others as well, and I feel these have taken my song productions up several notches. Essentially I am an electric guitar/bass player and singer, but I am now interested in getting into a new area - VST instruments. Up until now, I have occasionally added keyboard parts to my songs and this has been almost exclusively through Dim Pro. 
 
I am not however, a keyboard player really, and my interest in instruments has been sparked by MIDI Guitar 2 as an input method - it really is excellent.
 
I guess I am primarily interested in "real" instruments - e.g., woodwind, brass, strings. I am not really looking to create my own soundscapes - I mean I only use DimPro presets, and I haven't got a clue about editing them. 
 
I've seem various posts about the Full Version of Kontakt and some good third party instruments that need the "full" version - I had a look at the NI site and TBH felt somewhat confused - I don't know where to start. 
 
What would be a good starting point? Kontakt seems great, but if you recommend that, where do I start? Any others I should consider? Perhaps Kontakt is overkill if I am only looking to play real instruments?
 
Any pointers gratefully received. 
 

The full version of Kontakt is definitely worth having...at some point. When you can find a good price on it. There are a lot of free Kontakt VIs, ALL of which require the full version. Some of the paid Kontakt VIs (most of the expensive ones) pay the NI licensing fee and work great with the free Kontakt Player, so check that.
 
Something else to take a look at is the free UVI Workstation (https://www.uvi.net/en/so...uvi-workstation.html). It's a terrific piece of software and there are some excellent instruments available for it. For pianos, for example, VI Labs True Keys pianos (https://www.vilabsaudio.com/truekeyspianos) are outstanding.

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Marshall just subscribe to composer cloud. Save your hard earned cash

The East West instrument collection at Composer Cloud is extensive and reasonably priced for what you get. 
 
If you already know you want orchestral instruments,  look at EWQL Hollywood Orchestra. The Diamond edition of Hollywood Orchestra is $466 right now, which is silly cheap. Start with that (that's what I did). I consider Hollywood Orchestra one of the best VST collections.

+1 

AllanH
The East West instrument collection at Composer Cloud is extensive and reasonably priced for what you get. 
 
If you already know you want orchestral instruments,  look at EWQL Hollywood Orchestra. The Diamond edition of Hollywood Orchestra is $466 right now, which is silly cheap. Start with that (that's what I did). I consider Hollywood Orchestra one of the best VST collections.

I have had a good look at the tutorial videos, and this looks like an amazing package.
 
I am somewhat daunted by what it can do, in that I have almost zero music theory, and I am not trying to write for films or games, let alone write classical music, but I love the sounds I hear and I think I could incorporate these into my relatively simple songwriting. Can someone with no theory background use this more or less out of the box? 

Oh yeah. I did. And I do.

Marshall

AllanH
... I consider Hollywood Orchestra one of the best VST collections.

I have had a good look at the tutorial videos, and this looks like an amazing package.
 
I am somewhat daunted by what it can do, in that I have almost zero music theory, and I am not trying to write for films or games, let alone write classical music, but I love the sounds I hear and I think I could incorporate these into my relatively simple songwriting. Can someone with no theory background use this more or less out of the box? 

Hollywood Orchestra is not simple, but it is one of the best. I'm not sure you can get top-of-the-line product, with the associated flexibility, without it having a learning curve. Certainly not at EWQL HO's price.
 
If all you want is ensemble strings, brass, and woods, I'd look at something like Spitfires Albion One. However, the price is about the same (right now), and you give up endless flexibility for a one-click good sound. You'll regret that later (imo). AlbionOne is excellent in a different way, and I have it.
 
Sonar does come with a simple section strings, Rapture etc, so you already have "simple". Only you can decide if you are ready for pro-class instrument.

Totally agree that Kontakt is a good investment. A fair chunk of change up front, but it'll actually save you money in the long run as it allows you to take advantage of all the inexpensive libraries that don't run on the free player. The reason they're cheaper is they don't have to include the surcharge they have to pay to Native Instruments in exchange for making their products compatible with the free player.
 
My advice would be to buy Kontakt and satisfy yourself with the bundled factory content for awhile. There's a lot in there to keep you busy for months to come. After you've used it for awhile, you'll identify specific instruments that are missing, could sound better, or be more versatile. You're then in a better position to start looking around for specific products to augment your collection. I would not start with a full orchestral package, especially if that's not your focus.
 
It's easy to get sucked into the world of sampled instruments and become a collector. As a recovering addict myself, I can attest that you can end up with terabytes of stuff you rarely if ever actually use. That glass harmonium sounded so cool in the demos!
 
Try to stay rooted and think in terms of what you'd like to add to your music instead of assuming exotic libraries will fire your creativity. You'll find that most truly useful stuff is pretty mundane: hand percussion, basic strings and brass, vocal oohs, electric and acoustic pianos. And don't lose sight of the fact that synthesizers are often viable and cheaper alternatives to sampled instruments, with no compromises as far as credibility in a recording (e.g. Hammond organs and Wulitzer EPs).