Can Kontakt not be resold? Unless it's NFR, I'd think an older version might be a good way to go. Most of the third-party libraries that require full Kontakt can be loaded into version 3.5 or version 4.

kennywtelejazz
WOW Guys , thanks a lot for the info 
 
I suspected that I would have to get the Komplete if I wanted the Kontakt player ….yet it doesn't hurt to ask and have all the full info..
 
Kenny
 

To clarify: AFAIK Kontakt Player is and has always been free, and comes as an "attachment" with many libraries. Most quality libraries require the full version, and do not work with Player.

Kostas , I agree , for that kind of money it only makes sense to get Komplete .
 
Mod Bod , nice to see you here ….put me on the list for a wake up call .
 
John / ampfixer , I don't doubt for a second that it's worth every penny ...
it seems to me that with all the included synths , plugs and guitar emulations The Komplete is a must have .
 
strikinlyhandsome1, yeah , it seems to be a mater of good timing and planing when it comes to being prepared for when it goes on sale ….
lets hope I don't accidentally walk into a music store to buy a pack of guitar strings and leave w a second hand guitar amp or pedal ….as my luck would have it …a few days later that will be the time when N I decides to have a sale …lol 
 
bitflipper , you bring up an interesting point , it does seem like a valid alternative possibility
maybe some one in the know will chime in and give us the answer ...
 
Kalle Rantaaho, are you saying that the free player works unrestricted with certain music libraries ?
I've always wondered about that …please clarify if you have the desire to do so ...
 
thank you guys ….
 
Kenny
 

I bought Kontakt for $200 - which is less than half of what Komplete goes for on sale.  Granted, if you want the whole shebang Komplete is a better deal.  But for just kontakt wait for the sale.  You missed Christmas, but they have one in the summer usually.  If you have the player you should be registered for NI and they will email you about sales, new offers, etc.  Or you can get the other free versions of their synths and they will email you.  Just register.

I'm not sure this works, but it has in the past. You can/could get and register the free DrumMic'a and use that as an upgrade path to Kontakt. I mentioned this on KVR over Christmas and some people claimed it didn't work and some people said it did, so your mileage may vary.
This would make it $250 right now, but a lot less if you catch a sale, I think some people got it for $125?

Hi AT , Yes I'm registered w NI for the free Kontatk 5, Guitar Rig 5 and Reactor 5
they just sent me an e mail with the current sale that they are having on a few select synths at half price …..
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/synthsation/?content=2667 
 
on a funny side note I think I just beat cclarry to the punch on posting a software deal in this section of the forum  
 
I really want to get the Kontakt …it seems to me that the type of music I'm involved in is more true to the type of sound libraries that are available for it ….don't get me wrong all their synths do sound fantastic ..
 
yeah if I can score it for what you payed I would probably be all over that ..thanks 
 
Hi Big Cat , thank you for passing on that info  I'm gonna look into that .
 
Kenny

kennywtelejazz
 
 
Kalle Rantaaho, are you saying that the free player works unrestricted with certain music libraries ?
I've always wondered about that …please clarify if you have the desire to do so ...
 
thank you guys ….
 
Kenny
 

 
AFAIK Kontakt Player does not work unrestricted with certain libraries.  It will play some libraries however you will not be able to tweak the sounds like you can with the full version.  Thus you will not have total control over the sounds and sometimes that can make a big difference. Plus with the  full version all sounds available for Kontakt will play whereas there are a few sounds that will work with the player.

Check the differences out here: http://knowledge.timespac...ntakt-4-player-and-kon

Here is a comparison chart: http://www.native-instrum...akt-player-vs-kontakt/

I hope this helps.

kennywtelejazz
 
Kalle Rantaaho, are you saying that the free player works unrestricted with certain music libraries ?
I've always wondered about that …please clarify if you have the desire to do so ...
 
thank you guys ….
 
Kenny

I'm saying Kontakt Player is a free downloadable software (it's not the same as Kontakt), and there are libraries, free and commercial, that are compatible to it, and many commercial libraries include (or used to include?) Kontakt Player.

Basically the deal with Kontakt Player is it can only play protected libraries. If a company makes a sample library, they can choose to protect it with NI's activation/DRM. To do this, they have to pay a license fee to NI for each copy sold. However it gets their library protected (not that it is good protection, but there you go) and it also makes it able to work in Kontakt Player. Another way to look at it is they are licensing a copy of Kontakt Player.
 
As such, any libraries thus protected work with it, and you can download it and use it for them freely.
 
Not all libraries you buy are like that though. Some companies protect all their libraries, some companies none, some a mixture. It can depends on a number of things. Some companies don't do protection because they don't want to pay the license fee. Sometimes it is because more complex libraries can't work in the limits of the Player (since it doesn't have all the effects and so on). Sometimes it is because professionals like the ability to edit libraries, which is diminished in protected libraries.
 
Regardless, it is generally very well noted. If a library needs the full Kontakt, it'll say so, if Player is ok, it'll say so and usually advertise that it is included (which doesn't matter as you can download it separate).
 
So for example Soundiron's Olympus Elements, their lighter weight choir, works with Kontakt Player. However Mars their full featured men's choir needs the full Kontakt to work.
 
If you own a Kontakt Player library, you can upgrade to Kontakt at a reduced price of $250. The full version of Kontakt works with all the libraries that work in Player, as well as ones that require the full version.
 
Also: Old libraries that use Kompakt work with Kontakt Player. Basically Kompakt was the predecessor to Player. Back in the day they had two different products. They decided to unify the codebase, but just have different feature sets. So if you own a Kompakt library, you can download Kontakt Player and it'll work happily.
 
Komplete is then a super-set of Kontakt. It includes the full version of Kontakt, as well as the full version of a number of other NI programs (like Guitar Rig, Battery, Reaktor, FM8, Massive and so on) and also a bunch of NI's sample libraries for Kontakt. If you want Komplete, it is generally best to buy it, rather than buying Kontakt and upgrading. Komplete is normally $500, and the crossgrade from Kontakt to complete is normally $400 so you don't really get a discount for owning Kontakt already.

I own only three Kontakt-licensed libraries (SampleLogic's Cinematic Guitars, Infinite Player, and the ancient Drumkit from Hell) because I resent the built-in license fee, which is like re-purchasing Kontakt each time.
 
But I have 800 GB of unlicensed libraries that all run on Kontakt 3.5 or Kontakt 4.2. I can modify them if I want, even combine them with other libraries or my own samples. And they were all less-expensive than their licensed equivalents, with no compromise in quality.