Two parts to the question.
 
1) What do you think of Kontakt 5?
 
2) Given that I focus on songwriting rather than production and tend to use sounds as supplied -- minimal tweaking, little-to-no experimentation -- is Kontakt 5 a sensible purchase at this price?
 
Thanks.

califran
Two parts to the question.
 
1) What do you think of Kontakt 5?
 
2) Given that I focus on songwriting rather than production and tend to use sounds as supplied -- minimal tweaking, little-to-no experimentation -- is Kontakt 5 a sensible purchase at this price?
 
Thanks.

Do you own a previous version of Kontakt?
Do you own many other virtual instruments?
If no, then I'd recommend getting Komplete... as it offers a LOT of bang for the buck.

I have Kontakt 5. I'd highly recommend it. It opens many new options for you that you will quickly appreciate.

If you just want good sounds straight out of the box Kontakt is a good option. The factory content is useful and there is a lot of free or low cost addons if you want to fill any holes.
 
Most Kontakt instruments require minimal tweaking. You can dive deep if you want to but do not have to. I think it would be very useful for your use scenario.
 
 
 

If you just want good sounds straight out of the box Kontakt is a good option. The factory content is useful and there is a lot of free or low cost addons if you want to fill any holes.
 
Most Kontakt instruments require minimal tweaking. You can dive deep if you want to but do not have to. I think it would be very useful for your use scenario.
 
 
 

I noticed the price reduction also - I know there a lot of companies creating libraries for Kontak 5 - but I wondered about the 43gb or so of samples that come with the package --- I currently use  sampletank 2.5 and dimension pro, - Are the samples noticably more realistic(brass instruments, bass guitars, guitar, pianos etc) than the ones that come with these two packages??  I've tried the Kontakt free player and  wasn't really blown away with the free sounds.

godino
- but I wondered about the 43gb or so of samples that come with the package --- I currently use  sampletank 2.5 and dimension pro, - Are the samples noticably more realistic(brass instruments, bass guitars, guitar, pianos etc) than the ones that come with these two packages?? 

IMHO - Yes they are much better for the most part.  That said I think the main value of Kontakt is the third party content. There is a lot of great stuff availale for free or less that $20

Sounds-wise/content wise, I completely agree with Glyn.......Kontakt is really fantastic right out of the box (SampleTank & Dim Pro do need some tweaking).
 
That being said..... and with Kontakt 5 being on sale, an alternate option might be to get K4 for really cheap from someone selling their Kontakt license. I've bought quite a few NI things at the KVR_Market_Place  and had very good experiences in the purchase process (Paypal). Also, I believe K4 has more 3rd party libraries available.    

Mesh
Also, I believe K4 has more 3rd party libraries available.    

 Kontakt 4 libraries and earlier will play in Kontakt 5, but not the other way around.

BOOM! I'm in.  
 
Ka-ching!
 
Well worth it.