NMCKD! (New midi controller keyboard day) - Komplete Kontrol S61

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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1453845458' post='2963457']
Yeah, looks like it was a deal across all the keyboards with the Komplete bundle. If you get the keyboard by itself you do get Komplete Select - http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/komplete-kontrol-s-series/software-details/. A nice range of instruments with Massive being the shining star.

I'm using Reaper as my DAW.
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Until 2 days ago, I could get the S49 for £339, now everywhere it is £399.
I've now got my eye on a new contender, the Alesis VX49. It has a decent software suite & runs similar to the Akai Advance boards.
Still waiting until next month though, see what the prices are post NAMM.

[Mornats]

I'm sure people are eyeing up the VX49 as a Komplete S killer. Shame you missed out on the Komplete Kontrol price drop. No doubt they'll put the price down again sometime this year (especially after the competition announced at NAMM shows up).

[Mornats]

Ha typical, the week after I buy Vocalise and Evolve Mutations 2 NI put all of Heavyocity's products on sale with 50% off! At least I got to use a £22.50 voucher on EM2.

http://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/heavyocity-special/

I think I may bite the bullet and get the full Evolve for £85

[Mornats]

Ok, so I've watched pretty much every video and demo of Evolve, the Evolve Mutations series and Damage as I could find. Pretty much spent all morning checking all of them and reading about alternatives and having a good think about what I wanted from a library.

Evolve was top of my list but I realised that I have a load of options (and some third-party presets) in Massive and Absynth for and pads, rhythmic basses, stings and transitions. Plus The Giant has a lovely cinematic mode for wood block type sounds. So really what I was after was a lot more variety in the cinematic/industrial type drums. I've been playing around with the kits in Evolve Mutations 2 and there's a lot you can do with the single loops in there to create your own beats. Still, I wanted some nice pre-prepared rhythms that I could take and adapt and tweak much like I do with EZDrummer. Also I was a bit miffed at having spent £60 on EM2 already only to find that if I'd waited a few weeks I could have bought the EM1 and 2 pack for the same price. I also bought Vocalise at full price too. Argh! So rather than got that EM1 or Evolve I ended up splashing a bit more on Damage. I'd love a whole range of rises and stings like NI's Rise and Hit has but in a recent track I've been working on I managed to get somewhere near that myself by using some strings, raising the volume up via automation and ending with a drum beat. Tie that in with some nice reversed convulation reverb effects and I reckon I can make some myself.

Edit: seems there's a nice amount of really epic sounding hits in Damage and a good range of rises from the cymbals parts of the library.

So there you go. I promise I'm done now

Edited February 21, 2016 by Mornats

[Mornats]

Heh I'm watching Criminal Minds on TV and I'm hearing all of the samples from Evolve Mutations 2 and Damage

[lowdown]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1456091326' post='2985359']
Heh I'm watching Criminal Minds on TV and I'm hearing all of the samples from Evolve Mutations 2 and Damage
[/quote]

Interview with the composers here.
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2011/06/wecreatemusic/p-fantini-fantini-gordon-on-composing.aspx

[lowdown]

Seems like there is a deal on until the end of March for KK S61 + Komplete 10 Ultimate.
£760.00 plus free delivery.
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/computer-music/midi-equipment/105209-native-instruments-komplete-kontrol-s61-with-komplete-10-ultimate

[Mornats]

Yeah, they're offering the upgrade from Komplete Select to Komplete 10 for £144.50 and I thought of you and your newly purchased S88.

I'm a little miffed at the timing of this and the Heavyocity sale. I bought Evolve Mutations 2 for full price (minus the £22.50 voucher) before the Heavyocity sale and Damage for half price in that sale. For a fiver more than I paid for those two I could now buy the upgrade to Komplete Ultimate which contains both products plus a whole load more. Gah!

So I'm trying to work out if I can sell the licences for them (doesn't seem so at the moment) and upgrade to Komplete Ultimate. Id' get Rise and Hit, Action Strikes, Action Strings and Kinetic Damage amongst others. The first three in that list were ones I've been looking at, particularly Rise and Hit. The rest of hte products in KU10 I'm not too fussed about really.

I know I should have waited but you never know when a sale is going to hit. Not sure what to do!

Also, this could mean that Komplete 11 is just around the corner. It's due and this sale is a pretty good indicator that it's coming after March.

Edit: Link to the sale goodness: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/spring-into-sound/

Edited March 1, 2016 by Mornats

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[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1456854304' post='2992921']
Yeah, they're offering the upgrade from Komplete Select to Komplete 10 for £144.50 and I thought of you and your newly purchased S88.
[/quote]
Having spent all my pennies on the S88, I'll have to hope they keep the offer on for about 4 months, give me time to save up for it. Though I do get a bonus at the end of this month... If they give me a decent bonus, I might just manage it.

Here's hoping. I've got 2 £22 evouchers, but I can only use one at a time.

The only reason I chose the S88 over the other keys was that I got it at the sale price of £679. It's now £729 everywhere.
At one point I was going for the Akai Advance61, but I think I've made the right choice. The keybed on the 88 is really good, I like the ribbons & the lights on the keys are cool. Even Komplete Select is a great package.

[Mornats]

Ah yes, it was you and now lowdown who just bought the S88

It's a bargain of a crossgrade for £145 if you're going to use the instruments in Komplete. The offer runs until March 31st so here's hoping that you get your bonus! Glad you like your S88. The keybed on my S61 is superb.

You can't use your e-vouchers in a sale unfortunately. They're only valid for full products (won't even work on upgrades).

I've emailed Native Instruments to see if they can do anything for me to either refund me for the software I already bought or let me transfer them. They're not showing up as transferable at the moment. I'd completely understand if they can't do anything though but it's worth asking to see what they come back with.

[Mornats]

Well, the guys at Native Instruments have been absolutely fantastic. They've agreed to refund me for Damage and EM2 if I buy the upgrade to Komplete Ultimate. So I'm now in the process of downloading Action Strings, Action Strikes, Rise & Hit and a couple of smaller products. I'll need to get a bigger SSD to get it all installed (although I'll probably not install the bass guitar libraries for obvious reasons ) Can't believe how awesome they were to help me out like this. Bloody fantastic customer service.

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That's really good to hear.
They were helpful when I had queries about using the KA6. The NI forum is helpful too.