Native Instruments - New Products Preview
Native Instruments has recently announced a slew of new products ready to be launched in February 2019, here’s a preview of what to look forward to :
Komplete Start
From what they have told us, this is a ‘basic’ production suite which will include 15 synths and sampled instruments, effects, loops, and samples with over 2000 sounds .
In more detail the 2000 sounds included in the package are more as samples, so you will find ‘hits’ , loops and more here.
Synths included are broken down as follows:
TRK-01 Bass : A bass modeled synth
Mikro Prism : A synth whereby you can create your own sounds. Included are 70 built in presets.
Lazerbass : Another bass synth
Carbon 2 : Softsynth
Spacedrone : Pad based synth
Newscool: An sequencer and sound generator.
All NI instruments can be run with the Kontakt 6 player (included) , instruments in this package are also included , namely:
Play Series Collection : Including 3 hybrid instruments namely - ANALOG DREAMS, ETHEREAL EARTH, and HYBRID KEYS
Kinetic Treats : A library of sounds from sampled children’s toys.
World : Six instruments including flutes, pagpipes , percussions and more.
Band: 13 rock and pop instruments
Synth: A wide range of pads, basses, leads etc.
Vintage : 13 instruments with sampled sounds from vintage analog synths
Urban Beats : A standard drum machine
You will also find Komplete Kontrol , which is a plug-in whereby all your samples are loaded into, for you to easily categorize find and edit, along with 2 plug-in effects Supercharger (compressor) & Guitar Rig 5 Player ( including 13 effects).
All of this , and believe it or not because it’s true, is completely FREE. That’s right , FREE. with so much quality software to had had here anyone would be a fool to miss out on this . Their website does not state whether its temporary or always will be for free, but I recommended you should not miss out on getting this. The Guitar Rig player with its effects are truly amazing, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the synths and try them out.
Komplete Audio 1 & 2
Two new USB powered sound cards are being added to their already impressive range. Allow me to break this down into two parts , firstly :
Komplete Audio 1
Features that we know so far ,are as follows:
2 inputs: 1x XLR mic in with 48V phantom power, 1x jack input with individual gain control
Outputs: Stereo RCA out
VU-meter for adjusting levels
Direct monitoring for blending audio playback while recording
Big volume knob
Headphone out with high power output and volume control
USB 2.0 bus powered
Audio quality: Premium quality at 192 kHz and 24 bit
Included software: Ableton Live 10 Lite, MASCHINE Essentials, MONARK, REPLIKA, PHASIS, SOLID BUS COMP, and KOMPLETE START
I really like how they have gone all black with the colour palette. It looks more of black matte which completes the gloss look of the level display. A nice entry level sound card for those who are just starting out to produce music, or for those who wish to record single instruments or their own tracks , for example songwriters . No word on if it’s going to have a metal shell ( as in the case with the Komplete 6) or plastic/carbon fibre .
Komplete Audio 2
A little bit of an upgraded version of the Komplete Audio 1 .
Features:
2 inputs: 2 x combi-XLR/jack inputs with 48V phantom power and individual gain control
Outputs: Stereo jack out
VU-meter for adjusting levels
Direct monitoring for blending audio playback while recording
Big volume knob
Headphone out with high power output and volume control
USB 2.0 bus powered
Audio quality: Premium quality at 192 kHz and 24 bit
Included software: Ableton Live 10 Lite, MASCHINE Essentials, MONARK, REPLIKA, PHASIS, SOLID BUS COMP, and KOMPLETE START
Firstly you have two combi-XLR/jack inputs, so multiple instrument recording/miking is possible here. Which makes this great also for podcasters and for producers on the road often. And you’re looking at 2 dual jack outputs that can be connected to pretty much just about any pair of studio monitors.
The price tier as follows :
Komplete Audio 1 - €99
Komplete Audio 2 - €129
Komplete Kontrol M32
A brand new Keyboard/MIDI controller.
Features:
32 key keyboard
Onboard adjustable controls
Sleek & solid design
Included with bundled software
Perfect for plug and play.
USB powered
This is NI’s smallest keyboard that they have ever manufactured. If you look at the top right of the controller, this is a 4 directional knob to navigate through your project and sounds. Great for musicians ‘on the go’ as it’s easy to pack, setup and play anywhere. The onboard controls are truly impressive. You can control your DAW with stop, play, pause, adjust levels , tempo and so much more as well as chord creation and quantize button controls.
Priced at €119
Final Thoughts
Native Instruments has also announced that they are launching a new Traktor, the Traktor DJ 2 , which is an Ipad based software for DJs , also that they have partnered up with sounds.com where you can buy sounds, samples and loops and updates to Komplete Kontrol and Maschine 2.1 . If you wish to learn more about these announcements , click HERE .
I didn’t want to go further into their other announcements as they didn’t really interest me as I have no use for what they have announced. But from the 4 products that I have written about, these are what have peaked my interest and are products that appeal to me as a producer. I cannot wait to see and to try these out in person. The pattern that I see here is that Native Instruments seems to have changed their target market a little. Seems they are targeting musicians on a budget and/or musicians who are always traveling and want to easily record/play/produce tracks on the fly with ease.
I personally use NI hardware and software and they have NEVER disappointed me , they have continually come out with great hardware and software and with these additions , they have opened up their market to new customers and new possibilities. I am really curious to try out there Komplete Start production suite, there is so much software here and it’s all for free. I can’t help but feel that this might just be temporary. I am reminded of when Arturia launched the Pigments synth. At launch it was € 99 and now its gone upto € 199 , after just 2 months. Only time will tell I guess, but in my opinion I think everyone should grab it as soon as its out .
For more information head on down to the official Native instruments page HERE