11 NKS instruments that will change the way you create music

Good music is the outcome of a fluid process. When you’re in the flow, you need the right sounds at your fingertips – and the minimum of distractions. That’s the thinking behind Native Kontrol Standard, the technology that gives you seamless access to a huge library of sounds via your favorite hardware.

NKS isn’t just designed to speed up your creativity: it can also broaden your sonic horizons, thanks to the hundreds of brands and thousands of third-party VSTs that are NKS compatible. In this article, we’ll explore 11 NKS instruments that could expand your sound palette and freshen up your music-making. From lifelike drum libraries to pro-level scoring tools and bizarre sound engines, all of these instruments have something special – and they’re all on offer as part of our Big Partner Sale.

Jump to these sections:

• What is NKS?
• How can NKS help my workflow?
• What are some good NKS-compatible instruments from indie developers?
• 11 NKS instruments that will change the way you create music
  1. Dezert Audio – Freq-2
  2. Wavelet Audio – Groth
  3. Chaos Tones – Deviant Drums
  4. Keep Forest – Berserkr Pro
  5. Keep Forest – Watchkeeper
  6. Wavelet Audio – Edda
  7. Ocean Swift Synthesis – Porphyra Hybrid and Dystopia Diary
  8. 10 Phantom Rooms – Low End Toys
  9. Bogren Digital – Trivium Drums
  10. Cinematic Tools – Tommee Profitt Percussion
  11. NAFF – 3D Instruments: Spat Curve

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What is NKS?

NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) is a technology that ensures seamless integration between your controller and your library of sounds. That means you can browse and tweak right from your hardware without laborious manual mapping or clunky incompatibilities. NKS delivers deep integration with Native Instruments hardware such as Maschine and Kontrol S-Series Keyboards. It also offers compatibility with controllers from other manufacturers, covering many of the most popular controllers around.

Hundreds of brands offer NKS instruments and sounds, from the leading lights of music tech to inspiring indie developers. Whether you need loops and synths for your next track, or high-power scoring tools for film and TV, the NKS standard gives you the widest choice of pre-mapped, quality sounds available anywhere.

How can NKS help my workflow?

Creativity is all about momentum, and interruptions to your flow can make the difference between a great song or composition and an abandoned sketch. NKS addresses this by seamlessly connecting your Native Instruments and third-party VSTs to the keys, pads, wheels, or buttons on your controller. That means you can choose sounds and adjust parameters right from your hardware, without needing to pause to assign mappings or switch back to the keyboard and mouse.

The NKS standard also opens up a world of compatible instruments and sounds from hundreds of developers, giving you a steady supply of inspiration. We’ll explore some of these NKS instruments below.

What are some good NKS-compatible instruments from indie developers?

There are countless NKS-compatible instruments available from inspired indie developers, from pro-level scoring tools such as Wavelet Audio’s Edda and Groth to beautiful-sounding synthesizers like Ocean Swift’s Porphyra Hybrid and unique instruments like NAFF’s Spat Curve. Many of them are on offer right now as part of our NKS partner sale. We’ll explore these instruments – and more – in the list below.

11 NKS instruments that will change the way you create music

1. Dezert Audio – Freq-2

Compiling 22 sampled synths from Grammy winner Dez Wright’s rare collection, this instrument is ideal for evocative sci-fi scoring and vintage-flavored electronica. The quirky future-retro interface gets you in the mood immediately, and the sounds – which were processed through premium hardware and can be further shaped by the onboard FX – are consistently charming. Not sure where to start? Hit randomize for instant synth inspiration.

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2. Wavelet Audio – GROTH

Ancient mythology in modern packaging: Groth brings you 61 cinematic instruments that sit between global folk music traditions and cutting edge post-horror sound design. You could spend hours digging through this huge assortment of thunderous percussion, rustic instruments, vocal effects, impacts, and more. Throw a few of the instruments together and you have an instant, authentic soundworld.

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3. Chaos Tones – Deviant Drums

Deviant Drums is more than just a substitute rock drummer – though its rich and lifelike sound means it excels at this task. Spanning nine full kits, dozens of snares and cymbals, and multiple mix tools for each drum, this Kontakt instrument is a near-limitless drum designer’s playground. Engineered with a “modern traditional” approach, it’s equally good for dependable rock drums and out-there sonic destruction. Start by browsing the presets to get a sense of its range.

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4. Keep Forest – Berserkr Pro – Tribal Punk Folk Drums

Perfect for fantasy and historical settings, this collection includes rich and energetic vocal shouts, growls, nyckelharpa, and cello. Taken individually, the over 240 Kontakt patches are a trove of evocative sounds. Layer a few patches together and engage the built-in sequencer to quickly create driving compositions with gritty energy.

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5. Keep Forest – Watchkeeper

This imaginative collection takes a sonic theme and runs with it. It features over 700 Kontakt patches built around countdowns, pulses, and other clock-like sound effects. The sonic range is impressive, from gnarly basses to delicate chimes – and, of course, plenty of tick-tock percussion. What unifies these sounds is a nagging sense that time is running out… perfect for suspenseful scoring, or any composition that needs to ratchet up the tension.

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6. Wavelet Audio – Edda

Give your next score a potent dose of Viking charm with this authentic collection of instruments from the era. Sawing tagelharpa strings combine with thumping pagan percussion to evoke frosty seas and windswept landscapes. The ready-to-use phrases will get you started fast, while the over 10GB of included samples contain enough richness and depth to keep you coming back.

Get Edda

7. Ocean Swift Synthesis: Porphyra Hybrid and Dystopia Diary

These two instruments offer an incredible breadth of sonic possibilities. Dystopia Diary is an all-in-one solution for cinematic soundscapes. The included sample library – 2100 high quality snapshots covering field recordings, speech, eerie radio transmissions, and more – is worth the price of entry alone. The interface lets you layer and process up to six of them together to create deep, strange, and fascinating sound worlds. Combine it with Porphyra Hybrid – a luscious synth that pairs creative sampling with a wavetable oscillator for endless dreamy pads and atmospheres – and your next score or ambient track should write itself.

Get Dystopia Diary    Get Porphyra Hybrid

8. 10 Phantom Rooms – Low End Toys

Musical toys have become popular source material for sample libraries: equal parts quirky and eerie, these sounds can be a powerful scoring tool and an inspiration when you’re tired of conventional instruments. 10 Phantom Rooms put a fresh spin on the format with this unique collection of repitched sounds. Partly sampled with high frequency microphones and then transposed as much as three octaves down, the source instruments (some of them modded toys and rare toy synths) produce deep, mysterious sonics that could add color and intrigue to your next composition.

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9. Bogren Digital – Trivium Drums

If you’re looking for metal drums, you can’t go wrong with this collection from Trivium’s legendary Alex Bent. Recorded and engineered by Jens Bogren at his prestigious Fascination Street Studios, these drums sound huge, polished, and album-ready right out of the box. There are even MIDI clips capturing Bent’s masterful playing, covering a range of styles from hard rock to 190bpm technical metal.

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10. Cinematic Tools – Tommee Profitt Percussion

This could be your go-to library for cinematic percussion. Songwriter and composer Tommee Profitt has condensed his years of experience in film and TV into this 10,000-sample collection of epic thunder drums, searing cymbals, and heavy impacts. The individual Kontakt instruments – each covering a percussion type – offer a huge range of sounds for creating expressive phrases and loops. If you’re in a hurry, go straight to the Loops instrument to quickly layer up propulsive, trailer-ready grooves.

Get Tommee Profitt Percussion

11. NAFF – 3D Instruments Spat Curve

3D sound is a bold new frontier in music, and NAFF are way ahead with Spat Curve. This instrument lets you “play space” with over 55,000 multi-directional audio files (for Dolby Atmos and Ambisonics) assembled into 16 Kontakt instruments. Ranging from familiar sounds such as horns and bassoons (and the first ever 3D Drums) to bizarre new creations and Aztec/Mayan object-sampling, this would be a fascinating collection even in plain old stereo. The mindblowing part: each instrument reacts spatially to your performance, spraying notes and textures around the listener in three dimensions.

Get Spat Curve

Start using NKS instruments to freshen up your workflow

In this article, we’ve explored some of the best NKS instruments from inspired indie developers. Thanks to their compatibility with Native Kontrol Standard, these Kontakt Instruments can speed up your flow and broaden your sound palette.

All of the third-party VSTs mentioned in this article are currently on offer as part of our Big Partner Sale. Get hold of these NKS instruments – and explore all of the music production deals on offer – at the link below.

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