What is Kontakt?

If you’re just starting out producing music or you’re new to Native Instruments, understanding the power and potential of the Kontakt platform is an essential stop on your journey. Kontakt is a sampler, a virtual instrument builder, and host to the world’s largest selection of virtual instruments and libraries. There’s so much more to discover, so let’s dive in.
 

Discover Kontakt 8

Jump to these sections:

• The industry standard
• Kontakt instruments
• The difference between Kontakt and Kontakt Player
• Make your own sounds with Kontakt
• The first choice for instrument builders
• What’s new in Kontakt 8

The industry standard

Back when Kontakt landed on the scene in 2002 it was part of the first wave of software samplers. Two decades later, and eight versions in since it first launched, it’s safe to say that Kontakt changed the game for music production. Kontakt is widely used on Hollywood film scores, found all over Billboard Hot 100 songs, and used by many of your favorite artists. Leading studios, sound designers, producers, composers, and musicians all count on Kontakt as a key part of their toolkit, and we’ve partnered with many of them to develop their own Kontakt instruments – but more on that later.

Kontakt instruments

With thousands of libraries from Native Instruments, official partners, and scores of indie developers, Kontakt is the gateway to some of the world’s most incredible sounds. And the exciting thing is that everything is completely tweakable, so you can make any sound your own.

Something we’re particularly proud of at NI is that our own Kontakt instruments are known for a deep level of authentic detail. We always work with specialists in the field to build the most faithful true-to-life sound. Recent releases include concert grand pianos, cutting-edge hyper pop, traditional irish folk instruments, ethereal orchestral libraries, and soulful hip hop – to name just a few!

We also work closely with some huge artists to produce their own Kontakt instruments including Alicia Keys, Nils Frahm, and Jacob Collier.

Thanks to NI’s plugin standard NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) Kontakt instruments from our partners are also all precisely mapped to our hardware controls. This makes music production a much more fun and free flowing process, without annoying setup time. You can check out NKS-ready Kontakt libraries from names like Orchestral Tools, Heavyocity, u-He, Audio Imperia, Spitfire, Slate + Ash, and many many more.

What’s the difference between Kontakt and Kontakt Player?

A very common question for music producers starting out is if they need the full version of Kontakt right away. Kontakt Player is the free version that runs all NI Kontakt instruments and many more officially licensed options from third-party developers (make sure to check the compatibility before you buy).

You can download Kontakt Player now in the free Komplete Start bundle and start using free Kontakt instruments.

The full version of Kontakt also runs Kontakt instruments but offers the powerful creation tools too. Plus, it’s a trove of even more unique virtual instruments with the free Kontakt Factory Library and thousands of options to buy from indie instrument developers.

Make your own sounds with Kontakt

As a sampler Kontakt lets you import any sound you can think of to build your own libraries. As you grow your skills and confidence there’s so much more you can do. Product specialist Brian Kullas has covered 10 of his favorite Kontakt features here.

The first choice for instrument builders

All your favorite virtual instruments were made right here. Kontakt is used by pro instrument developers, including our official partners plus thousands more indie developers, thanks to its unmatched feature set. Beginners should know that professional instrument development is a complex process but the beauty of Kontakt is that it has amazing creative tools for users of all levels.

Kontakt 8 – a load of new creative tools

This latest generation of Kontakt brings a new set of intelligent tools to change the way you generate ideas and create music. There’s so many new sound design options, intuitive, playful workflows, and fresh features that break the barriers of pure sampling.

Tools add a new layer of creative features across the platform. They work with any Kontakt instrument, old and new. There’s plenty more to come in future but for the first drop, we launched MIDI content and randomization features with Chords and Phrases, all designed to spark new ideas and get you in the zone fast. Learn more about Tools in our overview.

Leap is a fast and fun way to play and manipulate loops. Spark fresh ideas, sprinkle in expressive performance effects, or just jam. Breathe new life into your sample collection or try something totally fresh with the new Leap Expansions series. Again there is plenty more to come but we’re starting off with 12 curated packs for specific genres and styles. You can learn more about Leap in our blog.

This is an exciting one. Conflux is the first in a new breed of Kontakt instruments for experimental sound design. It’s built with a new range of Kontakt features that let you merge organic and synthetic samples and add dynamic movement to static sounds in real time – with original PPG wavetables and techniques like FM, phase modulation, and ring modulation.

Now that you know what Kontakt is, you can follow our Kontakt guide to create your music and check out our Kontakt community.

Save on Kontakt with Komplete 15

Kontakt 8 comes included with Komplete 15 bundles, in the Standard tier and above. It’s a huge saving on a massive collection of plugins. And there’s endless creative possibilities to be had with Kontakt’s creative tools applied to fan-favorite instruments like Noire, Stradivari Violin, Vocal Colors, and much more.
 

Discover Komplete 15