This keeps coming up in other threads which drift off topic so I figured I should give it a proper home.
tl;dr - the theory goes that Kontakt X is coming, which would not be compatible with all past NKIs. It would be rewritten from the ground up, and include synthesis engines and more. Development on Reaktor ceased 2 years ago, and all resources are being poured into this brand new speculative product, a way of rationalising resources and jettisoning technical debt.
Okay, here's the evidence. From March 2024, Simon NI's quarterly product update:
Note that Reaktor is not mentioned as a "key software platform".
Reaktor 6.5 still doesn't have a browser that can read NKS info, never mind NKS 2. Here's what was said by Georg and the Reaktor development team back in Jan 23, prior to 6.5's release:
Here's a list of important NI moments in the past few years with regard to Kontakt and Reaktor:
SUPER 8 LAUNCHED - May 2019. Things are good for Reaktor.
MASSIVE X LAUNCHED - November 2019 (delayed)
SUPER 8 R2 RELEASED - September 2020. A toe in the water for Reaktor synths, to make them standalone.
KONTAKT 7 LAUNCHED - September 2022
SUPER 8 R2 DISCONTINUED - December 2022. "Unfortunately Super 8 didn't meet a huge success, so the idea to develop standalone Reaktor synths was dropped".
REAKTOR FEATURE DEVELOPMENT CEASED - January 2023, but decision taken some time before this.
REAKTOR 6 UPDATE - March 2023 the "final" release with platform updates - Apple Silicon, Mac Ventura and VST3 support
REAKTOR SYNTHS STEEPLY DISCOUNTED - June 2024. By far the steepest discounts on these products, perhaps suggesting a fire sale.
Last week Simon NI responded to this question "Can you comment on NI’s commitment to potential future Reaktor and Massive X compatibility updates, in case future Windows or MacOS updates cause problems with these NI instruments?":
They also announced something new called Kompanion:
Simon answered a question as to whether or not this was the main new feature trailed in an upcoming version of Kontakt:
So putting all that together, what do we have?
By Jan 2023 NI not investing resources has apparently not been news for "some time". So I think the 2020 Super 8 R2 toe in the water was an experiment to see if this were a viable future direction for NI synths, knowing Reaktor was approaching EOL.
I reckon by late 21 / early 22 the big decisions were made. Super 8's toe is taken out of the water as it was not commercially viable. K7 became perhaps the last legacy Kontakt release, with most development resources poured into Kontakt X (staff redeployed who developed Massive X). A small team carries on trying to patch up Kontakt 7 to make it a solid legacy platform, and Kontakt Play instruments keep being developed as low-hanging fruit. Aside from DJ and beats, all new stuff - samples, synths, AI, whatever - would use one platform - Kontakt X.
The Kontakt line has got very troublesome. Over 18 months after the release of Kontakt 7 it still hangs for up to a minute on a first launch on blazing fast Windows machines, with no fix in sight. The last update has had 5 patches and counting to fix problems with it. Mario (EvilDragon) has frequently spoken of how old and creaky the code is.
By dropping all that, and Reaktor too, in 2021/22 they perhaps finally started afresh on a new code base, Kontakt X. Here's what we know about it:
1. New ways to import and manipulate sounds
2. Enhanced capabilities beyond samples
3. Innovative methods to help you play instruments, not just control them
4. Able to play AI generated samples from Kompanion
5. Out later this year
And here's speculation based on what we see NI doing:
1. A new code base that will necessarily drop some old nki compatibility
2. New synthesis options could include Reaktor Core (unlikely imo)
3. New synthesis options could include Massive X modules, filters etc (likely imo).
4. "standalone instrument mode" - in K7 the UI can be reduced to little more than the instrument GUI. Kontakt X synths could feel like synths, with little additional baggage.
Let the fighting continue.
tl;dr - the theory goes that Kontakt X is coming, which would not be compatible with all past NKIs. It would be rewritten from the ground up, and include synthesis engines and more. Development on Reaktor ceased 2 years ago, and all resources are being poured into this brand new speculative product, a way of rationalising resources and jettisoning technical debt.
Okay, here's the evidence. From March 2024, Simon NI's quarterly product update:
https://community.native-instruments.co ... cer#latestMajor updates for our key software platforms
Later this year, we’ll significantly expand what's possible in Kontakt, our flagship instrument platform. We're excited about the new sonic opportunities this will enable for both instrument builders and music producers. I can’t say much at this point, but there’ll be new ways to import and manipulate sounds, enhanced capabilities beyond just samples, and innovative methods to help you play instruments, not just control them.
And building on regular updates over the years, we recognize the need for bigger strides forward for Traktor and Maschine. Both will receive long-overdue software updates this year, with improvements that bring new creative tools and a clean, modern interface.
Note that Reaktor is not mentioned as a "key software platform".
Reaktor 6.5 still doesn't have a browser that can read NKS info, never mind NKS 2. Here's what was said by Georg and the Reaktor development team back in Jan 23, prior to 6.5's release:
https://community.native-instruments.co ... ment_48110Sorry, but besides the addition of native Apple Silicon support and the new VST3 plugin there will be no new features implemented.
At this point, perhaps it is time to comment on the situation. For a variety of reasons, NI is not in a position to invest major resources in this product, which has not been news for some time.
[...snip...]
Our team is aware that the lack of more features will lead to frustration. But at this stage, we as a team will not be able to change this situation. What we are trying to achieve is to deliver this version with high quality and a good base for the future.
Here's a list of important NI moments in the past few years with regard to Kontakt and Reaktor:
SUPER 8 LAUNCHED - May 2019. Things are good for Reaktor.
MASSIVE X LAUNCHED - November 2019 (delayed)
SUPER 8 R2 RELEASED - September 2020. A toe in the water for Reaktor synths, to make them standalone.
KONTAKT 7 LAUNCHED - September 2022
SUPER 8 R2 DISCONTINUED - December 2022. "Unfortunately Super 8 didn't meet a huge success, so the idea to develop standalone Reaktor synths was dropped".
REAKTOR FEATURE DEVELOPMENT CEASED - January 2023, but decision taken some time before this.
REAKTOR 6 UPDATE - March 2023 the "final" release with platform updates - Apple Silicon, Mac Ventura and VST3 support
REAKTOR SYNTHS STEEPLY DISCOUNTED - June 2024. By far the steepest discounts on these products, perhaps suggesting a fire sale.
Last week Simon NI responded to this question "Can you comment on NI’s commitment to potential future Reaktor and Massive X compatibility updates, in case future Windows or MacOS updates cause problems with these NI instruments?":
Good news - he also confirmed a Battery 4 compatibility update was imminent.Yep, we have no plans to stop supporting compatibility updates for these products.
They also announced something new called Kompanion:
https://community.native-instruments.co ... ct-officerKompanion – an experimental AI sample generator
We recognize the potential for AI to empower creators in new and exciting ways. However, we also understand concerns around unethical uses of AI in music creation, and we want to use this powerful new technology to truly benefit producers and musicians. That's why we've signed on as supporters of the AI for Music initiative, adhering to their principles for developing AI products responsibly and in a creator-friendly manner.
One such effort is Kompanion, an experimental AI-powered sample generator we've been working on. Kompanion allows you to generate unique, royalty-free samples simply by describing the sounds you want through text prompts. This novel synth uses three different AI models, trained on a curated subset of our vast sound catalog, to produce novel sounds you won't find anywhere else.
While Kompanion is still in its early development stages, with results that can be hit-or-miss depending on prompts, the potential is exciting. We're iterating all the time with updated synth engines to improve audio fidelity. Eventually, we want to make it easy to integrate these samples into your tracks using Kontakt.
We don’t expect technology like Kompanion to ever replace classic sample and synth-based creative approaches, but we think it’ll be another valuable tool in the toolbox for people looking for new ways to create sounds. To ensure we get it right, we're carefully refining it based on user feedback. If you’re interested in joining the Alpha test group and helping shape the future of this project, sign up here. We’d love to hear your feedback.
Simon answered a question as to whether or not this was the main new feature trailed in an upcoming version of Kontakt:
And also what the future of synthesis products was:No, there's more to come in Kontakt.
(all these quotes from the comments below the June update).I can't share more at this stage, but NI is not getting out of the synth game.
So putting all that together, what do we have?
By Jan 2023 NI not investing resources has apparently not been news for "some time". So I think the 2020 Super 8 R2 toe in the water was an experiment to see if this were a viable future direction for NI synths, knowing Reaktor was approaching EOL.
I reckon by late 21 / early 22 the big decisions were made. Super 8's toe is taken out of the water as it was not commercially viable. K7 became perhaps the last legacy Kontakt release, with most development resources poured into Kontakt X (staff redeployed who developed Massive X). A small team carries on trying to patch up Kontakt 7 to make it a solid legacy platform, and Kontakt Play instruments keep being developed as low-hanging fruit. Aside from DJ and beats, all new stuff - samples, synths, AI, whatever - would use one platform - Kontakt X.
The Kontakt line has got very troublesome. Over 18 months after the release of Kontakt 7 it still hangs for up to a minute on a first launch on blazing fast Windows machines, with no fix in sight. The last update has had 5 patches and counting to fix problems with it. Mario (EvilDragon) has frequently spoken of how old and creaky the code is.
By dropping all that, and Reaktor too, in 2021/22 they perhaps finally started afresh on a new code base, Kontakt X. Here's what we know about it:
1. New ways to import and manipulate sounds
2. Enhanced capabilities beyond samples
3. Innovative methods to help you play instruments, not just control them
4. Able to play AI generated samples from Kompanion
5. Out later this year
And here's speculation based on what we see NI doing:
1. A new code base that will necessarily drop some old nki compatibility
2. New synthesis options could include Reaktor Core (unlikely imo)
3. New synthesis options could include Massive X modules, filters etc (likely imo).
4. "standalone instrument mode" - in K7 the UI can be reduced to little more than the instrument GUI. Kontakt X synths could feel like synths, with little additional baggage.
Let the fighting continue.
Statistics: Posted by noiseboyuk — Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:07 am