Native Instruments

It's over five years since Native Instruments released the original version of their flagship soft sampler, and its third incarnation takes the Kontakt concept even further, with a streamlined user interface, a new waveform editor and a massive sample library.

By designing a signal processing environment that offers endless modulation and routing options, Native Instruments hope to reinvent the way we use effects.

SOS reader Gordon Staines of Cheshire emailed us because he was having difficulty using NIs Guitar Rig 3 with his Pro Tools M-Powered setup. Using NIs Rig Kontrol USB interface and controller, with Guitar Rig 3 running in stand-alone mode, he was able to get exactly what he wanted from it, “no latency, and it sounds great live just plugged into the phono inputs on my Marshall AS100D acoustic amp, of all things, or even when I just have the headphones in the controller for practicing. My problem is getting the same sounds out when laying down tracks.”

The Minimoog is not exactly short of software tributes. How does NI's measure up?

Native Instruments's hybrid hardware and software beat machine promises the best of both worlds. Does it deliver?

The fifth version of Absynth introduces even more sound-mangling features and aims to be far more user-friendly than its predecessors. Has it succeeded? Read on...

Its got a bigger sample library and some whizzy new features, but what Kontakt 4 really wants to do is make your life easier...

Native Instruments bring you the classic drum sounds of Abbey Road, lovingly sampled at the studio itself.