Introducing Native Instruments Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate

Native Instruments has announced the arrival of the latest version of their comprehensive instruments and effects bundles: Komplete 9 and Komplete 9 Ultimate. If you’re not familiar with these products, they provide a vast array of software based sound creation tools for both Windows and Mac computers. They operate as either stand-alone applications, or as plug-ins within a host program. You get an army of recreations of acoustic instruments, vintage keyboards and organs, all kinds of of drum, percussion and electronic beat making tools, oceans of endlessly powerful synthesizers, samplers and groove boxes, and just about every effect under the sun. Loading Komplete 9 onto an unassuming computer transforms it into a super studio with endless sonic possibilities.

The Komplete 9 bundles offer some noteworthy upgrades and new additions. They both ship with Battery 4, Native Instruments' ever-popular drum sampler. Battery’s legendary drum sound library includes a wealth of new sounds, plus, it’s now possible to drag and drop side chain effects. Overall workflow improvements have been added to Battery 4 as well. A new Reaktor instrument called Monark is the software version of a classic synthesizer, which promises “unparalleled DSP modeling power.” Native Instruments also meticulously sampled a 12-foot-tall upright piano that weighs more than two tons, which is available for you to tinker with in The Giant instrument.

Komplete 9 Ultimate includes everything. You get 65 instruments and effects (32 more than the standard Komplete 9 bundle), 370GB of samples (250GB more than the standard Komplete 9), more than 16,000 professionally crafted sounds (4,000 more than the standard Komplete 9), and best of all, everything comes preloaded on a snazzy USB 2.0 hard drive to make installation a breeze. Among the instruments and effects that you get with Ultimate that you won’t find in the standard version of Komplete 9 are the Premium Tube Series, which features models of high-end outboard equipment, Reverb Classics, which are recreations of two coveted reverb units, and Session Horns, a sampled four-piece horn section that’s ideal for a wide range of musical styles.

In addition to Battery 4, Monark and The Giant, the standard version of Komplete 9 now includes Session Strings, which enables you to compose with an 11-piece string ensemble and place them in four different settings for sonic variation. You also get the Solid Mix Series, which supplies you with premium dynamics, EQ and compression as well as Transient Master, which is a versatile tool that enables you to control the presence of a mix, bring out the attack of drums, reduce reverb and more. All of these instruments and effects are included with the Ultimate bundle, and both versions offer a seamless workflow integration with Native Instruments’ Maschine.

To get an idea how vast the creative potential is with these Komplete 9 bundles, Reaktor 5.8, Native Instrument’s flagship modular studio, comes stocked with more than 70 instruments and effects. It’s possible to use Reaktor to build your own custom sound modules from scratch, as well as download more than 3,000 free instruments and effects from Native Instruments’ Online User Library. You can fill an encyclopedia describing the endless creative options provided by tools like Kontakt 5, Abbey Road | 60s Drummer, Guitar Rig 5 Pro, The Finger, FM8, Massive, Retro Machines and more, but the best way to appreciate them is to explore their cavernous landscapes in your own studio or rehearsal space.