Native Instruments
Native Instruments is one of my favorite Software Synth companies. In addition to the free Kontakt Player and free Reaktor player, they make many other great products. A manual install of several software products from Native Instruments can be a complicated process. but their install app makes this a simple process. Here is how to install the free Kontakt Player with all the free libraries.
- Download Native access and use it to create your account. Get creative access by clicking here
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Use Native access to install KONTAKT Player and Reaktor Player.
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Go back to the Native Instruments website by clicking this link and log into the website with the new account you made using Native Access. Simply click the icon in the top right corner and enter the same email and password you used to create your account.
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Using the page in the previous step click on all the free products you want and add them to your account. These products will show up in the Native Access app once you add them. Then use the apps to install the software.
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Make sure you get Komplete Start as that will have many of the free instruments. Once everything is installed you will have a limited version of Kontakt and you can now install some third-party instruments. Even the limited version is amazing and it does come with a lot of great free instruments.
The way this works can be confusing. There are different versions of Kontakt. The Kontakt player is the free version. You can still download some third-party Instruments for Kontakt player, but those vendors need to pay for a license so you can use their software and that is expensive. Basically, They are paying for your license. Most vendors can’t afford that so they only make their free instruments available in the full version of Kontakt. Be advised that Komplete The essential collection, which sells for $199.00, is still not considered to be the full version of Kontakt. The entry-level full version of Kontakt is simply called Kontakt and it sells for 399.00. That is what you need to operate many of the third-party instruments. It is worth pointing out that the full version of Kontakt comes with a much bigger library and it has more instruments. The full version also has more editing features that are not in the Kontakt Player.
But even with these limitations, there are some third-party vendors that pay for the license and give away a portion of their product for free. It is also worth noting that the instruments that require the full version will still work with KONTAKT player for 15 Minutes. After that, you must restart Kontakt Player to get another 15 minutes. Even with all these limitations, if you don’t have much money, Kontact Player is still a worthy asset to have in your arsenal.
Some of the free libraries in this list come with a free license supplied by the vendor, other packages can be downloaded as a VST that will work outside of Kontakt. and some will need the full version of Kontakt to go beyond the 15-minute time limit. Another option is once you record your midi track inside of Kontakt. restart the player to get another 15 minutes then render the midi track to audio. This will also save on CPU resources. So let’s break down the free stuff.
Kontakt 6 Player: by Native Instruments is a free sample player based on award-winning KONTAKT technology. This is an incredible must-have sampler. It is probably one of the best Samplers available today. Kontakt Player is free. You can add instruments directly from Kontact or you can add third-party content. There are many Instruments available for free and the free sample libraries are huge. So start by getting this player.
Kontakt 6 Player click here
Reaktor Player 6: is absolutely amazing. This product is also from Native Instruments. They have developed some very useful products. REAKTOR 5 is the super-powerful modular sound studio that made Native Instruments famous.
Reaktor 6 Player click here
Make sure you install all the free instruments, synths, loops, and samples that are available for Kontakt Player from the Native Instruments’ website!
Project Sam’s The Free Orchestra: comes with a license so it works inside of the free Kontakt Player! The Free Orchestra offers a solid gigabyte of free, cinematic sounds taken directly from ProjectSAM’s acclaimed libraries, ranging from orchestral string staccatos and brass clusters to symphonic percussion and dystopian sound design.
Check it out here
SIRENS Free: is Built for the free Kontakt Player, this library has a wonderfully compelling and intimate sound which is perfect for capturing a modern cinematic sound world. It features a shallow and depth slider which allows you to transform and twist the performance into a whole new dimension.
DrumMic’a!: is an extremely elaborately produced virtual instrument for the free Kontact Player from Native Instruments. Among other things, it comprises, more than 13,000 audio samples and around 20,000 lines of program code. It includes 15 Sennheiser and Neumann microphones on a genuine drum set, recorded in a real, professional studio, reworked through the integrated software studio. Plus 1,200 authentic beats played by a lively professional drummer. The special thing about it: DrumMic’a! can be used in virtually any digital audio workstation and for your own productions. And best of all: Sennheiser and Neumann provide the software as part of a freeware license which means unlimited use once you have entered the free registration code!
Get It Here
Hammer Smith Model D Grand is an Amazing piano. The main control panel has a simple layout and the piano sounds amazing.
Get it Here
Sketching Chamber Orchestra: features two dozen instruments from the VSCO2 Community Edition in only 1.25 gigs using Kontakt’s lossless compression. In my opinion, Bigcat audio has put together the best version of this project. While this does not contain a free license you can get similar sounds from the VSCO2 Community Edition in a VST plugin if need be.
Sonatina Symphony Orchestra: includes the legendary Creative Commons Licensed Sonatina Symphony Orchestra created by Mattias Westlund. In addition to the samples included in SSO, Bigcat Audio added some samples that Mattias put up on his blog after the release of Sonatina. Each instrument has all articulations included in a single Kontakt instrument.
Get the VST version or the Kontakt Version Here
Get the Kontact Version Here Get the VST Version Here
Bigcat Audio: has made available all 128 instruments of the General Midi 1 Sound Set. This is the sound set that midi files use to recreate music. Sound fonts traditionally revolve around General Midi and if you get a standard 128 voice keyboard these are generally the voices it has. It is a standard to make sure that when Instrument 1 is called for it is always Acoustic Grand Piano and not bagpipes or a car crash. Note that you’ll need the full version of Kontakt for these to work.
Project Exodus: is an epic free Kontakt library for electronic musicians, film score composers, sound designers. You need the full version of Kontakt for this one.
Get It Here
Project Pegasus: is a free collection of dreamy analog arpeggios, lush strings, huge pads, and ambient soundscapes crafted by Bryan Lake aka Sound Author. The library offers a diverse palette of warm and spacious sounds that are ready for use in Kontakt 5 or higher. You need the full version of Kontakt.
Get It Here
The Alpine Project: came about from a realization about the state of free sample libraries. While there were many free samples in the public domain, there were hard to find, and in varying hard to use formats. The Alpine Project collects the best public domain musical instrument samples and combines them with clever scripting and effects in NI’s Kontakt. You need the full version of Kontakt.
Get It Here
Shreddage 3: is the ultimate FREE electric guitar sample library for KONTAKT! Includes deep-sampled sustain, palm mute, and choke articulations with 3 octaves of playing range, up to 24 samples per note, and tons of performance options. It also features TACT 2.0 and the new CONSOLE mixer and modular FX rack! You need the full version of Kontact.
