Installing Komplete 5

Hi, I bought back in the day Komplete 5 but the computer broke and i stayed some years of break for personal reasons.

Now i am "coming back", with a intel 7 computer, Windows 10, etc so i almost finished installing old and new software related. But the NI stuff is getting the worst of me:

After some reading about "corporate" decisions (i wont go into this now to focus on the problem), looks like i lost the B4, prophet 5 and other stuff ... Ok, i can look for alternatives regardless of what i think about this ...

Problem is, i installed the akoustik and elektrik pianos from the dvds also, then downloaded the last update for them, and in the Native Instruments Manager they show as located. But the vstis are not showing on the DAW (Reaper). If i try to load the libraries with the Kontakt players included, they show in "Demo" because Kontakt player wont load "3rd party" libraries, you need a full version of Kontakt, which leads to the next problem and questions:

I had a Kontakt 3 FULL VERSION included in Komplete 5, that was working perfect, that i used to load some other libraries i have. BUT KONTAKT 3 FULL VERSION is not even showed on the manager, although i installed with the complete original package. In "exchange" i have the kontatk 6 and 7 players, which are useless for me and to be honest the free libraries included and such wont balance for me because I NEED MY FULL VERSION OF KONTAKT 3 to load my libraries and even the Akoustik and Elektrik piano libraries.

1) the most important question is how can i "rescue" my Kontakt 3?

2) the support page says i can install and use my old Akoustik and Elektrik but the reality of this is not true, they are there as 3rd party libraries i guess because they are not in the format that the Kontakt player wants. So is kind of a "snake eating its tail" so to speak. Is there something that i missed?

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PK The DJ

Software as old as Komplete 5 or Kontakt 3 will be 32 bit, but a modern PC will be 64 bit, so 64 bit software is required. This is especially true with plugins (VSTs etc). If the OS is 64 bit then you cannot use 32 bit plugins.

Adn_71

https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/kontakt-3-update-with-64-bit-memory-addressing-confirmed.60161/

https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/will-k3-5-work-on-windows-7.107038/

Adn_71

I know what is 32bits and 64bits OS and plugins and what it means and consecuences, i used Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows X64, Windows 7 64, Windows 10 64, Ubuntu 64 bits, logic, ableton, mostly cubase, now reaper, i lived the "changes" in realtime so to speak from 32bits to 64bits. I am not "new" (wish i was, would mean that i am younger) to all this Plugin-Daw-Computer world. That is not my question anyway.

Jeremy_NI

@Adn_71 To run NI Kontakt libraries you only need Kontakt Player so Kontakt 6 or 7 Player will work for the libraries you need. If you are using Native Access 2 make sure to enable legacy products in the preferences:

For Elektrik and Akoustik Pianos, you have a detailed how to here: How to Set Up the AKOUSTIK PIANO / ELEKTRIK PIANO Library after that these libraries should show in Kontakt Player.

For your third party libraries, what libraries are they? Did they come with a serial ?

I see that you submitted a request, my colleagus should get back to you soon. I'm not certain Kontakt 3 can be installed or activated on a current operating system but they will tell you if it's possible or not and give you options.

Adn_71

Yes i did all those steps, first installed from dvds, then the patch, prior to that checked the "legacy ..." button. They are listed as "Localiced", but they are not in the player unless i browse manually, and that is when it loads them but as a third party librarie, thus the "Demo" ...

I must say i am really dissapointed. Back in the day after some years of tinkering i was ready to select the plugins i really need and wanted, which was for recording multitrack and mixing for local bands and also for my creativity (i am a drummer and worked years also in Live sound, but then i just went to build my homestudio for my practice, a reheharse space for bands and homestudio for recording and mixing all-in-one, and also i love synths).

So the Komplete 5 was exactly the plugins (i have many others) that complemented what i was looking for, so i took the wallet and my hard earned hundreds of euros and went for it:

An Amp sim, guitar rig 3, to process those DI guitars and Bass and complement the real amps miced.
A Simple and fun substractive synth, profive, perfect.
A classic DX7 synth, FM8, good!.
A Sampler to play around with free and paid libraries, Kontakt 3, like the recent Kirk Hunter Strings i bought back in the day, checked.
A Drum vsti versatile, Battery 3, wonderful.
Some decent pianos, Akoustik piano, perfect!.
Some emulation of Rhodes and the like, Elektrik piano, good.
Some emulation of Hammonds and the like, B4, checked.

So far with the above i was "komplete" so to speak, the Absynth and Massive and Reaktor and the rest is like the "extra" to have fun, but to be honest for complex synth stuff i use Zebra.

So now, after the "aftermath" of this, what is left is:

Battery 3
Massive (which i barely use)
Fm8, thank god.
Reaktor 5 (which again i barely use)
A guitar rig player

I "lost" in this obvious move of forced artificial digital obsolescency:

Pro5.
B4.
Kontakt full version and the ability to use my also hard earned paid string libraries and others free.
The pianos and elektrik pianos.
guitar rig full version.

The B4 and pro5 is a pity, but i can find "substitutes" and live with it but again, not fair.

The guitar rig players are not the full version, so i have a "modern" capped version instead of the old full version. This didnt hurt too much, because in a prevent move, i began to buy other amp sims on the market, but is dissapointing.

What hurts must is the Sampler. I cannot use again the strings library, nor any other library that requires full version of Kontakt.

I am not a "loop libraries" guy, so all the "candy" things in exchange that i guess appeal to newcomers and "cut and paste" music makers are useless for me.

You tell me now to spent like 500€ for what i have now from Native Instruments and you can guess what is my opinion about all this.

Do you know what also buyed on that period? For example Sylenth1 from Lennard Digital and Zebra2 and Uhbik from U-he. You wont believe what i am going to say next, but i have proof (irony): I even received updates from them, and i installed them and CAN USE THEM flawesly right now, and this i am sure is going to blow some of your minds: FOR FREE. And vst3 version 64 bits version. I know, unbelievable right?. Thats what i call support, care and honesty and this guys have my utter respect forever and my wallet no questions. Even if they asked for a minimal and reasonable price for the update i would pay for the vst3 64 versions. So i cannot appreciate more their commitment.

Do you know who are the others that i blacklisted and never buy anything again for their greed? Waves. I cannot use my own plugins purchased unless i pay their paywall. No way. This happened even before my last computer broke. Never again for the life of me.

And i begin to think that this is what is going to happen with the NI products if this mess is not fixed, go to my list of "never again".

And yes i know you dont care at all, and you can think i am a old fart and that my little money wont matter and there is a legion of newcomers that will pay. But one day you will be me, and you will understand how awful is this.

Kubrak

I am not affected by NI EOL decision, so far. I have started only six years ago, too soon to have problems if being on Win.... But there is EOL Absynth. One day it may be problem....

I understand your feelings and trully do not understand why NI switched off authorising of several EOL SWs.... I am SW developer and I do not take NI "explanation" why they had to put authorisation down.

JesterMgee

It is, unfortunately, progress.

You mention how instruments like Sylenth still get updated even after 10 years, well yes because that is the devs only plugin so makes sense they can work on it.

The plugins from NI you rattle off are possibly just not that popular or a new version would have been created.

10-15 years max is what you give any software for lifetime. Windows often makes it possible to run things after this period but Devs will often not want to have to support software that is 15 years old as that means maintenance and actual support contakt so at some point, if they develop a new licensing system or something they will cull older products from it tho you would have had plenty of warning if you kept up with their announcements.

Since you have such old products why are you not using Windows 98 or Windows XP? Is it because these are obselete and unsupported also?

Even hardware synths will become unsupported at some stage, parts will be hard to get, contacting teir support department (if the company exists) yields no answers.

Having used computers for 35 years and being in this industry for 25 years i've had a lot of things come and go, probably thousands of $$$ of software I no longer use and same with hardware that is no longer supported in WIndows. However, I got a decade or more use out of it so consider it well worth that cost.

Your shoes don't last forever no matter what you spend, don't expect things in a digital world to be any different.

Kubrak

Well one thing is, SW is not supported or does not run on newer OS (that may be unpleasant, but is legitimate). The other thing is, one may not use it (authorise) on OS it has been developed for (that is simply very wrong)....

As SW developer I still have to use 25 years old compiler that runs up to WinXP to support legacy SW. No problem to install 25 years old MS Visual Studio...

The same should work for plugins... But does not. Maybe that NI will revert it as they seem to consider to introduce also offline authorisation one day.... So, theoretically, authorisation of old legacy SW might become possible again....

Hammers

@OP it sounds like we're in very similar situations. I found the NI Komplete 5 suite pretty great back in the day, and forked out close on $1000 on it from memory.

My studio computer was pretty much locked off at that vintage with the ProTools change of hardware after the HD generation, so I've worked hard to maintain that as a living, working system. Everything still works great, and as serious audio software/hardware, doesn't need upgrading with bells and whistles really.

So I was similarly distraught to find I could no longer authorise the NI software I'd paid good money for, when I had to replace/repair some computer hardware. What the heck?!

How hard would it be for NI to create an authorisation tool for their legacy software on compatible hardware and OS? Needless to say, unless this is sorted I'd never consider buying from them again. And yes I do have modern hardware available as well, but that doesn't mean I should ditch my otherwise expensive and working studio system...

If you're reading this NI, please, please reconsider this position! I miss the NI tools that I paid for, and would even pay a small fee if it meant they could be used again.

pask74

I'm in a very similar position as the OP.

I'm also a drummer turned producer/engineer and bought Komplete 5 back in the days for quite a substantial amount of money. But it was a good working package with a bit of everything and Kontakt quickly became my software sampler of choice, especially to play with the Vienna Symphonic Library samples that came along with the bundle.

So, I made a few albums relying on these sounds, toyed around with Reaktor, created Massive patches, etc. only to find a few years later that these "old" sessions are now impossible to play because of the NI switch to this new system. As a company, how can you switch to a system that kills some of your products??? That's absolutely impossible to understand. Do the folks at NI understand that many of us have created music (aka intellectual property) relying on the products we've bought from them?

Why not keep these "old" but great plug-ins and add new ones to the collection, instead of phasing them out? The kind of reply I got from the NI support sounded like "yes, I know this is annoying, but that's the way it is". That doesn't sound like proper management and customer care to me.

So, here I am, locked with sessions that wouldn't load properly, unable to re-edit my work of 15 years ago. Some of my vintage synths are 3 times older than that and still perform as they should.

What a shame! I'm also a very dissatisfied customer and will do everything I can to avoid NI in the future, unfortunately.

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