Native Instruments’ direction concerns me. As a significant investor in their ecosystem, I started purchasing software in 2021 and was thrilled with the sound I achieved using their libraries. In 2023, I bought a brand new Maschine MKIII, my first hardware, because NI made their products so easy and impressive.
I rarely encounter software issues, but I’m concerned about NI’s product rollout and immediate support shutdown. I fear Kontakt 8 will be discontinued soon, replacing it with Kontakt X. Maschine 3.0 felt like a “pacify” update, and with the Akai partnership, I doubt future updates will be meaningful. I’m searching for a reliable program that will allow me to use these sounds and hardware for years.
TLDR: As a new person to the NI ecosystem I fear that my money has been wasted because I sense that NI is going to stop support and ruin the perpetual products I have already purchased for the next big thing.
NI really grew my palate for great sounds and now I feel like I'm going to lose them within 5 years. As I don't have the money to keep dishing out every year.