Native Instruments22835 Komplete 10 Ultimate Upgrade from Version 2 to 9

I've been a Komplete user since V6, so when I recently started working on some new stuff after a 2 year hiatus, I looked to upgrade my VST collection, and Komplete was the obvious choice. However, since I wanted to make sure I got the best bang for my buck (and an upgrade from 7 to 10 was a whopping $700), I looked around for comparable packages. I found none even close, so Komplete it was.Despite having no choice, there are still a large number of things I find very compelling (Kompelling?) about Komplete:- Guitar Rig is easily the best guitar effects software I've found. And it's awesome on pianos too.- Nearly any sound you want can be found or built using the included software....as long as it isn't hyper-realistic guitars (look to RealGuitar/Strat/Eight for that).- Some of the new instruments (Rounds, Kinetic Metal, Skanner) are pretty damn creative and generally awesome.- There's an OBSCENE amount of stuff to experiment with.- Most NI instruments are highly mutable if you tweak your controllers. Some completely transform.- The Komplete Kontrol app (even without the supported NI hardware) is a really nice way to find all instruments and patches.Mostly, I'm happy with my decision, but there are a few negatives worth mentioning:- The search function could use a lot of help. It's still pretty hard to find what you are looking for.- There's no real good way to rate all instruments/patches. You can in certain VSTs (1-5 star in Guitar Rig, for example), but in others you are SOL.- NI is REALLY proud of it.- Some of the instruments (Rise and Hit, I'm looking at you) are so darn specific that they are completely useless for a large number of people.- The huge number of patches and parameters per patch makes the whole thing an enormous time sink. To be fair, it can be very inspiring. But you can also get lost and forget the thing you were inspired to do.

I was initially excited when I bought Komplete and the Kontrol s61 keyboard to go with it but I sadly have been profoundly disappointed with the performance of both. I'm not one to readily speak ill of things but I hope to save others from making the same mistake I did.Review Summary: All of the plug-ins I installed with Komplete either did not work or were so glitchy they either force quit my DAW (which happened countless times) or didn't open at all. (What's more, you cannot MIDI map to the Komplete Kontrol S61 keyboard at all) The software comes on DVDs, which can present a problem if you don't have a DVD/CD drive in your computer. Customer Service is unresponsive and is unlikely to help. Long story short, I am disappointed with Komplete and the Komplete Kontrol S61 and Native Instruments' lack of customer support so I will be taking my business elsewhere.Native Instruments sadly is known for having the worst customer service ever and now I blame myself for perhaps naively giving them the benefit of the doubt. I sent them several customer service emails and called them months ago and have yet to receive a response.PROBLEM ONE: The software comes on DVDs so you can't install them if you don't have a DVD/CD drive in your computer or an external DVD/CD drive handy.PROBLEM TWO: After installing all of the KOMPLETE 10 discs into the computer, I went ahead and installed the additional programs such as Rounds and Kontour (that were listed as "updates" from the Service Center) that were included in KOMPLETE 10 but not included in the DVDs I received.NOW, the problem is that the REAKTOR 5 and the KONTAKT 5 plug-ins do not work any more because they say they are "out of date."For REAKTOR 5, the following message keeps popping up every time I try to use it and it says "Error while reading file Macintosh HD:USers:Shared:Rounds:Rounds.ens: This file was saved with a newer version of Reaktor! Please Update your software!"For KONTAKT 5, the following message reads: "your version of Kontakt is too old to load this file. You can update to the latest version by exiting Kontakt and starting Service Center."I have tried several times to update my software in the Service Center but the Service Center says that all my software is up to date and therefore will not allow me to update at all.The question still that remains unresolved for me is: Is the software that I just ordered and just received in the mail NOT the most current version of the software? OR is there a glitch that is 1) not allowing the Service Center to let me update OR 2) inhibiting communication between Service Center and my other software?PROBLEM THREE: I am unable to load any plug-ins into KOMPLETE KONTROL.PROBLEM FOUR: Also, after installing all of the discs, I still do not have access to/am getting error messages and am therefore unable to use all of the following applications such as Retro Machines, MK2, Monarch, Reaktor 5, Reaktor Spark, Reaktor Prism, Kontakt 5 (with all of its included instruments), and none of the Acoustic Drums instruments, Piano instruments, Piano in Key instruments work either.This is unimaginably frustrating since I have spent over $1200 on the software and hardware and I cannot get it to work in the first place and it has took me countless fruitless hours trying to fix it on my own.Good luck!

WOW!I already knew about N.I. products, having already purchased Pro-52 and B-4 many, many years ago. I purchased this software ONLY so I could have Reaktor 5, to build my own synths. However, I now have such a huge palate of synths to choose from, I don't know if I'll ever get around to it! I can't really improve on the detailed review of the products that is already posted, but I'll say this: the inclusion of Massive, FM8, Battery 4 AND Kontakt 5 makes this purchase worth far more than what I spent. Fantastic VALUE!

Finally made the jump from the standard version of Komplete to Komplete Ultimate. Definitely worth it! The Heavyocity instruments alone have been worth it to me so far. The Softube EQ's and dynamics are also a nice addition. The USB hard drive is also a nice addition vs having to install 15 discs worth of material. Have had NI Komplete since version six and there is no doubt in my mind it is one of the most complete music making packages on the market.

This isn't a five because they dropped a new product 9 days after I purchased, and while it will be included in future sales of Ultimate 10 I will not be receiving a copy of said product.I would give it a 3 star just based on that, but the suite is fantastic. Even with bad customer care.

Came with about 10 discs to install haha luckily I have a 1TB SSD hard drive so my data transfer speed is crazy fast... still took me about 5 hours to install everything. Was a little confusing figuring out how to load all the presets for the instruments via Logic Pro X but I simply went to their FAQ form and found what I needed. Awesome, awesome sounds... won't be needing any new instruments for awhile.