Destination - NI

The Sampler
Kontakt is part of a natural evolution of the Native Instruments company to reach "sampler nirvana."

It's Reaktor platform included a very simple sampler called Transformator. It just supported a simple keymap with no inherent parameters.

Next came Battery, which was marketed as a drum sampler. It is much more open technologically than Reaktor's, but was hamstrung by certain limtiations.

Architecture and Engine
Kontakt is designed "to be the most powerful sampler ever created." Mmm..

It is quite close to that, we admit. You are virtually limitless in what you can do from a user-implemented wave engine and complete modular synthesis capability.

• The sample engine streams, eliminating memory constraints
• The amount of modulators is not fixed - you can add any amount, as in 7 LFO's, 13 envelopes, and so forth
• Many things have user-editable curves
• 32-stage envelopes
• All of this is on a per sample reference basis

In fact, from our point of view, there isn't any problem converting anything into Kontakt. It simply does everything all the other samplers do, which very few exceptions.

Input Formats
KONTAKT can import AKAI, Giga, SoundFont, Battery, and some other common formats for immediate access to an immense library.

Comments
KONTAKT is available for PC and Mac.