Native Instruments presented Kontakt 2, the second generation of NI’s flagship sampler.
At the heart of Kontakt 2 lies a powerful new sampling engine that offers virtually unlimited polyphony as well as 64-part multitimbrality, allowing for the most complex arrangements even within a single instance of Kontakt 2. Multiprocessor support delivers up to 100% performance increase on dual processors systems, while Altivec optimization gives a further performance boost on Macintosh computers equipped with G4 and G5 processors.
The new surround integration in Kontakt 2 offers support for multi-channel formats ranging from 3.0 up to 16.0, including industry standards like 5.1 and 7.1. All of the 13 effects in Kontakt 2 are also fully surround-enabled, including a highly capable surround panning module that allows for precise sound field placement as well as sophisticated creative panning effects. Kontakt 2 also features an output browser that gives an overview of channel routing and output levels, making work in surround as effortless as with traditional stereo setups. The Kontakt Script Processor (KSP) outfits Kontakt 2 with an unlimited range of performance features. KSP is a fully programmable processing engine that transforms and generates MIDI and control events on the basis of a versatile yet easy-to-learn script language.
A KSP module can be an arpeggiator or a step sequencer, a MIDI recorder or a chord generator, a virtual guitar or a harp simulator, or whatever the user wants it to be – complete with definable onscreen-controls. Kontakt 2 ships with a large assortment of preprogrammed KSP modules that can be used out of the box, as well as modified according to individual needs. The NI website will also host a special KSP User Library where Kontakt 2 users will be able to freely trade their custom-programmed KSP modules.
Kontakt 2 will be available in March 2005 for a suggested retail price of $579 U.S. An upgrade for all previous versions of Kontakt will be available for $169 U.S. Owners of NI Komplete Kare 2005 will receive the upgrade at no further costs. All NI Komplete 2 purchases that are registered after January 20, 2005 are also entitled to a free Kontakt 2 upgrade. For more information, visit www.ni-kontakt.com.
