# Kontakt 7 - Your view on performance and stability so far?



## Wunderhorn (Dec 4, 2022)

What's your experience with Kontakt 7 so far?

How do you feel towards it compared to 6.x and if you are on VEP - does it play well with it?

Is it stable, how do you see the performance? Is it already in your template and is it there to stay?


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 6, 2022)

Nobody working with it yet?


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## RyanRhea (Dec 6, 2022)

I'm building templates with it exclusively now and it's working great for me. I'm on a tiny machine at the moment... sad and inferior Intel chipset and only 16GB RAM. K7 is performing beautifully on my machine so far. I have a template I created for Audio Imperia SOLO that is all K7 from top to bottom. Works very well and super responsive, even on 16GB RAM.

The problem is the shitty design of Kontakt to begin with. Nothing has changed for the better... that useless nav menu is what they are hyping and it looks like something that a dev banged out over a weekend. A veneer over the same old crap. For example, you STILL get those 1990's "Are you sure you want to change" messages every time you change a patch. So much old, goofy junk UI still in that thing. They needed a total wipe and re-do, but they don't either seem to have the will or talent to do it. So like most legacy software devs, they'll just keep on duct taping it together and keep on taking people's money. 😏


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 7, 2022)

Using VEP I noticed at certain occasion all the Kontakt instrument GUIs freeze until I click somewhere else and back into the instrument. Does anyone else have this experience?


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## Colin66 (Dec 7, 2022)

I tried K7 and had to revert back to 6. 7 gave me a black screen and was unusable. Apparently it's to do with DivX feature level, if my memory is correct. As a result I'm moving away from Kontakt/NI to UVI. It'll mean ditching a load of VI's and FX, but NI are just a terrible company to work with IMO. Regret buying any of their stuff. Part of the problem is that they just expect users to solve issues themselves and rely on the community to do NI's job for them.


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 8, 2022)

OK... I was not intending to start a NI bashing thread. While there is lots we users would like to see improved in Kontakt) I was only asking for experiences and observations regarding performance/reliability of version 6 vs 7.


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## Windbag (Dec 8, 2022)

Just Kontakt player here...seems fine in Logic on an M1 mac studio thusfar. I'm updating the closest thing I have to an orch template and K6 has been replaced....can't say I notice any difference apart from the new browser.


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## Pincel (Dec 8, 2022)

Honestly I'm having stupid issues with Kontakt 7, that I definitely don't have with K6, like little freezes when I just hover the mouse over the library tab and small dropouts if I mess with Chrome while playing and that kind of stuff. But this is not K7's fault necessarily, as I've come to the conclusion that it probably has something to do with my Nvidia card/drivers, because if I use the integrated graphics of my CPU, it's all smooth. Other than that, it seems to work well enough, but I'll keep using K6 until I can solve my issues with K7. 

I'm sure I must be the exception, because most people seem happy with K7's performance, I guess.


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## Vik (Dec 9, 2022)

Pincel said:


> Honestly I'm having stupid issues with Kontakt 7, that I definitely don't have with K6, like little freezes when I just hover the mouse over the library tab and small dropouts if I mess with Chrome while playing and that kind of stuff.


Is that on Mac or PC?


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## Vik (Dec 9, 2022)

gives19 said:


> No, but I hear that K 7 is a bit of a memory hog. Have stuck with V6 and it's been an improvement over K5


Someone mentioned memory hog in this thread. Anyone else who has had that (on Mac)?


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## ThomasNL (Dec 9, 2022)

I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab. Definitely not gonna use it.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 9, 2022)

ThomasNL said:


> I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab. Definitely not gonna use it.


I just have the player. It is weird for me. I like having the library down the side. Everything disappears when you select a patch and you have to open it again if it wasn't the patch you wanted. I'm hoping this is just the player, because loading multiple instruments is going to be a pain.


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## 8noise (Dec 9, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> Using VEP I noticed at certain occasion all the Kontakt instrument GUIs freeze until I click somewhere else and back into the instrument. Does anyone else have this experience?


Don't know for Kontakt 7, but in Kontakt 6 it happens (some kind of mess in the GUI elements) with certain instruments (8dio, Chris Hein, some cinesamples...) while you have the instance loaded in VEP but not connected to the DAW yet. At the moment you connect to the DAW the GUI problem disappears.


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## Trash Panda (Dec 9, 2022)

Kontakt 7 seems to take longer to load, but outside of that it's basically fine. My eyes are much happier when viewing it on my 4k monitor.


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## coprhead6 (Dec 9, 2022)

+1 for staying 1 generation behind with most software.


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## Daren Audio (Dec 9, 2022)

ThomasNL said:


> I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab. Definitely not gonna use it.





dzilizzi said:


> I just have the player. It is weird for me. I like having the library down the side. Everything disappears when you select a patch and you have to open it again if it wasn't the patch you wanted. I'm hoping this is just the player, because loading multiple instruments is going to be a pain.



This toggle with give you the look and feel of Kontakt 6 (with the branded banners on the left) so multis won't be an issue.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 9, 2022)

Daren Audio said:


> This toggle with give you the look and feel of Kontakt 6 (with the branded banners on the left) so multis won't be an issue.


I clicked on that, but once I loaded the library, it all disappeared. I'm sure there's a setting I am missing.


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## Daren Audio (Dec 9, 2022)

dzilizzi said:


> I clicked on that, but once I loaded the library, it all disappeared. I'm sure there's a setting I am missing.


Check mark/select the settings you'd like to appear.


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## Pincel (Dec 9, 2022)

Vik said:


> Is that on Mac or PC?


On PC. But it seems I was able to solve it though! For some reason, changing my PCIex lane to Gen 2 on the BIOS did the trick, and now I've been using Kontakt 7 without issues so far. Weird how these things work...


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## JSTube (Dec 9, 2022)

So besides the bugs that have been added, what features have been removed from Kontakt 6 -> 7? 

Anyone missing AKAI import from Kontakt 5 yet?? (Stripped as of Kontakt 6 smh!)


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## Akoustecx (Dec 9, 2022)

Just deleted K7P, as when I opened my template, or a song based on it, it had replaced K6 in all instances of KK. Uninstalling K7P and running KK standalone has succesfully rolled back to normality, so no harm done, but has anyone else had this?
(S1 5.5, W10)


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## Daren Audio (Dec 9, 2022)

Akoustecx said:


> Just deleted K7P, as when I opened my template, or a song based on it, it had replaced K6 in all instances of KK. Uninstalling K7P and running KK standalone has succesfully rolled back to normality, so no harm done, but has anyone else had this?
> (S1 5.5, W10)


Yes. I noticed all my templates "broke" as KK opened it in Kontakt 7 instead of Kontakt 6 (MacOS Monterey).


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## Akoustecx (Dec 9, 2022)

Daren Audio said:


> Yes. I noticed all my templates "broke" as KK opened it in Kontakt 7 instead of Kontakt 6 (MacOS Monterey).


Oh dear, then.
Further evidence that Soundwide is not bringing a more joyful and inspiring experience to creators.
However, I suppose they deserve brownie points for cross platform equailty.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 9, 2022)

Daren Audio said:


> Check mark/select the settings you'd like to appear.


Thanks. I will try it.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 9, 2022)

Daren Audio said:


> Yes. I noticed all my templates "broke" as KK opened it in Kontakt 7 instead of Kontakt 6 (MacOS Monterey).


On Windows, you probably need to reset the nki opens with setting.


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## robgb (Dec 10, 2022)

ThomasNL said:


> I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab. Definitely not gonna use it.


Library tab? You mean the browser? It's still there. Try looking through a menu.


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## Malaryjoe (Dec 10, 2022)

Before, it was “don’t update your OS until NI is ready or you’ll break stuff.”. Now it’s “don’t update your NI stuff until NI is ready or you’ll break stuff.”


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 10, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> What's your experience with Kontakt 7 so far?


It doesn't work on Renoise, you can open and play a library just fine but If you close the UI, you can't open it anymore. It's not crashed since you can play the Instrument, you can't just see anything


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## gives19 (Dec 19, 2022)

ThomasNL said:


> I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab. Definitely not gonna use it.


Yeah, but you can switch back to the original library tab I heard. I feel your pain though.. They need to fix and update the app. I am still on 6


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## EvilDragon (Dec 19, 2022)

RyanRhea said:


> For example, you STILL get those 1990's "Are you sure you want to change" messages every time you change a patch.



You actually have an option to disable that now. See in Options->Loading. There is a very good reason for that prompt to appear, though.



ThomasNL said:


> I just can't stand the new navigation and miss the library tab.



The Libraries tab is still there?



Akoustecx said:


> Just deleted K7P, as when I opened my template, or a song based on it, it had replaced K6 in all instances of KK. Uninstalling K7P and running KK standalone has succesfully rolled back to normality, so no harm done, but has anyone else had this?
> (S1 5.5, W10)



You probably have the option to Always use latest version of NI products enabled in Preferences.


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## HCMarkus (Dec 19, 2022)

K7 latest working great in Digital Performer 11.21 on Apple Silicon.


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## Akoustecx (Dec 19, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> You probably have the option to Always use latest version of NI products enabled in Preferences.


That's sorted it, many thanks.


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## DCPImages (Dec 19, 2022)

It seems like an expensive upgrade for minimal/cosmetic changes?


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## EvilDragon (Dec 19, 2022)

Maybe see the changelog for 7.1 update then comment again.


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## Trash Panda (Dec 19, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> Maybe see the changelog for 7.1 update then comment again.


Yeah, there's a boatload of good stuff in there. I'm slowly moving everything over to Kontakt 7 because the benefit of HiDPI compatibility on 4k screens is just too helpful to resist.

My only real gripe with the new browser is when using libraries that have a lot of patches. It's a bit of a mess trying to pick the right one out when the original patch setup is done with being broken up by folders in mind or the patch names are longer than the allotted width of the side window. Just end up having to fall back to the old library view in those instances.

I'm sure some far smarter people are looking at how to address that though.


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 19, 2022)

I don't understand all the hubbub about the new browser page. It only takes one click and this figment of a spookiness is gone and you have your previous way of browsing/working back.
Of course without being resizeable... but who would ever thought that this would actually ever come after only a decade of such an idea starting to float around...? I mean re-writing all that code will probably be slated to benefit the next generation.



EvilDragon said:


> Maybe see the changelog for 7.1 update then comment again.


Care to share? 

To me the biggest improvement was the 'purge all instances' option. That's worth it just for that alone.
Even though I wish it was possible to trigger this somehow via MIDI or something...

I am still trying to collect experiences/opinions regarding stability and performance.
On my machine within VEP7 Kontakt GUI freezes for some time when switching from the VEP mixer view back to the Kontakt instrument. That is something I did not encounter in version 6.


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## bcslaam (Dec 19, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> I don't understand all the hubbub about the new browser page. It only takes one click and this figment of a spookiness is gone and you have your previous way of browsing/working back.
> Of course without being resizeable... but who would ever thought that this would actually ever come after only a decade of such an idea starting to float around...? I mean re-writing all that code will probably be slated to benefit the next generation.
> 
> 
> ...


I gather you are on Mac?
With pc K7 is only vst3 which VEP doesn’t play with yet


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## cedricm (Dec 19, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> I don't understand all the hubbub about the new browser page. It only takes one click and this figment of a spookiness is gone and you have your previous way of browsing/working back.
> Of course without being resizeable... but who would ever thought that this would actually ever come after only a decade of such an idea starting to float around...? I mean re-writing all that code will probably be slated to benefit the next generation.
> 
> 
> ...








Kontakt Updates (current version: 7.1.3)


7.1.3 - 2022-12-12 New filters, purge all instances, browser features, KSP commands, bug fixes. KONTAKT ENGINE IMPROVEMENTS: ADDED Purge all instances when Kontakt 7 is running as a plug-in ADDED 6 pole state variable (SV) filters ADDED Tone Machine and Time Machine 1 Smooth parameter...




vi-control.net


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 19, 2022)

bcslaam said:


> I gather you are on Mac?
> With pc K7 is only vst3 which VEP doesn’t play with yet


You can load AU into VEP which I am doing.


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 19, 2022)

cedricm said:


> Kontakt Updates (current version: 7.1.3)
> 
> 
> 7.1.3 - 2022-12-12 New filters, purge all instances, browser features, KSP commands, bug fixes. KONTAKT ENGINE IMPROVEMENTS: ADDED Purge all instances when Kontakt 7 is running as a plug-in ADDED 6 pole state variable (SV) filters ADDED Tone Machine and Time Machine 1 Smooth parameter...
> ...


Sorry, I thought EvilDragon's comment was supposed to be hinting at something in the future. Of course I already have that 7.13 version...
And with that - where K7 rubber hits my workflow road the most outstanding feature is "purge all instances" - of ALL the new items on the changelog list...


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## Emanuel Fróes (Dec 19, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> What's your experience with Kontakt 7 so far?
> 
> How do you feel towards it compared to 6.x and if you are on VEP - does it play well with it?
> 
> Is it stable, how do you see the performance? Is it already in your template and is it there to stay?


As you may conclude form some posty of mine, i have bug and custumer support trauma ; )

with this in mind it is clear that Kontakt 7 has no place here at home. And at the moment I ditched VEP for a while, to better understand how Divisi Mate behave.

I am adding a new huge stack based on tracks by articulations,based on Konatk 6, in case VEP crashes.

I got a lot of problems duplicating tracks with Kontakt 6, or pasting channel strip input, when building the template this week.

I also don´t want do deal with batch resave confusion. Konatk 6 looks safe for me because it is more well know and tons of posts on forums ;/ But who knows!


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## RogiervG (Dec 30, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> Using VEP I noticed at certain occasion all the Kontakt instrument GUIs freeze until I click somewhere else and back into the instrument. Does anyone else have this experience?


How can you use K7 in vep? K7 is vst3 only, and as of today vst3 is still not working in vep7


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## Wunderhorn (Dec 30, 2022)

RogiervG said:


> How can you use K7 in vep? K7 is vst3 only, and as of today vst3 is still not working in vep7


I use the AU version.


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## SonicMojo (Dec 30, 2022)

Great thread and timely too - I just purchased my Komplete 14 upgrade a few days ago.

My first test of the new package is Kontakt 7 - and like tothers in here - I am simply not ready to abandon K 6.71 yet - and I am wondering if it's possible to continue using K6.71 as my daily driver within Komplete Kontrol until K7 gets some additional miles on it AND is considered stable enough to move to.

I have been reading about all sorts of crash reports and other negatives with K7 that are making me wonder if I should just stay put with K6.71 and move over to K7 at a later time.

Now - before anyone chimes in on uninstalling K7 to get K6 back in the spotlight - that's really not where I want to go. I do want to start using K7 - put it through its paces (either standalone or within KK if that's possible) but I am simply not ready to go all in on it just yet.

If anyone knows if it's even possible to make K6 "reappear" within KK (without tearing out K7 and it's library) I would love to hear about it. This is for a Windows 10 Pro (22H2) build if that matters.

Cheers

Sonic.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 30, 2022)

I still have K5 installed. Installing K6 did not delete K5. It still shows up in my VST folder as Kontakt 5 versus K6 that shows as Kontakt. It will probably work the same. They can both run as separate instruments in the same project, though not standalone because one will take the audio/midi.


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## SonicMojo (Dec 30, 2022)

dzilizzi said:


> I still have K5 installed. Installing K6 did not delete K5. It still shows up in my VST folder as Kontakt 5 versus K6 that shows as Kontakt. It will probably work the same. They can both run as separate instruments in the same project, though not standalone because one will take the audio/midi.


I realize that installing K7 will not effect my K6 install - that is all well and good. But in Komplete Kontrol - K6 is completely ignored and K7 is the only option. As a Komplete Kontrol hardware user - I am moving away from using ANY VSTs like Kontakt in the old school way by assigning it to a track in Studio One.

Pretty much all my work now involves using the KK plugin, adding as many instances as I need and loading up the instruments that way. 

But it appears that NI does not want to allow two versions of Kontakt to exist/interact within Komplete Kontrol software OR hardware and if that is the case - I may have to resort to using K6 the old school way until such time that K7 is considered stable.

Sonic.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 30, 2022)

SonicMojo said:


> I realize that installing K7 will not effect my K6 install - that is all well and good. But in Komplete Kontrol - K6 is completely ignored and K7 is the only option. As a Komplete Kontrol hardware user - I am moving away from using ANY VSTs like Kontakt in the old school way by assigning it to a track in Studio One.
> 
> Pretty much all my work now involves using the KK plugin, adding as many instances as I need and loading up the instruments that way.
> 
> ...


Yeah, sorry, I don't use Komplete Kontrol.


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## Emanuel Fróes (Jan 1, 2023)

Hallo ! 
I had a typical M1 bug in Logic. I deleted all instrument inputs (midi) , copied the project, and imported only plugin inputs from this new project into the crashed one. It worked well for many tracks, for example Synchron Player, replacing only the bugged inputs. *But for Kontakt I can´t see the Kontakt instrument in many instances. They are empty.* Imagine how I feel after 300 tracks... Does any one experienced this? I was composing and was hard to check if this was a systematic bug for all imported instances, or if i important wrong (unlikely, because i batch imported from different plugin companies and worked. No prbolem with Synchron Player or SPitfire)

I can´t say for sure the import of Logic was the issue, or if the Kontakt plugin is the bug.


I go back and forwar with and without Rosetta. Maybe what works for EW does not work for Kontakt and so on? Idk. Now, the funny fact is:

yesterday my free instruments saved me (BBB and Alpine!!). This is so funny after spent tons of money...


Happy New Year and a 2023 without much custumer support i wish you. ; )


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## Jerner (Jan 1, 2023)

Same performance if not worse and still as many crashes as ever. Didn't even need to "upgrade"


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## macmac (Jan 1, 2023)

dzilizzi said:


> I just have the player. It is weird for me. I like having the library down the side. Everything disappears when you select a patch and you have to open it again if it wasn't the patch you wanted. I'm hoping this is just the player, because loading multiple instruments is going to be a pain.


Same here. I just saw the suggestion offered, will try it. The way it is now is just awkward to me.


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## Don Cajon (Jan 4, 2023)

Pincel said:


> On PC. But it seems I was able to solve it though! For some reason, changing my PCIex lane to Gen 2 on the BIOS did the trick, and now I've been using Kontakt 7 without issues so far. Weird how these things work...


Same problem here (GPU is an RX 6900 XT), but changing the PCIe lange to Gen2 doesn't fix the issue. Kontakt 6 is absolutely fine.

I noticed that the stuttering mouse occurs on elements that visually react when the mouse cursor hovers them. For instance, if I move the mouse cursor over an empty instrument rack, the movement stays butter smooth. But when hovering buttons in the library tab, the cursor starts stuttering.

Did they change the rendering technology to something new with K7?


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