Review: Native Instruments Komplete 12 Ultimate

As well as new sample instruments and sound generators there are some new faces in the plug-in effects racks, namely the Mod and Crush Pack effects series. The Mod Pack consist of the Replika XT [fig-1] delay and three modulation plugs (Phasis, Flair [fig-2] and Choral) that offer a pandora’s box of swirling phase, chorus, flange and vibrato effects. The Crush Pack features Dirt, a classic two-stage stomp box-style distortion effect. Bit crushing and digital mangling are taken good care of by Bite, while Freak [fig-3] offers a range of extreme modulation and frequency shifting effects. All these effects deliver a great degree of tweakability and many sonic possibilities. I find the NI stand-alone plugs to be extremely useful and these are no exception with some really tasty sounds on offer.

The suite of audio plug-ins that come with Komplete 12 Ultimate includes EQ, dynamics, reverb, modulation and drive/saturation plugs and they are quite a formidable set of quality tools for mixing. This probably gets overlooked a little in general discussions about the Komplete packages and is certainly something to bear in mind if you’re considering delving into the NI world for the first time.

CHECK YOUR INSTRUMENTS

Amongst the other headliners for the Komplete 12 release are the three new wavetable-based instruments. These all use a simple visual interface that utilises well-curated presets and the ability to blend sounds together in a basic A+B layout. Analogue Dreams delivers pads, leads, basses and percussive tones with a distinct ’80s tinged flavour. Ethereal Earth [fig-4] offers synthetic flutes, gongs and other world-music instruments which have undergone various kinds of digital transformation. These sounds can veer into soundtrack territory and the combination of earthy mids and glassy digital highs is quite effective. Hybrid Keys [fig-5] explores non-standard tonalities based on various acoustic, electric and toy pianos and keyboards and is again an interesting and very playable instrument. These three new instruments do a very good job of offering new sounds that feel distinctly modern yet vaguely familiar, while keeping the interface deceptively simple. Expect to hear these new sounds in a lot of film and tv compositions in the next few years as well as on a wide variety of contemporary music styles.

String arrangers, beat makers, and keyboardists who want to make guitar sounds won’t feel left out either. [fig-6] Session Pro Strings 2 offers a well articulated 22-piece orchestra with the interface weighted towards rhythmic and melodic phrase looping. There’s a lot of rhythmic options on hand and it’s quite a deep toolset allowing the quick assembly of driving rhythmic beds and complex arpeggios. This is a great tool for creating pace and momentum in string arrangements and the sounds hit the spot nicely.

fig-6TRK-01 helps solve the problem of getting your kick and bass to play well together. It’s a purpose-built drum and bass engine featuring two independent step sequencers that drive a plethora of kick and bass sounds. The interface offers quick and intuitive sequencing, sound dialling and modulation effects with big punchy bottom end results. This instrument excels at 808 and heavy synth bass-inspired beatmaking and will be at the heart of many a dance and electro track in the coming years.

Electric Sunburst [fig-7] is the latest in NI’s quickly growing guitar and bass sample instrument stable and offers electric guitar sounds that range from clean country to indie grit to full tilt metal. A bit like Session Strings Pro, there is a deep library of tempo-synced picking patterns to flesh out a rhythm track and get fresh ideas going. There’s a wide range of tweakability here with a lot of control over amp settings, pickup selection and mic placement to keep you busy. Who knew playing electric guitar on a keyboard could be so fun!

The new Scarabee Rickenbacker Bass is also worth a mention, giving MIDI-based programmers another classic electric bass option alongside the existing Komplete bass offerings.

Thrill [fig-8] also deserves a mention for its kooky X/Y interface and excellent range of atonal and downright scary sounds. Low-budget horror sound designers and soundtrack composers will drool over this, and a little Thrill dropped in under a crescendo definitely raises the stakes in many a musical context. Simply grab your X/Y marker and move it around to explore various blends of orchestral, digital and ambient textures and atonalities. ‘Playing’ the marker is a quick and easy way to generate atmospheric dynamics that would otherwise take hours to build and orchestrate.

EXPANDED HORIZONS?

Finally there are the 10 expansion packs which, I have to say, I found a little underwhelming as the focus on contemporary dance, trance and R ’n’ B type sounds wasn’t up my alley. Having said that, for those working in these specific genres, these packs will hit the spot. Those with Maschine hardware will find a bunch of extra features to unwrap and the packs are great if you want to quickly narrow down your sonic options to fit into a contemporary electronic musical niche. For more inventive writers and producers it’s probably better to assemble your own sounds, and with the Komplete 12 Ultimate package there will never be
a shortage of those!

The bottom line with the Komplete 12 release is that it continues a slow and steady build of instruments and features. There’s no jaw dropping new look or methodology but the sheer quality and range of sounds and sound engines remains the star attraction. From organic and digital drum kits, exotic world instruments through orchestral samples to retro keys, sampled acoustic and electric guitars, horror soundscapes and bleeding edge digital synths there is something for everyone. While the Komplete universe continues to grow, the basic nuts and bolts of the sample player and library system remain rock-solid and the addition of quick and easy animator modes in many of these instruments helps keep Native Instrument’s platform at the forefront of modern DAW-based music making technology.