- Acoustic Guitar by Pettinhouse Audio This guitar sounds very realistic thanks to its release and fret noises. Probably my favourite free library. Flutes: Persian Ney & Shakukachi from Kontakt Factory Selection These two flutes included in Kontakt's free selection of instruments can add lots of oriental flavour to your track.
- The simple Lib and wallpaper Creator for Mac & Pc. Add Text to your selected wallpaper. Drag and Drop your Own Images. 1 Click Library Creation. Add Your Style to your libs. Use any style of Font you own. ReSize Shrinks your Images to fit. Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 /10 Compatable Mac compatible upto Mojave. New Graphic Effects engine.
SampleRobot is your personal automatic sound library creator. It’s ideal for musicians and sound designers alike. The auto-sampling process easily turns your instruments into high quality multisample sets that can be used with your studio's hardware and software samplers. Create your own pro libraries in a jiffy.
- 2 Kontakt (full version) sample libraries
- 3 How to extract RAR files
- 5 How to open sample libraries in Kontakt
- 5.2 Kontakt’s Quick Load
Kontakt sample libraries come in two flavours. Those that run in the free Kontakt Player and those that will only work with the full (paid) version of Kontakt. Here we’re going to focus on the latter as those are the ones that you’re more likely to struggle with loading into Kontakt (the first time at least).
The information presented in this guide is applicable to most third-party Kontakt sample libraries but there are always exceptions so it’s important that you read the user guides that come with the libraries you purchase.
This image is probably one you’re familiar with. It’s the Libraries tab in Kontakt’s browser window. If you can’t see the browser you need to open it by clicking the “Browse” button located at the left of Kontakt’s top menu. The Libraries tab displays all of the Kontakt libraries that have been installed using the “Add Library” button.
Only sample libraries that have been sent by the library’s developer to Native Instruments for encoding show up here and they work not only in the full version of Kontakt but also in the free Kontakt Player. Most sample libraries you buy from third-party developers, including Xtant Audio, have not been encoded by Native Instruments and therefore won’t appear in this tab nor can they be installed by clicking the “Add Library” button.
To use a third-party library (a library that has not been encoded by Native Instruments) you must be using the version of Kontakt that the library was created in or newer – Kontakt is not forwards compatible. Developers almost always state the version of Kontakt required for their libraries and it’s important to check that you have the right one before you make a purchase. At Xtant Audio we try to use Kontakt 4.2 when possible but be sure to check in the “Requirements” section of the product page before you make a purchase, and when in doubt send us an email via the Contact page.
How to check which version of Kontakt you have
The quickest way to check which version of Kontakt you are using is to click on the Kontakt logo at the top left of Kontakt’s window. This will pop up an information box in the middle of the screen which will show the version number you have installed. Just click on the pop-up to close it.
When you purchase a sample library from Xtant Audio, and most other developers, the files you receive are in a compressed format. This is to speed up the download process. At Xtant Audio we use RAR compression because it provides the smallest file size. To access the files inside a RAR archive you need to extract them using one of several freely available utilities – We recommend using the latest version of WinRAR on Windows and The Unarchiver on Mac.
Once you’ve installed a RAR extracting utility you can decompress the archive by right-clicking on it and selecting one of the options from the pop-up context menu. The menu layout might be slightly different on your system to the one shown in the image. Another way to access the files inside a RAR archive is to double click on it and it will open up like a folder, from here you’ll be able to drag the files straight out of the archive.
How to extract multi-part RAR files
Some sample libraries have a very large file size, even when compressed into a RAR archive. To prevent you from having to download one massive file it is common to split the download into multiple parts, usually about a gigabyte each. To open these multi-part archives you first need to make sure you’ve downloaded every part, if a part is missing the archive cannot be opened. Each part will be numbered and all parts will have the same file size – except for the last part which is often smaller.
Once you’ve confirmed that you have downloaded all the parts you can follow the same procedure used for extracting a single archive – either use the right-click context menu or double click the archive to open it. It is important that you only perform the extraction on the first part of a multi-part RAR archive Photograv 3.1 download version. , this will have “part1” or something similar at the end of its file name. Extracting the first part will automatically extract all the other parts, as long as they are in the same location on your computer.
The extracted sample library always includes one or more Kontakt instrument files (NKIs) and the audio samples – usually in Kontakt’s lossless compression format (NCW). For most libraries there will also be two resource files which use the NKC and NKR file extensions and are used to store scripts, images, and impulse-responses if any are used by the instrument. Occasionally there may be other files or folders as well but the ones mentioned here are the most common.
Once you’ve extracted the archive you’ll normally have a single folder that contains all of the files needed to use the sample library. With some larger libraries however it is common to receive the samples in one archive (or multi-part archive) and the instrument files in another. In this situation you need to create a new folder and place the contents of the archives inside it (see animation). You can then delete the RAR archives.
The folder can be stored anywhere on your system but it’s a good idea to keep all of your sample libraries on a dedicated hard-drive, preferably an SSD which greatly increases performance. Although you can move this folder to any location on your computer it is important that the files within it are kept together. Removing files from the folder can cause numerous problems with opening the library in Kontakt that can be difficult to fix. In general you should rarely need to venture into this folder from your file browser or alter any of the files within it – you may occasionally add files though if you make changes to one of the library’s instruments in Kontakt and want to save them as a new version.
Although they won’t show up in the Libraries tab there are a number of ways to open third-party instruments in Kontakt. The simplest method is to locate the instrument file you want to load using your system’s file browser and drag it onto the open Kontakt window. This method can be fairly slow if you have a lot of sample libraries or they are organised into several sub-folders, but it’s a good way to quickly audition a new library you’ve just downloaded before finding a permanent home for it.
Another method is to select “Load” from the file menu at the top of the Kontakt window and then browse for the sample library in the dialog that appears. If you’ve opened the library recently it will also be available for quick access in the “Load recent…” sub-menu.
Files Tab
One of the most common ways to load third-party sample libraries is to use the Files tab in the Kontakt browser, this is accessible by clicking the Files button just next to the Libraries tab. This provides you with a file browser built into the Kontakt interface where you can select the instrument you want to load.
This is faster than the previous methods but still relies on moving through a file browser and several folder levels to find the instrument you are looking for.
Kontakt’s Quick Load
The quickest method to load third-party instruments into Kontakt is the Quick Load catalogue which can be accessed by right-clicking in the Kontakt window or by clicking the “Quick” button on Kontakt’s top menu bar. The Quick Load browser opens up at the bottom of the Kontakt window, below any instruments you have open. It’s similar to a file browser but allows you to define an organised folder structure just for Kontakt instruments, banks, and multis. This doesn’t affect the actual folder and files on your hard-drive and will only exist and be accessible inside Kontakt.
Quick Load browser
The Quick Load browser displays the folders and files in columns. Clicking on a folder in one column will display its sub-folders and files in the column to the right of it. This system allows you to quickly move through the directory structure horizontally from left to right.
Adding folders and instruments
Right-click in one of the columns to add a folder. Right-clicking on a folder you’ve already created will allow you to delete or rename it. To add Kontakt instruments to a folder just click and drag them from either the Files tab, Libraries tab, Database tab, or your operating system’s file browser and onto the Quick Load catalogue.
Loading an instrument
From the Quick Load browser you can right-click on an instrument and select “Load”, double click it, or click and drag it into the main Kontakt window to open it. There are some other ways to access your Quick Load catalogue items but these are the most straightforward. Please refer to the Kontakt reference manual to find out more about the various methods of loading instruments into Kontakt.
If you’ve been producing music for a while, you probably know that a lot of the commercial guitar VSTs or libraries out there are pretty expensive and not always easy to use. Although I own a few commercial guitar libraries, I also wanted to see what free guitar VSTs and sample libraries are available these days. I have to admit I was surprised by the number of interesting instruments I found. So, I’ve put together this list to talk about the best ones.
For this article, I looked at both acoustic and electric guitars but left out guitar amps and other effect plugins (I will cover these in an upcoming article).
Free Acoustic Guitar Plugins
Ample Sound: Ample Guitar M II Lite
Format: AU, VST, AAX, RTAS / 32 bit + 62 bit
OS: Mac, Windows
Audio examples:
Ample Sound is a Beijing-based company that has been creating guitar and bass VSTs since 2011. Gang of wasseypur 1 480p download. The Ample Guitar M II series aims “to bring the Martin D-41 Acoustic Guitar sound to your studio.” Luckily for us, the company also released a free lite version of the instrument, which comes with a reduced sample rate, fewer articulations and features and a lower sample count than the original (by now, version III has been released already).
This doesn’t prevent Ample Guitar M II Lite from being the best sounding (non-Kontakt) acoustic guitar in this list, though. The samples sound full and lively and can be triggered directly through MIDI (or your DAW) as well as through a built-in sequencer, the “strummer.”
The strummer makes it super easy to build patterns out of single notes, up and down strokes and mutes. Additionally, there are a bunch of effects and features available to change the tone. One of my favorite features is the doubling switch, which adds width to the instrument in an instant.
Another particular useful feature of Ample Guitar M II Lite is that it shows you which string corresponds to the note you’re playing. This quickly helped me create more realistic arpeggios.
If you also use Guitar Pro Tab, you can even import your tabs into Ample Guitar M II Lite. Note that you are limited to the first four frets of each string when you’re using the lite version.
There are so many fully functioning knobs and switches in this free plugin that I didn’t manage to get to all of them in my 45 minutes of playing around with it. What more can you ask for in a free guitar?
You can get Ample Guitar M II Lite on the Ample Sound website.
This is a quick introduction to the instrument:
DSK Music: Dynamic Guitars
Format: AU, VST / 32 bit + 64 bit
OS: Mac, Windows
Audio examples:
This guitar VST has gotten a lot of attention lately, especially since the release of LifeStyleDidIt’s video “I FOUND THE BEST FREE GUITAR VST” (see below). DSK Music is a project by a Spaniard named Víctor who has been making hundreds of free virtual instruments since 2002.
DynamicGuitars contains three different instruments: an acoustic guitar, a nylonguitar and a steel guitar. It also offers control over the envelope of thesamples as well as the dynamic range and the voice mode (poly, mono, legato). All the included guitars feel smooth, warm andthick but could use a little EQ action for clarity.
In this video, you can see the plugin in use:
You can download DSK Dynamic Guitars here.
Pettinhouse Free Acoustic Guitars
Pettinhouse is a project by Andrea Pettinao. The company sells a wide variety of guitars and also offers a handful of free guitar sample libraries. Let’s take a look at them!
FreeAcousticGuitar
Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
Free AcousticGuitar is a simple but well-recorded and programmed acoustic guitar Kontakt library. The samples are loaded as a multi and are separated into attack+ sustain, releases and fret noise sounds and come in different velocities. The samples are well mixed and sound wonderfully natural.
FreeClassicGuitar
Format: Kontakt 5 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
When you open the free version of Pettinhouse’s Classic Guitar, you’re getting a multi consisting of two instruments: classic guitar and noises. These work well together and offer a realistic and nice warm sound.
Yummy Beats: Modest Guitar
Format: Kontakt 5 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
Yummy Beats is a platform for drums, loops and Kontakt instruments. You can also find a few free instruments on this site, including the free Modest Guitar. This Kontakt library delivers a present sound with round robin and three articulations: acoustic guitar, flageolets and fx guitar. Unfortunately, I found that the fx guitar produced noticeable crackle sounds (might have been my setup!). However, my favorite part is the flageolets with their well-rounded tone, anyway.
I found the steps to get Modest Guitar a little complicated. You have to open a Yummy Beats account, go to this page and enter the unlock code that you find here. If you’re looking for a free, quality flageolet sound, this is a good instrument to try out, though.
Here’s an example of a song that uses Modest Guitar (from the Yummy Beats YouTube channel):
Alternatives
Didn’t find what you were looking for? Here are some more acoustic guitar libraries:
- DSK AkoustiK GuitarZ (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- DSK Guitars Nylon (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- DSK Guitars Acoustic (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- DSK Guitars Steel (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- Spicy Guitar (VST / Standalone / Windows, Mac / 32 bit + 64 bit)
- Big Cat Instruments General Midi Soundset (has a guitar section / Kontakt)
Free Electric Guitar Plugins
Now, let’s talk about electric guitars.
Spitfire Labs: Peel Guitar
Format: VST2, VST3, AAX, AU; 32 bit + 64 bi t
OS: Windows, Mac
Audio examples:
Looking for a smooth moody guitar that fits into an ambient track or your next film score? Peel Guitar might be it! Originally, the guitar was sampled by Christian Henson in 2006 and, according to him, was used all over his scores. The instrument consists of three presets that differ slightly in guitar tone. Each guitar feels soft and comes with a long release, which adds to the atmosphere of the instrument. The minimalist interface offers control over the volume, velocity, reverb and “tightness” of the sound. To get Peel Guitar, you will need to install Spitfire Labs first (also free).
Iridium Iris: Lethality
Format: VST, 32 bit + 64 bit
OS: Windows
Audio examples:
The following examples were created with Lethality and Guitar Rig 5:
Lethality was released in 2014 by Iridium Iris. The developer’s website has been down for a while, so it’s not clear if they’re still working on new instruments. However, Lethality is one of their products that you can still come across today.
I wasactually quite surprised to see how many functions are built into Lethality.Besides “regular” single notes, the plugin also has open string and mutedstring articulations. Additionally, you can switch on hammer-ons, pull-offs andportamento articulations, which can be triggered by playing legato notes.
To find theright articulation on your MIDI keyboard, you can take a look in the manualthat comes with the instrument. When you’re as used to Kontakt as I am, it’s alittle inconvenient that the keyboard layout (including articulation zones andkeyswitches) is not displayed visually in the plugin. This means that you’llhave to remember the keyswitches and articulations you’ll need when playing.
If you’renot sure how to program your guitar, you can use the built-in riff patterns.They can be activated directly from the plugin or exported as MIDI clips intoyour DAW of choice. Ecm titanium all drivers. Truthfully, though, it makes more sense to program your ownMIDI clips, if only to create a more dynamic guitar part.
Although Lethality offers a distortion function, to get a good sound you will most likely want to use an external amp simulation or other effects on this instrument.
As the official developer website is down, you can get Lethality here.
Impact Soundworks Shreddage Stratus Free
Format: Kontakt 5.7 or higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
The Shreddage series by Impact Soundworks has been the go-to place for affordable guitar sample libraries for years. Recently, the company made a very generous gift to composers when it released a free version of its Shreddage 3 Stratus guitar. Compared to the commercial version, the free version only offers neck pickup (instead of neck, middle and bridge), 12 frets (instead of 24), a reduced range and fewer articulations. However, this shouldn’t stop you from creating great, realistic electric guitar parts with this library. Up to 24 samples per note, including sustain, palm mute and choke articulations make this an amazingly usable library that will fit into many productions.
Amazingly,the free version of Shreddage 3 Stratus also comes with full mix consolefunctionality. In the mix console you can add effects, whether that’s pedals,amps, cabinets or EQ. The included presets (called “snapshots” by ImpactSoundworks) sound instantly great and are compatible with other Shreddageinstruments (as long as they use the same console). This is definitely the bestand most versatile free electric guitar on the market right now – so if youhave a full version of Kontakt, don’t miss out on this one.
Check outthe following video for an overview on how to use Stratus Free:
Get Impact Soundworks Stratus Free here (you will need to get a free account to download the instrument).
Pettinhouse Free Electric Guitars
Just as Pettinhouseoffers a few great acoustic guitar libraries, it has also released a fewinteresting electric guitars:
FreeDirectGuitar
Format: Kontakt 5 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
The following examples were created with DirectGuitar and Guitar Rig 5:
Using this direct guitar library by Pettinhouse gives you maximum flexibility for sculpting your own tone. It comes with a range of four octaves and also includes a few effects (open the “strum” and “layers” instruments to find out where they are located on the keyboard). Amp and effects are not part of the instrument, so you will need to add one yourself. I used Guitar Rig 5 for the audio examples.
FreeMute&Slap
Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
Mute&Slap is a very specialized instrument: The articulations range from mute tones in the lower velocities to slap notes in the higher velocities and are great for adding some funky notes to your beats and songs. While Free Mute&Slap also contains a couple of effects and amp choices, it might be worthwhile trying out a few different amp simulations with this to have more control over the tone.
Here’s avideo review for Mute&Slap:
FreeFunkyGuitar
Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
Need more funk in your music? Check out Pettinhouse’s Free FunkyGuitar. Besides regular plucked string sounds, this library also contains strum loops and muted strum loops. These are especially convenient (programming funk guitar rhythms manually is hell) and can be tempo-synced to the host or adjusted manually (in a range of 85 bpm – 130 bpm). The library comes with a built-in reverb, delay and phaser and a selection of amps. The guide tab will help you find your way around this instrument quickly.
FreeWarmJazz
Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version required!)
Audio examples:
When I was researching for this article and came across WarmJazz, a realization hit me: There are barely any jazz guitar sample libraries on the market. Apart from the occasional funk library, most current guitar libraries and VSTs are oriented towards rock, metal and blues. If you’re looking for a jazzier sound, though, you should check out WarmJazz by Pettinhouse. In its free version, it comes with seven presets and a range of effects (chorus, reverb, delay, compressor). The quality of the sound is indeed warm and jazzy and hard to re-create with any other library.
KaroryferSamples Cute Emily Guitar
Format: SFZ, Kontakt 5 and higher (full version required!)
The next three examples use Guitar Rig 5:
Cute Emily Guitar is originally a project by Karoryfer Samples and was first published in 2014. To quote the creator:
“There area lot of guitar samples out there intended for lots of styles of musicguitarists like, from Latin jazz to metalcore, but this library is for musicguitarists really hate, from hip-hop to EDM. It’s designed to be easy to usefor producers who don’t necessarily know a lot about guitars and don’t need awhole lot of different articulations, control over left-hand position, note offgroups, etc. Instead of all that you get a fat, percussive sound that’s greatfor crisp rhythms.”
Indeed, the instrument, which is a sampled Epiphone Emily the Strange, has a very pronounced, percussive attack. As the samples were recorded directly, it makes sense to run them through an amp simulator of some sort (I used Guitar Rig 5 for my tests).
You have the choice between two versions of this instrument: The original Karoryfer Samples version in SFZ soundfont format or a Kontakt version by Bigcat Instruments. The Kontakt version includes various effects, such as a phaser, chorus, reverb, delay, compressor, distortion and EQ. You can also add tremolo and adjust the velocity curve, as well as the attack and release.
Alternatives
Looking formore options? Check out the following instruments:
Kontakt Library Creator Mac
- Greggjazz Suburban Guitarist (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- Krakli Strat-A-Various (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
- SuperRiff: SuperRiff Guitar (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
Over to you…
Kontakt Library Maker Mac
Do you have any other favorites that you didn’t see included on this page? Let us know in the comments!