ProjectSAM's The Free Orchestra - Now works with free Kontakt Player

[joeyluck]

https://projectsam.com/libraries/the-free-orchestra/

Apologies for the long subject title—just want to be sure people know what's up

What were 12 individual libraries are now 14 combined into 1 product, including new Multis, and is compatible with Kontakt Player and includes a free license! This means it won't timeout if you are using only Kontakt Player and it will appear in the Library browser on the left (registered via Native Access).

Free instruments taken directly from the ProjectSAM catalogue
The Free Orchestra offers a solid gigabyte of free, cinematic sounds taken directly from ProjectSAM’s acclaimed libraries, ranging from orchestral string staccatos and brass clusters to symphonic percussion and dystopian sound design.

New Presets & Multis
This newly released incarnation of The Free Orchestra includes all 12 presets that we originally released throughout 2019, as well as two brand-new presets with content from Symphobia 4: Pandora and Symphobia 3: Lumina. The Free Orchestra now also offers a number of Multis, layering the individual presets in different, inspiring ways.

In other words: if you already have the original 12, make sure to get this new release of The Free Orchestra!

Now works with free Kontakt Player
Best of all: The Free Orchestra now comes with a Kontakt Player license! This means that The Free Orchestra can now be used in its intended form, without limitations, by every musician with a computer.

This also means The Free Orchestra now has a dedicated spot in Kontakt’s and Komplete’s library browser.

The Free Orchestra requires Kontakt Player 6.2 or higher.

COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund
If you would like to show your appreciation for these free sounds, please consider donating to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.

I was literally just organizing these other libraries and thought I should check the site to see if others had been released... and then I saw this great news. Was just released a few days ago

[MrFigg]

Sounds great. One problem is I don't understand the whole Kontakt thing. Free Player, Kontakt full, this including with a Kontakt license? I'm just a simple Reason user. Is there any way you could explain this briefly so I can understand what's going on? Thanks

[joeyluck]

Sounds great. One problem is I don't understand the whole Kontakt thing. Free Player, Kontakt full, this including with a Kontakt license? I'm just a simple Reason user. Is there any way you could explain this briefly so I can understand what's going on? Thanks

When libraries (commercial or free) are not licensed for use with the free Kontakt Player, they are "not compatible" (meaning they will only run in demo mode—15 minutes at a time). To use those libraries, you the user need Kontakt full version ($399).

The developer has to pay a $1000 fee and purchase serials to distribute, whether it is commercial or free, if they want it to be compatible with the free Kontakt Player. More about that here: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... s/pricing/

So previously, these libraries were free, but not licensed for use with Kontakt Player. They are now and it is still free for the user— the serial is free.

It is very seldom you will find this. There are only two other examples that I know of (where a developer pays so it is compatible with Kontakt Player AND still offers it for free) and those are Embertone's Arcane and Sennheiser's DrumMic'a. So it's very nice of them and hopefully good for marketing.

[MrFigg]

Sounds great. One problem is I don't understand the whole Kontakt thing. Free Player, Kontakt full, this including with a Kontakt license? I'm just a simple Reason user. Is there any way you could explain this briefly so I can understand what's going on? Thanks

When libraries (commercial or free) are not licensed for use with the free Kontakt Player, they are "not compatible" (meaning they will only run in demo mode—15 minutes at a time). To use those libraries, you the user need Kontakt full version ($399).

The developer has to pay a $1000 fee and purchase serials to distribute, whether it is commercial or free, if they want it to be compatible with the free Kontakt Player. More about that here: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... s/pricing/

So previously, these libraries were free, but not licensed for use with Kontakt Player. They are now and it is still free for the user— the serial is free.

It is very seldom you will find this. There are only two other examples that I know of (where a developer pays so it is compatible with Kontakt Player AND still offers it for free) and those are Embertone's Arcane and Sennheiser's DrumMic'a. So it's very nice of them and hopefully good for marketing.

Thanks Joey. I understand now.

[xboix]

Excellent, but for something that's free they sure make you work hard for it. Create an account, inc name and address, download it, open Native Access, wait for that to update, start Kontakt, get error message that it's also out of date, update that then finally get access to the instruments. I may have spent more time installing and updating it than I will using it...

[Loque]

Well, thanks ProjectSAM. But that installation process...oh dear...what a PITA...

Am i the only one where some instruments are just not present or do not have an output even if i see something in Kontakts metering? Am i missing something? Oh what a crap....i am so thankfull i did not payed for that.

[joeyluck]

Excellent, but for something that's free they sure make you work hard for it. Create an account, inc name and address, download it, open Native Access, wait for that to update, start Kontakt, get error message that it's also out of date, update that then finally get access to the instruments. I may have spent more time installing and updating it than I will using it...

Well, thanks ProjectSAM. But that installation process...oh dear...what a PITA...

Hey guys this is what NI requires to offer a library compatible with Kontakt Player. And ProjectSAM paid a good chunk of money out of pocket to make it compatible with Kontakt Player. And they have paid for those serials, they can't just hand them out. Like I mentioned to MrFigg, it is only the third library I know of that is both free and compatible with Kontakt Player. Please read up on how it works: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... s/pricing/

I dislike that NI requires this of developers in order to make a library compatible with Kontakt Player. And again, it is seldom a developer offers a Kontakt Player compatible library for free, because it costs them money out of pocket to make that happen.

xboix, I didn't get that error. All other steps sound right though.

[Loque]

Excellent, but for something that's free they sure make you work hard for it. Create an account, inc name and address, download it, open Native Access, wait for that to update, start Kontakt, get error message that it's also out of date, update that then finally get access to the instruments. I may have spent more time installing and updating it than I will using it...

Well, thanks ProjectSAM. But that installation process...oh dear...what a PITA...

Hey guys this is what NI requires to offer a library compatible with Kontakt Player. And ProjectSAM paid a good chunk of money out of pocket to make it compatible with Kontakt Player. And they have paid for those serials, they can't just hand them out. Like I mentioned to MrFigg, it is only the third library I know of that is both free and compatible with Kontakt Player. Please read up on how it works: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... s/pricing/

I dislike that NI requires this of developers in order to make a library compatible with Kontakt Player. And again, it is seldom a developer offers a Kontakt Player compatible library for free, because it costs them money out of pocket to make that happen.

xboix, I didn't get that error. All other steps sound right though.

Thanks for that info. Ofc i blame NI and not ProjectSAM!

[joeyluck]

This was updated to version 2 earlier this month. Looks great!

https://projectsam.com/fully-updated-th ... orchestra/

What’s new in version 2.0?

New Sounds

• Wretched Risers (from Symphobia 4: Pandora)
• Organ Mystique (from our various church organ recordings)

New Features

• Powered by a completely new engine
• Fresh and spacious design
• All-in-One instrument and browser
• In-browser audio previews
• New and inspiring Multis by ProjectSAM
• 10 slot mixer to arrange and design your own Multis
• Adaptive Sync for a selection of instruments
• Shift and trim mapping of individual articulations
• Customize articulation switching and dynamic control
• On-screen tool tips

Improved Features

• Smoother envelopes, filters and curves for all instruments
• Better release trail response for slow sustains
• Various mapping bug fixes