Why was KORE given a good review on here?

[Sinmad]

http://www.tweakheadz.com/review_of_kore.htm

It is not stable, even after the 3rd update. Regardless of all the reviews that its had in magazines and sad enough in this site aswel.

Anyone looking to purchase it be warned. Your in for alot of headaches.

[ALunarLullaby]

Hey man, just because the program has problems on your computer doesn't mean it's a bad product. Tweak isn't going to give a good review to a product that is bad, he's trying to help all of us out here.

Instead of complaining about it, why don't you ask for some help? Maybe there is a problem you oversaw. Just a suggestion.

[m-audiofreak]

Kore is awesum its everything you want when you have lots of plugins. It kid of expensive though i will buy it when i can afford it

[Erosion]

Kore is the piece of hardware that will finally instigate the switch for me. I have always used hardware live, but I think starting the first of the year after its a bit more stable I will get this. The biggest reason is the live mode. I play progressive rock/metal which requires many many patches in one song. I have to be able to switch extremely quickly between lots of sounds. I also need extensive key mapping abilities. This has never been all integrated on computers so I have pretty much ignored soft synths until now. With Kore I will be able to create all the crazy sounds I want, and then put them in order and switch through with a foot pedal. At the first of the year I'll sell most of my synths, get a relatively good controller, a snifty new mac laptop, and a crap load of Softsynths!

...oh yeah being a student, I have found out that there is a package for Kore, and NI komplete 3 for $799

[Subculture Productions]

so your 100 percent sure that your registry,drivers, are all healthy?
and all your hardware is compatible?

cause the demo I tried worked fine...

try doing a re-install of windows (this can work magic)

[Tweak]

Like I said in the article, I was skeptical, given the harsh treatment users have given Kore at the NI forums. I never used version 1.0--1.2; I started with 1.3.

I have not noted any serious problems with stability after 4 days of heavy use. I'm on a mac--maybe that has something to do with it. I also don't use --any--free plugins or hack jobs as a rule. Bad plugins crash sequencer hosts and will crash Kore as well. Even 1 bad plugin can take down a music system. And I use Logic, which has fastidious rules regarding which plugs are allowed. Kore also uses Apple's AU validation tool, which will weed out the bad ones and disable them

I have had one crash, when I tried to do a database update while Kore was running in Logic, which was really something one should not do.

But obviously, a lot of people are angry at NI. They do have a tendency to release stuff prematurely.

[earthloop]

Kore is the piece of hardware that will finally instigate the switch for me. I have always used hardware live, but I think starting the first of the year after its a bit more stable I will get this. The biggest reason is the live mode. I play progressive rock/metal which requires many many patches in one song. I have to be able to switch extremely quickly between lots of sounds. I also need extensive key mapping abilities. This has never been all integrated on computers so I have pretty much ignored soft synths until now. With Kore I will be able to create all the crazy sounds I want, and then put them in order and switch through with a foot pedal. At the first of the year I'll sell most of my synths, get a relatively good controller, a snifty new mac laptop, and a crap load of Softsynths!

...oh yeah being a student, I have found out that there is a package for Kore, and NI komplete 3 for $799

Hmm...where did you see that deal?

Regarding using Kore for live work...have you looked at the Muse Receptor? I know it is a lot more expensive, but it does the same job without necessarily having to depend on a computer. You can run soft synths, effects etc with dedicated DSP, hard drive etc. Lots of top bands use it (Garbage use 3 on stage).

However, I suppose Kore is much more affordable as long as it is dependable for performance...but you do still need a computer which for me has always seemed the vulnerable part!

Tweak, what do you think about Kore's reliability for performance? Would it really enhance a performers capability over, say, a more powerful computer?

[Tweak]

Tweak, what do you think about Kore's reliability for performance? Would it really enhance a performers capability over, say, a more powerful computer?

I would not use--any-- PC for live performance, regardless of software. I don't trust windows. I would be more amenable to using a Mac with hardware synths. Using Kore Live? Maybe with lite instruments--nothing CPU intensive. Stuff like the FM7 and Pro53 have earned my confidence. Reaktor 4--not a chance. Stuff that does disk streaming would make me nervous. So i would strip down the sampler instruments to their bare bones, probably just use single hits rather than massive string sections. I would want a Fantom, Motif or Triton there to do strings, pads.

Kore's value may lie in making sounds that you can sample for live performance. Pressing one key to trigger one Kore made audio file is much different than pressing one key and have Kore generate a voice built of 10 different soft synths. The former takes maybe 2% if your CPU and the latter takes about 40%.

[Sinmad]

Hey man, just because the program has problems on your computer doesn't mean it's a bad product. Tweak isn't going to give a good review to a product that is bad, he's trying to help all of us out here.

Instead of complaining about it, why don't you ask for some help? Maybe there is a problem you oversaw. Just a suggestion.

nah im not complaining, just curious to why it gotten a good review.
Like tweak said, probaly 'cause he uses mac. im on windows.

and errrm.. its not just me who has issues.

[earthloop]

If you have Live 6 (or have 5 and looking to upgrade) this is an interesting thread in Native Instruments Forum regarding Kore and Live racks!

http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... hp?t=40349

[Tweak]

I am working on kore everyday now. There are issues that should be fixed by now that are not, but they seem somewhat minor and a matter of their timing of updates. They seem to rely on users as beta testers.

[joelpilling]

Reading about this, I don't understand exactly what it is. It seems to be just a midi controller for plugins that can also host the plugins for live applications? Or am I missing something?

[Tweak]

Its a host and a software mixer in essence that contains additional hosts and software mixers. Yeah its a knob controller too, and a basic audio in/out device.

[earthloop]

I am working on kore everyday now. There are issues that should be fixed by now that are not, but they seem somewhat minor and a matter of their timing of updates. They seem to rely on users as beta testers.

Are these 'issues' things which might be a problem for the less experienced among us with regard to midi sequencing, sound design or computer based music production in general? In other words, will these minor issues impede a relative newbie from being able to use Kore?

[Tweak]

I don't think newbies should get Kore. There is so much for a newbie to come to terms with with everything else, they should not get side tracked into building a sound library. That comes later. When you have control over your software and its synths.


As I wrote:

What Newbies need to know

Kore does not come with softsynths. It works with those on your system already. It is a "host" for software instruments and plugin effects. A host is nothing other than a container. Kore is not for brand new newbies. You should have a solid working understanding of the sequencer and of how plugins work before you plunge into it, as Kore will take you deep into that realm. Let me say it again, Kore could prove frustrating for those who don't have the computer resources to run a lot of plugins at once. I would not want to run it on a cheap PC laptop. I suggest a powerful computer to dig into the benefits of Kore.

Kore is not the program to help you learn how to program synths. You still have to do the programming on each individual synth. Kore just lets you combine these sounds in one interface.

Other than that, Kore is no more difficult to understand than your software mixer. Its kind of like a mixer within a mixer as it is a host within a host.



Who should get Kore?

Those who have a huge library and a lot of instruments, a strong DAW, and want to push their sound into new frontiers. Sound designers should not wait. Get Kore up to speed as soon as you can. The longer you wait, the more work it will be to save your sounds as Kore sounds. I think it is an excellent platform for sonic exploration and creation. Composers who work hard on their sound will appreciate the more artistic way of finding instruments.

[earthloop]

Thanks for that Tweak! I can cross Kore off my 'do I need this now' list.

[Tweak]

Kore 1.1 was released yesterday. i installed it on my windows PC. Installation was not without its problems or confusions, but it was not a nightmare either. Kore is actually a little faster on my PC than on my G5, and the PC seems to be able to run more instruments. Still working out some issues with it, but it is working better than 1.03 did.

[max lightning]

http://www.tweakheadz.com/review_of_kore.htm

It is not stable, even after the 3rd update. Regardless of all the reviews that its had in magazines and sad enough in this site aswel.

Anyone looking to purchase it be warned. Your in for alot of headaches.

This is like that time that I was told Apple sucks because this guy runs iTunes on his PC and "it always crashes."

It has nothing to do with anything other than shoddy product.

[cmreal04]

Hey Tweak, just looking for some clarification because kore is definately something i've had my eye on lately just for the organizational aspect of plugins and to make it easier to find the sounds i want faster.You say that you don't use free plugins but i have quite a number of free and paid.I never have had a real problem with stability ethier way,do you see this as a possilbe problem in a host like kore? I just steered this question towards Tweak because he mentioned free vst"s but if anyone else has valuable input please let me know.And i would just like to add some of my favourite sounds come from freebees,you just have to be careful where you get them and read many reviews, do your research just like you would if you were giong to pay hard earned money for it.This wasn't ment to be a combative statement, just an opinion,I would hate for people to cut thier options short in the pursuit of great sounds Cliff

[nanashiwanderer]

Hey Tweak, just looking for some clarification because kore is definately something i've had my eye on lately just for the organizational aspect of plugins and to make it easier to find the sounds i want faster.You say that you don't use free plugins but i have quite a number of free and paid.I never have had a real problem with stability ethier way,do you see this as a possilbe problem in a host like kore?

I don't think the freeware plug comment in his guide was mentioned, in the kore review, but under plugins. Keep in mind the guide is not updated regularly. Studio-central is. That guide has been a work in progress since at least 1999 (at least their was a studio-central board), at the time many of that articles were written, there weren't the same options availible today. For example the guide says waves is a no brainer purchase once you've forked over the cash, in 2002, there wasn't much comparable, the plugins in most sequencers didn't compete. This has drastically changed, and many good freeware options are availible over the year. The bottom line, is that technology is constantly changing, as for gear recommendations from the guide use them as a reference point, and starting point, but don't treat it as law. Good gear, and software is getting more affordable by the day, and price brackets for good are changing constantly.



As to your question whether it would be a problem with free ware plugs or not, depends I don't think the kore would have problem with good freeware stuff like PSP, Khajerus, Voxengo's free stuff, any more than commercial liscence software, thats just an educated guess.

[Tweak]

Well I can't tell you how well kore works with free plugs because I don't have any. Kore 1.1 is much better than 1.03. I've had no stability issues on the Mac side. No crashes. On the PC things seem OK in standalone, but in Cubase there have been issues I am trying to resolve, which to be fair, may not be Kore's fault. My PC does have a lot of older plugins, including a huge lot of DX plugins left over from older versions of Sonar and Sound forge.

[cmreal04]

Thanks for the feedback guy's its always appreciated and even though these comments may not be written law they sure are a great help when researching stuff.