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. 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. 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. The Libraries tab displays all of the Kontakt libraries that have been installed using the “Add Library” button. 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. This image is probably one you’re familiar with. It’s the Libraries tab in Kontakt’s browser window. 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. 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).

Those that run in the free Kontakt Player and those that will only work with the full (paid) version of Kontakt. Kontakt sample libraries come in two flavours.

Kontakt 6 add library