Native Instruments has released Kontakt 3.5, a free update for current Kontakt 3 users.

From the Native Instruments press release:

At the heart of KONTAKT 3.5 is a new high-performance sample engine with unrivaled capabilities for sophisticated orchestral scoring and similar complex projects that are a mainstay of professional KONTAKT users. KONTAKT 3.5 is fully compatible with Windows Vista 64, and takes advantage of 64-bit memory addressing to utilize practically unlimited amounts of RAM. On the Mac, KONTAKT 3.5 introduces the new “Kontakt Memory Server” which can make use of up to 32 GByte RAM on OS X 10.4 and beyond.

KONTAKT 3.5 also uses a new “zero-memory” DFD technology for highly efficient disc streaming with a strongly reduced memory footprint, and true multiprocessor support now enables additional performance benefits on modern multi-core and multiprocessor setups.

To better accommodate its unparalleled arsenal of third-party instrument content, the new KONTAKT version displays all installed libraries and KONTAKT PLAYER instruments in a virtual rack, giving producers improved overview for even the most extensive sound collections.

Further enhancements in KONTAKT 3.5 include direct MIDI learn for sound parameter controls, improved automapping, individual bypass for effect slots, optimized Pro Tools compatibility on Mac OS X 10.5, KSP aftertouch interpretation, and a localized info pane in six languages.

I think the main question for Pro Tools users is still “well, can I use the bloody thing!” (for those of you who don’t know, NI products have been known to work so-and-so with Pro Tools). I haven’t tried the full release yet but have used the beta some. I’m on Mac and I haven’t encountered any problems. But…

1. I’m not a power user. Meaning I load up an instrument, or a couple of instruments, and play around, maybe add an effect or two. For users with greater demands, I suggest you don’t trust my experiences too much.
2. I’m not a heavy Kontakt user. It is my number one sampler (even if Structure is still kept), but I haven’t used it a lot during the beta testing period, just a little here and there.
3. It seems to me most issues with Kontakt have been present to Windows users and not Mac users.

I’ll download it and give it a go in a couple of days and report back if it causes any major problems. I strongly encourage everyone trying it to report back as well, as stability and functionality with Pro Tools has been a major issue to some.

More information on Kontakt 3.5 is available at NI’s website.