Deft Lines: Kontakt Drill Instrument by Native Instruments

Deft Lines is a Kontakt instrument from Native Instruments built around UK and US drill. It combines sliding subs, sparse melodic lines, twisted samples, orchestral stacks and hybrid textures in 150 presets.

REQUIRESKontaktHost player sold separately

Kontakt

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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01Overview

Deft Lines covers the sound of drill music from both sides of the Atlantic. Its library includes bass lines, muted keys, warped and layered strings, eastern flutes, plucks and bass dives. The instrument runs inside Kontakt, so producers who already work in that host can load it directly. Its 150 presets are a starting point, and the instrument's layers and editors let you rework them into your own sounds.

Best for

Drill beat production
Sliding bass lines
Sparse melodic hooks
Hybrid orchestral layers
Trap and hip-hop sound design

Developer: Native Instruments
Category: Kontakt Instruments
Requires: Kontakt
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Sliding subs inspired by UK and US drill
Sparse melodic and twisted sample content
Layerable big bass and orchestral stacks
Off-kilter keys and hybrid textures
150 drill presets from both sides of the Atlantic
16-step sequencer with six assignable macros
Effects chain editing with drag-and-drop ordering
Adjustable key ranges and velocity curves

03In depth

Sounds and Editing Tools for Drill Production

Deft Lines offers a sound editor with separate A and B sound sources, giving access to tuning, filters, panning and envelopes for each one.

The effects editor lets you change the effects chain of any preset. You can swap effects from a dropdown menu or reorder them by dragging.

A 16-step sequencer helps you sketch ideas quickly, and six assignable macros can modulate parameters such as filter cutoff or distortion. A dedicated macro editor lets you adjust parameter ranges, change mappings and create custom controls.

Layering Bass, Orchestral and Hybrid Textures

Native Instruments describes the library as suited to layering big bass, orchestral stacks, off-kilter keys and hybrid textures. The instrument's sliding subs and sparse melodics are meant to reflect how drill has developed in the UK and the US.

The settings page lets you edit key ranges and adjust velocity curves, which helps when you play these sounds across a keyboard or program them into a sequence.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	Native Instruments
Type	Plugin
Category	Kontakt Instrument
Requires	Kontakt
Formats	Kontakt

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What do I need to use Deft Lines?

Deft Lines requires Kontakt. The free Kontakt Player or the full Kontakt version 7.6 or higher is needed to load it.

What is the download size of Deft Lines?

The download is 3.96GB.

What kinds of sounds are included?

The library includes sliding subs, sparse melodics, twisted samples, big bass, orchestral stacks, off-kilter keys, eastern flutes and plucks, with 150 presets.