Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic review: is it still worth it?

Are you wondering whether Native Instruments Session Guitarist Strummed Acoustic is still worth buying today? This acoustic guitar classic was actually one of the first virtual instruments I ever purchased when I started producing music — and in this article I’ll cover what you need to know.

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I’m going to discuss my own experience of using it as an electronic music producer for the past few years, look at the pros and cons, and explain why I still recommend it today, even though it’s been around for so long.

Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic — introduction

Native Instruments Session Guitarist Strummed Acoustic is a classic acoustic guitar instrument that was first released over 10 years ago, back in 2015. It isn’t a standalone VST plugin — it’s a Kontakt instrument that runs inside Native Instruments Kontakt or the free Kontakt Player, which you then load into your DAW like any other plugin.

As it’s been around for so long, Strummed Acoustic often gets overlooked in favour of newer acoustic guitar plugins, which is understandable. That said, it also means that a lot of producers are wondering if it’s still up to scratch today, which is why I decided to write this article.

Strummed Acoustic is built around detailed recordings of a real steel-string acoustic guitar, with its samples taken from a vintage 1973 Martin D-35. The instrument focuses on capturing natural strumming patterns for chords rather than individual notes. Instead of playing single notes manually, you trigger chords and rhythms via MIDI, allowing you to create realistic-sounding guitar parts quickly without needing to be a guitarist yourself.

I’d say it’s geared towards strummed chords that sit well in a mix, particularly in the type of electronic music I make, where the guitar usually supports the track rather than taking centre stage. You can select different rhythms for the chords, making it easy to find one that will suit your track.

How I discovered it thanks to Kygo

I first embarked on my music production journey back in 2022, after being inspired by electronic artists such as Kygo and Avicii. I took Kygo’s course on Studio.com (which was known as Monthly back then), and it was a great way to learn the basics of the type of music I wanted to make.

The course was a great introduction to electronic music production, but it also gave me insight into the kinds of tools and sounds Kygo actually uses in his tracks, with Strummed Acoustic being one of them. During the course, Kygo used Strummed Acoustic for supporting guitar parts in the tracks he created. Because I loved the authentic sound it produced, I decided to buy it myself — and I still use it regularly in my productions today.

My experience of using Strummed Acoustic as a producer

I don’t have the full Kontakt virtual instrument platform at the time of writing this article, so I use Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic through the free Kontakt Player.

As I covered above, Strummed Acoustic is great for creating guitar chords that play a supporting role in electronic tracks, and this is what I mainly use it for. Many of my tracks start off with a simple chord progression played on a piano, which I then build upon.

Because it’s so easy to use, I will often reach for Strummed Acoustic to add a supporting layer to my tracks. My workflow is usually pretty simple — it’s a case of creating an instance of Strummed Acoustic and dragging and dropping the chord progression MIDI onto that channel. I’ll then experiment with the various strum rhythms, testing them out to find the one that fits best into the style of the song.

Strummed Acoustic pros

• Quick and easy to use — Strummed Acoustic makes it easy to get realistic guitar parts down fast. The MIDI-based chord and pattern system is very intuitive, and it’s fast to get started and find a strum rhythm that fits your track.
• Authentic, quality sound — The sound is clean and authentic, and it’s easy to fit into the type of electronic music I make without a lot of extra processing (that said, I often use Waves CLA Guitars alongside Strummed Acoustic to quickly enhance the sound).
• Multiple strumming patterns — There is a lot of variety with the built-in strum rhythms, and it’s easy to test out different patterns and find something that complements the groove of your track.
• Works with the free Kontakt Player — You don’t need the full version of Kontakt to use Strummed Acoustic, meaning you only pay for the instrument itself if you want (this is what I do).

Strummed Acoustic cons

• Interface feels a bit dated — The look and feel of the software is a bit dated — mainly because it’s more than 10 years old at this point. However, the important thing is that it still works well, which it does for me in Logic Pro.
• Sometimes has its quirks — I’m not sure whether this is down to my settings or not, but I find that Strummed Acoustic will sometimes “overplay” past the end of the final MIDI note, which you’ll need to adjust for.
• Not as flexible for custom playing styles — The strum rhythms are usually great for what I’m looking for, but if you’re looking for more custom or complex rhythms, there may be better options out there.

Price and where to buy

The best place to buy Session Guitarist Strummed Acoustic is from the official Native Instruments website. At the time of writing this article, it costs about $99 / £89.

It’s worth checking the official site from time to time as Native Instruments do occasional run offers, discounts and promotions. You can check the latest price using the button below.

FAQ

Does Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic work with the free Kontakt Player?

Yes. Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic works fully with the free Kontakt Player, so you don’t need to buy the full version of Kontakt to use it. This is one of the reasons I originally bought it, as it keeps the overall cost down if you’re only interested in this specific instrument.

Strummed Acoustic 1 vs Strummed Acoustic 2: which is better?

I’ve only used Strummed Acoustic 1 myself, so I can’t offer a hands-on comparison between the two versions from my own experience. However, Strummed Acoustic 2, which was released in 2016, does have additional guitar options (a six string acoustic guitar and twelve string acoustic guitar) and uses a new sound library. You can find out more about Strummed Acoustic 2 here.

Is Strummed Acoustic a VST?

Not exactly. Strummed Acoustic isn’t a standalone VST plugin — it’s a Kontakt instrument that runs inside Native Instruments’ Kontakt or the free Kontakt Player. Kontakt itself is loaded into your DAW as a VST, AU, or AAX plugin, which is why Strummed Acoustic behaves like a plugin once it’s loaded. Just remember that you’ll need Kontakt or the free Kontakt player to use it.

Is Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic 1 still worth it? My final verdict

That brings us to the end of my look at Native Instruments Strummed Acoustic. Personally, I still absolutely love this instrument, even if it does feel a bit dated these days. It still sounds very natural and authentic — and it’s really easy to incorporate into electronic music tracks.

There are definitely more advanced options out there these days, but this is still one of my go-to Kontakt instruments when it comes to adding authentic-sounding acoustic guitar parts in my tracks. Is it still worth it today? I think so — it’s one of those instruments I bought years ago that I still get value from today.