A few very basic Kontakt 5 questions...

[FMiguelez]

Hey, guys.
I know some of you are heavy Kontakt users, and I'd like to ask you a few basic things.

1.- What I want to do is load my Pettinhouse guitars in a new BANK. The idea is to be able to change instruments with patch changes using the same MIDI channel, so I can switch from a strumming patch to a finger pick style, etc.

I tried it like the manual instructs, but the GUI won't let me drag the multi (nkm) in the bank window. WHY IS THIS?
Is it only supposed to work with single instruments (nki) and not with multies (nkm) ???

If so, that's a TOTAL bummer... Is there other way to do what I want, even if it's more complicated?
Does anyone have another suggestion to do what I want?

I also tried loading both patches in different MIDI channels. I mean, this sort of works, but if a guitar instrument consists of several multies (pick, strum, finger) then I'd have to use one channel for each, and it's not very efficient, especially if I'm trying to have all guitars ready for my template.

2.- Also, I HATE IT that all the instruments look the same... Is there a way to at least put color on some of them to distinguish them? Otherwise all I see is a big bunch of similar instrument tracks (headers) and it's slowing me down. I discovered I can distribute them among the 4 page buttons tabs, but even then, it all looks like a mess.

3.- When I load a multi (nkm) in the second button of the page buttons in the Multi Instrument Header, some members of the multi load on page 1 and others on page 3 or 4, and not in page 2 where the multi was dragged.
What am I doing wrong?

I must mention I'm using Kontakt 5 via VE Pro in a slave computer.

[kgdrum]

Hi Fernando,
Although I haven't used it much, OrangeTree's Mind Control might be something for you to checkout, its a great Kontakt add-on.
Greg aka OrangeTree is a brilliant developer and Kontact scripter, there are some youtube videos showing how useful Mind Control can be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9vJXxdOnkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgFYyYWZrYk
I need to delve into this app more, I think this will give you a great way to utilize sample libraries articulations via banks.
http://orangetreesamples.com/mind-control.
tell me if this helps

KG

[FMiguelez]

Hi, Kenny.
I'm sorry I didn't respond before, but I've had a very surreal couple of weeks... My girlfriend fell a few days ago and had a knee dislocation, so I haven't really had time for much lately (I am now more like Florence Nightingale than Fernando; more like a nurse than a composer ).

The moment I get some time for myself in my studio I'll watch them thoroughly and hopefully they will contain a hint to answer my questions, especially how to put a Multi (Pettinhouse guitars) into an instrument Bank.

Thanks, my friend!

[kgdrum]

Ouch!!
I hope your girlfriend is feeling better, the image of you in a Florence Nightingale nurses outfit will haunt me!
lol
when you get a chance check MindControl out.

[FMiguelez]

Hi, Kenny.

I could finally sit down today and watch your links.
That Mind Control thing seems superb!

I might even get it, since it seems to help with workflow and speed.

UNFORTUNATELY, it does not seem to address my main issue
Also, the manual doesn't state if what I want is possible or not.

I want to load multies (nkm) and make BANKS with them. Or is there something else I should investigate to achieve that?

[frankf]

You should know that the Kontakt 5 user database feature is broken since release and, although the feature is outlined in the manual, it is not working, as far as I know. I keep K4 active for this reason, as I have many Multis, instruments, banks organized with custom tags. Not sure if this relates, but thought I'd throw it out there.


Frank Ferrucci

[gregjazz]

Unfortunately instrument banks only support single patches (NKI files), which is why you can't drag multis (NKMs) into instrument bank slots.

I'm not very familiar with the layout of Pettinhouse's guitar patches, but are they only available as multis, or is there any way you can use single patches instead?

Mind Control will allow you to switch between slots in the instrument bank using any input method (velocity ranges, custom keyswitches, MIDI CCs, etc.) you want, but instrument banks only trigger single patches at once--so you can't have multiple slots get triggered by a single note.

If you let me know what your ideal setup would be, and how you want to control/switch between the patches, I'll let you know what possibilities there are.

[FMiguelez]

Hello, Greg.
Thank you so much for your response and your kind offer

Unfortunately instrument banks only support single patches (NKI files), which is why you can't drag multis (NKMs) into instrument bank slots.

I'm not very familiar with the layout of Pettinhouse's guitar patches, but are they only available as multis, or is there any way you can use single patches instead?

I'm at home right now, but if I remember correctly, I only see nkm instruments and the individual wav files.

Mind Control will allow you to switch between slots in the instrument bank using any input method (velocity ranges, custom keyswitches, MIDI CCs, etc.) you want, but instrument banks only trigger single patches at once--so you can't have multiple slots get triggered by a single note.

I loved Mind Control. Especially now that I'm working on my Kontakt-Guitars template. I can definitely see how helpful it will be for me to get a great workflow (thanks for the recommendation, KGDrum). Even if I am restricted to only nki instruments - I have a lot of those too.
I really makes Kontakt much more useful!

If you let me know what your ideal setup would be, and how you want to control/switch between the patches, I'll let you know what possibilities there are.

This is what I really want to do:
I want to have 6 guitar players in my template ready to play as needed (I like to think of these VIs as people). 3 acoustic and 3 electric guitars (1 lead and 2 comping respectively).

Naturally, none of those players would play strumming all the time or finger-picking all the time. They would play comping rhythms, a few melodic licks, etc. So I want one MIDI channel for each player, and I'd like to switch among different playing techniques by either, key switches, or any other CC that I choose (controlled via my Novation SL MkII).

That's why I feel quite disappointed I can't use Kontakt's Instrument Banks for switching among multis (nkm). I'm using Pettinhouse guitars. I really like them, but they would be so much more useful if I could use them like that.

Now, if the above doesn't work, is there any other way to do it or any other technique I could use to do what I want?
I mean, it seems to be such an obvious need that I'd be stunned if it couldn't be done somehow (why banks only work with nki and not nkm)...

I hope I don't need to end up using one MIDI channel for each player and for each technique. That would remind me of the older VSL instrument and dealing with too many unnecessary tracks.

Thank you for your help and any further insight, Greg.

[miketownsmotu]

Im sorry to hear your having issues with your unit, we will be happy to help you resolve these issues. Please contatct Novation Technical support for help resolving your issue:

http://us.novationmusic.com/support/contact-support

Thanks

[FMiguelez]

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Novation Kitchens!

[mjmoody]

I can't seem to load any instruments in a Kontakt Bank anymore - either Kontakt 4 or 5. I'm wondering if this is a Mountain Lion issue. I hadn't tried making a Bank for a long time - and it seems to load my already created banks. But, I will drag an instrument into an available slot and nothing will happen. I've tried rebooting the computer, using Kontakt in stand-alone mode, etc., and have had no luck loading new instruments in available slots. Has anyone else had a similar problem? If so, is there a solution??

John

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Works here.

[ChrisByrd]

I can't seem to load any instruments in a Kontakt Bank anymore - either Kontakt 4 or 5. I'm wondering if this is a Mountain Lion issue. I hadn't tried making a Bank for a long time - and it seems to load my already created banks. But, I will drag an instrument into an available slot and nothing will happen. I've tried rebooting the computer, using Kontakt in stand-alone mode, etc., and have had no luck loading new instruments in available slots. Has anyone else had a similar problem? If so, is there a solution??

John

I've not had a problem with this - have you looked on the NI forums?

[mjmoody]

I've not had a problem with this - have you looked on the NI forums?

I've posted a question on the NI Forum. Since my initial post I have reinstalled Kontakt 4 from my initial Komplete 7 Disks, and I have upgraded to the newest Kontakt 5 player from NI. Now I CAN load instruments in the Kontakt 5 player, but I still can't load anything onto the Kontakt 4 banks - which is a shame, because I'm not allowed to edit any of these instruments in the Kontakt 5 player.

So, many responses on this thread said loading instruments into Kontakt Banks were working fine - but were they loading instruments to a Kontakt 4 or Kontakt 5 bank?

I am having no luck loading anything into a Kontakt 4 instrument bank, and I'm not sure I can convince my wife to let me upgrade to Kontakt 5. . .

John