Previewing Kontakt instruments

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bitflipper
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2017/11/02 15:33:19 (permalink)

Previewing Kontakt instruments

I love it when I discover a capability in some software I already have. Here's a video from InSession Audio that shows how to use Komplete Kontrol to audition Kontakt instruments without having to load them. No proprietary hardware required.
 

 
P.S. This is where you chime in with "I already knew that, didn't you?" Well, nope, I didn't.




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    Amicus717
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 15:47:43 (permalink)
    Neither did I. This is pretty handy...thanks for posting.

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    #2
    Fleer
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 16:04:12 (permalink)
    I already knew that, didn't you? Guess you didn't, did you?

    "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
    #3
    Mesh
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 16:41:28 (permalink)
    Nope, I didn't know that......Thanks Bit!!

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    Glyn Barnes
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 18:04:45 (permalink)
    Its a great, relatively new, feature BUT it only works for NKS compatible instruments.

    It will work with any NKS compatible VSTis too, so I can preview my Arturia V collection, AAS, XILS4 and all the Komplete presets.

    Intel i7 3770K @4.4GHz, 32GB RAM, 240GB SSD System disk, 2 x 2TB and 1 x 1TB (with SSD Cache) HDD. Windows 10,  Sonar Platinum. Roland Quad Capture. 
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    #5
    Fleer
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 20:14:54 (permalink)
    I believe it does fill your hard drive.

    "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
    #6
    scoble08
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/02 22:26:54 (permalink)
    Can you choose the location of the preview files?
    #7
    bitflipper
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/03 18:47:15 (permalink)
    I don't think so. They are co-located with the rest of the instrument, like other support files. They aren't very big, though. typically 0.5 MB to 2 MB in size.
     
    NI is typically close-lipped about the actual details of the standard (I couldn't find any links to the SDK online), but I checked my NKS-compliant libraries and the preview samples appear to be in files having a .nicnt (Native Instrument Content?) extension.
     
    BTW, here's a list of vendors that support the standard. It's a who's who of the major players, even if they haven't all converted all of their products yet.


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    #8
    scoble08
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/04 03:36:09 (permalink)
    Hey Bit. I asked this question on the Kontakt forum.

    (Thinking about installing Komplete Kontrol. Can I choose the path/location of the preview files?)

    Moderator’s reply:
    Yes, change the Content Path in NA Preferences before installing them.
    #9
    scoble08
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/04 17:02:06 (permalink)
    Downloaded and installed.  NA is asking for serial number to install preview files.  Anybody help on this?  I thought it was free to use.  Thx.
    #10
    Glyn Barnes
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/04 18:04:09 (permalink)
    scoble08
    Downloaded and installed.  NA is asking for serial number to install preview files.  Anybody help on this?  I thought it was free to use.  Thx.
    Yes you need a serial number for the previews. This was deposited in my account automatically with no charge. I don't know the criteria for getting one. I have Komplete and a S61 keyboard.

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    #11
    bitflipper
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/09 16:01:32 (permalink)
    Here's another cool tip that hadn't occurred to me before: moving your non-NI-registered libraries into the Factory Content folder so you can load everything from the Libraries tab.

    Personally, I never use the Libraries tab because too many of my favorites aren't there. But it's a good tip if you do spend most of your time on the Libraries tab.
     
    Now, I know what you're thinking: I don't want to move my libraries around because it'll break existing projects. No problem - just create a symbolic link. Your projects will still find the libraries because they haven't moved. But they'll also show up on the Libraries tab.
     
    Here's how I added all my Indiginus libraries to the Libraries tab. These are DOS commands you type into a command line window. In this example, my libraries are all on my E: drive under the top-level folder "Libs".
     
    e:
    cd \libs\kontakt factory library\instruments
    mklink /D Indiginus e:\libs\indiginus
     
    This works by fooling Kontakt into thinking my Indiginus instruments are part of the factory content. Note that in my case I had to use a symbolic, rather than hard, link like I would if I'd wanted to point to a separate disk volume. Use /H instead of /D to point to an instrument that's on a different drive than your factory content.


    All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. 

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    #12
    Fleer
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/09 21:11:52 (permalink)
    Good find, bit!

    "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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    BassDaddy
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/09 21:25:37 (permalink)
    I don't have the keyboard but I got Komplete Kontrol in my account. I think it was because I have had Komplete 8 or 9.

    It's Bass, not Bass.
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    Glyn Barnes
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/09 21:37:08 (permalink)
    bitflipper
    Personally, I never use the Libraries tab because too many of my favorites aren't there. But it's a good tip if you do spend most of your time on the Libraries tab.

    Since I have acquired more "registered libraries" I find the libraries tab becomes cluttered. (maybe a sign the GAS has gone too far )  Quickview, set up to your requirements still seems the quickest way of finding the library you want.
     
    Maybe at some stage they will include some of the Komplete Kontrol features into Kontakt. It would be nice to be able to filter and audition the snapshots directly from Kontakt.

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    sharke
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/10 01:21:06 (permalink)
    I haven't delved into Komplete Kontrol yet. I really need to set aside an hour or two. 
     
    My main beef with Kontakt at the minute is that when you navigate through the folders of an instrument in the library browser (not the directory tree browser) and then you close the VST window and open it later, your position wasn't saved and everything's closed up again. You have to navigate all the way back to where you were. I hate it when plugins don't remember their state when you close the window. Valhalla's reverbs are guilty of this as well - if you're browsing presets using the next/previous buttons and then close the window, it doesn't save where you were.

    James
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    bitflipper
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/11 02:57:06 (permalink)
    I've really been enjoying these tutorials from InSession Audio's founder and principle engineer (and Kontakt expert) Kyle-Z. 
     
    This one shows you how to tempo sync just about anything in Kontakt. I gave it a go tonight and made a tempo-synced flanger (for the latest Spitfire library I'm currently learning for a future review). Pretty cool stuff.
     

     


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    TheSteven
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/16 21:12:43 (permalink)
    Learn 2 things today - woot!  Thanks Bit

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    TheSteven
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/16 21:12:49 (permalink)
    Learn 2 things today - woot!  Thanks Bit

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    Ripwolf
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    Re: Previewing Kontakt instruments 2017/11/16 22:32:52 (permalink)
    Thanks bit. Cool tip.
     

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