folders of course!

How do you organize your folders?

a) separate MIDI and audio folders
b) separate folder for each instrument (MIDI/audio pairs)
c) something else?

I think it would be helpful if cake would implement SUB folders. 

in the meantime, I organzie by putting the MIDI track and it's associated output track in a folder for each MIDI track/output track combo.

CW needs to implement subfolders and project reports. It's time to acknowledge that large projects are now the norm and scale up our tools accordingly.

I don't have one organizational strategy, because what works in one project may not be best for another. For example, an orchestral piece might be best grouped by strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. A pop tune might need to have separate folders for lead and backing vocals.

As a general rule, though, I put MIDI tracks together and their corresponding audio tracks in a separate folder. That's because I am primarily working with just one or the other at any given stage of the project, so I can collapse the tracks I'm not working with yet.

Also, don't forget to archive and hide tracks you're done with. Archiving saves CPU resources and hiding tracks tidies up your screen.

Hi Tripecac.
 
The main reason why using multiple instances of Kontakt in a DAW is recommended, is that the CPU load is distributed more evenly through the CPU cores.
About the memory cost:
With 12 GB of RAM, I wouldn't worry too much. But.
Each instance of Kontakt (3.5) eats up around 30 MB of RAM.
So 20 instances for 20 instruments is definitely not an option.
But as bitflipper said if you separate the instruments into sections,
you can make it with 5 or 6 sections. Each in its folder.
This should be easily manageable.
About the CPU cost:
On a core2 Duo E6750 3 instances of Kontakt cause a CPU load of between 2 & 3%
I suppose this wouldn't even tickle an I7.
For the automatic tracks naming and the individual drum sounds outputs assigning, you can find a detailed description in this page.

Best.
Sylvain.

Thanks for the tips!

I switched to single-instance Kontakt (where each instrument or ensemble gets its own single instance of Kontakt) and am loving it!  No more scrolling through the Kontakt window, no more painful routing of Kontakt outputs.  Everything is easy now!

OK. This is what I want to do simply in SONAR X1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J12IibKInP0

Maybe I am too sleepy, but I cannot figure how to do it this easily. Surely if Protools does, Sonar does.

Thoughts, helps or tutorials very much appreciated.

Tim
.

timwalk


OK. This is what I want to do simply in SONAR X1:
.

I have not got time to watch the video now but a couple of points. This is not the X1 forum so X1 experts may not see your question.
 
To route outputs from different instruments from Kontakt 8.5.3 to different Sonar mixer channels(I don't think this has changed fundamentally in X1, but a lot of other things have)
 
Do not insert Kontakt in a simple instrument track
When you insert Kontakt you will have options,
Kontakt, Kontakt 16 out and Kontakt 8 out. (the default Kontakt will be 32 outputs) May sure you enable "All synth audio outputs" and pick the most appropriate version of Kontakt.
 
That done route your instruments to different channels in Kontakts mixer, then Kontakt's mixer channels to the host outputs.

Thank you Glyn. 

I'm reviving an ancient thread , but I think the concerns are still valid today even with super fast computers and a lot of RAM. I don't think Kontakt 5 has changed routing significantly and X3 is very similar to X1 with regard to routing.
For the longest time I felt I was doing it the "wrong way" with regard to using multis and Kontakt. I probably got this idea from reading articles written by guys who work for Sony and run lots of big mixes......yeah, all of those guys have huge Kontakt multis set up probably all in neat templates sent to stems. Like comparing apples to oranges for a smaller producer .

While I always intended to put together a few Kontakt templates simply using individual instances of Kontakt ( or any other multi synth vst shell) I never did......to me it was increased complexity with little payoff. I have thrown a few synths into a Kontakt shell on an occasional basis.

No one mentioned freezing tracks or did I miss it? I load an instance of Kontakt each time and after 5 or so I freeze them. If I want to return to edit I simply unfreeze the track and edit. This reduces the tracks demand to simple audio streaming .

One side benefit is I almost never need to change midi channels. I build mixes a track at a time.

To me the added redundancy of the effects and outputs in Kontakt can sometimes be overkill when we already have the tools in Sonar. I'm not entirely following the other posters comments on drums in Kontakt since Studio drummer has a mixer and you can adjust individual parts in it . Maybe this was pre Studio Drummer.