Problems with keyswitches in Kontakt

Sometimes when I'm programming a Kontakt part that uses keyswitches, I find that the MIDI does not trigger the keys accurately. I remember having an awful time trying to use keyswitches in NI's Session Strings, and now I'm having the same problem with Strummed Acoustic. 
 
I have a palm muted strumming pattern that needs to change to a full strum at the end of every few measures. So I change the keyswitch note for these occasions, and enter the original MIDI note at the start of the next bar to change back to the palm muted pattern. The notes are fully quantized, but unfortunately it's as if Sonar's MIDI is being sent to Kontakt a little out of time because the palm muted note doesn't register in time for the start of the measure - it plays another full strum. 
 
The exact same thing happens with Session Strings - Sonar does not seem to get the keyswitches to Kontakt bang on the beat, and if they're not bang on the beat then the articulation doesn't change correctly. 
 
Is this likely to be a problem with Sonar just not sending MIDI information accurately, or could it be a problem in Kontakt? 

Not at my DAW, but I remember there being a Kontakt setting that basically sets how many beats it will continue when a note is played.  From memory, but I think I remember having to set this pretty short to get KS working properly - well, maybe not proper, but the way I wanted it to.  This was with Strummed Acoustic in non-SONAR DAWs.
 
Same thing with Rise & Hit

I don't if this will help, but this is the setting I was referring to ... Latch Mode
 

You can test on Studio One?

These kinds of problems happen with all key switched instruments, not just Kontakt and not just SONAR.  Though some combinations seem worse than others. 
 
One thing you can do (though it isn't always the best solution) is to load multiple copies of the same instrument into Kontakt and assign them to different MIDI channels.  Then set each one up to a single articulation and use MIDI channels to switch articulations rather than keyswitches.
 
Usually that means separate MIDI tracks in SONAR (one for each MIDI channel/articulation) but you can change the MIDI channel on a note basis in a single track.  I have a CAL script that lets me assign the MIDI channel to selected notes that I use. It is not as nice as say Cubase's expression map stuff but it does work.
 
When loading the same exact instrument into Kontakt multiple times, they share the sample memory pool so it doesn't eat more ram (which it would if you had separate instances of Kontakt).  It doesn't work always though since each separate instrument can't coordinate with the others (reverb/mixing/note cut offs/etc) but it can solve some problems.
 

I always make sure my keyswitches are a few ticks before the note(s) to which they are to be applied, so it switches before the note is heard.
 
Worth experimenting with if nothing else.
 
 

+1 to making sure the key switch is preceeding the note it is intended to affect. I have also noticed with certain synths that it also cannot be inserted effectively if a MIDI note is actively playing; so the synth engine needs enough gap to 1) let the prior notes "ring through" the keyswitch and 2) have the keyswitch take early enough before the next note for it to "take." How much for each of the above depends on the synths involved (I do not have Kontakt, so cannot speak to those directly).

michael diemer

Songroom

Bristol_Jonesey

I always make sure my keyswitches are a few ticks before the note(s) to which they are to be applied, so it switches before the note is heard.

Agreed...
 
NI Strummed Acoustic Manual
'Because transition from one pattern/chord to another is always legato, it is best to make changes a little before the intended position'
 
I do the same. I often use a dedicated keyswitch MIDI track which can be nudged back a few ticks if necessary. Saying that, single chord strum endings can be tricky.
 
 

Wow, almost more trouble than its worth. When they don't work, I use CC events if I can.

Not really
 
I always have my keyswitched notes directly above the note pane in their own drum map so ks artics can be added in context with the notes they're being applied to.