Native Instruments Kontakt 5.0 Application Reference
Application Reference
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by
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Document authored by: Native Instruments
Document version: 1.0 (06/2011)
Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs,
but in making this a better product.
Disclaimer
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© Native Instruments GmbH, 2011. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1 Welcome to KONTAKT ................................................................................................
1.1 What is KONTAKT? ...................................................................................................................... 15
1.2 The Documentation ..................................................................................................................... 15
1.2.1 About this Application Reference ............................................................................... 15
1.2.2 Other Documentation ................................................................................................. 15
2 Setup ........................................................................................................................
2.1 Stand-alone Operation ............................................................................................................... 17
2.2 Plug-in Operation ....................................................................................................................... 21
2.1.1 Low Memory Warning on Start-Up .............................................................................. 18
2.1.2 Audio Configuration ................................................................................................... 18
2.1.3 Latency Optimization ................................................................................................. 20
2.1.4 MIDI Configuration .................................................................................................... 20
2.2.1 Changing Outputs in Pro Tools .................................................................................. 22
2.2.2 Changing Outputs in Logic 8 ..................................................................................... 22
3 User Interface Elements .............................................................................................
3.1 Info Pane .................................................................................................................................... 23
3.2 Knobs ......................................................................................................................................... 23
3.3 Buttons .......................................................................................................................................25
3.4 Drop-Down Menus ...................................................................................................................... 25
3.5 Scroll Bars .................................................................................................................................. 26
3.6 Value Fields ................................................................................................................................ 27
3.7 Saving and Loading Presets ....................................................................................................... 27
3.8 MIDI Learn .................................................................................................................................. 28
3.8.1 Assigning MIDI Controllers ........................................................................................ 28
3.8.2 Removing MIDI Controller Assignments ..................................................................... 29
4 KONTAKT: The Big Picture .........................................................................................
15
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4.1 Building Blocks .......................................................................................................................... 30
4.1.1 Core Building Blocks ................................................................................................. 31
4.1.2 Tools .......................................................................................................................... 32
5 The KONTAKT Window ...............................................................................................
5.1 Stand-alone Menu ...................................................................................................................... 35
5.2 The Main Control Panel ...............................................................................................................36
5.3 Options Dialog ............................................................................................................................ 44
5.4 Purge Menu ................................................................................................................................ 56
5.5 System Performance Meters ....................................................................................................... 58
5.6 Minimized View ...........................................................................................................................58
5.2.1 User Interface Switches ............................................................................................. 36
5.2.2 Files Menu ................................................................................................................. 37
5.3.1 Interface Tab ............................................................................................................. 45
5.3.2 Engine Tab ................................................................................................................ 46
5.3.3 Handling Tab ............................................................................................................. 48
5.3.4 Load / Import Tab ...................................................................................................... 50
5.3.5 Database Tab ............................................................................................................ 52
5.3.6 Memory Tab ............................................................................................................... 53
6 The Rack Multi Instrument Mode) ...............................................................................
6.1 Multi Instrument Header ............................................................................................................. 60
6.2 Instrument Header ...................................................................................................................... 61
6.3 Instrument Header (Minimized) .................................................................................................. 64
6.4 Performance View ....................................................................................................................... 64
7 The Rack Instrument Edit Mode) .................................................................................
7.1 Instrument Options Dialog .......................................................................................................... 70
7.1.1 Instrument Tab .......................................................................................................... 71
7.1.2 DFD Tab ..................................................................................................................... 72
7.1.3 Controller Tab ............................................................................................................ 73
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7.1.4 Infos Tab ................................................................................................................... 74
8 Loading and Creating Instruments ..............................................................................
9 Loading and Creating Instrument Banks ......................................................................
10 The On-Screen Keyboard ...........................................................................................
11 The Master Editor ......................................................................................................
12 The Browser ..............................................................................................................
12.1 Files Tab ..................................................................................................................................... 86
12.2 Importing Non-Native Files Into KONTAKT ................................................................................... 94
12.3 Libraries Tab .............................................................................................................................. 99
12.4 Database Tab ............................................................................................................................. 101
12.1.1 Upper (Container) Pane ............................................................................................ 87
12.1.2 Middle (Objects) Pane ............................................................................................... 88
12.1.3 Instrument Navigator Pane ........................................................................................ 90
12.1.4 Audition Strip ........................................................................................................... 91
12.1.5 Refresh and Eject Buttons ......................................................................................... 92
12.1.6 The View Menu ........................................................................................................... 92
12.2.1 Direct Access to Foreign Formats ............................................................................... 94
12.2.2 Batch Import ............................................................................................................. 96
12.2.3 Importing From Other Media ...................................................................................... 97
12.2.4 Format-Specific Notes ............................................................................................... 98
12.3.1 Loading and saving Instruments and Multis ............................................................. 99
12.3.2 Info and Function Menu ............................................................................................. 100
12.3.3 Add Library Button ..................................................................................................... 100
12.3.4 Library Activation ...................................................................................................... 101
12.4.1 Overview of the Database Browser ............................................................................ 102
12.4.2 Building the Database ............................................................................................... 104
12.4.3 Searching by Attributes ............................................................................................. 106
12.4.4 Searching by Keywords .............................................................................................. 111
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12.5 Monitor Tab ................................................................................................................................ 121
12.6 Modules Tab ............................................................................................................................... 125
12.7 Automation Tab .......................................................................................................................... 127
12.4.5 Configuring and Sorting the Results List ................................................................... 112
12.4.6 Assigning Attributes .................................................................................................. 113
12.4.7 Defining Your Own Attribute Sets .............................................................................. 118
12.7.1 Assigning MIDI Controllers (alternative way) ............................................................. 129
12.7.2 Removing MIDI Controller Assignments ..................................................................... 130
13 The Quick-Load Catalog .............................................................................................
13.1 Building a Catalog ..................................................................................................................... 133
13.2 Loading Objects from the Catalog .............................................................................................. 134
14 The Outputs Section .................................................................................................
14.1 Panel Controls ............................................................................................................................ 137
14.2 Working with Output Channels ................................................................................................... 137
14.3 Working with Aux Channels ........................................................................................................ 139
14.4 Outputs in Host Mode ................................................................................................................. 139
15 The Group Editor .......................................................................................................
15.1 Control Header ............................................................................................................................142
15.2 Group List ................................................................................................................................... 145
15.3 Voice Groups ...............................................................................................................................147
15.4 Group Start Options .................................................................................................................... 148
15.1.1 Edit All Groups ........................................................................................................... 142
15.1.2 Group Selector ........................................................................................................... 143
15.1.3 Edit ............................................................................................................................ 143
15.1.4 Group Solo ................................................................................................................. 145
15.1.5 Select by MIDI ............................................................................................................ 145
16 The Mapping Editor ...................................................................................................
16.1 Mapping Samples Manually ....................................................................................................... 152
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16.2 Mapping Samples Automatically ................................................................................................ 154
16.3 Managing Zones ......................................................................................................................... 156
16.4 Control Strip ............................................................................................................................... 158
16.5 Edit Menu ................................................................................................................................... 161
16.6 Batch Tools .................................................................................................................................163
16.3.1 Editing Parameters in the Status Bar ........................................................................ 157
16.3.2 Editing Parameters Graphically ................................................................................. 157
16.3.3 Editing Parameters via MIDI ...................................................................................... 158
17 The Wave Editor ........................................................................................................
17.1 Tool Bar ...................................................................................................................................... 168
17.2 Status Bar .................................................................................................................................. 171
17.3 Waveform View ........................................................................................................................... 173
17.4 Grid Panel ...................................................................................................................................175
17.5 Sample Loop Tab ........................................................................................................................ 181
17.6 Sync / Slice Tab .......................................................................................................................... 185
17.7 Zone Envelopes ...........................................................................................................................192
17.8 Sample Editor ............................................................................................................................. 198
17.4.1 Fix Mode .................................................................................................................... 176
17.4.2 Auto Mode .................................................................................................................. 178
17.4.3 Editing Slices Manually ............................................................................................. 180
17.6.1 Using the Beat Machine ............................................................................................ 186
17.6.2 Using the Time Machine ............................................................................................ 187
17.6.3 Mapping Slices Manually ........................................................................................... 188
17.6.4 Mapping Slices Automatically ................................................................................... 189
17.7.1 Assigning and Selecting Envelopes ........................................................................... 192
17.7.2 Adjusting Assignment Parameters ............................................................................ 194
17.7.3 Editing Envelopes ...................................................................................................... 194
17.7.4 Utility Functions ........................................................................................................ 196
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17.8.1 Edit Operations .......................................................................................................... 200
17.8.2 Transform Operations ................................................................................................ 201
18 The Script Editor .......................................................................................................
18.1 Loading a Script ......................................................................................................................... 203
18.2 Saving Script Settings ................................................................................................................ 204
18.3 Editing and Saving a Script ........................................................................................................204
19 The Source Module ...................................................................................................
19.1 Sampler ...................................................................................................................................... 206
19.2 DFD .............................................................................................................................................208
19.3 Tone Machine ............................................................................................................................. 209
19.4 Time Machine ............................................................................................................................. 211
19.5 Time Machine II ......................................................................................................................... 211
19.6 Time Machine Pro ...................................................................................................................... 212
19.7 Beat Machine ............................................................................................................................ 213
19.8 S1200 Machine ...........................................................................................................................215
19.9 MP60 Machine ............................................................................................................................ 215
20 The Amplifier Module ................................................................................................
21 Signal Processors in KONTAKT ...................................................................................
21.1 Group Insert Effects .................................................................................................................... 221
21.2 Bus Insert Effects ....................................................................................................................... 222
21.3 Instrument Insert Effects ............................................................................................................ 223
21.4 Instrument Send Effects ............................................................................................................. 224
21.5 Adding Modules .......................................................................................................................... 225
21.6 Deleting Modules ........................................................................................................................ 225
21.7 Editing Module Parameters ........................................................................................................ 225
21.8 Common Parameters ................................................................................................................. 226
21.9 Signal Processors in the Outputs Section ................................................................................... 226
21.9.1 Output Channel Inserts ............................................................................................. 227
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21.10 Types of Signal Processors ......................................................................................................... 229
21.9.2 Aux Channels ............................................................................................................. 228
22 Effects ......................................................................................................................
22.1 AET Filter .................................................................................................................................... 230
22.2 Compressor ................................................................................................................................ 240
22.3 Solid Bus Comp .......................................................................................................................... 242
22.4 Limiter ........................................................................................................................................ 243
22.5 Transient Master ........................................................................................................................ 244
22.6 Tape Saturator ............................................................................................................................244
22.7 Distortion ....................................................................................................................................245
22.8 Lo-Fi ........................................................................................................................................... 245
22.9 Saturation .................................................................................................................................. 246
22.10 Cabinet .......................................................................................................................................247
22.11 Skreamer .................................................................................................................................... 247
22.12 Twang .........................................................................................................................................248
22.13 Rotator ....................................................................................................................................... 249
22.14 Surround Panner .........................................................................................................................249
22.1.1 About Authentic Expression Technology ..................................................................... 230
22.1.2 Creating a Velocity Morph .......................................................................................... 232
22.1.3 Creating an Articulation Morph ................................................................................. 233
22.1.4 Create AET Morph Layer Dialog .................................................................................. 236
22.1.5 Morph Map Editor ...................................................................................................... 237
22.1.6 AET Filter Module Controls ......................................................................................... 239
22.14.1 Explanation of channel abbreviations: ..................................................................... 251
22.14.2 Controls ..................................................................................................................... 255
22.14.3 Surround Panner Automation .................................................................................... 256
22.14.4 Host/MIDI Automation ................................................................................................ 256
22.14.5 Internal Modulation .................................................................................................. 256
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22.15 Stereo Modeller ........................................................................................................................... 257
22.16 Delay .......................................................................................................................................... 258
22.17 Chorus ........................................................................................................................................ 259
22.18 Flanger ....................................................................................................................................... 259
22.19 Phaser ........................................................................................................................................ 260
22.20 Convolution ................................................................................................................................ 261
22.21 Reverb ........................................................................................................................................ 263
22.22 Gainer .........................................................................................................................................264
22.23 Inverter ....................................................................................................................................... 265
22.24 Send Levels ................................................................................................................................ 265
23 Filters .......................................................................................................................
23.1 Lowpass Filters ........................................................................................................................... 269
23.1.1 SV LP1 ....................................................................................................................... 269
23.1.2 SV LP2 ....................................................................................................................... 269
23.1.3 SV LP4 ....................................................................................................................... 269
23.1.4 Ladder LP1 ................................................................................................................ 270
23.1.5 Ladder LP2 ................................................................................................................ 270
23.1.6 Ladder LP3 ................................................................................................................ 271
23.1.7 Ladder LP4 ................................................................................................................ 271
23.1.8 AR LP2 ....................................................................................................................... 272
23.1.9 AR LP4 ....................................................................................................................... 272
23.1.10 AR LP2/4 .................................................................................................................... 272
23.1.11 Daft ........................................................................................................................... 273
23.1.12 PRO-53 ...................................................................................................................... 273
23.1.13 Legacy LP1 ................................................................................................................ 273
23.1.14 Legacy LP2 ................................................................................................................ 274
23.1.15 Legacy LP4 ................................................................................................................ 274
23.1.16 Legacy LP6 ................................................................................................................ 274
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23.2 Highpass Filters ......................................................................................................................... 275
23.3 Bandpass ................................................................................................................................... 281
23.4 Peak/Notch ................................................................................................................................. 284
23.1.17 Legacy Ladder ........................................................................................................... 275
23.2.1 SV HP1 ....................................................................................................................... 275
23.2.2 SV HP2 ....................................................................................................................... 276
23.2.3 SV HP4 ....................................................................................................................... 276
23.2.4 Ladder HP1 ................................................................................................................ 276
23.2.5 Ladder HP2 ................................................................................................................ 277
23.2.6 Ladder HP3 ................................................................................................................ 277
23.2.7 Ladder HP4 ................................................................................................................ 278
23.2.8 AR HP2 ...................................................................................................................... 278
23.2.9 AR HP4 ...................................................................................................................... 278
23.2.10 AR HP2/4 ................................................................................................................... 279
23.2.11 Daft HP ...................................................................................................................... 279
23.2.12 Legacy HP1 ................................................................................................................ 280
23.2.13 Legacy HP2 ................................................................................................................ 280
23.2.14 Legacy HP4 ................................................................................................................ 280
23.3.1 SV BP2 ....................................................................................................................... 281
23.3.2 SV BP4 ....................................................................................................................... 281
23.3.3 Ladder BP2 ................................................................................................................ 281
23.3.4 Ladder BP4 ................................................................................................................ 282
23.3.5 AR BP2 ...................................................................................................................... 282
23.3.6 AR BP4 ...................................................................................................................... 283
23.3.7 AR BP2/4 ................................................................................................................... 283
23.3.8 Legacy BP2 ................................................................................................................ 283
23.3.9 Legacy BP4 ................................................................................................................ 284
23.4.1 SV Notch .................................................................................................................... 284
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 12
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23.5 Multi ........................................................................................................................................... 286
23.6 Effect Filters ............................................................................................................................... 289
23.7 EQs ............................................................................................................................................. 292
23.4.2 Ladder Peak ............................................................................................................... 285
23.4.3 Ladder Notch ............................................................................................................. 285
23.4.4 Legacy BR4 ................................................................................................................ 286
23.5.1 SV Par. LP/HP ............................................................................................................ 286
23.5.2 SV Par. BP/BP ............................................................................................................ 287
23.5.3 SV Ser. LP/HP ............................................................................................................. 287
23.5.4 3x2 Versatile ............................................................................................................. 288
23.6.1 Formant I ................................................................................................................... 290
23.6.2 Formant II .................................................................................................................. 290
23.6.3 Phaser ....................................................................................................................... 291
23.6.4 Vowel A ...................................................................................................................... 291
23.6.5 Vowel B ...................................................................................................................... 292
23.7.1 Solid G-EQ ................................................................................................................. 293
24 Modulation in KONTAKT .............................................................................................
24.1 Modulation Sources .................................................................................................................... 295
24.2 Modulation Destinations ............................................................................................................. 296
24.3 Creating Modulation Assignments .............................................................................................. 296
24.4 Deleting Modulation Assignments .............................................................................................. 298
24.5 Assignment Controls .................................................................................................................. 299
25 Modulation Sources ..................................................................................................
25.1 Envelopes ................................................................................................................................... 302
25.2 LFOs ........................................................................................................................................... 306
25.1.1 AHDSR Envelope Controls .......................................................................................... 302
25.1.2 DBD Envelope Controls .............................................................................................. 303
25.1.3 Flexible Envelopes ..................................................................................................... 304
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25.3 Other Modulators ........................................................................................................................ 308
25.4 External Sources ......................................................................................................................... 311
25.2.1 LFO Controls .............................................................................................................. 307
25.3.1 32-Step Modulator .................................................................................................... 309
25.3.2 Envelope Follower ...................................................................................................... 310
25.3.3 Glide .......................................................................................................................... 310
26 Keyboard Shortcuts ...................................................................................................
26.1 Global Keys ................................................................................................................................. 313
26.2 Browser ...................................................................................................................................... 314
26.3 Instrument Edit Mode ................................................................................................................. 314
26.4 Group Editor ............................................................................................................................... 314
26.5 Mapping Editor ........................................................................................................................... 314
26.6 Wave Editor ................................................................................................................................ 315
27 File Formats ..............................................................................................................
Index ........................................................................................................................
313
316
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KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 14
Welcome to KONTAKT
What is KONTAKT?
1 Welcome to KONTAKT
We at Native Instruments would like to thank you for purchasing KONTAKT – it's because
of customers like you that we can continue developing ground-breaking music software.
We hope that this application reference will provide you with all the information you need
to make use of KONTAKT's features to their full capacity.
1.1 What is KONTAKT?
Simply put, KONTAKT is one of the leading sampling solutions in the audio industry. As
such, it allows you to play back and process audio samples – but that doesn't even begin
to convey the full range of its capabilities. With KONTAKT, you can create sophisticated
sample-based virtual instruments, process their audio signals with powerful DSP structures, build complex performance setups with extensive modulation routings, and gain access to a huge number of third-party sample libraries. And it's easy, too – KONTAKT's user
interface lets you fully concentrate on the sections that are relevant to the task at hand,
while not getting tangled up in other technicalities.
1.2 The Documentation
KONTAKT comes with a number of documentation resources, both in printed and electronic form. We won't suggest you should go ahead and read through all of them right now, but
you might want to get an overview of what's there. That way, whenever you're stuck at
some point, you'll know where to look for help.
1.2.1 About this Application Reference
This Application Reference is the most important documentation resource. It provides thorough descriptions of all the user interface elements, options, tools, editors, and sound
processing modules of KONTAKT. You can use it both as a reference manual and a thorough guide to working with the application.
1.2.2 Other Documentation
We prepared a wealth of information about all aspects of KONTAKT, most of which you
can find in the form of PDF documents within the KONTAKT installation directory on your
hard drive. When you're using the stand-alone version of KONTAKT, you can access these
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 15
Welcome to KONTAKT
The Documentation
documents via the Help menu at the top of the application window (Windows) or your
desktop (Mac). Otherwise, just locate the installation directory on your workspace and
open the files with a PDF reader of your choice.
In addition to this guide, KONTAKT comes with the following documents:
▪ The Getting Started document will guide you through the basic steps of setting up
KONTAKT and then get you acquainted with the fundamental aspects of its user interface. After reading it, you should be able to start KONTAKT both in stand-alone
mode and as a plug-in in your sequencer, find, load and play sounds, and know your
way around the user interface. Because of this, we recommend that you take the time
to read this guide in its entirety.
▪ The Library Manual lists and describes the contents of the extensive library of ready-
to-play instruments that comes with KONTAKT. This can be found in the Kontakt Factory Library folder.
▪ The KSP Reference Manual documents the built-in scripting language, which allows In-
strument creators to embed scripts that can dynamically alter MIDI data and playback
parameters in their patches. As such, it's targeted towards advanced users.
▪ The KONTAKT Player Getting Started explains how you can load and use third-party
sample Libraries that come bundled with the KONTAKT PLAYER with KONTAKT 5.
This guide is only installed with KONTAKT PLAYER.
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 16
Stand-alone Operation
2 Setup
Once the installation process has finished, you should find the KONTAKT 5 installation directory on your hard drive. It contains the KONTAKT 5 application and the documentation
resources as described in the previous chapter.
Before you start KONTAKT for the first time, it's worth explaining that it has two fundamentally different modes of operation. You have the choice of running KONTAKT as a normal application, in which case it will behave like any other program on your computer – we
refer to this as the “stand-alone version” in the documentation – or, alternatively, you can
use it as a virtual instrument plug-in within your sequencer or DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) application. The most important difference between these modes concerns the way in
which KONTAKT handles MIDI and audio streams. In stand-alone operation, KONTAKT
will address your MIDI and audio hardware directly (which requires you to specify some
details about your hardware and drivers), while in the case of using KONTAKT as a plugin, these will be taken care of by the sequencer host application. The following sections
will explain both modes in more detail.
2.1 Stand-alone Operation
When you launch the KONTAKT 5 application in the installation directory, KONTAKT will
start as a stand-alone program that provides its own application menu, just like any other
application on your computer. In this mode, KONTAKT will receive MIDI data from one or
more ports of a MIDI interface and send audio signals directly to your audio interface. This
can be very useful if you don't need the additional functionality of a full-blown sequencer
environment for your task at hand, for instance when you're using KONTAKT as a live performance instrument or as a sampling host on a stand-alone computer. Also, when you're
creating or editing complex sample libraries yourself, using the stand-alone version is often easier than opening KONTAKT in a sequencer.
When you start KONTAKT in stand-alone mode for the first time, both audio and MIDI will
still be unconfigured. In order to make KONTAKT receive MIDI notes from your keyboard
and play sound in response, you'll first have to tell it which hardware it should use. This is
done via the Options dialog, which should appear automatically upon the first start.
Setup
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 17
Stand-alone Operation
Options button
You can also open this dialog at any time by clicking on the Options button at the top of the
main window. This is the central place for configuring all aspects of KONTAKT's user interface and its sample playback engine. In this chapter, we'll only describe the Audio and
MIDI tabs at the bottom; you can find thorough explanations of the other options later in
this manual.
2.1.1 Low Memory Warning on Start-Up
Sometimes a memory warning is displayed when running several stand-alone instances of
KONTAKT simultaneously. This “low memory” warning dialog appears when KONTAKT is
running with no admin privileges or if a second instance of KONTAKT is started and is requesting RAM which the first instance has already reserved.
Hence, running several stand-alone instances of KONTAKT simultaneously is not recom-
mended.
2.1.2 Audio Configuration
On the Audio tab of the Options dialog, you can specify which audio device KONTAKT
should use for playback and adjust global playback parameters.
Setup
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 18
Stand-alone Operation
Audio tab of the Options dialog.
The dialog provides the following options:
Driver: With this drop-down menu, you can select which of your operating system's device
driver architectures KONTAKT should use. Most professional audio devices provide ASIO,
CoreAudio (Mac) or WASAPI (Windows) drivers.
Device: This menu lists all connected audio interfaces that match the driver architecture
chosen above. Use this to select the audio interface that you'd like to use for playback.
Sample rate: This drop-down menu allows you to set the global playback sample rate at
which KONTAKT will operate. Common values are 44100 Hz for music and 48000 Hz for
film production. Note that this doesn't have anything to do with the sampling rate at which
your samples have been recorded – if the playback rate doesn't match a sample's recording rate, KONTAKT will handle all necessary conversion steps transparently for you.
Latency: The size of the audio playback buffer in samples. Small values will shorten the
delay between pressing a key and hearing the resulting sound (this is called “latency”),
but may cause drop-outs and stuttering when playing a lot of voices at the same time.
Conversely, setting this to a higher value will make playback more reliable at the cost of
more latency.
Setup
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 19
Stand-alone Operation
2.1.3 Latency Optimization
The load that typical digital audio calculations generate on your processor is often not constant and predictable; parameter changes, additional voices or other processes can all
cause momentary peaks in the load, which can result in drop-outs or other audio artifacts
if not properly compensated for. That's why audio programs don't send the audio signals
they generate directly to the hardware, but write them to a short buffer in memory instead,
which is what is then sent to the actual hardware. This concept allows the program to
bridge short irregularities in the stream calculation and thus be more resistant to processing peaks.
Of course, this “safety net” comes at a price – the buffering causes a delay, known as latency, between the triggering of a note and the actual sound. This delay gets longer with
increasing buffer sizes. Hence, it's vital to tune the buffer size in order to find a good compromise between latency and playback reliability. The optimal value depends on such diverse factors as your CPU, memory and hard disk access times, your audio hardware and
drivers, and your operating system environment.
In order to find the optimal buffer size for your system, we recommend that you begin by
setting the
Latency
slider described in the previous section to a healthy middle value be-
tween 384 and 512 samples, then gradually decrease the value during your normal work.
Setup
Latency Slider
When you begin to notice drop-outs, increase the buffer again by a small amount.
Generally, it's a good idea to have as few other applications as possible running in the
background when working with audio software. Also, if you can't get below a certain buffer
size without getting drop-outs, consult the documentation of your audio hardware to find
out whether you can access it via an alternate driver architecture, as some architectures
allow more efficient low-level access to the hardware than others.
2.1.4
MIDI Configuration
The MIDI tab of the Options dialog provides a list of all MIDI inputs and outputs that have
been found on your system. These are ports of physical MIDI interfaces connected to your
computer, but also any virtual MIDI ports that may be provided by drivers or other applications to facilitate inter-application MIDI usage.
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 20
Plug-in Operation
MIDI tab of the Options dialog.
In order to make KONTAKT respond to MIDI data from the outside, you'll have to enable
one or more ports that appear in the inputs list of the MIDI tab. Make sure the Inputs button
is highlighted and identify the port(s) that you intend to use for MIDI input in the list. If
the Status field on the right side of an entry reads Off, click on that value and assign one of
the MIDI port identifiers (A-D). This enables the respective port, which will later be identified by the selected letter throughout the user interface.
Setup
2.2 Plug-in Operation
The plug-in version of KONTAKT allows you to use it as a virtual instrument inside your
sequencer or DAW. That way, you can run multiple instances of KONTAKT side-by-side
along with your other sound generators and effect plug-ins, trigger them with the data of
MIDI tracks from within your sequencer, and directly feed their audio output into the signal flow of your virtual mixer.
Depending on your operating system and choices upon installation, KONTAKT provides
VST, Audio Units (AU), and RTAS plug-in formats.
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Plug-in Operation
Refer to the documentation of your sequencer to find out which of these formats is the
right one in your case; if you have enabled the appropriate format at installation time,
KONTAKT 5 should appear in the plug-in selection list inside your sequencer. If it doesn't,
re-run the installer from the KONTAKT DVD and make sure the appropriate plug-in is
marked for installation.
Note that RTAS plug-ins are supported in Digidesign hosts only. For other hosts, check the
documentation for which plug-in version to use.
The way in which virtual instrument plug-ins are integrated into the workflow very much
depends on your sequencer; consult its documentation to find out how to instantiate and
work with the KONTAKT plug-in.
2.2.1 Changing Outputs in Pro Tools
1. After changing the output configuration in Pro Tools, you need to close the session
running.
2. Unplug KONTAKT. Quit Pro Tools.
3. Restart Pro Tools.
4. Plug in a new instance of KONTAKT. Reopen your session.
When setting the new output configuration for KONTAKT make sure to select this configuration as default setting.
Setup
2.2.2 Changing Outputs in Logic 8
Make sure KONTAKT’s output configuration matches the channel setup chosen in Logic 8.
Otherwise signals might be routed to the wrong Aux channel.
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User Interface Elements
3 User Interface Elements
During your work with KONTAKT, you will discover that most elements that let you interact
with the program are being used consistently throughout the whole interface. The handling
of these common elements is always the same, only the context in which they appear will
vary. In this chapter, we'll explain the basic types of elements that you will encounter, and
what you can do with them. Before we begin, though, there's a helpful function you should
know about before all others, since it will reliably serve as a reference whenever you're not
sure what a specific knob, menu or other interface element does: the Info Pane.
3.1 Info Pane
The Info Pane is an area located at the bottom of your KONTAKT window, just above the
bottom-most status bar. If you don't see it, click on the button labeled Info at the top of the
window – this button toggles the visibility of the Info Pane.
The Info Pane, showing a description of the Browser button in the Main Control Panel.
On its right side, just below the large window section labeled Multi Rack, the Info Pane
will display a short help text about whatever control your mouse is currently hovering over.
If you don't know what a knob, button, menu entry, or in fact any other user interface element does, just hover your mouse over it while the Info Pane is visible and it will display a
hint for you.
Info Pane
Setting the Language of the Info Pane
The Info Pane help is available in five languages: English, German, French, Spanish and
Japanese. In addition, some other parts of the interface, such as the stand-alone menus,
have also been localized. You can set your preferred language via the new Language dropdown list in the Options dialog’s Interface tab. You need to restart KONTAKT after selecting
a new language. If you select Automatic, the language follows the language selection of
your operating system.
3.2 Knobs
Knobs are the most frequently used interface element for adjusting numeric parameters.
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User Interface Elements
Bipolar knobs like this one have their zero (and default) setting at the top of their scale.
They're designed to resemble real rotary controls that you can find on mixing consoles and
other equipment.
▪ To change a knob value, click on it and drag your mouse upwards to move the knob
clockwise, or downwards to move it counter-clockwise.
▪ Some knobs can be adjusted more finely if you hold down the Shift key on your key-
board while moving the knob.
▪ You can reset a knob to its default value by clicking on it while holding the ctrl key if
you are on a Windows operating system, or the cmd key if you are on a Mac.
▪ Many time-related parameters throughout the KONTAKT environment can be
synchronized to your song tempo. Clicking on the unit that's being displayed in the
respective control's numeric readout will open a drop-down menu, which contains a
number of note values; selecting one of these, then dialing in the number of notes
that you'd like to be spanned by one cycle, will synchronize the parameter to the current tempo. If you want to switch the parameter back to unsynchronized operation,
just open the menu again and select its Default entry.
Knobs
The tempo synchronization drop-down menu allows you to choose a note value instead of an absolute time value for the respective control.
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User Interface Elements
▪ To create a new modulation assignment, which uses a modulation signal source to
change a parameter over time, right-click on the respective knob and choose a modulation source from the drop-down menu that appears. How KONTAKT's modulation
system and the assignment of modulation sources work will be explained in detail in
chapter ↑24, Modulation in KONTAKT of this manual.
▪ Right-clicking on a knob can also allow you to set it to MIDI-Learn mode for quick as-
signment of a MIDI controller to the selected knob.
3.3 Buttons
Buttons appear wherever a parameter can be switched on and off. Each click on a button
toggles it between those two states. The current state of a button is being indicated by its
background color; if a parameter is enabled, its button will be highlighted.
Active toggle buttons are highlighted.
3.4 Drop-Down Menus
These menus allow you to choose from a list of values. They look similar to buttons, but
with a small down arrow icon on their right side. Click on them to open the menu; it will
stay open until you have either selected a new value or clicked somewhere else in the
KONTAKT window, which leaves the previous value unchanged. Some menus have further
sub-menus; these will be indicated with a small right arrow next to their name. Moving the
selection bar to one of these items will open the respective sub-menu.
Buttons
KONTAKT 5 - Application Reference - 25
User Interface Elements
The mode drop-down menu of the Source Module.
3.5 Scroll Bars
Scroll bars appear at the bottom or right border of panes whose contents take up too much
space to be displayed in their entirety. Clicking on the position indicator bar and dragging
it will scroll the viewport across the content, while clicking on the empty space of a scrollbar will jump to the respective position. Some contents can also be zoomed in and out;
this is indicated by “+” and “-” buttons at one end of their scrollbar. Click on “+” to zoom
in, or “-” to zoom out. Some places in KONTAKT, namely the Mapping Editor and the
Wave Editor, provide an alternative way of zooming that you might find more convenient;
you can read all about this method, dubbed “rubber-band zooming”, in the chapters of the
respective editors.
Scroll Bars
Horizontal and vertical scroll bars in the Wave Editor.
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User Interface Elements
3.6 Value Fields
Some fields contain editable – usually numeric – values without an additional control.
These frequently appear in places that don't provide enough space for knobs or other controls, such as rows of tables that can shrink or grow. There are various ways to edit their
value:
▪ Click on the field, then drag your mouse upwards to increase the value, or downwards
to decrease the value.
▪ When you hover your mouse pointer over the field, small up and down arrows will ap-
pear on its right side. Click on these to increase or decrease the value one step at a
time.
▪ Double-click on the field and enter a new value with the keyboard.
Value field
3.7 Saving and Loading Presets
Whenever you have created a setting that you're really happy with in any part of KONTAKT,
you might want to save it for later use in another context. The KONTAKT environment is
split up into modules, and most of these offer a preset drop-down menu that allows you to
manage presets for the respective module. Loading a preset in a module won't affect the
other modules in your Instrument – this modular approach lets you freely combine different presets into your own Instruments.
Presets are saved in files (file extension: .nkp) which reside in a series of sub-folders within a “presets” folder. KONTAKT creates two of these preset folders on your system: one
contains the factory presets, and is located in a directory which is not writable by normal
users; the other one resides within your home directory and will be used to store your own
presets. KONTAKT will create this user presets folder when you first start it up. On a Windows PC, the factory and user preset folders will be created in
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Native Instruments\Kontakt 5\presets
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\Native Instruments\Kontakt 5\presets
In the case of Windows Vista and Windows 7, the user presets folder will be located in
C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Native Instruments\Kontakt 5\presets
Value Fields
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User Interface Elements
On a Mac, you can find the factory and user preset folders in
Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/presets
Macintosh HD/Users/[username]/Documents/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/presets
KONTAKT comes with a large number of ready-made presets for most of its modules.
These are good starting points for your own settings, so it's worth browsing the Factory preset list of a module when you have a specific task in mind and don't know where to begin.
As mentioned, preset management in KONTAKT takes place within each module's preset
drop-down menu. You can access this by clicking on the drop-down menu labeled Pre or
Preset that is located on the left side of each module. It contains all preset files that were
found in the respective preset folders on your hard disk, with further subdirectories (if any)
appearing as sub-menus. The Save Preset entry at the bottom of the menu will open a dialog, which asks you for a filename. Enter a descriptive name and click on
Save
– from now
on, your settings will be available within the User submenu of the presets drop-down
menu. This won't work, however, if you change the path in the save dialog, so it's recommended that you always save your presets to the default path.
3.8 MIDI Learn
KONTAKT features a MIDI Learn function for all sliders and knobs. Once you have assigned one of KONTAKT’s controls to a knob or fader on your MIDI controller device, you
can conveniently access the corresponding parameter in KONTAKT.
MIDI Learn
3.8.1
Assigning MIDI Controllers
To assign any of KONTAKT's sliders or knobs to a certain MIDI controller:
1. Right-click the knob or slider you want to assign a MIDI controller to.
2. Select Learn MIDI CC# Automation.
3. Turn the knob or move the slider on your MIDI hardware controller. The control should
pick up the movement instantly. You can add additional MIDI controllers (CC#s) to
the same KONTAKT knob. You can also assign multiple knobs or sliders to the same
MIDI controller.
If you cannot assign MIDI controllers this way, see section ↑12.7, Automation Tab, for an
alternative assignment method.
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3.8.2 Removing MIDI Controller Assignments
To remove an assignment made to a specific controller:
1. In KONTAKT, right-click the knob or slider.
2. Select Remove MIDI Automation: CC#.
User Interface Elements
MIDI Learn
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KONTAKT: The Big Picture
Building Blocks
4 KONTAKT: The Big Picture
KONTAKT is an extremely powerful, complex, and capable instrument. Before getting into
specifics, let’s take a step back first and describe KONTAKT in general terms.
The structure of most samplers, hardware or software, is similar to that of a synthesizer: at
its source, some kind of sound generator outputs unprocessed signals in response to incoming MIDI notes; these signals are then processed in a variety of ways and sent to the
output. The difference is that the sound generator of a typical synthesizer creates its
source waveforms entirely by electrical or mathematical means, often being limited to a
range of well-defined waveforms, whereas a sampler can use any kind of previously recorded audio data – sampled acoustic instruments, sound effects, vocals, and (of course) any
classic waveform known from synthesizers as well.
KONTAKT's overall structure is not any different in this regard, albeit it is far more sophisticated than a lot of conventional samplers. For instance, KONTAKT does not force any
particular signal flow structure upon your Instruments – it has an entirely modular approach to sound processing and parameter modulation. Anything is possible, from triggering simple one-shot samples to building sophisticated virtual instruments that faithfully
reproduce all aspects of their acoustic counterparts and respond intelligently to your performance.
As usual, this power comes at a price, though; while you'll be able to load and play your
first KONTAKT Instruments right away, it will take some more practice to become a master
at creating your own Instruments. We hope this manual will help you achieve this; also,
whenever you're stuck, remember you can get helpful hints from the Info Pane described in
section ↑3.1, Info Pane at any time.
4.1
Building Blocks
The full functional range of KONTAKT's sampling environment is split up into smaller sections, which allows you to concentrate on the task currently at hand without getting distracted by other details. This functional division is also reflected on the user interface;
most elements that belong to a specific kind of task are kept within a separate pane, tab,
or dialog window.
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