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Kontakt - general midi setup

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IwouldliketoloadmidifilesintoKontaktwithKontaktpreloadedwithadecentGeneralMidibanksothateachoftheincomingmiditracks
wouldbeassignedtotheirrespectiveGeneralMidisound.E.g.iftheincomingmiditrackhaspiano,bass,snare,highhatandkickthenIwould
endupwithwith5trackswithanicesoundingpiano,bass,etc.MyhopeistoputKontaktonthemastersendsothatitdoesn'thavetobe
loadedontoeachtrackIhavedonethisinthepastwithBandstandandReaperandwasquitehappywiththeresult.Ihavefoundtheusual
GeneralMidibanks/builtinsoundcardwavetablesdon'tsoundverygood.IsthereaniceGeneralMidibankthatIcanloadintoKontaktand
coulditworkthewayIhadBandstandworkingwithReaper?

arlesterc
NewMember

Thanksinadvancefortakingthetimetoanswerthis.

Messages:

14

arlesterc,Apr16,2011
#1

YoucannotloadMIDIfilesintoKontaktdirectly,butyes,viaahostitispossible.
YoushouldbeabletocoaxpracticallythewholeGeneralMIDIbankfromKontaktFactoryLibrary,there'salotofcontentinthere,andalotofit
isofhigherqualitythanBandstandwas.
EvilDragon,Apr17,2011

EvilDragon

#2

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Messages:

9,945

Thanksforthequickresponse.
Youwrite:
"YoushouldbeabletocoaxpracticallythewholeGeneralMIDIbankfromKontaktFactoryLibrary"
I'mnotsurewhatyoumeanby'coax'.Idon'twanttohavetobuildtheentire128MIDIbankbymyselfifthat'swhatyou'rereferringto.WhatI

arlesterc

wantistohavea'starter'GeneralMIDIibanktobeginwiththatIcanmodifylaterifcertaininstrumentsarenotsatisfactory.Istherea'General

NewMember

Midi'presetwithKontakt?Oranypresetthathasall128MIDIinstruments?

Messages:

14

arlesterc,Apr18,2011
#3

By"coax"ImeanthatprettymuchalltheinstrumentsformedintheGMstandardareavailableasNKIsinthefactorylibrary.
Yeah,you'dhavetotakesometimetobuildityourself,becauseit'snotmadeforyouinthefactorylibrary.There'snoGMpreset,butthereare
instrumentsthatcanbeusedtoformaGMbankinsidethefactorylibrary.
EvilDragon,Apr18,2011

EvilDragon

#4

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Messages:

9,945

I'mnotsurewhataKSPscriptisI'massumingitwillmaketheGMbankforme?I'malsonotsurehowitwouldwork.ForinstanceIhaveaMIDI
fileandonetrackonitistenorsax67.HowdoImakethebankIbuildrespondtothecode67withwhatevertenorsaxNKII'veusedinthe
bankwithoutmemanuallymapping?IsthatwhattheKSPscriptwoulddoforme?Ifthatisthecase,thenImightbeinterestedindiscussing
pricingwithyou.

arlesterc

arlesterc,Apr21,2011

https://www.nativeinstruments.com/forum/threads/kontaktgeneralmidisetup.136782/

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#5

Messages:

14

KSPscriptwillnotmakeabankforyou.
Readaboutinstrumentbanksinthemanual.

YouwillHAVEtomanuallymapalltheinstruments(NKIs)inaninstrumentbankifyouwantthingstofunctionlikeBandstanddid.

EvilDragon
Moderator

EvilDragon,Apr21,2011

Moderator

Messages:

#6

9,945

youcoulduseaprogramsuchasCreativeViennaSoundfontStudio

ptbcomposer,Apr22,2011

ptbcomposer

#7

NewMember
Messages:

14

"YouwillHAVEtomanuallymapalltheinstruments(NKIs)inaninstrumentbankifyouwantthingstofunctionlikeBandstanddid."
CanyouperhapsgivemeanexampleofwhatIhavetodoforoneinstrumente.g.GrandPianosothatwhenIloadamidifilewithaGrandPiano
trackthetrackwillbematcheduptotheGrandPiano.OnceIseeasingleexampleIcandotherest.Orifthere'salinkthatyouknowofthat
wouldbegoodaswell.
arlesterc

OralternativelyIdon'tmindpayingsomebodytocreateoneoftheseformeifthat'sacceptableinthisforum.

NewMember
Messages:

14

Thanksinadvance.
arlesterc,Apr24,2011
#8

KontaktcannotautomaticallyrecognizethatMIDIyousendtoit(viayourhostsequencer)ismeanttobeplayedwithapianosound.Doing
instrumentbanksiswhatyouneedtoachievethat.HoweverthatcanconsumealotofRAM,ifyou'reintentondoingfullinstrumentbanksthat
complytoGeneralMIDI.
Here'sanexampleofaninstrumentbankthatImadeinoneminuteutilizingpatchesfromEastWestColossus,whichhaspatchesthatcomplyto
GMstandard(sadlytheyaren'tthatgreatsoundingforthemostpartbutthisisjustanexample,youcanmimicthiswithKontaktfactorylibrary

EvilDragon

patchesjustaswell).Seetheimage:

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Messages:

9,945

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6166/gmbank.png
Asyoucansee,thepatchlayoutisidenticaltoGMstandard.Thisiswhatinstrumentbanksdo:theyareprovidingawaytoloadupto128NKI
filesinone"wrapper"whichholdsthemall,andswitchesbetweenthembyreactingtoMIDIProgramChangeevents.So,allyouneedtodois:
1.Pressthe"Files"icon,thenselect"Newinstrumentbank".Youwillseeasmallgraystrip.Clickonthe"+"icononthebottomrightofthatstrip
toexpandtheview.
2.SeethelittleMIDIporticononthebottomleft?YouselectyourMIDIinputhere.Thisisimportant,becausethistellstheinstrumentonwhich
MIDIchannelshoulditexpectincomingMIDIdata.SelectappropriatelytoyourMIDIconfiguration.
3.Nowit'stimetostartimportingNKIpatches.CheckoutwhatKontakt'sfactorylibraryhastooffer,andputwhateveryoudeemworthyof
representingGMpatchorganizationstandard,totheinstumentbank.
4.ThiscantakealotofRAM,though.InmypictureyoucanseeI'musingabout250MBofRAMtohost32instruments.MyglobalDFDbuffer
wassetto30kBforthis(defaultis60dB,sothatwouldbe500MBloadedtoRAMtotal,ifyoudon'tchangethedefaultDFDbuffersize)!So,if
youwanttoloadmore,decreasetheDFDbuffersizeslightly.Ifyoudecreaseittoomuch,dependingonthespeedofyourharddisk,youcanget
audiodropouts,sobecareful!
5.Afteryouloadalltheinstrumentsyouneed,youcansavethebankforrecallingitinfuture.Youcanalsoloadthissamebankseveraltimes,so
eachonecanuseitsownMIDIchannel,andapproachitsownpatches,muchlikeonamultitimbralMIDIplayer.TheGOODthingaboutthisis
thatadditionallyloadedIDENTICALinstrumentbanks(andNKIs/NKMsforthatmatter),DONOTconsumeadditionalRAM,becausethose

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samplesarealreadyloadedintoRAM!Bearthisinmind.

Ihopethishashelpedsomewhat.It'saroundaboutwayofdoingthings.IfIwantedapianoplayedonacertainMIDIchannel,I'djustloadan
appropriatepianopatchandassigntheMIDIinputtothechannelI'msendingthepianoMIDIfrom.Easypeasy.
EvilDragon,Apr24,2011
#9

Thanksmuchoforthis.Youwentwelloutofyourway.Verymuchappreciated.

Acoupleofclarifications:
Youwrote:
arlesterc

"2.SeethelittleMIDIporticononthebottomleft?YouselectyourMIDIinputhere.Thisisimportant,becausethistellstheinstrumentonwhich

NewMember

MIDIchannelshoulditexpectincomingMIDIdata.SelectappropriatelytoyourMIDIconfiguration."

Messages:

14

IamplayingbackimportedMIDIfilesIamnot'playing'viaakeyboard.SowhatwouldtheMIDIchannelsettingbeinthatinstance?
Furtheryouwrite:
"Youcanalsoloadthissamebankseveraltimes,soeachonecanuseitsownMIDIchannel,andapproachitsownpatches,muchlikeona
multitimbralMIDIplayer."
I'mnotsurewhattheunderlinedsectionmeans.Iunderstandtheconceptofloadingthesamebanktwicebuttherestofthesentenceisnot
clear.Canyougiveanexamplesituation.
Asalways,anytimeyougivetothisisverymuchappreciatedinadvance.
arlesterc,Apr26,2011
#10

Well,everyMIDIfilecanhaveupto16MIDIchannels,right?Soifyouload16indenticalinstrumentbanksinKontakt,seteachoneto
incrementingMIDIchannel(1,2,3,4,5,6...)thenitshouldplaytheMIDIfilewithcorrectinstrumentsforeachMIDIchannelusedintheMIDIfile
(exceptchannel10shouldbefilledwithdrums,right?

Ipresumeyou'reloadingKontaktinaDAWofsorts?Inthatcase,KontaktislimitedtousingonlyoneMIDIinputport(port[A],usually)soyou
justsettheinstrumentbankstochannels[A]1tillA[16].

EvilDragon
Moderator

EvilDragon,Apr26,2011

Moderator

Messages:

#11

9,945

Thanksagainforthesuperquickreply.
"Soifyouload16indenticalinstrumentbanksinKontakt,seteachonetoincrementingMIDIchannel(1,2,3,4,5,6...)"
IthinkIunderstandthisifbyinstrumentbanksyouarereferringto'tracks'.
arlesterc

Onansidenote,Ithinkfolkswhohaveworkedwithhardwaresynthsandallthe'real'gearhaveabigadvantageoverthosewho'veworkedonly

NewMember
Messages:

withsoftwareasalotoftheterminologyinsetupofmusicsoftwarecomesfromthehardwarearenawhichwasfirst.Thesoftwarerevolutionkept
14

someoftheoldterms,createdsomenewonesthatsortofmeantwhattheoldonesmeantbutnotquite,addedcompletelynewonessofor
somebodylikemecominginthelanguagecanbedaunting.AsfarasI'mconcernedIwishacleanbreakhadbeenmadesothatIsimplyclick
onpicturesofinstruments/soundsandtherearedefaultassumptionsmadebytheprogramthatIwanttocreatetracksfromthemandIwantto
heartheme.g.likeplayinganinstrumentyouseeit'saguitar,youpickitup,youpluckyoudon'thavetoknowhowitgottobeaguitaror
howtogetsoundoutofit...Anyway,untilthen,Iwillbebeholdenandappreciativeoffolkslikeyouwhobridgebothworlds.
arlesterc,Apr26,2011
#12

ByinstrumentbanksImeanthis:
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7436/instrbanks.png
Seehowthechannelsincrementforeachadditionalbank?That'sthekeytointerpretingyourmultichannelMIDIdatacorrectly.
EvilDragon

EvilDragon,Apr26,2011

https://www.nativeinstruments.com/forum/threads/kontaktgeneralmidisetup.136782/

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#13

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Messages:

9,945

We'reonthesamepagehere.Thanksagainforallthehelp.

arlesterc,Apr28,2011

arlesterc

#14

NewMember
Messages:

14

didyouevergetthisupandworking?Iwouldbeinterestedindoingthesamething?Isthereafileyoucansendmeifyou'vealreadydoneit?

danryanfl,May9,2011

danryanfl

#15

NewMember
Messages:

Iputtogetheraworkingbank(notentirelycomplete,butwiththeinstrumentsbeingusedatleast)whichloadsabout1/2agigofsamplesinto
ram.WhenItrytoload15copiesofthisbank,plusoneGMdruminstrument,Irunintomemoryissues.
Iwasworkingundertheassumptionthatmultiplecopiesofthesameinstrumentwouldnotneedtoloadmultiplecopiesofthesamplesinto
ram....sowhyamIhittingamemorywallwhenigettoloadingthe3rdor4thbank?Isitjustthesheernumberofinstrumentsthatistheproblem
(eachbankhasabout50instrumentsinitatthispoint...)

danryanfl
NewMember

Thanks

Messages:

danryanfl,May9,2011
#16

UsingKontakt4.2.2?Thisversionhasfixedmemoryissues.

EvilDragon,May10,2011

EvilDragon

#17

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9,945

Wow,Ithoughtonecopyofagmbankusingkontaktsoundswastoomuch.Whatonearthcouldyoubedoingthatwouldrequire15channles
withthegmbankoneach?Whatamemoryhog!IfindthatIcangeteverythingIneedtogetdonewithmyoldmidifilesbyjustmanually
assigningasampletoeachtrack.Iseeabsolutelynopracticalreasontoassign50instrumentstoonechannel,letalone50oneachof15
channels!
Icanonlyassumeyouareusingmidiscoresofsomethinglikejazzbandorsmallbandensemblestoneed15channels.Whynotjustuse

ptbcomposer

whateversamplecorrelatestoeachpart?Notonlywillyourdawprogramworkmoreefficiently,butthefileoverallwillloadmuch,muchfaster,

NewMember
Messages:

yourpc'smemorycanbebetterusedonbackgroundresources,yourpcwillrunmuchcooler,andyourramandcpuwillhavetodoalotless
14

work.
Eitheryouarereallyrichtohaveacomputercapableofdoingthisanddon'tmindreplacingcomponentsoftenoryouarereally,reallylazy...
btw,Ihave8gboframandaphenomIIx43.0processorwithwin764andIwouldneverdaregoabovethe4gbmarkinkontaktdueto
foreseeableproblemswithmemoryandoveralltaxationonthesystemandhardware
ptbcomposer,May11,2011
#18

https://www.nativeinstruments.com/forum/threads/kontaktgeneralmidisetup.136782/

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Ifall16instrumentbankscontainTHESAMEinstruments,samplesloadedwillbesharedbetweenthesameinstrumentsininstrumentbanks.
That'swhat'shappeninghere.So,it'snoadditionalRAMloadifyouloadthesameinstrumentstomultipleinstrumentbanks.

...andhere'saGIFanimationtoconfirmthisbehavior(1.3MB):
EvilDragon

http://i.imgur.com/9j3jN.gif

Moderator
EvilDragon,May11,2011

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Messages:

#19

9,945

thanksevildragon
IsawthesamebehaviorwithintheKontaktresourcesmonitors,butwithtaskmanageropen,Inoticedeachnewbank(mindyou,eachhadlike
50instruments)increasingmyramusagebyabout300400mb.Ievenwentasfaraspurgingallsamplesandthentryingtoloadmultiplebanks.
AstowhyIwanttobotherwiththis:IhaveapianolearningprogramwhereIpullupsongswritteningeneralmidiandplayalongwiththem.I

danryanfl

wouldratherusethekontaktsoundsinsteadofmicrosoftgswavetablesynth.Thereasonfor15banksisbecausethemidifilessendabank

NewMember

changemessageatthebeginningofthesongtosettherightgeneralmidiinstrumentoneachchannel.Iwouldrathernothavetoconfigure

Messages:

manuallyeverytimeIchangeasong.....wouldprobablypreferthecrappymicrosoftsoundstomanualconfiguration.

danryanfl,May11,2011
#20

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