Tutorial XIII: Kontakt

Home | Tutorials

This tutorial will provide you with a first look at the program Kontakt. Kontakt is a software sampler that "brings together Native Instruments' experience in software synthesis, sampling and signal processing, then adds a creative attitude that turns the lines of code into not just a computer program, but a musical instrument." Kontakt Startup From the apple menu item, run your mouse over the "Audio & MIDI" folder, then select "Kontakt G4" You'll start off with one Empty Instrument, but you have the capabilities of loading in up to 16 instruments At the top, just above your Empty Instrument, you'll see 3 menu options and 2 toggle buttons Load/Save - you can save the changes to a specific instrument or to the entire "Multi" (the Multi is the entire session). Select load to load in a specific instrument or Multi Options - set some of Kontakt's preferences (it should be fine on its own) View - normal, bigger, large Browser Rack Browser On the left side of your Kontakt workspace, there are two windows, one above the other. Here you can browse through the computer, locate and load in specific audio files or Multis. Click on the "+" next to "workspace" to reveal the contents of the Desktop. When you click on the word "workspace," the bottom window will display all files on the desktop that are able to be loaded into Kontakt. (audio files and Multis) You should be able to navigate your way around the computer via the browser. Be sure that you have saved your files either in your users folder or in your file share. Double click on a sound file to open it up as an instrument in the Kontakt Rack. Rack When you load a sound file (instrument), it will appear in the Kontakt rack If you click anywhere on the instrument besides a button (i.e. one of the edges) it will select the instrument. You can then simply press the delete key on your keyboard to remove it. The options that are initially displayed on the instrument rack mount are very basic: Edit - This button will expand the rack that you can perform more detailed work on the instrument Title bar - displays the name of the sound file/instrument Keyrange - you can set up the keyboard so that only a certain range of notes will play this instrument. You can then set up different instruments on different key ranges. Vel. Range - you can tell Kontakt what instrument to play depending on the intensity in which the key was pressed Solo/Mute - Solo or Mute a specific instrument Peak Meter - you can tell when that sound file may be clipping Tune - this will adjust the speed and pitch of instrument (we will touch on this with more detail later) Pan - Pan the instruments sound left or right Volume - Adjust the volume of the instrument You now have control of these features for each individual instrument, and that is just the beginning. Editing - Signal Processing (Keep in mind that this tutorial is merely touching the surface of what Kontakt is capable of; the best thing to do, is experiment) Click the edit button on the left side of the instrument that you've opened. Mapping editor - here you can place your specific samples on certain regions of the Keyboard. Initially, middle C (C3) will play the original version of your sample. You can change this so that different regions of the keyboard will play the original sample of different instruments (the fine tuned version of Key Range). The edit menu has many options for you to choose from for experimentation. Loop editor - Whatever region is selected in the Mapping editor will appear in the Loop editor (so if you have nothing selected there, nothing will appear in the Loop). This function allows you to set up sample start and end points for a sample. You can do this with up to 8 samples. Group editor - This function allows you to put different instruments into different groups. You can then edit a single instrument, a group, or everything. Source (For finer adjustment of any of the knobs - hold down the "control" key and click on the knob) Sampler - Next to the word "source," you'll notice a small pull-down menu that initially says "sampler." When this function is selected, Kontakt will sample the original sound (instrument) that you loaded in. If you play middle C (or whatever you may have set it to in the mapping editor) you will hear the original sample. Among a couple other options (tune, rls trigger) you have the option to reverse the sample. Tone Machine - this is a granular synthesizer, which can impress tonal information on any sample material. It will take some time for Kontakt to analyze the file; be patient, it's worth it! Tune: changes the selected group's pitch in semitone steps Smooth: Adjusts the amount of granular micro-envelopes to reduce unwanted artifacts. The lower the number, the "buzzier" it will be. Speed: Changes the playback rate independently of the pitch Fromant: Transposes the formant position in fractions of a semitone, independent of pitch. Tracking: Off to have the sample always play at its original pitch, without transposition. On to have the different pitches play. To get a better sense of what each of these knobs do, play with them. Time Machine - This too is a granular synthesizer. It's designed to alter sample speed while preserving the original pitch information. Grain: determines the size of the sound particles used for resynthesis. Amplifier (For finer adjustment of any of the knobs - hold down the "control" key and click on the knob) Volume - Sets the selected group's overall volume Pan - If a stereo output is selected, this determines the selected group's location in the stereo field. Kontakt Effects - Kontakt has a very sophisticated, and flexible, effects structure To delete an effect, click on it (it will be outlined in orange), then press the computer keyboard's Delete key To bypass an effect, click on the BYP button, which turns red to show that the effect has been stopped Group Insert Effects Filters - changes the frequency response of signals that pass through it. There are four basic filter types: Lowpass, bandpass, Highpass, and Notch. Equalizers - provide controls for frequency (where any boosting or cutting will occur, the amount of boost or cut, and the bandwidth over which the boost or cut occurs, from narrow to wide. Send Effects Panning Delay - delays the audio and places consecutive echoes alternately in the left and right channels of the stereo field Stereo Chorus - This effect "thickens" the audio signal by doubling the signal and detuning the copy complared to the original signal. Stereo Flanger - doubles the audio signal and delays the copy compared to the original signal. Unlike chorusing, flanging uses shorter delays to produce a "whoosh." Stereo Phaser - splits the audio input, applies an Allpass filter to one split, then sums the two splits back together. Introduces frequency notches and peaks Reverb - our favorite friend. Synthesizes the myraid reflections that occur when sounds play in an acoustic space, thus adding spaciousness to the sound. Instrument Insert Effects Rescaling Controllers - allows re-defining your controller's curve by re-mapping incoming controller values to new values. LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) - creates sub-audio signals that are used for control. Vibrato is an example. Kontakt offers the following LFO waveforms: Sine Triangle Rectangle Sawtooth Random Multi Remember, experimentation is the best way to hear what all of the different LFOs sound like. Retrigger: Enable to re-trigger the LFO every time it receives a note. If disabled, any key you hit while another key is down will not retrigger. Envelopes - create a repeatable modulation curve for parameter control. AHDSR: attack, hold, decay, sustain, release envelope DBD: dual section envelope with a center breakpoint Flexible Envelope: able to create extremely complex controller curves over longer periods of time Kontakt & DP3 Record directly into Digital Performer from Kontakt Open Kontakt Under the "system" menu, go to "audio port" and select "Digital Performer / MAS" Now open Digital Performer (apple menu > Audio & MIDI > Digital Performer 3.11) Create a new stereo track (new track > stereo voice) Under the "input" column (5th from the left), go to New Stereo Bundle and select "NI Kontakt #1 L 1-R 1" Just to the left of that, you'll see a greyed-out triagle, click on this and it will turn orange. You have record enabled the new track. Under the Basics menu, be sure that "Audio Patch Thru" is checked Now click on the record button in DP3's transport window, and it will start recording. Be sure that you have loaded in an instrument into Kontakt, and done whatever processing you'd like. Also be sure to watch your levels in both Kontakt and DP3, so that no clipping occurs. When your peak meter hits red, that means you've clipped. Again, the best way to figure things out in Kontakt is through experimentation. If you have further questions about this tutorial, please kontakt Jake Monaco. Most of the information in this tutorial was taken directly from the Kontakt Manual available upon request.