Can someone tell me, what exactly a Root Key is
and what does it mean in Alchemy and Kontakt and so on?


Thanks
classic.

You sample e.g. a guitar note at the pitch of E1, the lowest string - open. You import that sample into Kontakt and set it's route note to E1, so when you will press an E1 on your keyboard you will hear the sample at it's original pitch. If you would set the root note of that sample to C3 in Kontakt then the original pitch would sound when pressing C3 on your keyboard.
When importing e.g. a wav sample into Alchemy using additive resynthesis, Alchemy will try to analyze the root note of your sample and map it to the correct route note on the keyboard automatically, with more complex waveforms or sample without a distinct pitch it will sometimes fail to do so and you will have to adjust it manually.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Therefore sometimes my samples sound strange and sometimes not.
Now I know why:)

Thanks a lot:)

classic.

Welcome

One of the samplers in Reason can also do this. It attempts to place the sample to it's root value by pitch analysis. Normally pretty good. But as mentioned...sometimes will need help.\

hello classic, i'm mainly a guitar player before i got into programming synthesizers and samplers myself but i've been involved in music since the 1980's yes to answer your question for importing samples to a sampler based synth or a sampler vsti or hardware, it works in fifths for multisamples for example the root note for concert pitch which is EADGBE which is standard tuning is actually E3 as the guitar is tuned to intervals of fifths for each tuning, for example your guitar can be tuned by playing the 5th note of every string to tune the higher stringer which when your holding the guitar your looking at it from where your holding it, the thickest strings are the low notes, the thinnest strings are the high notes so looking at the guitar you tune your guitar from the thick strings to the thinner strings at the fifth fret, so it would be E3 because the lower the tuning for example C#G#EBF#C# is tune from low to high as the strings tune lower the notes from stardard concert pitch get notched to high frets the 7th fret is now C# where as in Stardard EADGBE C# is the 3rd fret, now one might ask where does this fit in Alchemy or Sampler VST like Sampletank or Kontakt ect, I will say that when you multisample a preset you are suppose to sample the white keys at the fifth note from C so it's actually the seventh key as there are semi-tones for the black keys and natural notes as in your guitar teacher might say are the notes without sharps or flats so they're neutral but when you take a sample you have the option in most conventional samplers both hardware and software to route a sample to a key, like sampleconstruct said you can route the samples to keys, this might be hard to do in some samplers but it is possible, I don't think i can post pictures here but look at your guitar and see the open string is E3 and it is because because to re-string a guitar it has to be wound tight so it goes through E1 to E2 and finally E3 before reaching concert pitch is you have a program like Guitar pro and a physical tuner like the ones KORG provide the notes and the guitar or keyboard repeats it's octaves at higher positions, example yes on a piano or synth/keyboard there is E1 which is the 3rd white key on a CtoC keyboard but when you take that into consideration the guitar meets the same notes at E4 to E5 depending on the keyboard, I might have to photocopy a diagram that shows this the guitar notes are yes E1 because it's the first note but to effectively sample a guitar you have to Tune it down to BEADF#B or lower to effectively route the lower keys as everyone knows a sampler if not multisampled will stretch that sample to make up for not sampling the notes lower than E4 on the keyboard it shows E3 on the korg tuner i have but it's E4 for E on the fourth octave so to effectively multisample your guitar for a keyboard you need the 3 note rule which is E3 to A3 to E4 and onwards or C1 to G1 to C2 or so on but this means you have to route the sample to the keys corresponding to notes of the frets you sampled, i would bet that kontakt it is different that E3X (Emulator 3X) which is what i use where when you import a sample or multiple samples at a time it sets all the notes to C4 so you have to individually route or change the notes to the key you want the sample to be played for what note you want it to play at, i'm leaving a lot out but later on today' it's the 20th of june 2012, i will find my guitar books and photocopy/scanned the diagrams and make a proper post at my syntheticillusion blog at blogspot if i can today but when you sample an instrument you have to make sure the notes you play and sample correspond correctly with the keys you route, for example the flute is played by blowing into a small slit hole and modulation is what sounds the notes by pressing down and cover holes on the flute to sound different notes, every sound on physical instruments is the result of modulation or in other words vibrations of strings, wind being blown through holes in a round chamber when the sound vibrates and moves in circular motions but every note is the result of the modulation being moved faster or slower, the slower the modulation it is the lower the note, so to multisample a guitar you have to use the 3 note rule of sampling where you would sample a power chord, there are two types of power chords diads and triads which a diad is two notes E and A together where a Triad is E-A-E and the high root note E so to sample a guitar or keyed instruments it's done in fifths which is essentially what a power chord is, yes it is difficult to figure out how to work each sampler, I don't use kontakt but as for Sample based synths as Alchemy seems to be, the same rule is applied that you have to setup or route certain notes sampled to certain corresponding keys, I do a lot of multisamples but the best way is to figure out how to setup multisamples before you make a patch so you don't have wrong notes on wrong keys, i'll explain more in depth in a lengthy post on my blog which is synthetic illusion at blogspot, just google it, I will post diagrams and example the essential materials for tunings and sampling but remember the black keys are the notes between natural notes which are the white keys, CDEFGABC are natural notes on a keyboard, C#EbF#G#BbC# are semi-tones are sharps and flats, b = flats and # = sharps....hope this helps i have to logoff now, goodnight.