How's Kontakt 2 going?

[ksiragusa]

Hi all
I really want to get Kontakt out of my Protools HD setup as they aren't playing well together.
Unfortunately, there are no receptors around where I live so I would have to order one without trying before buying.
Are there any users successfully running Kontakt II on a receptor?
Even if I have to have buffers up around 128 to get solid reliable performance I'd be happy.
Please let me know.

Thanks
Kim

[JayVee]

Hey Kim ~ I hope you don't mind a 'piggy-back' on your topic...

I'm also anxious to hear what people have to say about Kontact 2.
I've been runnig Kompact on my Receptor, and would like to know if it is more or less efficient with the CPU and and load times.
Some time ago, someone from Muse told me that Kontact (the original) was actually more efficient than Kompact

So I'd especially like to hear from anyone who went from Kompact to Kontact 2

Thanks,

[JayVee]

Hasn't anyone here gone from Kompact to Kontact 2?

[Hybernation]

I cannot prove it, but I feel as though the DFD on Kontakt2 works better than Kompakt on Receptor. I use some pretty large piano samples (from PMI and Sampletekk) and I'm pretty sure that Kontakt2 allows more polyphony and lower-latency. Of course, since Kontakt2 can load any Kompakt sound, I've pretty much switched to Kontakt2 exclusively now, since Kontakt also has some really excellent effects and such. Both programs cause quick "spikes" in CPU usage with DFD on, but again I think Kontakt2 less so. Also, with Kontakt2, you can adjust DFD settings PER program. Turning off DFD for smaller sounds (like a pad you might layer with a big piano) makes things MUCH easier on the CPU. All-in-all, I still think DFD on Receptor needs improving. It does not tax my Dell host NEARLY as much as on the Receptor (and I have a "fast" 160MB HD on my Receptor, and 2GB RAM).

[JayVee]

Yeah! that's the kind of feedback I was looking for...

Thanks.

[PhilAiken]

I cannot prove it, but I feel as though the DFD on Kontakt2 works better than Kompakt on Receptor. I use some pretty large piano samples (from PMI and Sampletekk) and I'm pretty sure that Kontakt2 allows more polyphony and lower-latency. Of course, since Kontakt2 can load any Kompakt sound, I've pretty much switched to Kontakt2 exclusively now, since Kontakt also has some really excellent effects and such. Both programs cause quick "spikes" in CPU usage with DFD on, but again I think Kontakt2 less so. Also, with Kontakt2, you can adjust DFD settings PER program. Turning off DFD for smaller sounds (like a pad you might layer with a big piano) makes things MUCH easier on the CPU. All-in-all, I still think DFD on Receptor needs improving. It does not tax my Dell host NEARLY as much as on the Receptor (and I have a "fast" 160MB HD on my Receptor, and 2GB RAM).

I'll echo this. I also use it for large pianos Another thing to add is that PARTS
of a sound can have the DFD turned off, so you can say, load all of the release samples into RAM, while using DFD from the body of notes. You can also futher customize the libraries by, say, using less samples for the lowest octave, removing the pedal down layer and using a script, using a self-masking script to control runaway polyphony, stuff like that.

[JayVee]

Hey Phil,

Are there decent notes on exactly how to customize and write these scripts ~ in a manual?

[PhilAiken]

I was wondering the same thing!!
But there are excellent shareware scipts available for short money at: http://music.mezo.com

Also: there is a self-masking script that comes with KontaktII.
The other scripts mentioned above have self masking and much more, though.

[PhilAiken]

oops....I think some of these features are only in PSR PRO,
near the top of the page linked to above.

[JayVee]

I'm actually not new to audio technology, but what is a 'self-masking script'?; and/or where can I learn about these things?

Thanks,

[PhilAiken]

Say you hit the same note repeatedly on a sampled piano with the pedal down. THe first time you hit it, you hear the note, and your polyphony is 1.
When you hit it the 2nd time, the 1st note is still sounding, so now you are hearing both notes, using up two notes of polyphony, and so on. Especially if you are playing stereo samples, this can build up very rapidly. A self masking script tells Kontakt that if you play a note when it is still ringing, to only play the 2nd strike.

I'm certainly no expert on this stuff, but a very good source of information about all things sample related is www.northernsounds.com
THe forums are informative, pretty civil, and have a high signal to noise ratio. Some of the top sample library developers handgthere.

[customdigi]

Just when I thought I knew everything, I have been given a new obsession...self-masking scripts!!!

Never even heard the term before today, but suddenly I envision even more sleepless nights ahead, in the quest for the perfect 'script. Thanks a lot guys, really. HA

My poor, thermally-challenged Receptor is en route back to Muse as we speak. Until it is all cooled down and back in the rack, I will continue to lurk this great forum. thank goodness for this place! Tons of info.

Good luck to all, I look forward to joing the ranks of the re-receptored.

Matt

[PhilAiken]

More obsession fodder:
The main function of the PSR scripts I linked to isn't really the self-masking , but sympathetic harmonic resonance between the strings...

[Hybernation]

More obsession fodder:
The main function of the PSR scripts I linked to isn't really the self-masking , but sympathetic harmonic resonance between the strings...

This is truly amazing stuff, and I don't believe any other sampler can do this kind of thing yet.

Once you hear one of PMI's pianos with the "Holy Grail" script doing exactly this, your life will never be the same (and neither will your CPU consumption )

[JayVee]

Could you be more spcific?
I was thinking about getting one of the PMI pianos.