Lost my outputs in Ocean Way

[jimd001]

I don't know what I did, but today I lost the outputs in Ocean Way drums. I still have the channels in the mixer (kick, snare, etc.), but now they are all going to st. 1, surr. 5.1, etc. when I setup audio channels in Pro Tools. Before, I could choose a snare or tom channel.

I tried to reload the defaults that came with Ocean Way; reinstalled OW; reinstalled Kontakt Player 2; deleted everything I could find on the system to do with Kontakt and reinstalled. I don't get what happened.

Can someone help me get the outputs back.

Thanks

Jim

[Squids]

Sounds to me like an issue with ProTools. Btw, running ProTools 8 is not recommended until all the main plug-in companies are able to catch up in compatibility with it. But even if you're running 7.X the outputs for PT are a little tricky. There's a good explanation of it in the OWD manual if you want to try that out. But, if you're still having trouble then contact Sonic Reality support on Monday during business hours and someone will help you figure it out.

[jimd001]

Thanks Squids.

It was weird. I've been using it without issue and all of a sudden it happened. I ended up deleting the OW folder and reinstalling everything from scratch. Worked perfect.

[Squids]

I've never heard of anything in OW that has this problem. There must have been something that happened that you weren't aware of. But if you find out what it was we'd love to know.

Also, which version # of ProTool are you using?

[jimd001]

I'm using Pro Tools 8. I did think of something else that changed: I installed the demo of Kontakt 3 -- could that have messed things up?

Since I'm asking questions. Is there a way to add output channels, not just in the mixer, but outputs that I can assign to an audio channel? For instance, if I want the ride on its own output in the Kontakt mixer and recorded on its own audio channel in Pro Tools.

[Squids]

I'm using Pro Tools 8. I did think of something else that changed: I installed the demo of Kontakt 3 -- could that have messed things up?

Since I'm asking questions. Is there a way to add output channels, not just in the mixer, but outputs that I can assign to an audio channel? For instance, if I want the ride on its own output in the Kontakt mixer and recorded on its own audio channel in Pro Tools.

Well there are two things. One, yes installing the demo of K3 could have messed things up. Second, as I said, sometimes companies put out operating systems or new DAWS before the third party plug-in/software companies can get everything up to speed and fully compatible. Right now ALL NI Kontakt products have some issues with ProTools 8! There are other company's plug-ins that do as well. It's not recommended to go to PT8 until all of the popular plug-ins at least are working smoothly. For instance, I don't use PT8 yet. I have 7.3 or whatever the latest version was before that. I'd LIKE to go to PT8 but since, unfortunately, some companies don't give third party companies enough info and advanced notice to update their software in sync with the release of their new DAW. Now, the same thing goes for the latest MAC operating systems... the general rule is to wait until you get the green light from the software companies as to their compatibility with the latest... and the same with 64 bit on Windows... one is daring by using the latest OS and DAW software, they should know they can expect potential incompatibilities. It just so happens that there ARE some issues with Kontakt Player products and the full Kontakt itself with ProTools 8. So expect some odd behavior until that's fixed. Now it's out of our hands because we don't make ProTools 8 or Kontakt. But we are in Kontakt with the people that make Kontakt and we've heard that a free update for ALL Kontakt-based products is coming this month. However, I think as early as next week there will be a public beta you can use for a month to get around this - if you notice any problems that is (maybe you will and maybe you won't - this strange behavior with the outputs COULD be one of them - PT was always finicky with the outputs anyway).

As far as your second question, with OWD it is designed to be very stream-lined and simple when it comes to the individual outputs. I forget off hand if you need full Kontakt 3 or if you can do this with the player but there is a way to assign a whole instrument to another output. I am not in front of it to be able to say how but you can contact SR support on Monday during business hours or I can come back and tell you when I've sat in front of it and can be more specific. There are several ways you could do it though. You can even open another instance and only load certain things etc. But there's a better way than that, particularly if you have the full Kontakt engine and want more flexibility than what's already there.

That said, the Drum Masters approach is more discrete per output... but you don't get the Allen Sides and Steven Miller premixing everything for you part which is one of the big bonuses of OWD. It's sometimes a question of how much work do YOU want to do vs. using the work of guys like this.

[jimd001]

Yes, I'm aware of the trials and tribulations of using the latest software and operating systems, but I didn't have much of a choice.

Thanks for the detailed response. You're right about the advantages of having Sides and Miller mixing the drums, it is one of the great things about OW. Still it would be nice to know how to add outputs, if only for the knowledge.

Thanks for the time.

[DarkStar]

Since I'm asking questions. Is there a way to add output channels, not just in the mixer, but outputs that I can assign to an audio channel? For instance, if I want the ride on its own output in the Kontakt mixer and recorded on its own audio channel in Pro Tools.

As for additional outputs, this thread may help (it's for IP and Reaper but may get you going in the right direction)
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=243170

[jimd001]

Thanks DarkStar