Optimizing Your Kontakt Workflow, Pt3 - RAM purge, NCW, resaving etc

[zircon]

Part 3 has been published. Read and learn!

I've been developing Kontakt instruments for Impact Soundworks since 2008, and using the software since version 1 came out way back in 2002. Now that the plugin has become so widespread, it has more users than ever, but many people are unaware of some simple (yet powerful) features & functions to help improve their workflow.

So, I've decided to write a series of articles on the topic!

Part 1 starts with how to properly organize & load instruments. This sounds fairly basic, but you would be surprised how many emails we get from people who aren't sure of how to best do this.

http://impactsoundworks.com/optimizing- ... ow-part-1/

Part 2 discusses how CPU, RAM, HD & audio interface affect Kontakt performance, and covers tips for tweaking/hacking DFD settings, CPU optimization for multicore, and different bridging options.

http://impactsoundworks.com/optimizing- ... ow-part-2/

Part 3 revisits CPU performance and methods of better monitoring both CPU and RAM usage, as well as advanced methods of tweaking instruments to use memory more efficiently. It also covers RAM purging, batch resaving, and NCW compression.

http://impactsoundworks.com/optimizing- ... ow-part-3/

If there's something you want to see in this series, please let me know!

[evilantal]

Nice zircon!
I was already using the QuickLoad in this fashion, but I didn't know about the database trick. It's essentially like MediaBay in HALion (but without the DAW integration).

Looking forward to more articles!

[foosnark]

Thanks for this, I could probably stand to organize my Kontakt content better than it is now.

[thetechnobear]

Thanks, I didn't know about the DB trick either... very useful!

BTW, Ive just found you can add your folder with Multis in it, and then edit the info on these too,
so they appear on the multi db tab. (unfortunately, you cannot add type in the same way as single)

[don1thedon]

Thanks I'm sure these user tips will be very useful and save time for more music making, really appreciated.

[foosnark]

Ha, all this time I actually had everything in my database, I just wasn't using it.

[stikygum]

Thanks for this. I've been meaning to clean up my scattered folders. Much appreciated.

[dj.andy.warhol]

Great!, thank for the advices really appreciate this!

[zircon]

I've just written part 2, now available at our site! Hopefully this addresses some of the questions people were curious about after part 1, and of course we still have part 3 (and maybe 4) to go.

http://impactsoundworks.com/optimizing- ... ow-part-2/

Here I cover how different components of your computer affect Kontakt's performance, DFD tweaking, CPU settings (including multicore), bridging options, etc.

Excerpt:

As mentioned earlier, it’s possible to tweak the DFD streaming settings in Kontakt. This can be done globally or on a per-patch basis. The global route can be done by going to Options (in Kontakt’s top toolbar) -> Memory, then checking “Override Instrument’s preload size” and changing the value of the slider, like so:



Lower preload values mean less RAM used, but more CPU as more of the sample must be streamed from the hard drive. Higher values mean more RAM, but less CPU usage.

DFD tends to work better for libraries with fewer & longer samples. If you’re loading a library with 5,000 very small samples, then even with a small preload buffer, your memory usage will still creep up since each sample must have a memory footprint. As a result, you may want to tweak the DFD settings for instruments on an individual basis by first clicking on the ‘Wrench’ icon, then Instrument Options, then the DFD tab.

Note: As you can see, if you use the global override, you cannot edit instrument preload options.


There is one more way to tweak DFD settings to your liking, but first, a word of caution.

WARNING: Save backups of your NKI/NKM patches before trying the following edits!

Without getting too technical, an instrument (NKI) in Kontakt is composed of one or more “groups”. Each group can contain many “zones” (samples). Many modern libraries have dozens if not hundreds of groups, with delicate organization and naming. Changing group settings is generally a bad idea unless you know what you’re doing, BUT, this is also how you can shut off DFD completely, should you choose.

In any given instrument, hit the wrench icon, then open the Group Editor. One by one, click on each group, and find the dropdown pictured below. If “DFD” is selected, you can pick “Sampler” instead, and the entirety of that group’s samples will be loaded into RAM. No disk streaming! Depending on the instrument this may not even increase your RAM usage too significantly (i.e. groups with lots of small samples).



Do not touch groups with OTHER modes selected, like Time Machine Pro. These modes already do not use DFD, and changing them can mess up the instrument completely!

[FLWrd]

Nice. I'll be following this, and see if I can send a few more people over...

[don1thedon]

Thanks - Part 2!

[zircon]

Part 3 is now up!

http://impactsoundworks.com/optimizing- ... ow-part-3/

This covers some popular requests such as using RAM purge, batch resave, and NCW compression to substantially reduce memory loads and reduce errors in your Kontakt projects. Let me know what you think!