Let's talk reaktor 6.4

[David@TOYBOX]

Just monophonic? Or is there Polyphonic capability as well?

Mostly monophonic for now, although watch this space!

There's a couple of polyphonic blocks in the packs though, there are polyphonic versions of the sample player blocks in the 'Extra' folder and there's also a polyphonic version of the 'Comb/Notch' block in there too.

[quincy]

Hi everyone. Hopefully a quick question, and not a stupid one...

According to the NI website the "Blocks Base" package is free and runs in Reaktor Player, and there are also various providers of free blocks that utilise the front panel patching.

Does this mean that if I want to just play with Blocks framework stuff, and have no interest in delving deeper with Reaktor building, that I don't need to buy a full Reaktor licence and can just use Reaktor Player from 6.3? I've already played with Blocks and it sits at the right level for me where I want to noodle with some modular experimentation but I have no interest in building my own modules etc. I recently updated Reaktor from NI Access on my laptop and I seem to be running the latest version but it's still giving me the 30-minute time limit as if I'm using a demo. Is likely to be something to do with having some other non-free NI stuff on my machine like demo version of other Reaktor stuff or the "old" versions of block that aren't part of the new Blocks Base package? If I just need to remove the old version blocks that aren't part of this new model then I'll just do that.

I have to confess that I find the new ecosystem a bit confusing (and I'm clearly not the only one) but I'm sure a simple explanation from someone will clear things up for me. If I need to buy a full Reaktor license then that's not a huge problem but it looks like NI are trying to appeal to new market (like me) who just want to do a little bit of modular patching but not go any deeper.

Thanks a lot!

[gentleclockdivider]

Isn't the quad oscilator in the designers pack the same as the boutique multiwave +added fm capabilites ? ( both based on the sh101

[whyterabbyt]

Does this mean that if I want to just play with Blocks framework stuff, and have no interest in delving deeper with Reaktor building, that I don't need to buy a full Reaktor licence and can just use Reaktor Player from 6.3?

FWIW, Blocks is not new to Reaktor 6.3, its been in Reaktor since 6.0. And its not really the topic of this thread really, which is more about Racks than Blocks. (Racks is a new 'environment' for a specific subset of Blocks)

So, to your question, if you just want to play with stuff made from Blocks, there's a package called Blocks Wired, which is kind of a 'taster' of Blocks. And I think it should run unlimited in Player, although Player wont let you edit anything (so what you get is prepatched)

In Reaktor Player, you're basically limited to anything officially 'authorised' (in the sense of 'has a serial number' by NI (the way Kontakt Player is) and there's no editing. Anything non-authorised (ie Reaktor User Library creations including Blocks) or editing (which includes patching together Blocks the 'old' way) requires full-blown Reaktor.

Racks is slightly different again. Racks only works with 'authorised' Blocks that are adapted for Racks.

Its getting pretty convoluted though, so forgive me if Im off on any part of this.

[33tetragammon]

@David

-Mac OSX 10.13.6
-Reaktor 6.3 (full version)

i purchased your entire bundle (BRILLIANT STUFF!!!!!) but found some strange behaviour using Racks.
if i load ANY sampler device (or filter) from the Sampling Pack i get this message (See below)

if i do the same thing in an Ensemble it works just fine.

now if i load up a Block from Unfiltered Audio's Euro Reakt (NOT the one from the user library but the paid version from their website) in a RACK it loads up just fine.

i am confused now. how does this Rack thing work?
if i want to create my own rack do i have to create it in Ensemble mode first, save as a Rack and THEN colour the cables?

and another thing:
samples do NOT get saved with Racks, they only reference to the samples. (or am i missing something?)if i move these anywhere else i get a message that it can't find the samples.

i know it's still early days, but it seems a bit strange how all this Rack stuff works.
seems to me i am better off creating Ensembles with these fantastic new additions of yours (and others).

[elxsound]

Convoluted indeed. As a full Reaktor 6.3 owner, I found that confusing (and I’m not blaming you).

For Reaktor Player, there’s the free Reaktor Blocks Base, but this doesn’t use the newly released Racks system.

Then, there’s newly released Blocks Prime which is the $99 patchable Blocks (Racks) to used in Reaktor Player. This allows you to play with patch cables with the included blocks, while never going deeper into Reaktor.

And just to make it fun... If people buy Reaktor 6 (now on 6.3), does this come bundled with Blocks Prime?

[quincy]

Thanks for the help Whyterabbyt.

I should have been more clear - I understand that Blocks have ben around since 6.0 but I'm trying to establish if I can use Reaktor Player 6.3 to use Racks (with some set of free and/or additional commercial Blocks) whilst being able to save my creations and not have the 30-minute demo limitation.

It is certainly a bit convoluted and hopefully it'll get more clear to all of us, but it looks (to me) like they're trying to get me onboard with a more "basic" platform for modular with Racks without needing to buy the full Reaktor license and then get some cash out of me later with commercial blocks purchases. I still don't understand if this is the case or not. I can't understand the purpose of the free "Blocks Base", as it is being marketed to me, if I can still only use it for 30 mins and not save my work.

I'm currently at work (allegedly) but perhaps when I get home I'll have a quick play again and see if I can figure it out. I'm hopefully just being a bit dense and the fog will clear soon.

[whyterabbyt]

And just to make it fun... If people buy Reaktor 6 (now on 6.3), does this come bundled with Blocks Prime?

Hmmm; Ive got Komplete 11, and was given Prime. Given that they wouldnt be retroactively adding it to an old version of Komplete, I think I got it because I have a current version of Reaktor. I think. Checking..

...aha... Reaktor webpage says "REAKTOR includes BLOCKS BASE and BLOCKS PRIMES"

[ccooll]

How could an iterative development process work if every time there was a significant change to your code, you needed to register the new version with Native Instruments.

No, you wouldn't. You register your product, all its version updates can be under that product's "docket". Pretty much exactly the same as it works for Kontakt Player. Updates to a library don't have to be reencoded.

If registration of different versions of the same block is required

It's not. This is where you're wrong/missing the point.

So how did you test your blocks and racks during development if they weren't encoded until late in the process?

You can test your Blocks normally in ensemble mode as before. You do racks after encoding the blocks, IIRC.

So once you have your 'docket' you can change/update the Blocks library you are developing without having to re-register or apply to NI to for new Rack identifiers - at least for use on your local development machine?

[David@TOYBOX]

Hi 33tetragammon

I'm not able to reproduce the error you are getting. It sounds like maybe you haven't properly installed the pack, check Native Access and make sure the 'Sampling Pack' is in the 'Installed Products' tab and that the installation path (click on the pack's icon) points to the pack folder on your hard drive.

If you email me on info@toyboxaudio.com we'll try to figure it out..

i am confused now. how does this Rack thing work?
if i want to create my own rack do i have to create it in Ensemble mode first, save as a Rack and THEN colour the cables?

no you should be able to build a rack by starting a new one with 'File' - 'New Rack'

and another thing:
samples do NOT get saved with Racks, they only reference to the samples. (or am i missing something?)if i move these anywhere else i get a message that it can't find the samples.

Yes, only references to the samples on your hard drive are saved with the rack, so if you move the sample after you have used it then you will get prompted to locate it next time you load the rack or the project it was saved in.

i know it's still early days, but it seems a bit strange how all this Rack stuff works.
seems to me i am better off creating Ensembles with these fantastic new additions of yours (and others).

you should persevere for me it feels quick and convenient when working in the DAW to quickly sketch ideas.

[ccooll]

deleted

[gentleclockdivider]

It's simple , if you don't own the full version of reaktor you can only use the rack mode and no user blocks , you can't go into edit mode ( look inside the modules )
If you have a full version of reaktor , you can save the whole rack as an ensemble which gives you the benefit of using your own blocks alongside the new patchable blocks .
Then you again , in ensemble mode you can not use the new preset system , but have to rely on snapshots and the whole lot is saved inside the ensemble .

[sprnva]

[David@TOYBOX]

Isn't the quad oscilator in the designers pack the same as the boutique multiwave +added fm capabilites ? ( both based on the sh101

The quad oscillator is sample based.. it has one sample per note, the samples are carefully phase aligned so they beat exactly like the original. The multiwave is algorithmic

both based on the sh101

quad oscillator = not a 101, a bigger and polyphonic synth

[33tetragammon]

@David

thanks for the response here (and via email).

i have one more question (posted here to clarify it for others as well):

suppose there is an update to any 3rd party Block Pack, does the user get notified thru Native Access?