REVEAL OUTPUT MIXER AND AUX RETURNS

Click on the Outputs button in the top control strip.

ADD AN EFFECT TO A MIXER CHANNEL OR AUX CHANNEL

In the mixer section, click on Show Inserts. Click on one of the four downward-pointing arrows in a channel, and choose the desired effect.

CONFIGURE MIXER CHANNEL OUTPUT

Click on the Conf. Button at the bottom of the channel strip. You can name it, set the number of audio channels, and assign a corresponding physical output.

EDIT OR BYPASS A MIXER EFFECT

Click on an insert effect name in the mixer, then click on Edit Effect to reveal the effect’s GUI above the mixer, ready for tweaking. The GUI also contains the effect’s bypass switch.

SAVE AN EFFECTS PRESET

When the insert effect GUI is visible, click on the Pre button to the right of the Byp button. Name the preset; saving creates a Kontakt Module Preset (.nkp suffix).

MORE EDITING OPTIONS

The data set of sounds loaded for KP2 is also compatible with the full version of Kontakt (now up to version 3), which provides more editing features

CONVOLUTION REVERB

Kontakt Player 2 instruments that offer convolution reverb will accept impulses from Kontakt 2 and other sources, but only in stand-alone mode.

SHOW INSTRUMENT AUX SENDS

Click on the Aux button in the upper right of an instrument, to the immediate right of the MIDI port selection. Each instrument has four aux send controls, which appear in a strip immediately below the instrument. The four aux returns (which feed the mixer output along with the various individual outputs) can have up to four insert effects, using the same roster of effects as the individual outputs.

LOCATE THE DOCUMENTATION

The documentation is the instrument folder that was installed onto your hard drive when you installed the program.

DELAY TEMPO SYNC

For delay Time parameters, right-click on “ms” and choose the rhythmic value. This works only for Delay processors used as mixer inserts (output channel or aux return), not the Delay effect in the instrument itself.

CREATE A MUTE GROUP

A mute group creates a group of sounds where triggering a sound cuts off any existing sounds that are playing, such as having closed hi-hat cut off an open hi-hat. Although you cannot do mute groups per se, you can create an instrument that consists only of the sounds you want to have as part of a mute group, then set polyphony to one voice using the Max parameter in the instrument GUI.

MERGE MULTIS

Merging Multis places the instruments in the merged multi below the instruments in the existing Multi. To merge, click on “No” in the Replace Multi dialog box when you call up the new Multi.

CHANGE LIBRARY LOCATION

You can place the library anywhere, not just on the root drive. If you change its location, choose Options > Handling tab, then select the library location in the Installation Base Path field along the bottom of the window.

AUTOMATE A PARAMETER VIA HOST AUTOMATION OR MIDI CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER

Although the manual recommends using MIDI automation in standalone mode and host automation when used as a plug-in, you can control plug-ins via MIDI. Under the Kontakt Player 2 logo in the browser, click on Auto and select Host or MIDI automation. Drag the MIDI CC# or Host Parameter number to the knob or fader you want to automate. If it’s a valid assignment, the cursor will turn into a hand. Note that automatable parameters may be restricted to volume, tune, and pan.

CANCEL AUTOMATION ASSIGNMENT

To cancel an automation assignment, click on it in the list of Host Parameters or MIDI CC in the browser under the appropriate Auto tab, then click on the Remove button toward the browser’s lower right.

VELOCITY SPLITS AND NOTE SPLITS

Click on the Instrument Options button (the button to the left of the instrument title that looks like a couple of gears). Under the Instrument tab, you can restrict the instrument to a particular Key Range or Velocity Range.

TRACK HOST TEMPO CHANGES

Click on the MasterKontrol button, then click on Extern Sync. The tempo value will not change until you start playback in the host sequencer, but will thereupon track any host tempo changes.

 ACCESS THE BUILT-IN TUNING REFERENCE

Click on the MasterKontrol button. The Reference Tone module is toward the right of the MasterKontrol strip, with the option to change volume, turn the tone on or off, and select the desired pitch. This is great for fixing out-of-tune samples: Play the sample and adjust its tuning until it matches the reference.

CHECK THE VIRTUAL KEYBOARD

Click on the Keyboard button in the top control strip to display the virtual keyboard. You can use it to trigger notes, but the color coding of the keys has meaning: Blue indicates keys with samples assigned, white means no samples are assigned, and red keys are Keyswitches where holding them down affects other aspects of the sound.

SAVE RAM

After finishing a part or parts, you can remove any unused samples on a global or instrument level. For a global purge, click on Purge in the top control strip and select Update Sample Pool. To purge samples associated with a particular instrument, click on Purge within the instrument interface and select Update Sample Pool. Note the indicator below the purge button: Green = all samples are loaded, Orange = samples have been purged, Red showing up when you hit a note means the sample is no longer available for that note. Click on Purge and select Reload All Samples if you want all samples to be available.

TRADE OFF RAM FOR VOICES

Under Options, DFD tab, reserve less RAM if your system needs RAM for other applications, or allocate more RAM if you need to minimize hard drive activity, which may allow for more voices.