Description: Native
Instrument's Kontakt has certainly been a trail-blazing success since
its inception nine years ago, and has become the preferred format for a
multitude of sample-based products. Its versatility, flexibility and
ease of use make it a very attractive tool for beginners and serious
under-the-hood geeks alike. From simple one-shot sample playback to the
creation of complex, scripted virtual instruments, Kontakt seems to be
capable of pretty much anything to do with sampling. If you're
unfamiliar with the software and bemused by all the excitement, you can
bone up on the story so far in the following SOS reviews: Kontakt 1
(August 2002); Kontakt 2 (July 2005); Kontakt 3 (January 2008); and
Kontakt 4 (February 2010).
Just when you were wondering what more could possibly be added,
Kontakt 5 delivers yet another bevy of sample-empowering goodies that
you didn't know you couldn't live without. The new version remains
cosmetically the same as version 4 apart from a minor change: in
Instrument Edit mode, the green colour scheme is now replaced by a shade
of pale brown that paint manufacturers might call 'Weimaraner'.
New Filters
Amongst the new filters are three State Variable Multi types: LP/HP
Parallel, BP/BP Parallel and LP/HP Serial, each with fully adjustable
bandwidth separating the cutoff frequencies of the filter pairs. Shown
also is Formant 1, whose Size parameter acts like a gender control,
changing the size of the 'vocal tract'.
Amongst the new filters are three State Variable Multi types: LP/HP
Parallel, BP/BP Parallel and LP/HP Serial, each with fully adjustable
bandwidth separating the cutoff frequencies of the filter pairs. Shown
also is Formant 1, whose Size parameter acts like a gender control,
changing the size of the 'vocal tract'.
Kontakt 5 adds an impressive list of 37 new filters to the original
16 types, bringing the total to 53. New SV (State Variable) filters
appear in the LP, HP, BP, Peak/Notch and Multi categories. NI describe
them as the new standard for Kontakt, being cleaner than the legacy
filters. The new Ladder filters, which are based on those found in older
synths, also offer improved algorithms, together with a High Quality
option that applies oversampling at the cost of slightly increased CPU
overhead.
Especially interesting are the AR (Adaptive Resonance) filters;
these adjust the amount of resonance according to the amplitude of the
input, acting as a sort of auto-limiter. You can crank the resonance up
full and sweep away to your heart's content, safe in the knowledge that
your speakers and eardrums will suffer no harm. In stark contrast, the
resonance of the Daft LP and HP filters (borrowed from NI's Massive soft
synth) can be pushed into self-oscillation. By tuning the cutoff
frequency to track the keyboard over an evenly tempered scale, you can
easily achieve the classic 'singing filter' effect of analogue synths.
Four Peak/Notch filters are a welcome addition, useful both for fine
surgical EQ and for creating effects similar to phase-shifting when
modulated by an envelope, LFO or the mod wheel, for example. Of the four
varieties, SV Notch 4 has a bipolar character: resonance values above
25 percent produce a peak, while lower values produce a notch.
Also of special note are two new Formant filters that simulate the
vocal tract, allowing you to morph through the vowel sounds all the way
from 'ooo' to 'eee'. These will bring a smile of recognition to anyone
familiar with the Delay Lama plug-in instrument by AudioNerdz (the
animated singing Tibetan Monk with the inscrutably mobile Roger Moore
eyebrows). Whereas Delay Lama was monophonic, had one fixed waveform, no
envelopes or filters, and sounded (and I say this with the greatest
affection) untameably raucous, Kontakt offers all the facilities you
need to sculpt any sample into a musically useful sonic chatterbox. The
two variations of Formant filter differ in that Formant 1 is the more
severe of the two, with a sharper, more focused effect. For a list of
the new filters, see the 'New Filter Types' box.
Sampler Engine Enhancements
The controls for the Solid-G EQ. The buttons below the LF and HF
bands toggle between shelf and bell curves; both LMF and HMF bands have
variable bandwidth (Q) knobs.
The controls for the Solid-G EQ. The buttons below the LF and HF
bands toggle between shelf and bell curves; both LMF and HMF bands have
variable bandwidth (Q) knobs.
The sampler engine receives three new playback modes. The most
significant of these is Time Machine Pro, a real-time, high quality
time-stretching algorithm that gives you independent control over sample
playback speeds and tuning with fewer artifacts than the existing two
modes (Time Machine and Time Machine 2). Both of those were capable of
producing good results, but it could be hit-and-miss, depending on the
type of material they had to work with. Looped samples often came off
badly (loop points were usually thrown off kilter) and even mild speed
variations could sound grainy and distorted, especially when slowing
things down. Naturally, I tested Time Machine Pro with a variety of
material, and found the results to be variable but generally impressive.
Most complex stereo material (such as full-blown mixes) could take
around a speed variation of around 20 percent before acquiring a
metallic ring (slower) or a fluttering quality (faster), with
sustaining, orchestral music being the most susceptible to artifacts.
Percussively oriented material coped a little better with wider speed
variations. Nevertheless, the step up in quality from the older Time
Machine modes is patently obvious. TM Pro should prove very useful for
fine-tuning the duration of sampled special effects without altering
their essential character, and since the speed parameter can be sync'ed
to the host DAW's tempo, the speed of pre-sampled musical phrases will
always remain in step with any variations in track tempo. TM Pro offers
two-, four- or eight-voice polyphony, and also provides a 'Pro Mode'
option, giving control over the formant character of the time-stretched
samples.
The Solid Bus Compressor, with its handy gain reduction meter on the
right. The Mix knob adjusts from a dry to a fully compressed signal,
with parallel compression occurring at all settings in between.
The Solid Bus Compressor, with its handy gain reduction meter on the
right. The Mix knob adjusts from a dry to a fully compressed signal,
with parallel compression occurring at all settings in between.
The new SP1200 Machine and MPC60 Machine engines aim to reproduce
the sound quality and playback characteristics of two vintage drum
machines (made by Emu and Akai respectively). Little clarification is
given about these modes except that they degrade the playback quality of
samples by replicating the sample rate and frequency range of each drum
machine, as well as "changing the way Kontakt changes the pitch and
basic handling of the sample playback engine”, according to the PDF
manual — a somewhat cabalistic explanation. Curious to discover more, I
compared the effect of the two engines on drum sounds. The MPC60 engine
reveals a significant high-frequency emphasis; everything sounds
super-bright. By contrast, the SP1200 engine's 12-bit, 26kHz emulation
shaves just a gnat's off the top end. However, I didn't observe any
obvious change in pitch behaviour, as alluded to in the documentation.
Comparing their effect on instrument samples, it became apparent that
the loop points of looped sounds were being slightly altered — a click
here, a buzz there. Even more interesting were the strange additional
harmonics creeping in when playing back sine-wave samples at certain
pitches, notably with the SP1200 engine. I can only assume there's some
sort of aliasing going on, which no doubt gives the SP1200 its signature
sound. The SP1200 and MPC60 engines are clearly intended for one-shot
drum samples rather than instrumental sounds. Aside from the bright
quality of the MPC60, any other significant tonal differences when
applied to drums (aliasing notwithstanding) were not overtly obvious to
me, despite donning my best bat's ears. I'll doubtless be taken to task
over this by hordes of angry 12-year-old retro drum-machine aficionados.
As is the case with all the non-DFD engines, the entire sample data
is loaded into RAM when any of these playback modes is used, so be wary
if applying them to all Groups of a RAM-hungry instrument at once.
Studio Quality Effects
The Transient Master controls. The Smooth button can provide better results with non-percussive material.
The Transient Master controls. The Smooth button can provide better results with non-percussive material.
Four new effects have joined the Kontakt fold. Three of these are
available to buy as separate plug-ins, so it's a real bonus to have them
included as part of Kontakt 5. First up is the Solid-G EQ, presumably
modelled on SSL's G-series console EQ. This four-band parametric design
is a great asset, having switchable shelving or bell curves on the
lowest and highest frequency bands. Kontakt EQs have always lacked high-
and low-end shelving until now, and using wide Q bandwidths on the high
and low frequencies as a substitute has always seemed unsatisfactory
and lacking in sufficient subtlety. Solid-G fills this gap perfectly and
sounds, to my ears, cleaner and more 'musical' than the standard
Kontakt type, adding gloss, warmth or weight just where it's needed.
The Solid Bus Comp appears to be modelled on the SSL G-series Bus
Compressor and, again, is a vast improvement on the existing Kontakt
effect. Controls for Threshold, Attack (0.1ms to 30ms), Ratio (1:1.5 to
1:30), and Release (100ms to 1600ms + Auto) provide similar
functionality to the SSL model. Parallel compression is possible with a
simple tweak of the Mix knob, Makeup Gain brings the post-compression
level back up, and a handy gain-reduction meter gives you a visual guide
to how much you're pushing things. This compressor sounds good on
pretty much anything, and really comes into its own when used with
drums.
The Transient Master is not a male instructor on a temporary
supply-teaching job, but a tool for sculpting the dynamic shape of
percussive sounds. There are two principal sculpting controls, Attack
and Sustain. Positive values of Attack accentuate transients and
negative values soften them. Soggy snares can be given added snap and
vigour, while overly spiky guitars can be tamed to sit less prominently
in the mix — without the need to alter their levels. Positive values of
Sustain lift the post-transient level, bringing up the body of the
sound, while negative values reduce and effectively shorten it.
Transient Master is great for rescuing otherwise unusable samples; that
plinky piano can be afforded the fullness it lacks, overly ambient drum
samples dried out, and polite snares pumped up to in-your-face
proportions.
The Tape Saturator emulates the effect of over-recording to tape,
and is not dissimilar to the Saturator effect from previous Kontakt
versions. It adds subtle warmth at low values, increasing to aggressive
distortion at higher values with greater amounts of compression. The
gentle growl it can impart to organ samples is particularly good. The
Warmth control boosts or cuts low frequencies, while the HF Roll-off
attenuates frequencies above 12kHz. Oversampling can be applied with the
High Quality button.
At the time of writing, when Transient Master is applied as a Group
insert effect, it doesn't function correctly. Consequently, it should be
applied either as a main Instrument insert effect, or an Instrument Bus
effect, where it works perfectly. A quick call to NI confirmed that
they are aware of this bug, and that it will be fixed in a subsequent
service update.
Instrument Buses
The Time Machine Pro engine with Pro Mode active. Pro Mode allows
the spectral envelope (formant) to be adjusted with the Env.Order and
Env.Fact knobs. The button at the right selects two-, four- or
eight-voice polyphony.The Time Machine Pro engine with Pro Mode active.
Pro Mode allows the spectral envelope (formant) to be adjusted with the
Env.Order and Env.Fact knobs. The button at the right selects two-,
four- or eight-voice polyphony.Perhaps one of the most useful additions
to Kontakt, Instrument Buses are to be found nestled between the
Amplifier module and the Insert Effects strip. They provide the solution
to a perennial problem: how can you easily apply a single set of
treatments to a collection of Groups without having to apply them to
each Group individually? This is best illustrated with a typical
scenario: processing the various elements that make up a drum kit. Take
the snare for instance, often represented by numerous articulations —
centre hits, edge hits, rim shot, side stick, flam, snares off... you
get the picture. Articulations are often assigned to their own Groups,
each of which may have its own unique level setting, or possibly an
effect of some kind. To adjust the overall level of all the snare
Groups, you'd previously have had to insert a Gainer as the last insert
effect of every Group, and adjust them all in unison. Similarly, adding
effects such as a compressor and an EQ would involve replicating those
effects numerous times across all the Groups — hardly elegant or CPU
friendly. All this can be done much more efficiently using Instrument
Buses.Sixteen Buses are available to each Kontakt instrument and appear
as destinations under each Group's output assign button. Once all the
snare's Groups have been identified and selected for editing, simply
route them to an Instrument Bus. Now the entire Bus's level and pan can
be controlled easily from its own controls.Each of the 16 Buses also has
slots for eight insert effects, so you only need to add a single
compressor to the snare Bus, for example, to process all its
articulations. Unlike Group insert effects, which operate polyphonically
(ie. the effect is calculated for each individual note), Bus insert
effects operate monophonically, just as they would if you were using
outboard gear. Effect sends can also be added to each Bus's inserts, so
adding reverb to the contents of a Bus is easy. The output from each Bus
returns just before the main instrument insert effects by default, but
there is also an option to bypass those insert effects, keeping any Bus
you choose (and its own effects) entirely separate from the main
effects.
Conclusion
Armed with the characterful Solid-G EQ and Solid Bus Comp
compressor, the Transient Master and the excellent new Instrument
Bussing system, it's now more feasible than ever to produce high-quality
tracks entirely within Kontakt, given an adequately wide-ranging sample
library. Sample library developers, too, will welcome Kontakt's
extended Script Processor instruction set, which includes a MIDI file
player. These improvements might not get every Kontakt user champing at
the bit, but for anyone with a passion for tinkering, tweaking and
fine-tuning their sounds, I'd say this is a must-have upgrade. Besides,
with increasing numbers of Kontakt-based libraries being written
specifically for version 5, upgrading may swiftly become a necessity!
How to Install: 1). Instructions are included in ReadMe.txt if needed.
2). Thats all, Done & enjoy.
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