New to Kontakt - a couple of questions

[SPF]

I just installed Kontakt 1.1 on a G4DP Mac (OS 9.2.2) last night to use with Digital Performer 3.11. It is cool, but I ran into a couple of nasty little issues I am hoping someone can shed some light on.

(1) Loading any instrument, I repeatedly got an error reporting that system memory was running below 8 MB (even though there is 1.5 GB in the machine and less than 200 MB is devoted to DP3). I updated to Kontakt 1.2 with DFD extension and this problem went away. I am now able to load large samples, but I\'m still curious what caused the problem, and whether it will re-appear when I try to load up, say, a whole orchestra worth of instruments. Has anyone got tips for RAM settings when using Kontakt with DP3. What about dual-processor support when running these products together?

(2) Now with Kontakt 1.2 and the DFD extension, I am able to load instruments, but playing large multi-layer instruments, such as the included grand piano, a disturbing periodic noise interrupts the playback. Simpler instruments don\'t seem to generate this, and when I turn off DFD things improve, but then I am RAM-limited. I suspect someone will say get a separate drive for the DFD samples, but are there any other ways around this? Does anyone know how to optimize HD performance for this type of setup(e.g., Kontakt 1.2 DFD and DP3)?

(3) Last, does anyone know a way to pass MIDI input through DP3 to Kontakt when the focus is on the Kontakt window (e.g., DP3 is backgrounded). I have the DP3 option set to play while in background, but incoming MIDI (on record-enabled tracks) does not pass through, so I can\'t play live to audition samples in Kontakt without switching back and forth between Kontakt and DP3 -- a real drag, but perhaps a question for MOTU tech support (in absentia ad infinitum).

Thanks.

[Martin Jann]

Hi SPF,

I can´t give you the solution for all your problems, but maybe I can give you some hints.

(1) Loading any instrument, I repeatedly got an error reporting that system memory was running below 8 MB (even though there is 1.5 GB in the machine and less than 200 MB is devoted to DP3). I updated to Kontakt 1.2 with DFD extension and this problem went away. I am now able to load large samples, but I\'m still curious what caused the problem, and whether it will re-appear when I try to load up, say, a whole orchestra worth of instruments. Has anyone got tips for RAM settings when using Kontakt with DP3. What about dual-processor support when running these products together?

If you are running DP3 and Kontakt (MAS) together, you should assign enough memory to both applications. Kontakt itself need some Ram for the application and if you want to load samples you need to have additional Ram assigened to Kontakt. If you use DFD, less Ram is needed, thats why you were able to load bigger instruments.

(2) Now with Kontakt 1.2 and the DFD extension, I am able to load instruments, but playing large multi-layer instruments, such as the included grand piano, a disturbing periodic noise interrupts the playback. Simpler instruments don\'t seem to generate this, and when I turn off DFD things improve, but then I am RAM-limited. I suspect someone will say get a separate drive for the DFD samples, but are there any other ways around this? Does anyone know how to optimize HD performance for this type of setup(e.g., Kontakt 1.2 DFD and DP3)?

The DFD performance is strongly dependant on your system (Ram and what kind of harddisk you use). For best performance, you should use a separate HD with 7200 RPM or higher and 8 MB Cache. If you still need to use your other HD, you should experiment with the DFD settings in the options menu. Try to higher the buffer size and reservered voices. This should also improve your performance.

(3) Last, does anyone know a way to pass MIDI input through DP3 to Kontakt when the focus is on the Kontakt window (e.g., DP3 is backgrounded). I have the DP3 option set to play while in background, but incoming MIDI (on record-enabled tracks) does not pass through, so I can\'t play live to audition samples in Kontakt without switching back and forth between Kontakt and DP3 -- a real drag, but perhaps a question for MOTU tech support (in absentia ad infinitum).

I am not a DP3 user, so I cannot tell you where to turn on the \"play midi in background\" option.

Hope this helps,

Martin

[SPF]

Thanks Martin.

After I posted I realized stupidly that the grand piano sample was larger than the ram I had assigned to Kontakt. That solved that problem.

I guess it was optimistic to try using the same 120 GByte 7200 RPM ATA drive for Mac OS, DP3 (and it\'s data files), and Kontakt (and it\'s samples).

I\'m off to the hard drive vendors now...