Anyone using Kontakt, external sample libraries and Dorico?

Dorico
1

So I now have a better understanding of expression maps and I’m just about setting to building a template using Kontakt 5.8.1 , Native Instruments Symphony Series and possibly Fluffy Audio’s ‘Dominus’ choir.

My PC in CPU terms is knocking on a bit now, but I bought it about three years ago because of its ability to hold a lot of RAM. It is a HP Z800 with Dual Xeon CPU, 64Gb RAM and 500Gb SSD for the system. The samples are held on a 1Tb external SSD connected via a USB3 hub to a USB3 PCI card.

When I set up a template in Studio One 4 recently, I used a separate instance of Kontakt for each instrument, ending up with about 40-50 instances as my template held a ‘pit band’ setup too. The PC handled this fine, enabling real audio tracks to be recorded alongside. If the PC had started to groan, I could have turned the ‘sampled tracks’ into real audio tracks which would have been recorded onto one of the two other SSD I have in the external enclosure. With Studio One 4, my console, the Presonus Studiolive Series 3 integrates fantastically allowing seamless operation as an interface and control surface. I want to ultimately achieve the same (or similar) with Dorico.

Now as I understand it, Dorico only outputs at the moment to 2 audio channels. The beauty of my setup at the moment, is that each instrument shows up on one fader and the mix can be tweaked via automation and of course recalled. I take it there would be no functionality of control surface in Dorico at the moment?
It would seem the choice is to either get Dorico to integrate into what I have or might it be better to try and get Dorico to replay the midi out to my setup? Could it do this via Rewire or something similar?
The Series 3 is a 40 channel desk, although the ‘control surface’ element means you could have an infinite number of ‘computer tracks’ and just bank across. I’m just wondering what would be the best way of combining these. I would have thought that since Studio One 4 and the Studiolive Desk are in essence an integrated system (for example tracks in the tracklist show up on the console etc), I could recall the orchestral template I have setup in Studio One 4 and if there was a way for the midi data to playback from Dorico into Studio One4, I could record automation data within Studio One 4 if the programs could sync together?

My question basically, is could my computer handle 40 instances of Kontakt in Dorico or would I be better to use fewer instances.

Is anyone using a similar setup?

Thanks
Al

2

There’s no need to use 40 instances of Kontakt: run Kontakt in its multi-output mode so that each channel provides its own output, and then you’ll see a separate fader for each channel in Dorico’s Mixer.

3

Thanks Daniel. I’m just using 6 instances split into the various families (woodwind, brass, horns etc). I’m using the basic Kontakt 5 (not the 8 output, nor the 16 output) version. I’ve reduced the number of outputs per instance to just one (however Kontakt still produces 4 stereo aux outs per instance). I have saved each of these instances as a multi, which then allows me to ‘re-build’ or load in, to another setup. I’ve done it this way to see what options I have with the setup. The expression maps are working really well, just got the percussion to go. When I open the mixer up, it is really strange. I can see the instruments from my Kontakt instances, but there are lots (and I mean lots) of empty faders called ‘Ku[’.
What are these and how do I get rid of them?

4

Just started to rebuild the template into one instance of Kontakt and there are 32 faders called ‘Ku[’ appearing after the instruments I have in the instance and the 4 aux channels?

5

You’ll get abbreviated names in the mixer for outputs that aren’t assigned. If you know you won’t be using particular outputs of instances of Kontakt, you can hide those outputs via the Endpoint Setup dialog.

6

If you look in Kontakt’s mixer, you’ll see that they’re called something like ‘Kontakt unassigned [1]’, hence the abbreviation