Thank you Maya!  That worked!  I had to close and reopen the project for the settings to take affect, then everything played back fine.

Regards,

Bill

I can't get VE Pro (latest build 6150) to play back using DP 7.2 as the host without crackling on playback.  Have tried instances of Omnisphere, Trillian and Kontakt.  Using the exact same setup with Pro Tools 8 and no issues at all.   If I load those same VI's into DP directly things play back just fine.  Have tried buffer size at 256 and 512 and 1024, same problem.

Mac Pro Quad Core 2x2.8GHz 14 GB ram, 10.6.4

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Bill

+1

What Gary said!



Bill

I'm wondering why there are inconsistencies in the lengths of the Crescendo - diminuendo (pfp) patches in Opus 1? For instance, the Violin and Bass Ens are 4 sec, but the Violas and Celli are 6 sec. Same problem with the horns... F Horns, Tpts and Tuba are 4 sec and Trombones are 6 sec. They sound beautiful, but i can't get a whole section in sync without some workaround. There was probably a good reason behind recording them that way, it just escapes me. Why not record them all 4 sec, or all 6 sec?

Thanks.

Bill

Lee,

I make my living composing with Pro Tools, and I am a VSL user. And I'm not the only one. It would be nice if Pro Tools added some of the things you mentioned, but that in no way prevents one from successfully composing with it today. Choosing a sequencer is a matter of taste. You can factually compare features of one sequencer to another, and make your own conclusions about what features are most important to you. I'm just digging into Pro Tools 7 and it's sequencer features are a big leap beyond where it has been for the last few years. It all depends on what's most important to you.

In the end, it's how you use the tools you have available. I compose the same whether I'm working in Logic, DP or Pro Tools. My preference is Pro Tools because it is in my opinion a superior mixing solution.

The lack of RTAS support is troubling indeed for Pro Tools users, but on the other hand the Pro Edition was never available to PT users except on a second machine running Logic or GS. That situation will still be the same. I'm happy that the Horizon series is available for Kontakt and hope to see more Horizon products in the future. Future support for RTAS would be icing on the cake.

Regards,

Bill

James,

Are you absolutely sure that disk streaming (DFD) is enabled in Kontakt? The ACTIVE button should be orange.

Bill

James,

How much RAM is in your machine? Are you sure that DFD is "active" under the OPTIONS menu in Kontakt?

It is fine to keep Kontakt right where it is.

Bill

Fernando,

It's also not a bad idea when troubleshooting something like this to disconnect anything external that is plugged in (and maybe one of the monitors as well), and if problems persist after trying what Tom suggested then remove any PCI cards installed. If you call Apple they're going to tell you to do that anyway.

Good luck.

Bill

>1. Is there any way of loading more than 16 instruments into kontakt?

Yes, just load another instance of Kontakt (assuming we're speaking of Kontakt 1.5)

>2. My DP (4.52) crashes a lot with DFD activated. Any suggestions?

In Konakt, click on OPTIONS, then try different settings besides the default NORMAL. And make sure your are using a dedicated drive for your samples.

I wouldn't start adding more instances of Kontakt until you work out the DFD crashes.

How much RAM in your machine?

Bill

Lendell,

I'm not sure what's up with your continuous control pedal, but when you record your track in Pro Tools you end up with two Midi tracks: the first track has the source midi info and the second track has the output of the Performance Tool that is routed to your Kontakt patch. You might try muting the first track, putting the second track in overdub record, and try your volume pedal moves and see if it works there. It's possible that the Perf Tool might be filtering that midi information - this assumes that your pedal is working properly with other patches. I think the Kontakt patch may need to be programmed to respond to your pedal.

Perhaps VSL can chime in and elaborate on whether the Perf Tool filters any midi info, as well as whether the Perf Patch in Kontakt should respond to your continuous control pedal or not.

Bill

Lendell,

Hang in there, you'll get it. It's got nothing to do with your 002 hardware for starters. The Midi Interface should not matter either, but it helps to know that you have already set that up correctly in the Audio Midi Setup for OS X.

INPUT DEVICES is located inside PRO TOOLS under the Midi menu, not in Kontakt. THere are no settings for you to make regarding the Performance Tool from within Kontakt. You need to enable the VSL Tool and your keyboard controller. Make absolutely sure that you open the Performance Tool first, or you won't see these options in the Input Devices window. And I am going on the assumption that Kontakt is being used as an RTAS plug in, rather than as a Standalone.

Try this and let me know if this helps.

Bill

Lendell,

Take a look at my previous post in this forum GOOD NEWS FOR PRO TOOLS USERS:

http://community.vsl.co.at/viewtopic.php?t=4859

It should answer your questions about the Performance Tool with Pro Tools.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Lendell,

You don't have to convert your samples. For Kontakt to work effectively, with Opus 1 for example, you need to have things in the right location. For instance, you can create a folder called OPUS 1 and within that folder will be an Instruments folder (that contains the .nki files you downloaded) and a Samples folder (that has all of the individual samples, grouped within the folders that were created when you extracted them from the DVD). Whether you use EXS or Kontakt, the samples are the same.

It should look like this:

OPUS 1
-----------Instruments
-----------------------00 String_Ensemble
-----------------------01 Violin Ensemble - 14
-----------------------02 Viola Ensemble - 10
-----------------------etc.
-----------SAMPLES
-----------------------00 String_Ensemble
-----------------------01 Violin Ensemble - 14
-----------------------02 Viola Ensemble - 10
-----------------------etc.

The important thing to remember is that when you're in the Kontakt Browser window, you select your patches from the Instruments folder. It's easy to open up the samples folder by mistake and load individual samples as patches, which you don't want.

Bill

James,

Just a thought, but have you disabled SLEEP within Energy Saver inside the System Preferences? It's OK for the display to sleep, but generally it's a good idea to disable sleep for the computer when working with DP or similar programs. Just set it to NEVER and see if that helps.

Regards,

Bill

Jim,

Log in to the User Area and see if there are current patches for you to download. VSL fixed this a while ago. You should NOT see these kind of load times if things are set up properly.

Bill

Assuming you have Logic Pro, then EXS is a better choice IMO for three reasons:

1: Only the Horizon Series is available for Kontakt at this time.

2: The Performance Tool is built into EXS, and the correct presets are built into the patches. There is no need for an external app that you need to load the correct preset into. Big time saver.

3: EXS Manager from Redmatica is available to optimize your usage of VSL.

Of course, once VSL scripts are available for Kontakt 2 then it will be probably be just as easy to use Kontakt. But you are still limited to the Horizon libraries.

I use Kontakt with Pro Tools and Digital Performer. I use Logic/EXS on a second machine as an external sampler.

Bill

Tom,

That is exactly how I use EXS/Logic. It is essentially serving as dedicated sample playback machine on another Mac. Whatever I need besides what can be loaded into Kontakt within Pro Tools, I load into EXS/Logic on the second machine. Logic is not the most user friendly program around, but this is sort of a "set it and forget it" setup. You don't have to spend too much time learning how to make sense of Logic (making sense of Logic.... making sense of Logic.... making sense of Logic... echo, echo, add heavy reverb ).

Bill

How right you are!

Bill

Getting back to the initial intent of this thread, you CAN use Pro Tools and VSL together successfully. Many of us do. Now moving on...

Speaking about Pro Tools TDM and not LE - as you're not going to invest those kind of dollars in TDM hardware if audio isn't at the top of your list of priorities....

Pro Tools is first and foremost an AUDIO recorder, editor and mixing solution. Most of the major recording studios and audio post houses that I have worked in use Pro Tools, not Cubase or Logic or DP. I use Pro Tools, Digital Performer and Logic and Pro Tools is in my OPINION the hands down winner for audio work. As I've said elsewhere on the forum, Midi in Pro Tools is like early Vision (and not even). But it works just fine.



Nick, it's gotten much better in Pro Tools 6.9, which unfortunately you can't use with your Mix hardware. I'm not finding it any more difficult now in most cases to edit midi in Pro Tools than in DP, and much easier than in Logic - at least as far as general note, velocity, durations, etc. They've now added a Control-Command-Left/Right Arrow shortcut so you can jump quickly to any Midi editing window. Previously, hitting the "-" key was pretty useless jumping from Notes to Regions. It IS more cumbersome to use the Performance Tool with Pro Tools than DP or Logic, as I've detailed elsewhere. But it DOES work. And that is the good news for anyone who currently works in Pro Tools that wants to start working with VSL libraries.



I think this is a very fair analysis. But what it does it does OK. And that is in addition to a superb audio editor and mixer.



That says it all. It's the same for me....and I wish it did notation as well.



To be fair, I have seen almost every major brand of hardware and software fail at one point or another, and at the worst moment, regardless of who is in the room. If that was a qualifier there wouldn't be anyone left in the industry to buy from.

Bill

Yes, I do. Check out the thread "GOOD NEWS FOR PRO TOOLS USERS" in the Kontakt forum on this site. I have detailed the steps to make it work with the Performance Tool and have a link to a web page with pictures for each step. I currently use Pro Tools TDM on OS X with Kontakt as the sampler host and the Chamber Strings and Opus 1 libraries. Midi works just fine in Pro Tools. While it may lack all of the bells and whistles that Digital Performer and Logic have regarding midi, it hasn't held me back from making a living using it. I also use DP and Logic, but Pro Tools is my first choice for audio and mixing. For most projects it has been more than cable of doing what I need it to do in order to work with VSL.

For me, in the end it's all about making music. The simplicity of using midi in Pro Tools is for me an advantage. When I absolutely need more than that, I turn to DP.

Good luck.

Bill

Hi Gary,

I don't have Kontakt 2 yet, but I was wondering about the flexibility that scripting offers over the Performance Tool? How would you tweak the Threshold and Release Times? How would you modify the Release Trigger or Repetition Trigger? How would you select your Repetitions for Repetition patches? I certainly do not want to have to modify a script when I'm in the middle of a session? Is there an easier way with scripting to do any of this than with the PT?

BTW, I finally got the DP 4.5 upgrade and so far it is working just great with PT HD.

Thanks!

Bill

Howley,

Working with Midi in Pro Tools is a little like working with Opcode's Vision (a very early version). Very basic, yet functional. You have all you really need. It is such a great audio application, though. For those of us with less than ultra powered systems you need to bounce your VSL tracks frequently to audio in order to deal with processor issues. And Pro Tools really shines here. Yes, you will ultimately need lots of Midi tracks, depending on the complexity of what you're trying to do. There are lots of ways in Pro Tools to work efficiently and not be overwhelmed when dealing with large track counts. Since I do a lot of film and television mixing I'm used to having a ton of tracks, so I've gotten used to it and have little workarounds to make life easier.

DP worked great with Pro Tools hardware under OS 9 (minus a few features), but hasn't been a viable option FOR ME until possibly 4.5 (which I've ordered). Gary has been spending a lot more time in DP with Pro Tools hardware under OS X, and he knows much more than I do about 4.5. I have to credit him with the step- saving solution for using the Performance Tool with DP (launch the Performance Tool AFTER you launch DP). I'm looking forward to working with DP again and I'm encouraged by the results Gary has been having with it.

Just my 2 cents, but one of the advantages for me of working with Midi in Pro Tools is not being distracted with a multitude of options for manipulating Midi data. One of my biggest beefs with Logic is the complexity involved for doing some of the simplest of things. Pro Tools and Midi is for me a little like working with a multi-track tape machine. I play it over and over until I get it right. I prefer to stay focused on writing and think less about being in a computer application. I think in the end my tracks have "felt" better. Of course, you can work this way in DP and just not take advantage of everything it has to offer. Having worked in DP for so long I had established all kinds of pre-set habits, so Pro Tools forced me out of them. Next month I might be telling you that DP 4.5 is the greatest thing since sliced bread, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Good luck.

Bill

Have you found out yet what the cause was? Did you run this past Digi?

Bill

al_right,

The Horizon Series works great when working with Kontakt as a RTAS plug-in to Pro Tools. The Performance Tool is a separate application that you launch before Pro Tools.

Howley,

You do not have to run Kontakt as a stand alone, and you do not need extra hardware to make this work.

Both of you should read my post further down in this forum called:

GOOD NEWS FOR PRO TOOLS USERS!

I give a detailed description of how to use Pro Tools in "monitor mode", with a link to step by step pictures on my web site explaining this technique.

Good luck!

Bill