What's new

Kontakt Updates (current version: 7.9.0)

EvilDragon

KSP Wizard
7.9.0 (2024-03-27)
Sonoma compatibility, bugfixes
  • ADDED macOS Sonoma compatibility
  • FIXED On macOS 14, crash when switching Hypha presets whilst Kontakt is hosted in Logic Pro
  • FIXED Crash when opening a Multi saved with Kontakt standalone whilst Kontakt is hosted in a DAW
  • FIXED Visual flickers and crash when multiple Kontakt instances are hosted in Cubase 13 on Windows
  • FIXED Width of Rack View side pane was recalled incorrectly after closing and reopening Kontakt instances
  • FIXED Wave Editor slices are correctly recalculated when switching between Auto and Fixed grid settings
  • FIXED KSP: Crash when UI ID of parent ui_panel is higher than the child ui_panel
  • FIXED API: Console output to VS Code now works
  • FIXED On macOS 14, main menu drop downs had no hover mode
  • FIXED On macOS 14, filename path visible during drag and drop
  • IMPROVED Drag & Drop from Files panel now works between different Kontakt instances
  • KNOWN ISSUE On macOS, CoreAudio device needs to be reselected when updating from older Kontakt versions to 7.9.0. but this is only needed once
  • KNOWN ISSUE In Pro Tools, Kontakt window is cropped when zooming larger than available display size
  • KNOWN ISSUE In Single View, instrument loses focus when clicking level meter or blank space of the instrument header
  • KNOWN ISSUE Crashes when loading content in Logic Pro in combination with the KKS MK3 keyboards, very rare if the KKS MK3 is not connected
  • KNOWN ISSUE Crash on launching Kontakt standalone if Canon EOS webcam utility software is installed

7.8.1 (2024-02-20)
Bug fix
  • ADDED See additional entries in “New Instruments for you” panel via scroll buttons
  • IMPROVED Libraries installed on disconnected external drives are not shown in “New Instruments for you” panel
  • FIXED Crash when switching presets or loading samples via Internal Browsers of Kontakt Libraries (mostly reported with FL Studio)
  • FIXED Crash when loading Multi Instruments (especially from World Percussion 2)
  • FIXED Intermittent crashes on batch resaving certain Kontakt Libraries
  • FIXED Performance issues related to Kontakt's Hardware Connection Service detection on Mac, even if not installed or Kontrol S Series MK3 not connected
  • FIXED Intermittent crash when Kontakt is hosted as VST plug-in

7.8.0 (2024-01-29)
New effects, new KSP callback, Replika delay fixes
  • ADDED New effects: EP Preamps, Fuzz, Big Fuzz, Stereo Tune
  • ADDED Option for double click Preset loading behavior ("Loading → Files, Libraries, Quick-Load: Double-clicking a file replaces currently selected instrument slot")
  • IMPROVED Loading speed when switching between snapshots of an actively loaded Instrument, when initiated from Library Browser
  • IMPROVED Increased the font size in Instrument Navigator
  • IMPROVED Instrument focus indicator (orange strip on the left of instrument header) is now only visible in Rack View
  • IMPROVED Use the resizer from Library Browser all across Kontakt
  • IMPROVED Kontakt now supports “Open with…” OS behaviors with samples, creating an instrument that has the specified sample mapped
  • FIXED Crash when Kontrol mk3 Hardware Connection Service not installed on macOS
  • FIXED Crash when playing a note after changing the output configuration with an already loaded Preset
  • FIXED Replika delay in Diffusion mode would not output sound when note duration was shorter than delay time
  • FIXED Visual glitches when resizing Kontakt’s window across multiple displays
  • FIXED Replika delay not recalling delay time values correctly when loading snapshots that switch to Tape, Analogue and Vintage styles
  • FIXED CPU overloads during tempo ramps when Replika delay is bypassed
  • REMOVED Several entries in Options, which are now permanently enabled:
  • "Interface → Show mapping and keyswitches on virtual keyboard"
  • "Interface → Auto-refresh Files browser"
  • "Handling → Files browser: Double click audio file loads instrument"
  • ADDED KSP: New callback type for defining behavior of all UI controls by their ID in a single callback, on ui_controls
  • IMPROVED KSP: $EVENT_PAR_SOURCE now works in multi scripts
  • ADDED API: link_resource_container() command
  • IMPROVED API: When creating a resource container, typing .nkr extension is not required anymore
  • IMPROVED API: When drag and dropping a Lua script onto Kontakt’s rack, it will now be listed in recently used scripts
  • IMPROVED API: If there is an error when creating a resource container, dialog will not be created any longer, instead this information will be logged to the terminal
  • FIXED API: When creating a resource container, scripts from Resources/scripts folder would not be available to the builder for linking immediately
  • FIXED API: When linking a script via set_instrument_script_linked_filename(), the script would not be applied
  • KNOWN ISSUE When Kontakt is started from VS Code, logging incoming KSP/API messages is not working (it is working when Kontakt is started from Sublime Text)
  • KNOWN ISSUE Hover state missing from new menus, when Kontakt is hosted as a plug-in on macOS

7.7.3 - 2023-12-14
Library browser updates.
  • ADDED First launch screen to direct new users towards free Kontakt instruments
  • ADDED Selecting a tag in Library Browser updates recommendations in "New Instruments for you" panel

7.7.2 - 2023-11-27
Bug fix.
  • FIXED Display and loading of files with special characters in Libraries tab.

7.7.1 - 2023-11-21
Bug fix.
  • ADDED Preference to disable "New Instruments for you" panel in Options > Interface
  • IMPROVED Some info bar help text updated
  • FIXED QWERTY keyboard and mouse events intercepted when Kontakt is hosted as a plugin in Logic Pro
  • FIXED Keyboard shortcuts not working in standalone
  • FIXED Visual glitch when resizing Kontakt whilst hosted as a plugin in Logic Pro, and running at 75% zoom
  • FIXED Crash when replacing loaded instrument if currently focussed instrument is in edit mode

7.7.0 - 2023-10-12
  • ADDED Simplified application header for efficient access to key functions
    • File, Library and View have dedicated text labels
    • Single View / Rack View toggle is now found in View menu
    • Options is now found File menu
  • ADDED Text search enhancements to full-screen Browser, allowing searches across full or partial names of libraries, instruments, presets, tags and more
  • ADDED Search results display additionally available libraries in “New Instruments for you” panel
  • ADDED Option to display fullscreen Browser for new Instances in Rack view under Options > Interface (note: Browser is always shown in Single View)
  • ADDED 50% zoom setting
  • IMPROVED Double-clicking a preset in Files tab, Libraries tab or Quick-Load will now replace the preset loaded in the currently selected slot, instead of adding it to the Rack
  • IMPROVED Access fullscreen Browser by clicking Kontakt logo in application header (About Box accessed via NI logo)
  • FIXED Browser text entry no longer intercepted by DAW when Kontakt is hosted as a plug-in inside of Logic Pro
  • FIXED Intermittent CPU spikes on macOS (introduced in Kontakt 7.6.1)
  • FIXED Regression in KSP message logging performance when Developer Options are enabled (introduced in Kontakt 7.5.0) causing CPU spikes in certain 8dio libraries
  • FIXED RAM footprint no longer increases after prolonged use
  • FIXED Instrument focus strip in instrument header now updates when using previous / next buttons within edit mode
  • FIXED Correct visual state for Library button when instantiating Kontakt
  • REMOVED "Batch resave" and "Batch collect/Compress samples" options in File menu no longer appear when Kontakt is hosted as a plug-in

7.6.1 - 2023-10-12
  • IMPROVED “Version too old” dialog now refers to the exact Kontakt version required to open a preset
  • IMPROVED Orange instrument focus rectangle is now reduced to a strip on the left side of the instrument header
  • IMPROVED Mapping Editor display option adjustments are now stored immediately upon change
  • FIXED Crash when attempting to save an instrument that attempts to MIDI learn or host automate above 512th instance of a KSP widget
  • FIXED Crash when instantiating a send effect when the output channel is set to Mono
  • FIXED Crash on quickly swapping presets while notes are playing under certain conditions
  • FIXED Rare seemingly random voice dropouts in DFD mode when using loop crossfades
  • FIXED From script modulator could cause Kontakt to hang under certain conditions
  • FIXED Virtual keyboard was not shown by default when instantiating Kontakt on fresh install
  • FIXED Kontakt did not instantiate in single mode on fresh install
  • FIXED KSP set_controller() did not work in persistence_changed callback when instrument is set to Omni
  • FIXED KSP $ENGINE_PAR_RINGMOD_LFO_WAVE getter always returned 0
  • FIXED KSP DFD preload buffer issue when using zone parameter setters on purged zones
 
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Previously you couldn't do anything with release velocity in KSP since it was inaccessible. Now you can. It directly influences the release velocity modulator in Kontakt's edit view, you can create release velocity curves, it's a pretty neat thing. Not necessarily just for volume, it can be for pitch or filter cutoff...

Don't confuse it with regular note on velocity. This is note off velocity - a different MIDI message.
 
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Nice quality updates and improvements, but man am I patiently waiting for some much needed improvements and optimizations of Quickload. When you close and reopen a Kontakt instance (not shutting down a session), Quickload searches through your database again, which means you have to wait for it to finish and makes the entire point of having a “Quickload” menu obsolete. I know most people don’t experience this, because they use the library tab to navigate and load their instruments, and I also know that Quickload wasn’t designed as an all-in-one encompassing library browser for all your samples, but it’s such a cool way of navigating through all your libraries, fast and efficiently. Dirk shed some light on the issue with the new template he’s selling, so hopefully one day my wishes might come true.
 
Nice quality updates and improvements, but man am I patiently waiting for some much needed improvements and optimizations of Quickload. When you close and reopen a Kontakt instance (not shutting down a session), Quickload searches through your database again, which means you have to wait for it to finish and makes the entire point of having a “Quickload” menu obsolete. I know most people don’t experience this, because they use the library tab to navigate and load their instruments, and I also know that Quickload wasn’t designed as an all-in-one encompassing library browser for all your samples, but it’s such a cool way of navigating through all your libraries, fast and efficiently. Dirk shed some light on the issue with the new template he’s selling, so hopefully one day my wishes might come true.
That’s the only pet peeve I have with my QuickLoad template as well, only solution so far is to keep one Kontakt instance open at the side
 
That’s the only pet peeve I have with my QuickLoad template as well, only solution so far is to keep one Kontakt instance open at the side
Yeah it’s a good solution, for the most part, but for it to work I had to sacrifice my beloved “Close All Plug-In Windows” shortcut in Cubase, and I’m still a bit upset about that lol. Sometimes I have so many plugins and effects open on screen, I need that command to clear everything in my view. Shame you can’t lock a plug-in window‘s state in Cubase.
 
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Maybe NI could add a setting for Quickload to toggle between Auto (Default) > Off > Manual?

That way you could optionally switch it to "Off" when you know you haven't added any new entries, and do a "Manual" check when you have in order to refresh the database / cache (assuming that's what Kontakt does).

For most users the setting would be set to "Auto" by default and behave as it does presently.
 
It should just be smarter about when to scan for updates, or maybe the problem is that it's not cached on the hard drive, instead there's just a cache in memory so it requires doing it once, when you first instantiate Kontakt.
 
It feels really faster compared to 6.2.
Should we expect updated pdf manuals as well?
Downloadable KSP Reference Manual, for example, is still the old 6.2 one.
 
I patiently waiting for some much needed improvements and optimizations of Quickload. When you close and reopen a Kontakt instance (not shutting down a session), Quickload searches through your database again, which means you have to wait for it to finish and makes the entire point of having a “Quickload” menu obsolete. I know most people don’t experience this, because they use the library tab to navigate and load their instruments, and I also know that Quickload wasn’t designed as an all-in-one encompassing library browser for all your samples, but it’s such a cool way of navigating through all your libraries, fast and efficiently. Dirk shed some light on the issue with the new template he’s selling, so hopefully one day my wishes might come true.
Amen to that. Quickload is one of the only headaches I have with Kontakt. I really does need some attention. Even if using only QL libraries it's always been slow for me. I just don't see why they can't rewrite it to use a simple database..
 
  • FIXED With certain libraries Kontakt would cause the DAW timeline marker to stutter and lag

Hello EvilDragon,

I currently have huge lag in editing my tempo track in Cubase (10.5). I think it's due to a high number of Kontakt instruments tempo-sync (like Orchestral Tools ones) in my orchestral template, but can this fix in this update improve the situation or does it concern only few particular instruments ?
I use the latest Kontakt 5 release (can't use Kontakt 6 yet, due to a VEPro/eLicenser unsolved bug).
Thanks
 
This update was mainly focused on GUI-related slowdowns for instruments that have extremely elaborate GUIs (evident especially i.e. in Straylight in some DAWs), not tempo sync related things. However there has been a number of other optimizations, so who knows...
 
Scope of change, available dev resources, other priorities... among other things. That's not to say that it shouldn't be looked at, but there are way more pressing things on the horizon (ARM Macs, for example).

How do you see the mc move to ARM? Any anticipated compatibility issues?
 
Yeah it's gonna be quite some work, remember Kontakt and Reaktor are very old software, they aren't written with ARM in mind at all.
 
This update was mainly focused on GUI-related slowdowns for instruments that have extremely elaborate GUIs (evident especially i.e. in Straylight in some DAWs), not tempo sync related things. However there has been a number of other optimizations, so who knows...
Thanks for clarification !
 
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