Logic preset menus, anyone?

[ppjmd]

Hi guys & girls,

So here I am still wishing there were an easier way to load patches in Konpakt player (or at least the long-requested "next/previous" buttons), and I had an idea.

In Logic (and other hosts I'm sure), you can save a plugin preset, along with that plugin's current patch. So I got to thinking, I might spend the time (or get an intern!) to call up every EWQLSO preset and save it as a Logic plugin preset. That way I would have "next/previous" functionality, and I could even give the presets more meaningful names, etc.

The big question is, would anybody else be interested in the results? Surely I can't be the only one that hates those tiny, almost unreadable text menus...

If you're interested, cast your vote and I might look into doing it. It would be pretty time-consuming, so I'll only do it if enough people would benefit (I certainly would, but I don't relish the thought of carpel tunnel syndrome).

Now of course if someone (Nick, Doug) has any knowledge about a forthcoming new interface that would render this a moot point, please say "you might want to hold off on this..." or something to that effect!

Thanks,

Jim Daneker

[Tim York]

Does this work reliably in Logic with Kompakt? It doesn't work reliably with Intakt on my system. I have to save within intakt. When I try to reacall some presets that have been saved via Logic I get a Logic crash. I'd check this thoroughly before you go doing a lot of work. Try recalling a number of presets you've saved (especially big ones), to make sure.

G4dual1.25 - Logic7.1.1 - MacOS10.3.9 - RAM2Gig - Digi001 - WD8MegCache320GigHD - Herbal Tea

[Dr.Quest]

This is the way Klaus Badelt works in Logic only he is using the ESX24 Sampler for his presets. I've done a few this way my self. It seems to work with Kontact but I haven't tried it with Gold yet.
Klaus' interview about this was in the last issue of VI Magazine www.VirtualInstrumentsMag.com

J

[Kaatza_Music]

I am not quite sure what this is getting at.

If you are talking about having an orchestral template with EWQLSO samples preloaded, yes it works and I am sure that most people using the libraries use this concept in some form or another. I have several Logic templates depending on what I am doing. It is a combination of environment and arrange settings. On the arrange page, I have given each instrument (actually instrument bank as I am using Kontakt 2) a new track name.

For my orchestral template, I have 4 instances of Kontakt 2 loaded - Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Strings. Each instance gives me 16 banks with 16 midi channels of information.
Each bank can be loaded with several samples (up to 128).

Besides relying on Logic to save my preset (multi) settings, I also save them in Kontakt or Kompakt. This way I can create custom templates on the fly with preloaded samples.

I have never had a problem with Logic loading although if you have a lot of samples it takes quite a while to load.

[Dr.Quest]

Originally Posted by Kaatza_Music

I am not quite sure what this is getting at.

If you are talking about having an orchestral template with EWQLSO samples preloaded, yes it works and I am sure that most people using the libraries use this concept in some form or another. I have several Logic templates depending on what I am doing. It is a combination of environment and arrange settings. On the arrange page, I have given each instrument (actually instrument bank as I am using Kontakt 2) a new track name.

For my orchestral template, I have 4 instances of Kontakt 2 loaded - Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Strings. Each instance gives me 16 banks with 16 midi channels of information.
Each bank can be loaded with several samples (up to 128).

Besides relying on Logic to save my preset (multi) settings, I also save them in Kontakt or Kompakt. This way I can create custom templates on the fly with preloaded samples.

I have never had a problem with Logic loading although if you have a lot of samples it takes quite a while to load.

No, I believe that what he is talking about is a channel preset. If you load an Instance of Kontact with various string from gold say Qlegato Violins, Stac, Violas and Cellos and then save it as a channel preset called string section you can then recall that at any time under the channel preset menu. Very handy for often used setups without waiting for a large template to load.
I use it a lot.
J

[ppjmd]

Tim,

I've had no problems with this at all, and I've already done this with some other EW/QL titles (Stormdrum, Adrenaline, Bosendorfer 290, some QLSO Gold, Ra, etc.). This is with Logic 7.1.

I've also had it done with other products and it works like a charm (Atmosphere, Absynth, Albino, many others). YMMV, I suppose!

Jim

G5 dual 2.3, OSX 10.4.2, 4.5 GB RAM, SATA RAID array, Logic 7.1.1, tons o' plugs, RME Fireface 800, ProTools, etc.

[ppjmd]

Originally Posted by Kaatza_Music

I am not quite sure what this is getting at.

.

Actually, I'm talking about something very simple - an easier way to audition/navigate the menus of instuments like EWQLSO, Ra, Stormdrum, etc. - any instrument that uses the Kompakt Player interface.

My problems with the Kompakt Player are:

1. on a high resolution monitor, the menu text is just plain tiny and hard to read;
2. because the text is so tiny, it's too easy to select the wrong patch with the mouse (it's not a mouse sensitivity issue either - it's the Native Instruments interface).
3. there's no freakin' NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons for auditioning patches - you have to constantly mouse through the menus one patch at a time. Talk about an RSI waiting to happen!

Am I being picky? Maybe, but I doubt it (and a lot of my colleagues gripe about the same thing with these Native Instruments plugin interfaces). So, I figured I'd pay an assistant to do the tedious work of calling up every single patch and then saving it as a plug-in setting within Logic.

It's important to note the difference between a plugin setting and a channel strip setting by the way; the C.S. setting saves all elements of a channel strip as a whole, whereas a plugin setting just saves the current state of whatever plugin you've got called up (including its loaded patch). I'm talking about the latter, and it does work.

The bottom line for me is that once this is done, I can just hit a key on my [Mac] keyboard and scroll through every patch in QLSO, for example, without having to mouse through the plugin menu time and time again. Another benefit, like I mentioned earlier, is that you can be more descriptive with your patch names than "C VCS QUICK UP DN", for example. Basically, this would just make Logic do what the plugin can't - make life a little easier!

Hope this all makes sense!

Thanks for the input,

Jim

[Dr.Quest]

Ah yes, I see what you are getting at. That sounds like a good idea as well. You might give the channel presets a try also, as they are very handy.
Cheers,
J

[ppjmd]

Originally Posted by Dr.Quest

Ah yes, I see what you are getting at. That sounds like a good idea as well. You might give the channel presets a try also, as they are very handy.
Cheers,
J

Yes, they are handy - for storing channel strips (a.k.a. your favorite vocal chain or mastering strip).

I'm talking about something completely different: the ability to easily navigate/audition the presets of a Kompakt instrument such as QLSO, Ra, Colossus, Stormdrum, etc. By themselves, it's a royal pain in the butt (or wrist)! Using Logic's "plugin setting" menu makes it SO much easier...

Jim