Kontakt 8 Explained

What's Kontakt 8 all about, you ask? Well, step right this way! NI expert Eli Krantzberg will provide comprehensive answers to that question in this extensive video tutorial series! Whether you're just starting out or want to learn about the new instruments, new features, or simply workflow improvements and enhancements, it's all here! After watching this Kontakt 8 video course, you can rest assured knowing you'll be taking full advantage of everything Kontakt 8 has to offer! These Kontkt 8 videos are designed for new users.

Kontakt 8

• Overview of the Interface (07:03) - Learn about the new Tools in Kontakt 8 and where the main elements are laid out in the new Default View.

• Working in the Side Pane (07:10) - Discover how you can do a lot of searching, browsing, loading, saving, and preset-blending directly from within the Navigator and Side Pane Browser sections of the new Side Pane.

• New & Improved Browser Experience (07:51) - See how the new sophisticated browser functionality unifies your entire Kontakt library into one cohesive workspace where you can search your entire collection based on tags, text search, and other criteria.

• Overview of the Chords Tool (06:03) - See how and where all the control are laid out for this flexible and creative tool that allows you to play chords on your Kontakt instruments by pressing a single key.

• The Chords Tool at Work (05:56) - Watch as chord sets are modified and used to accompany an a cappella vocal.

• Chords Tool: Advanced Functions (03:58) - Explore the banks of chords available in the Advanced settings mode and see how to drag and drop the entire palette of seven chords into your DAW at once.

• Introduction to the Phrases Tool (13:14) - Learn all about this tool that allows you to play (and edit) musical phrases on your Kontakt instruments by pressing a single key.

• Chords & Phrases: Idea Generators (08:08) - Follow along as both tools are put to work to generate parts and stimulate ideas. Also see how to use the advanced functions in Phrases.

• Leap: Loading Sounds (05:47) - Discover the various ways of loading curated Leap Expansion kits, one shots, loops, and third-party content from either inside or outside the Kontakt browser.

• Leap: Interface at a Glance (03:06) - Take a brief look at the main areas of the interface and hear some of the macro controls at work.

• Leap: Keyboard Section (05:54) - Explore the various functions and strategies available working in both group mode and single mode.

• Leap: Working with the Grid (04:36) - See how to work with the grid, snap, and looping parameters when creating a custom Leap instrument.

• Leap: Engine Panel (06:37) - Learn about the difference between the classic, melody, and beats engines and how they interact with the tempo, tuning, and playback controls.

• Leap: Sound Panel (05:30) - Follow along as the various Sound panel controls are put to work creating an original pad sound. The preset is then saved as a Leap Custom Kit.

• Leap: Send, Macro, & Performance FX (10:08) - Explore the intuitive and evocative send, macro, and performance effects, including Gater, Beat Masher, Beat Slicer, Reverse Grain, Transpose Stretch, and more.

• Working with Combined Presets & Multis (08:30) - Learn how to create and save layered sounds as well as multiple-output and multi-timbral setups using Classic View.

• Classic View QuickStart (05:29) - Get a brief glimpse at some of the useful functions available in Classic View, including managing MIDI controller assignments, setting instrument transposition, key range, and velocity range values, saving snapshots, processing with internal Kontakt effects, and more.

• Conflux Overview (04:29) - Get a quick look around this new hybrid wavetable/sample layering instrument.

• Working with Loops (03:52) - See how to bring multiple loops at disparate tempos into a single Leap instrument in Group mode and have them all play back uniformly at the project tempo, each with unique filter and output settings.

• Sound Design: Pluuuck! (05:22) - Follow along as a bespoke plucked sound is designed and saved, based on three layered instruments, a customized Chords Tool preset, and a couple of internal Kontakt 8 insert effects added in Classic View.

• Options (06:11) - Learn about the various settings and preferences available in the Kontakt 8 Options menu.

8.2 Update

• Patterns Tool Explained (10:33) - Learn all about this hybrid arpeggiator/polyphonic step sequencer and how the parameters are used to generate, modify, and control pattern playback.

• Patterns Tool in Action (08:26) - Explore some ideas on how to approach using this tool on various parts in a song.