Kontakt & Logic Pro: Multi-Timbral / Multi-Output Setup

[@ToddUrban]

***Please note*** the last example shows how to create multi-output aux tracks. Make sure to upgrade to Logic 10.7.9 in order for the record arming on the aux tracks to show properly.

[@MusicalPlayground717]

I wonder whether this is the answer to my issue - I've been getting frustrated because any MIDI recorded directly on these aux tracks immediately disappears after I hit space to end the recording. Is there ANY way to record MIDI directly onto the aux track? For orchestral sequencing, it's very frustrating to hear the wrong instrument as I'm recording, particularly if the instrument occupies a different pitch range, causing certain notes not to sound as I record. I figure there must be a better way if the entire film scoring industry has to deal with this.

[@ToddUrban]

@@MusicalPlayground717 Well, they actually fixed this yesterday! Make sure to upgrade to Logic 10.7.9 in order for the record arming on the aux tracks to show properly.

[@gspsid]

WOW!! That last option almost brought me to tears because I wanted that functionality so badly. Thank you!!

[@ToddUrban]

Can't give all the good stuff away up front or nobody will watch till the end. ;) Glad it helped!

[@IvanMelon]

WOAH!!!!! Perhaps by now, due to the comments you already know it but in this matter, this is THE video of the year. Ages dealing with the insanely non-intuitive Kontakt interface. Man, impossible to thank you enough. ¡GRACIAS!

[@ToddUrban]

Thank you Ivan. Glad it helped! 😃

[@indyflyghtentertainment]

Dude!!! That was a very well done tutorial!! Honestly I'm a pro in the industry for over 50 years and I found it clean, straight to the point and clear! Hit all the points of importance and it looked and sounded great as well. Just had to stop and say so also I subscribed because of it. Thanks again

[@ToddUrban]

Awesome! Happy to hear it helped and thank you for supporting the channel! 😃

[@ShawnDawson]

Thank you so much for this video Todd, I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to figure this out, to the point where I almost switched DAWS.

[@echoesofdawnyoutube]

You, sir, are a scholar and a gent. Very well explained. Thank you.

[@ToddUrban]

😃 thank you for watching….and your comment is highly appreciated. 🙏🏻

[@Thmusic7]

Thanks! Amazing tutorial and great save on CPU. For years, I gave all my instruments their own track and often wandered how other musicians were able to load so many tracks without overloading. Now I know how. Thanks!

[@ToddUrban]

You could always spend $20k on 2 Mac Pros and chain them together for more power instead. 😉 Glad it helped!

[@Thomas-kh2xi]

I've been looking for something like this for ages. Thank you so much for such a clear and very helpful tutorial! I have always found using Kontakt a bit confusing and this video makes it's very understandable in a very compact clear way.

[@ToddUrban]

Great! Glad it helped! I have a few others videos the channel you might like too. 😃

[@Thomas-kh2xi]

@@ToddUrban After this one, I'll be sure to check them out!

[@andymusic6943]

Thanks for this. Previously all videos said multi timbral but your last suggestion was the best.

[@ToddUrban]

Glad it helped! 😃

[@dk-sky3820]

Thank you. That info is exactly what I needed to set up best service Engine AU in Logic and use one instance to control all layers separately. Marvellous

[@ToddUrban]

Great. Happy to hear it helped! 😃

[@siddharth_r1]

Such a fantastic video. It's a shame that NI has this so complicated with Logic. They should definitely make this much more easier instead of this complicated setup. But thanks for your great tutorial. After not understanding this for so long, finally I get it.

[@ToddUrban]

Thank you. Glad it helped. :)

[@reubenlouismusic]

HOLY MOLY this is awesome!!! Thanks dude!

[@ToddUrban]

Great! Glad it helped!

[@DjdoubleedgeRegg]

Yessir!!! Thanks for this! Almost a year and a 1/2 later...This is very educational, helpful, and inspiring!!! Thanks 🤩😎💯

[@ToddUrban]

Thank you! Just updated to Kontakt 7, so interested to see the differences!

[@Serenitees]

thank you thank you thank you! I have been using the 16 output/mulitimbral method and hated it because the volume faders in all of the tracks were showing the same output levels. It was SO confusing! The last option is what I was trying to end up with but could not figure it out. Since I do all of my work in Kontakt and Engine, this is a life (and CPU) saver!

[@ToddUrban]

Glad it helped! 😃

[@topotone]

Hi...I've been searching quite a bit to find out how to get the Record button next to each of the Kontakt tracks in your preferred method of adding multiples, but no joy. Your tutorial is good, but it doesn't explain how to get those tracks enabled with my selected Kontakt instrument. Without a record button, I can't seem to get my keyboard to access the instruments. Hope you are still monitoring this vid and can answer...thanks.

[@ToddUrban]

If you just select the track and hit “R” you will record the MIDI data to that track. Give it a try! 😃

[@topotone]

@@ToddUrban Thanks...I did that and it *does* record on that track, but playback shows the meter moving only on the 1st Kontakt instrument that has the record button. I must still be missing a step. Someone on the FB logic forum said I need to add a specific midi track the the Track pull down menu > Other > New Trk w/Next Channel, but that does not work either. I can message you another way, if that's a better method of communicating. Let me know...appreciate your help...I'm transitioning from DP and stuck on this aspect of set up.

[@topotone]

Update!! I had not gone into the batch functions of Kontakt to assign the outputs. It's working now!! Thanks 👍🏼

[@ToddUrban]

Great! Yes, that is an extra step that is essential. Little update on my workflow, with the new version of Kontakt and faster M1 computers, I’m not doing the multioutputs much anymore. I still need to see if the new version works exactly the same way. I’d assume so, but need to double check.

[@topotone]

Yeah, I was wondering the same. I have an M1 MBP, and the latest Kontakt. Guess I’ll see how much juice several instances consumes. Maybe it’s not a big thing to have them on their own.

[@andymusic6943]

Great video thanks. With the last option, I agree it's the best BUT there is only one record arm track? How do you record say only on say 3rd instrument? Answer I think is record enable first track but if you've moved the tracks around then this becomes an issue.

[@ToddUrban]

Make sure to upgrade to Logic 10.7.9 in order for the record arming on the aux tracks to show properly.

[@TheRTM]

There is no reason why KONTACT should be this much of a pain in the ass to rout thru Logic or any other DAW. Native Instraments really needs to solve and fix this issue. It really gets in the way of creativity.

[@ToddUrban]

Agreed, it would be nice to have a faster solution. There is a new Kontakt that was just released. I’d need to check to see if there are some updates to the workflow

[@vubear]

Great video. I wasn’t aware of any of that, thanks

[@andrewrwhitfield]

Excellent video. Thank you. One question though, the aux tracks that get created with the +, don’t have a record enabled button. So how can you record into those tracks?

[@ToddUrban]

Thanks! Well they won’t have a record button in the mixer, but it should be there in the arrangement view up above the mixer. Hit record there and you can record a new MIDI region to that track.

[@TMDamion]

@@ToddUrban You're such a great teacher and this is an amazing tutorial, the best one I've seen, but when I try to record, it records simultaneously onto the track I intend AND the only channel with the Record button... so in your example above, it would be recording onto the Drums as well as a track below. How can I record only on the track below?

[@ToddUrban]

Make sure you have it set the way I do at 2:50. Also make sure you record enable and also select the lane you are recording on. If you record enable one track but have another highlighted, it will record on both tracks. (Thanks Logic🤪) I think that will do it.

[@TMDamion]

@@ToddUrban Thank you for your swift reply! I was confused because I kept Record enabling that top track, since there are no Record buttons on the tracks below the first one, but it seems to record on the highlighted track if I just hit R on the keyboard and DON'T record enable that top track. As long as it works somehow, I'm happy! Thank you again for your fantastic video tutorials, Todd!

[@dafingaz]

Nice. I need to use this more.

[@czeital]

Good video but when I do this I still only get everything coming out of the first stereo channel. The only difference is I am trying to use Butch Vig drums and assign different pads to different outputs. The assignments work in Kontakt but not seeing them in logic what ever I do sadly. Thanks again

[@ToddUrban]

Hmm. Since I made the video, there seem to be a few updates to DAWs that don’t have the features working perfectly. It would be best to mention this to Native Instruments so they are aware

[@czeital]

​@@ToddUrban thank you. Yes I have put in a support ticket to Native Instruments so hopefully they will come back but I suspect they may just blame logic and the we'll go round in circles. I am using Butch Vig drums so output are in one instance on the pads. In the end used the internal plug in mixer to play one element at time and bused to an audio track and recorded. Clunky but works.

[@ToddUrban]

Yeah, maybe. But in fairness to all developers, DAWs rarely give a heads up. And NI has a lot to keep track of. I’m the meantime, maybe just use single instances of Kontakt until it is resolved. Not the best answer, but it works for now.

[@ErikHawk]

Excellent explanation! Thanks.

[@ToddUrban]

Glad it helped!

[@newtoncardoso6087]

Amazing tutorial!! Thanks

[@ToddUrban]

🙏🏻 thank you for watching and helping to support the channel. 😊

[@vincentdargere]

Great video, thank you very much! I'm trying to do the same thing with the SINE player by Orchestral Tools to include it in my template, but I get no sound. If anyone knows a solution, I'd be grateful. :)

[@ToddUrban]

Hmm. I’ve never used that library though the process should be the same. Let’s see if anyone responds! 😊

[@vincentdargere]

@@ToddUrban Actually, it's not a library, it's a player like Kontakt, but worse than Kontakt and unfortunately, it is the only way to use the latest Orchestral Tools libraries. OT has dropped support on Kontakt.

[@SydtasticTV]

3:54 😇

[@jeffagoddard]

Thanks! Makes total sense.... but how much CPU and resources are actually being saved with 1 instance of Kontakt versus 4?

[@ToddUrban]

Well, technically, 1/4? But these days, as computers are getting more powerful, I don’t think it is as essential as in the past to conserve these resources (unless you are doing tons of scoring). But a better reason for the setup might be workflow. An example would be if you had all your violins in one instance, woodwinds in another, brass in another. That could potentially make for a better session organization.

[@colinbradford5716]

Question: In the last part of your video, each of the added tracks don't have a record button. So how do you arm each track to record?

[@ToddUrban]

Hi! I’m trying to annotate that section to explain it better. The last option is actually more for mixing. You would need to record arm the main track and drag regions down as you record them. Hope that helps!

[@lesliedecesare1622]

How did he manage to record midi in a aux track?? Thanks

[@ToddUrban]

Honestly, I don’t remember since this was a while back. But I might have built out the instruments by recording one at a time on the main track and then dragged them down to the new regions and reassigned the MIDI channel.

[@danipombo]

How do you play 2 multioutput tracks at the same time?

[@ToddUrban]

You should be able to set them both to receive the same MIDI in. If you do, that should have them both perform at once.

[@WorldofWandag]

Hey Todd, thanks again for this video. I like the last method a lot but I've noticed that i can't seem to put plugins on the individual tracks like demonstrated here (like they don't affect the track at all. I tried simple gain control and no amount of tweaking changed the gain) and any envelopes i put on those tracks don't seem to affect it either (i tried pan and volume control). However, the first track that kontakt is on (the first of the 16), you CAN use all the envelopes and plugins. Thanks in advance for any help you could provide

[@WorldofWandag]

hmmm, i think i found the solution. I had to do the clear batch move as well to create individual outputs in kontakt for me to be able to control individual tracks. so far so good.

[@ToddUrban]

Exactly. You always need to batch clear and reassign those outputs in order to get the tracks to route to their own track. Sounds like you got it working. 😀

[@mightygangstamcoc4699]

Mate great video! I tried the last option and get everything to work but I am unable to record to the aux track. Appreciate if you can drop some explanation. ❤

[@ToddUrban]

Yeah, this was a mistake on my part for not making it clearer. I typically record the MIDI regions separately on the main track and drop them down to whatever sound they should be. I need to annotate this, but thanks for being patient while I figure out a way to adjust that!

[@ultimateebookcreators]

Hey Todd, this was probably the best video on how to setup Kontakt as a multi timbral instrument. I had a question. The only pain is that i have to select the main track to open up the Kontakt player. i.e. say I have a Kontakt instance with 16 instruments and 16 tracks/mixer tracks. If I have selected the 5th track in logic, I don't see the Kontakt instrument in the channel strip. I have to select the first track on the Kontakt instance to see the instrument. Is there a way around this issue?

[@ToddUrban]

Thanks for your feedback. 😊 If I understand your question correctly, you are asking whether you can open the Kontakt instance from other tracks beside the initial track where it is hosted. If that is the case, the answer is no. You can open Kontakt only from the original host track. I don’t actually mind this, as most of the time, I’m setting up DAW templates with Kontakt instruments already loaded and setup. I might not use them all, but it is a huge time saver to have them all preloaded and ready to go in case I need them.

[@ultimateebookcreators]

@@ToddUrban Thanks for the quick answer Todd. I am using the last method you showed in your video. I find this is the most useful for me. I also do the same. I have a template. I have one Kontakt instance with 16 Albion one string instruments loaded. I also have another Kontakt instance with 16 Damage 2 instruments loaded. etc. It would be nice if I can open up the Kontakt player from ANY track I happen to be on. I guess there is no way for this or even a shortcut. I hope Logic has this feature in the future. Thanks again.

[@WorldofWandag]

THIS... IS... THE... F*CKIN... BEST! thankyou. I was doing it the dumb hard way before.

[@ToddUrban]

😂 glad it helped!

[@AndreasArianto]

thanks heapss!

[@Distroff]

Hi, friend. Do you know, how to open\close Kontakt window if it's not the first track selected (f.e. Kontakt3-4, 5-6 etc.)? Now I have to focus the first track and press hotkey. I beilive there is a better way.

[@ToddUrban]

Not offhand. But I’ll play around later this week and respond if I find something.

[@user-xs3db6ox3q]

3:54

[@nitinmistry6280]

Hey Todd, I love your video. I use the last option you showed. It's the most flexible. I have 2 questions. 1: Is it possible to freeze Kontakt tracks? 2: Is it possible to bounce a Kontakt track to audio?

[@ToddUrban]

Is it possible to freeze.....yes, I believe so. I would need to experiment to see if there is an advantage to doing so. But bouncing is an even better option! Right click on the region and bounce to audio. I frequently bounce my Kontakt tracks for two reasons. First, it saves on loading time when opening a session. (I don't care so much about CPU resources, but it also saves that) Second, I find that Kontakt regions do not always perform consistently in Logic. Therefore, bouncing to audio guarantees that your session always opens the same way. Once you bounce, you can deactivate your plug-in and hide your source track. This keeps everything clean and super easy to manage.

[@vincentdargere]

Hello, there is one big problem in your last solution : there is no R button to record on Aux tracks created with the "+" sign, except on the master track. How do you record on these?

[@ToddUrban]

Record arm them up in the arrangement view area and you will only record to that individual track

[@alasdairmadoc699]

@@ToddUrban I'm not following this. I can't find any way to arm the aux tracks for recording.

[@ToddUrban]

@@alasdairmadoc699 Make sure to upgrade to Logic 10.7.9 in order for the record arming on the aux tracks to show properly.

[@gregcoomer1775]

Following this exactly (multi track) and as much as I get audio linked to each channel in logic, switching channels in logic will not switch the instruments! In order to get a new instrument to play, I have to manually select it in Kontakt! HELP!

[@gregcoomer1775]

Pretty sure the last option isn't complete!!

[@ToddUrban]

Yes, you will need to track first and then reassign these. I’m trying to figure out how to annotate this video to make it clearer. Thanks for being patient.

[@davidreynaud7721]

Hi Todd! Quick question to ask. Im running Logic Pro X on a Mac OS Big Sur. Im following all your instructions and I seem to get a strange anomaly. I have a Native Instruments multi instrument loaded up with 16 instruments loaded into it. Each instrument is assigned to a midi channel, in order, 1 through 16. This also corresponds with the midi output channel selected, in order, on each Logic channel strip. I have "created tracks" so that each corresponding channel strip appears in Logic with its own fader control and I have "cleared output selection to create one instrument track per loaded instrument in Kontakt" under Batch Function. HOWEVER....in Kontakt the names of each output channel are "jumbled up" from about Outputs 9 and 10 onwards, meaning one output will be selected, but another instrument assigned to another output will play. I can't understand why. Could this be a glitch? Is there a work around? Something I'm missing? Thanks for your help. Dave.

[@ToddUrban]

Not exactly sure what's going on. I had a weird little bug recently in Pro Tools where I couldn't get my multi-outputs to assign properly. I work for a developer, so I know sometimes these bugs are a super pain to address. You might want to report this to them directly, as it might help them if there is a bug present. In the meantime, I'm also fine just doing individual instances of Kontakt until this gets fixed. Computers have gotten faster, so the multi-out isn't as necessary as in the past.

[@arulrozariomusic]

helpful content bruh! This way gives more control over plugins! but it doesn't matter whether we r using separate tracks for patches or using single track for different patches, the load for the cpu is the same right? Just a thought todd. it would be nice if u make it clear for me :) thanx

[@ToddUrban]

To be clear, there is a higher DSP hit on your CPU when you use a single instance of Kontakt for each instrument. So using it as multi output or multi timbral does save your CPU if you are using many Kontakt instruments at once.

[@arulrozariomusic]

@@ToddUrban understood todd! Loving ur content and ur setup

[@RobinDupuy]

Thank you very much to share so much great advice. 🙏🏻 I have a very beginner question. I set Multi-Output in Logic with 4 auxiliary channels to make a Cremona string quintet. I set some expressions on Smart Control / Parameter Mapping / Kontakt Expression / Drop menu. But all the Smart Controls affect only the main channel of 1st violin (not the 4 auxiliary channels) Do you have any clue how to make CC automation on these auxiliary channels? Or should I make individual tracks for each instrument? Best regards,

[@ToddUrban]

Thanks! With Smart Controls and CC Mapping, you will be best to have only an individual sound if you need to control the sounds with a physical controller. In this case, you can always make your edits, right click the region, and bounce it to audio. Then keep the old midi region and deactivate the Kontakt plug-in to save resources. That is probably the best workaround. (Or maybe you have enough resources that it isn’t a problem)

[@produccionespipa]

Muchas gracias, muy util !!

[@ToddUrban]

por supuesto. 😊 ¡gracias por ver!

[@johnbre20]

I can’t even get the plug in too work. I can get the app to work but not the plug in in logic pro

[@ToddUrban]

Try the NI page. They might have some getting started videos to help. 📺

[@arthurlipner-archive77]

Nice Todd!

[@ToddUrban]

Thank you Arthur!!!

[@phillipjones3766]

Problem with your third solution: I'm in Big Sur with Logic 10.7 -- When I follow your instructions for the best option the third option there's a problem. First, you don't address how to set the MIDI channels in logic. They do not set by themselves and there are three MIDI labeled areas: Midi in Port, Midi IN Channel IN and Midi OUT Channel. Trying to set any of these to correspond with the Kontakt MIDI channels of the aux tracks still does not produce the desired results. The audio signal still only shows up in the first ORIGINAL Kontakt instrument (not the aux Kontakt instruments you instruct us to right click and select CREATE TRACK). Everything works up until the moment you put instruments into Kontakt. None of their audio signals appear in the aux tracks in Logic. When I click on the Logic aux tracks that I renamed no sound is heard. I set Kontakt up as MULTI OUTPUT 16 as you instructed and unchecked the MULTI TIMBRAL box. Did everything as you instructed. Still no sound from Logic on MIDI channels 2-4. The Audio signal only plays through the the first instance of Kontakt. I can hear the various instruments when I click on them in the ARRANGE view but not in the MIXER VIEW, even though I can see the aux tracks. How should the MIDI channels in Logic be set. What's weird is that in your KZbin image of the aux tracks the first two MIDI indications are not there like they are in my 10.7 version of Logic. In yours I only see MIDI CHANNEL 2, 3, 4, etc. But in the new version of Logic I see MIDI IN PORT, MIDI IN CHANNEL, MIDI OUT CHANNEL on all the Kontakt tracks in the arrangement view. It's very confusing to know how to set them to make them play in the MIX VIEW. Please advise.

[@ToddUrban]

I’ll have to check if 10.7 messed this up. There are a few bugs that I’ve already found.

[@phillipjones3766]

@@ToddUrban Can I send you a screen shot to an email you use for teaching?

[@ToddUrban]

@@phillipjones3766 Hi Phillip. I gave this a shot in 10.7 and everything works perfectly. When you create a track from the additional channels in a multi timbral instrument, it automatically assigns the MIDI out channel to the corresponding track. (it is the MIDI out that needs to be assigned, as that takes the MIDI information and routes it to Kontakt, the MIDI In is for when you are recording, and can be set to All) Make sure to use the batch function in the Kontakt instrument to properly assign the track to a correct channel.

[@phillipjones3766]

@@ToddUrban Thanks for the reply. You don't mention the "batch" element in your THIRD ("best") method. Also when during my attempts at your first method, I would choose the batch function (that you said to do if mixing inside Kontakt) and click CLEAR but the surround tracks that disappeared in your video to form stereo didn't disappear when I chose this selection. Also when explaining your third method you never mentioned that the user must go into Kontakt and choose batch and then clear. I'll try again following your instructions in your last reply. Are these the correct steps for the THIRD METHOD: 1. open an instance of Kontakt when choosing to create a track in Logic. 2. Make sure to choose 16x. 3. Do not click the box that says multi timbral. Keep it unchecked. 4. Open the mixer window in logic and click the PLUS (+) to create up to four aux tracks. 5. Name the tracks and the names will appear in the arrange window in Logic 6. Select four instruments to fill Kontakt. Each will show 1-4 midi channels in their window According to your video this is where I should be able to play each instrument and see the audio signal in on the corresponding track in Logic's Mix Window but that's not what happens. The only audio signal is on the first master Kontakt track. You never mention how the logic MIDI Channels in the left side should look. And you never say if they should be a part of the steps of the THIRD METHOD. As mentioned they don't look the way the look in your video on my Logic Pro 10.7 There is a MIDI in PORT, MIDI IN Channel, and MIDI OUT Channel. This isn't how your screen looked. Yours only says MIDI CHANNEL 1-4. Is step 7 now to go into Kontakt and select the BATCH AND CLEAR? That move did not achieve the same result that your move did. Yours created stereo tracks for all four output channels inside Kontakt. When I do this nothing happens. For the THIRD METHOD do I have to make this move that you made for the previous method when you were going to mix inside Kontakt?

[@phillipjones3766]

I forgot to share with you that I am right clicking and creating a track for each AUX track created by the plus button. Still the audios signal will only show in the first instance of Kontakt not on the other tracks. All the instrument instances inside the one Kontakt player on track one are set to MIDI OUT 1-4. When I highlight the track in logic I HEAR the sound that corresponds to the MIDI channel but the audio signal will only show up on the first track not on the one that contains the Kontakt instrument with corresponding MIDI channel OUT labeled 2-4.

[@KBeaswax]

The problem here is that I cannot record midi into any of those AUX tracks

[@ToddUrban]

Make sure to upgrade to Logic 10.7.9 in order for the record arming on the aux tracks to show properly.

[@LaetitiaPansanelGarric]

MERCI THANK U !!!

[@ToddUrban]

Of course! 😃

[@dylanschweitzer18]

bro JUST START WITH THEBEST OPTION. you made me waste all this time tryna follow you fool

[@ToddUrban]

The entire point is that there isn’t a best option. Each producer’s workflow will be determined by the way they work. These are all relevant options based on the type of work you do and how you go about building tracks.

[@papa.alfredo]

you are not clear enough with your explanation, you go too fast to explain this for people that never use this soft but thanks anyways!