I use Kontakt a lot but often loading an instrument could take few minutes, for bigger ones. How to optimize the speed of loading instruments in Kontakt via software?
And what about hardware? I use an iMac 21.5 with 5400rpm HDD and 8 ram 1600 mhz. Should I increase the Ram/buy a new one faster or change the HDD to an SSD at first?

 

ssd + 16-32gb ram

 

An SSD would speed up the loading, inserting extra ram would mean you can load more instances.

I would go for the ssd, but remember, SSD's have a considerable price difference GB a dollar in comparison with an HDD.

so buying it for the Hans Zimmer piano library and other libraries will add up considerably.

 

I've always wondered: Does batch re-saving make it difficult to use it with another system? For example, if I batch resave something and take it to another computer with another Kontakt install (same version), will it have any problems? I guess I just don't quite understand how it works.... (But I bet Pinkman does! ;))

 

When you load an instrument for the first time, the default path written in the instrument is something like "Z:\Kontakt Libraries\New Library\". Kontakt will not find the library there, obviously, but will search for samples in the \Samples\ folder within the library's home. Doing this for each file takes time.
When you batch re-save, the new path is written in each preset so kontakt will not search for samples anymore when loading the library.
When you change computer (Kontakt version doesnt matter as long as it is the minimum requirement of the library) or move the library at a different path, a new batch resave will write the new path and so on & so forth.

 

ah ok, so if you move it to another system, it will just look for it like the first example you made...so there is nothing destructive you are doing to the file by batch resaving it. (I think ) thanks!

 

When you batch resave, the instrument (nki) stores the full path of the samples instead of the relative. That's why it loads much faster but doesn't work in another folder/drive.

Remember: always, always, always do a backup of all but the samples (all except .ncw and .nkx files basically). Not only the instruments.

 

Great stuff guys, I cannot contribute to the conversation but listening in is very informative.

 

ok, so that brings me back to... it DOES do something somewhat destructive to the instruments that may not work on another machine etc?

 

I always batch resave.. And it never was a problem for me when resaving in another machine

 

1. Choose the fastest HDD for Your libs.
2. Backup everything except the samples
3. Batch Reasave
4. Defrag Your HDD

extra: invest in a faster drive

 

It doesn't, but the original instruments files will work always no matter where the library is. when you resave the nki's you have to resave them every time you put the lib in another folder.

 

ok, gotcha, thanks. So every time I batch re-save, I will take the respective instruments and put them in another folder nestled in the specific kontakt library... thanks!

 

thats completly incorrect , as long as you keep the internal Kontakt Library folder structure and resave it with relative path , you can move librarys wherever you want and load them . it is always better to backup the instruments before you batch resaving , because batch resaved instruments from the latest kontakt version are not backwards compatible .

and also maybe you didnt had the time in all those years just to go to the kontakt setting page to see that you can enable/disable Absolute Path/Relative Path .

 

You can debate as long as you want about options, monoliths and so on. even without patronizing :-P
But the point of this topic is fast loading. Fastest loading involves absolute path. There's a reason it's the factory setting.

 

THIS is important... and also causing some issues with some of us guys who are staying on older versions of Kontakt (5.5.1/2 etc due to OS reasons)... as a lot of the releases on sister site are getting batch resaved recently, which is all cool, but when the dev site says one thing, and the releaser has another, can cause problems... I have had some library snafu's with adding a library wanting 5.6x on my system, and been forced to do system reclone etc... So not to be ungrateful or ask for "more", I wish that releases would state this or what Kontakt is required, as this is kind a weird transition point with NI with the native access and some people dancing between versions etc... just throwing that out there.

Thanks all for the information. Extremely helpful and appreciated.

 

On a side note regarding the SSD drive, I just took a mac to the repair shop last week and found out that OS's past Maverick aren't really compatible with non SSD and will generally load anything a lot slower and generate a lot more heat while working (they don't tell you when you upgrade OS). In my case the comp started restarting on its own because of overheating but after swapping the internal drive to SSD the issue was fixed and the comp runs noticeably faster overall.

It seems Apple is doing everything possible to try and make you buy more computers, like new macbook pro's that have batteries that are glued in, and ram being soldered to the board preventing upgrade. So it seems its better to hold onto any old macbooks and not buy new. Someone's gotta stop this Tim Crook asshole

 

I assume you are talking about the macbooks/pros and not the desktops correct?

 

I've been away from this site lately because I actually got a gig as a tech for these guys. The new MB Pros with Touchbars are nifty and all but yeah, soldering the RAM and SSD into the case and gluing the battery has me scratching my head.

I will say though that I have officially implemented macOS into my setup. Their hardware is first class and I'm waiting for my iMac Pro to ship. 18 cores with 128GB of RAM?

drool.

@sisyphus Their desktops are totally upgradeable, bud, even the CPU is surprisingly easy to remove.