Black Grand Installation into Kontakt 4

[hazineju]

Hi everyone, I've been loading all kinds of stuff into my new computer and just seem to have the most difficult with what should be the easiest tasks!
So before I have to damage control again, I'm going to ask before I get started this time.

1. I have a Sampletekk's Black Grand Close. I used to use the EXS version on my old computer. But now I also have Kontakt 4.
2. Black Grand is on two DVDs. There is no installer and I'm confused about where to put stuff. On the DVD there is a Black Grand Close folder, which contains .nki, .fxp, and .exs files.
a. Do I only need to install the .nki files?
b. Where do I put them? In my kontakt 4 folder? Or as its own folder in my applications? Or in Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Logic/Sampler Instruments?

Thank you from a very technically challenged person!

[kevinmathie]

I don't know if you need the .nki files for Kontakt 4, since I believe Kontakt 4 reads .exs, but the .nki files are made for Kontakt 4, so you may avoid problems if you load the .nki files to use in Kontakt. On my computer, I have both .exs and .nki files. When I boot up the sound in Kontakt, Kontakt reads the .nki files; when I'm in EXS24, EXS24 reads the .exs files. I'm not sure it matters where you put them. You just have to tell Kontakt/EXS24 where they are at some point. I have the Black Grand Medium, and bought the download version. The installer initially wanted to install the .nki files somewhere on my main hard drive, but I told it to install the files on another hard drive that's dedicated to sample instruments. Of course, when I told the installer where to install the files, the installer made sure Kontakt 4 knew where to look for them.

Since you don't have an installer, I'm not 100% sure how you get Kontakt to find the files, but I know that it's not too hard of a process. I think that you just find the folder in the built-in browser, and just drag the folder into the big empty space on the right side of the Kontakt 4 window. Telling EXS24 is also pretty simple, as I recall, but I really don't remember how to do it. I don't work in EXS24 as much as Kontakt anymore.

[hazineju]

hooray kevinmathie! i just found your response, thank you!!! what you said makes sense, i'm going to give it a try and will report back soon. thanks again!

[mojobone]

You probably want to also install the ".fxp" files as those are programs with different effect settings and possibly scripting, as well.

[hazineju]

Thanks Mojo. I installed everything but the actual samples onto my computer, and then I installed the samples on my hard drive. But it's not working It shows the folders, but in the folders it's every single individual wav file, not BG1-10.

The exs version works, but I'm having the same problem I had before in the exs version, that when i release the pedal, a scratchy static noise comes up. I will email Per again. Thanks though for your input, guys!

[matto]

You probably want to also install the ".fxp" files as those are programs with different effect settings and possibly scripting, as well.

Actually this is incorrect. ".fxp" is the native file extension for Steinberg's Halion sampler, and unless she also has Halion they are useless.

Juliet...if you're not seeing the nki files you may be looking at the wrong section of K4's browser. You need to be looking at the middle pane, the upper pane for some reason does not show the nki's but does show fxp's and exs's...

Once you locate the nki files you can drag them into K4's instrument rack and proceed as jazz describes below...

HTH,

matto

[mazz]

Juliet, here's what I would suggest:

1. Create a folder called "Black Grand" on your samples hard drive
2. Inside that, create a folder called "Samples"
3. Put all the Black Grand .wav files in the "Samples" folder
4. Find all the .nki and if there are some, .nkm and also the .fxp files and put them in the "Black Grand" folder

Now you should have the "Black Grand" folder and inside that you'll see the .nki files, etc., and the "Samples" folder, in which reside the .wav files.

Open Kontakt and use the "Files" browser to navigate to your "Black Grand" folder. Open it and select one of the .nki files. Double click that. At that point, Kontakt will not be able to find the files and will present you with a window. Select "Find Folder" and navigate to your "Samples" folder inside the "Black Grand" folder and click once on it and then select "Choose". Kontakt will search the contents of this folder and, if you have placed all your Black Grand .wav files in the Samples folder, it will proceed to load them into the program and when it's finished, you should see your Black Grand instrument in the window. Repeat this for each .nki file.

Now you've "taught" Kontakt where the samples are and any time from now on, when you open one of the .nki files, it should automatically know where to find the samples. If not, just point it toward the folder where they reside.

Now you can certainly have your instruments on a different drive from your samples, Kontakt doesn't care as long as you tell it where the find the samples and they are in fact the correct samples it is expecting. I just prefer to have my instruments and samples in the same location and in fact, most automatically installed libraries end up installing things in this manner.

I would advise against importing .exs files if you also have .nki files. Kontakt has much more sophisticated scripting than EXS and many libraries utilize some of those features and it would be a shame to not be able to use those by importing the .exs files instead of the native Kontakt .nki files.

HTH,

Mazz

[Len911]

What Matto said! The .nki .fxb, .esx are like the instruments that control the wav or actual samples. They probably have all the loop points and crossfade data. If you just have the wav samples without the .esx file, that is probably why you are getting the scratchy and wierd stuff. I would make one folder, and call it "Black Grand" and dump everything in there, all the actual wav samples and esx and nki, and anything that starts with an n. Then you can have kontact scan the folder through the library scan I believe it is, and it should find everything. Also the esx player should find everything also.

Dang, now Mazz posted same time,lol! Yes what everyone has said.

[kclements]

I would advise against importing .exs files if you also have .nki files. Kontakt has much more sophisticated scripting than EXS and many libraries utilize some of those features and it would be a shame to not be able to use those by importing the .exs files instead of the native Kontakt .nki files.

Exactly. Plus, it has been my experience that you have to convert .exs Files to .nki Files each time you open them (or save them as .nki once you have converted them) so you may as well use the nki files to start with.

I keep the .exs files around because I have logic and now and again, I want to open my White Grand instrument in EXS instead of Kontakt. But if you don't use Logic, I think you can trash the .exs files.

Cheers
kc

[mojobone]

You probably want to also install the ".fxp" files as those are programs with different effect settings and possibly scripting, as well.

Actually this is incorrect. ".fxp" is the native file extension for Steinberg's Halion sampler, and unless she also has Halion they are useless.

Juliet...if you're not seeing the nki files you may be looking at the wrong section of K4's browser. You need to be looking at the middle pane, the upper pane for some reason does not show the nki's but does show fxp's and exs's...

Once you locate the nki files you can drag them into K4's instrument rack and proceed as jazz describes below...

HTH,

matto

Good catch. Matto; I probably confused the extension for ".fxb", which is a bank of fx presets in my DAW. Sorry if I confused anyone else.