Trace old libraries and sounds used

Dianasead

Hi!

A few years ago I had some old Logic projects that played some tracks with Absynth 3 and 4. Than my hard drive got damaged and I had to reinstall everything from scratch (a more recent Mac OS as well).

Now I'm not able to load Absynth old versions because I have Absynth 5.

Is there a way to know what sounds/libraries I have used if I cannot load the old versions?

This applies to Kontakt libraries that I used in the past.

I looked for some kind of log file but I couldn't find it in my folders.

Thanks in advance

JesterMgee

Don't believe so. Usually a DAW only knows of the plygin used for a track then the actual sound/preset used in that plugin is just data within the data captured of the plugin state. Because that data format is usually binary and differs between plugins the DAW cannot really know what was loaded within it.

Sometimes if you know what you are doing in a hex / binary editor you can open the DAW project file or in some cases, unzip it to reveal XML files which may allow you to dig and find a reference somewhere to the library/bank/sound loaded but that can be difficult if you don't know what you are doing.

Not that it solves the issue now but getting into the habit of keeping some basic logs on your projects or adding comments to tracks (if possible) on what instrument/preset is loaded saves a lot of headaches when old versions are lost, especially for mac users where it will happen far more often over time.

JesterMgee

Don't believe so. Usually a DAW only knows of the plygin used for a track then the actual sound/preset used in that plugin is just data within the data captured of the plugin state. Because that data format is usually binary and differs between plugins the DAW cannot really know what was loaded within it.

Sometimes if you know what you are doing in a hex / binary editor you can open the DAW project file or in some cases, unzip it to reveal XML files which may allow you to dig and find a reference somewhere to the library/bank/sound loaded but that can be difficult if you don't know what you are doing.

Not that it solves the issue now but getting into the habit of keeping some basic logs on your projects or adding comments to tracks (if possible) on what instrument/preset is loaded saves a lot of headaches when old versions are lost, especially for mac users where it will happen far more often over time.

nightjar

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/15694/trace-old-libraries-and-sounds-used

Replacing old missing plugins would be far easier of the next version of Komplete Kontrol offered a whole new approach to finding presets.

Instead of the old "tagging" approach, having a new KK browser built on machine learning analysis of the spectral and time domain aspects of audio..

Take a rendered audio track of an old synth part, drop a selected chunk into the new KK browser search, and it offers up a short list of presets that are extremely close to the original.

And keeping rendered audio tracks of everything is a very good practice to have when finishing a project... hope that is something that most of us do.

Dianasead

JesterMgee and nightjar thank you so much for your valuable answers. You are completely right. Having a method is essential. I won't forget this.

Kind regards

JesterMgee

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/87933#Comment_87933

This is your pipe dream and not something helpful to the current situation. KK will never have an audio blueprint AI driven engine nor do many of us even want it.

nightjar

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/88006#Comment_88006

A lot of people don't know what they want until they see it.

And I am 100% certain that AI driven browsing will be the norm far sooner than you think.

It will have so many performance advantages and let people be creative with far less friction.

People want spend time creating.. not digging through clumsy methods of finding the sounds they want to try in a song arrangement.

JesterMgee

Again, your rant has NOTHING to do with the OPs question. I will flag it as spam this time.

nightjar

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/88018#Comment_88018

My reply was absolutely no rant. I offered a hopeful thought for the future and constructive advice on keeping rendered audio of tracks.

The OP thanked me for the input for goodness sake.

It might be helpful to reflect on why this future speculation upsets you so much.

JesterMgee

What upsets me is your insistence on dropping in future visions and dreams into threads where it does not help the current situation. Sure, having AI do all the work for you may be something you want in the future but does it help the OP now, no, so why bring it up? Many others have asked you kindly to keep your ideas for the future in your own threads or thread's where that kind of discussion is relevant.

nightjar

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/88031#Comment_88031

My comments to the OP are very relevant. They encountered a problem that has no good current solution. To possibly avoid this problem going forward, I suggested the practice of keeping rendered audio of tracks as this habit could be a very handy way to solve this problem in the future.

And it is not true that "many others" have asked me to keep my ideas to myself. There aren't even "many others" that are active in this forum.... it's about the same dozen people that circle around these topics.

JesterMgee

So suggesting a dream of how you believe things will work in the future is helpful? Won't argue your logic here.

nightjar

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/88035#Comment_88035

We are both entitled to our opinions.