Kontrol Over Kontakt: Addressing Channel-Specific CC Confusion in VST Usage

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dreni
dreni Member Posts: 3 Member
in Kontakt

Hi everyone,

I'm facing an issue with Kontakt (used as a VST within different DAWs) that I hope someone can help me with. I'm using multiple MIDI controllers, each configured to send CC messages on unique channels. This setup works as expected until the MIDI data enters Kontakt. Despite the distinct channels, Kontakt treats the same CC messages from different controllers (e.g., CC7 from both) as if they're coming from a single source.

This problem persists across different DAWs, indicating it's not DAW-specific. I think the issue is that in Kontakt, channel-specific CC messages lose their distinctiveness, leading to unintended parameter changes.

By the way, within Kontakt, it appears that all MIDI data is being treated as if it's on Channel 1, even though I anticipated that the second MIDI controller would target Channel 13.

Does anyone have an explanantion to this ?

Thanks in advance!

Best Answer

  • Jeremy_NI
    Jeremy_NI Customer Care Posts: 9,737 mod
    Answer ✓
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    Not sure if it applies to your setup or your DAW but for example with Ableton you can route several MIDI channels to a plug-in:

    Screenshot 2024-04-03 at 11.41.57.png


Answers

  • Jeremy_NI
    Jeremy_NI Customer Care Posts: 9,737 mod
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    @dreni Could you give more context? What are you trying to achieve exactly? Are you using a single Kontakt instrument? A Multi? Could you make a small video showcasing the issue? Or screenshots that could help us to see the actual issue?

  • dreni
    dreni Member Posts: 3 Member
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    @Jeremy_NI , thank you for your assistance.

    I've discovered that the issue cannot be resolved due to a limitation within VST instruments where all incoming MIDI signals are defaulted to Channel 1. This means that if I have two MIDI controllers, with one transmitting on Channel 1 and the other on Channel 3, the information remains distinct at the DAW level. However, once this data enters the VST instrument, the channel distinction is lost, and all MIDI messages are consolidated into Channel 1.

  • Jeremy_NI
    Jeremy_NI Customer Care Posts: 9,737 mod
    Answer ✓
    Options

    Not sure if it applies to your setup or your DAW but for example with Ableton you can route several MIDI channels to a plug-in:

    Screenshot 2024-04-03 at 11.41.57.png


  • EvilDragon
    EvilDragon Moderator Posts: 1,023 mod
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    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/28218/kontrol-over-kontakt-addressing-channel-specific-cc-confusion-in-vst-usage

    I cannot confirm that all MIDI data reaching Kontakt is collapsed to channel 1, in Reaper at the very least everything works perfectly fine regardless from which MIDI channel I'm sending.

    Some hosts like Live are a bit dumb when it comes to MIDI channels.

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