Reaktor 5 to Reaktor 6 Upgrade Workflow

I have 100s (possibly 1000s with version control factored in) of projects using Reaktor 5. These all have rather complex MIDI mappings, routings and externally automated parameters.

With Reaktor 5 no longer supported in modern operating systems, what is the workflow for upgrading these projects to be accessible on a modern OS?

You can't save out Reaktor ensembles from Reaktor 5 in a modern OS, so is it really the case that I have to:

1) Locate a legacy machine capable of running Reaktor 5

2) Migrate all projects to a an external drive / NAS so they can be accessed by the legacy machine

3) Install both Reaktor 5 and Reaktor 6 on legacy machine (as well as any other dependant plugins that might exist on the track- this will require deactivation on the master machine in many instances)

4) Duplicate each track containing a Reaktor 5 instance

5) Save the ensemble from Reaktor 5

6) Replace Reaktor 5 with Reaktor 6 on the duplicated track

7) Manually connect automated / MIDI mapped parameters on the new Reaktor 6 instance

8) Render out a version of the Reaktor 5 and the Reaktor 6 track

9) Null test to ensure nothing has changed

10) Fix / correct any human errors, or make notes on any changed incurred from the Reaktor 5-6 upgrade

11) Replace projects in the master archive with these upgraded projects so they are now accessible and functioning again

I work in a professional environment where there are vast archives of work from the last 10-15 years. Surely there's a better way of upgrading from Reaktor 5 to 6. This seems completely bananas and will have an impact on studio downtime, employing an assistant to do this work and I can see it taking multiple weeks and is very high risk in terms of maintaining project integrity. There has to be a better way of doing this, does anybody have any suggestions?

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Accepted answers

Paule

You need R5.9.4 to save the older ens again to get a good gui in R6.

If you're on Mac which OS don't supports R5 it's no bug of NI. It's your OS only.

On PC I can drive R5 and R6 in parallel.

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Seoman303

The first thing you can test - copy the VST file of Reaktor 6 with the name of the Reaktor 5 file. Your DAW tries to load the VST and configures it the same old way. Be sure to have your library confgured properly/use the same path, if you use ensembles that are not player-compatible (self-made or from the user-library).

You WILL have to use Reaktor 5, if ensembles were saved with version <= 4. I'm not sure about compatibility with ensembles stored with Reaktor < 5.5

Paule

You need R5.9.4 to save the older ens again to get a good gui in R6.

If you're on Mac which OS don't supports R5 it's no bug of NI. It's your OS only.

On PC I can drive R5 and R6 in parallel.

Calagan

Hi Cracklebox

I passed by the same nightmare.

My process was :

Save a preset for each Reaktor 5 instance, and call it with an appropriate name (like "NAME OF PROJECT - name of track - name of reaktor Synth - name of preset")
Pray you didn't touch the output volume in the main Reaktor GUI (because saving a preset doesn't save this output volume - only the output volume for the contained synth or FX)
If this parameter was modified, you can always access the value of it in some way. It is better described here : https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/20224#Comment_20224
then compare the old and the new project and see if it sounds the same. If the Reaktor synth/FX doesn't have any strange randomization, you can make a null test. Or just compare the levels and decide by ear if it sounds the same...
There's no way it will not be time consuming...

If you need more details, please don't hesitate in sending me some private message... By the way, I could help if necessary with the legacy machine...

Moonbot7000

Just curious what you do for work that would involve reaktor ( and are you hiring ;) )

cracklebox

I write audio/visual software for an artist. Lots of legacy projects used Reaktor instruments!

Anyway, with the help of someone on Reddit figured out how to get this to work:

Shoutout to Smashcroft who did the heavy lifting here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NativeInstruments/comments/v7poe4/reaktor_5_to_reaktor_6_upgrade_workflow/

Copy across your Reaktor5 app & VST plugins from your old machine to your new machine.
Copy com.native-instruments.Reaktor5.plist from your ~Library/Preferences folder from your old machine to the new machine.
Go to NI website, get your serial number for Reaktor5 and activate it in Native Access

Verify the app works first. Then open the VST in your DAW. You might need to rescan your plugins depending on the DAW.

errorsmith

thank you @cracklebox. i managed to get Reaktor5 running on my m1 mac running monterey.

i followed the 3 steps, but it was unsuccessful at first.

i then copied also DriveName/Library/Preferences/com.native-instruments.Reaktor5.plist from the old machine to the new, repeated step 3 and made a reboot. Then it worked. Probably only the reboot did the trick.

I still have Native Access 1 running on the new machine. If you try this with NA 2 you might want to activate "show discontinued products" in its preferences.

Another tip: If you need to install reaktor5 on an older mac in order to copy the app, plugin and preferences files you might find compatible versions of Native Access here:

https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000407909-Native-Access-Legacy-Installers-for-Older-Operating-Systems

Don't expect that this will work forever. An update of MacOS or from NI side might break it. this is totally unsupported and can't be relied on. R5 was supported for a very long time, so i don't complain. I am happy that this trick works for now. It means i don't have to switch to an old computer that might eventually die to check older projects.

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