Tutorial: Creating Multiple Outputs in Kontakt 6

I recently made Kontakt my go-to platform for multisampled instruments. Having purchased 70’s Drummer (a fantastic multisample drum kit), I was excited to drop it into a set and have a go at it. It was disappointing to find that Kontakt 6 only seemed to allow internal mixing of the drum kit, unlike Kontakt 5, which offered 8 and 16 output versions.

After some research, I was pleased to find that Kontakt 6 is not only capable of offering up to 16 outputs, it is much more flexible than its predecessor in the output department.

So this week, let’s take a look at how to create multiple outputs in Kontakt 6.

The Key Difference: Templates

There are several differences between the two, but the key difference is that while Kontakt 5 had three versions – normal, 8-out, and 16-out – Kontakt 6 has only one version. By default, all audio is routed through Stereo Out 1-2. This is akin to the normal variation of Kontakt 5.

Rather than additional variations to accommodate multiple outputs, Kontakt 6 has a more elegant solution. It allows you to customize your output sets and save them as templates. The upshot is you can save different configurations for different types of libraries. You can even set a custom template as the default for Kontakt.

Step By Step: Creating Output Templates in Kontakt 6

In Kontakt 6 (or Kontakt 6 Player)

1. Select add Outputs from the output section
2. Select the number of outputs desired and the number of channels per output (Bear in mind that Kontakt has a maximum of 16 plug-outs – additional channels per output will each cost a plug-out slot)
3. Route Kontakt’s internal sounds to desired output channels
4. Save template for easy recall

In Your Daw

6. Create an audio channel
7. Set channel input to “Kontakt” (or the name of the channel on which Kontakt is running)
8. Select from sub menu the desired plug-out channel.
9. Repeat steps 6 – 8 as many times as needed.

Conclusion

There you have it – multiple outputs in Kontakt 6, and Kontakt 6 Player. All that is left to do is route your sounds from within Kontakt 6 to the appropriate output channel; a process that may differ depending on the instrument you are using.

Create templates for each of your common Kontakt uses, or create 8 or 16 channel variations to fit all situations.

Until next week,

-Chris Lazaga
AudioMunk