Freelance Soundlabs NKS News December 2023

Hello  

Komplete Kontrol v3.x Updated News

I ran over some things to be aware of last month with the latest Komplete Kontrol v3 update and how many things are now different, missing or simply non-functional and IMO it is best to hold off if possible but if you have an MK3 keyboard or prefer to stay with it, here are a couple of questions I have been getting recently and the answers to these. Remember, there is nothing I can personally do to address the situation, I encourage everyone to post on the official forum if you have issues or concerns with the update. 

I Cannot Browse the Sub Banks Of An Instrument?

No! V3 of KK seems to have dropped the VERY useful sub bank feature for libraries now where you could select a bank and then a sub bank. This was very useful for instruments like Omnisphere that have a lot of satellite library options and this appears to either be removed now or just missing. V2.x users of course have this well needed functionality but v3.x have no way to now filter by sub banks in the libraries. It will be a very sad thing if this is a permeant decision by NI and although I have asked what the status of this is, this is one question I have never received an answer to so I fear this will be yet another lost function from Komplete Kontrol. 

I can't browse presets while viewing the plugin?

Again, nope. This is some kind of design decision which also now makes it impossible to use the sample browser to drag samples into instruments such as Battery. THis has been acknowledged by NI who are working on an "update" to this but I did read between the lines with this that they are addressing the issue of not being able to drag samples so this may still mean we cannot use the preset list while viewing the plugin. KKv2 while a little outdated did allow for a lot more info presented to the user in a single screen including the browser, Type & Character Tags, plugin Window and Macro Control section. With all these now on separate panels it requires a lot more clicking through panels to see all this info which is affecting the workflow of many. Again, adding your voice to the discussions on the forums is the best thing to do if this affects you. 

RELEASE: UVI Falcon 3 Update

https://freelancesoundlabs.com/nks/falcon

Falcon V3 overhauls their factory library into a new library file which requires a whole new NKS library to be created and so finally I have this whole library converted and available. To use the older V2 NKS library you need to manually download the previous Falcon Factory.ufs file from your UVI account online and place it in your UVI library location since the V3 update has a new library file which requires a full overhaul.

The new V3 library has most of the presets from the previous versions but I have noted that UVI have dropped a number of presets, renamed quite a few. This update will also reset all the nice update version sub banks I created for each set of presets updated over the years, the new V3 library no longer shows these updates so it is not available to set in the new library unfortunately. 

This library has custom per-preset macro mapping which also has all controls custom labelled to allow quick and easy control and for blind users, the ability for the voice assist to easily identify what every control is. You will note each preset should mirror the same controls of the preset loaded but I passed the control labels through a cleanup function to make the labels nicer.

All presets have been fully tagged (again) along with previews and additional artwork is now included for the MK3 keyboards so if you have updated to an MK3 keyboard, install and merge the new artwork files.

It should be noted this is a completely new library that had to be done from scratch as it requires a new UVI library for it with v3 so a lot of work was needed to redo it all and of course, the 1500 files all needed to be tagged again from scratch and because there are a lot of very clunky processes and manual work to make the files, so if you happen to find any issues just (politely) contact me detailing the preset name and the problem you have found and I will issue updates where needed but I have literally clicked through every file to tag them so most should be fine. You will find upgrade options on the product page linked above. 

INFO: MK3 Artwork Update GDrive Repository

I am slowly adding update image assets for NKS libraries for the new MK3 keyboard display and any new NKS libraries or updated libraries will now include the updated images in the database files.

To save you having to download previous libraries just to get the artwork for the MK3 I have created a GDrive repository where you can download the required artwork files and add them manually when available from HERE

To add the new artwork simply copy the "NKS2_hardware_banner.webp" file for the instrument you want to update to the following location:

Windows: C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\NI Resources\image\[Vendor]\[plugin]

MAC: /Users/Shared/NI Resources/image/[Vendor]\[plugin]

The images are all in the correct folder locations on the GDrive link above so you can simply download the whole folder and merge this with the existing image folder on your PC or copy just the files you need and locate the folders manually in the above locations.

I am working on these in spare time and not being an owner of an MK3 this is not something that directly affects me but hopefully in due course we will have most instruments updated. I am aiming to update the most popular libraries first and will only be updating libraries that work with VST3 plugins, older libraries such as Air Music Tech that only support VST2 will not be updated at this stage since Komplete Kontrol V3 is stated to drop VST2 support in the near future completely.

Website Purchase Issues "You Need To Login" 

I am aware of a long running issue where some users will be asked to login when trying to complete the checkout even tho they are already logged in. The fix for this is usually to not use Safari (as this appears to be the most common problem), clear the browsers cookie cache or simply hold CTRL/OPTION on the page having the issue and click Refresh. Also, best to use a desktop/Laptop rather than a mobile device. 

I have tried to find the cause to this issue, it is random and only affects some people sometimes and usually clears up on the next attempt but I am not able to find the problem and while I am looking to move to a new site, this is a pretty big and long task so if you have issues and can't progress just email me at this email address and I will be happy to assist. 

Also, if anyone out there is a HTML guru and knows how to troubleshoot Joomla that may be able to assist, will be paid of course, please let me know. 

VST2 / VST3 Library Compatibility Status List

Check this list for the latest VST3 library compatibility updates, what libraries support VST3 and what has been updated from VST2 to VST3:

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/1256/#Comment_1256

Donations

While you are under no obligation to donate, purchasing our libraries and supporting the work is thanks enough we do very much appreciate donations as there are a lot of costs and time needed to maintain such a large number of libraries and it is only due to the support of users that this is even possible.

Update News / Facebook / Forum

The forum thread for all discussions related to any Freelance Soundlabs NKS library can be found Here: 

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/305/release-freelance-soundlabs-3rd-party-nks-libraries-for-komplete-kontrol-maschine#latest

You can also follow my Facebook page for the latest news and releases:

https://www.facebook.com/freelancesoundlabs

I post about all the latest releases and updates on these channels as things are done so if you are keen to know immediately when updates and releases are available then please follow these channels. I typically send this update email at the start of each month. 

Feedback / Requests / Questions? 

If you have any issues with any libraries, feedback about how useful/not useful these libraries are or any instruments/plugins to request NKS for simply reply to this email with your suggestions as the more we receive on certain products, the more likely they will be considered tho we cant invest in them all. I typically reply to every email but can occasionally miss one so don't hesitate to get in contact again.