yb-ksp-scripting_tips & troupleshooting

Last modifiedby & filed under Mixing & Other Tips, Tips & Troubleshootings.

With Native Instrument’s Kontakt there is currently a bug with the Time Machine Pro algorithm which is causing tempo sync problems and heavy note droppings (when playing more than 5 notes at once) . Especially the note droppings are significant with large polyphonic libraries like the Action Strings. Native Instruments is already working on that issue but in the meantime we have made a little workaround.

All you need to do is to swap all Time Machine Pro groups to Time Machine 2. Time Machine 2 turned out to be the best alternative for the Action Strings.

 

Preparation (also see video)

  1. important: Before you start, please make a copy of your “Action Strings.nki” and put it into the same folder.
    Usually you can’t break anything since you don’t touch your original “Action Strings.nki” however we are not responsible for any damages! If you do modify or break your original file(s) you may need to completely reinstall the Action Strings.
  2. as-workaround-screenshot-1Rename the copy e.g. to “Action Strings (tm2).nki” (it should appear under your Action Strings libraries inside Kontakt (see screenshot)
  3. download the un-purge script
  4. unzip the content, open the yummybeats_un-purge_script.txt with a simple text editor and copy the code
  5. as-workaround-screenshot-2in Kontakt load your Action Strings (tm2).nki
  6. go to edit mode [wrench button] and open the script editor
  7. select an empty script tab and paste the un-purge script code
  8. click apply and stay in the script editor

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Swap all Time Machine Pro (TMP) Groups to Time Machine 2 (TM2) (also see video)

We now load (un-purge) all groups into the RAM to be able to change the TM algorithm. Depending on your RAM capacity you can follow 2 different methods. Method A takes up to 15 minutes. Method B can take up to 40 minutes. But fortunately you only need to do this once!

Important: there are also groups which are set to beat machine or sampler etc. Don’t change those groups!

 

  1. as-workaround-screenshot-3A: if you got enough RAM (> 8GB should do) you can hit the “un_purge_all” button from our script. Note: this will load all samples into your RAM which can cause your whole system to stuck
    If your system gets stucked, try method B.
    B:
    if you are not sure or got less than 8 GB you should load (purge) the samples groups by groups by using the  “un_purge_0” to “un_purge_20” buttons. Note: this will load lots of samples into your RAM so you should close other applications first. We tested with 4 GB of RAM but if your system still gets stucked for some reason, please tell us.
  2. as-workaround-screenshot-3bA: Flag all groups if they aren’t flagged yet.
    To do so open the Group Editor and hit the red button on the top left “edit all groups” until all checkboxes are checked. Now open the Mapping Editor
    B: Flag all currently active (or un-purged) groups.
    To do so unflag all groups first (hit the red button “edit all groups” until all check-boxes are clear),  open the Mapping Editor and scroll down until you see both editors (group and mapping editor). In the Mapping Editor you can now recognize the active (or un-purged) groups by their cyan regions. Inactive group regions are red.
    Now select the first active group with your left mouse. Use your arrow keys to skip through all groups until the first inactive group appears (red regions). Go one group back (should be active) and select it by holding shift + left mouse button. Make sure that you have not moved your cursor away from the Groups Editor (e.g. by clicking somewhere else) Otherwise you need to select the first active group again. If you did it right, all active groups should be selected now. Right click on one of the selected group and select “set edit flag for selected groups”. The check-boxes should be checked then.
  3. as-workaround-screenshot-4A+B: Unflag all active groups again which are not set to Time Machine Pro.
    To do so use your mouse wheel to scroll down the Mapping Editor until you see the Source Module. Find all groups which are using a different algorithm than Time Machine Pro (e.g. sampler, DFD or beat machine) and uncheck them (= remove the flag). Use the arrow keys to skip through the groups but make sure that you have not moved your cursor away from the Groups Editor (e.g. by clicking somewhere else) Otherwise you need to select the first active group again. Also make sure that only  the TM Pro groups are flagged now so better check twice!
  4. A+B: Now simply change the algorithm from Time machine Pro to Time Machine 2
    Don’t enable legato because this will produce heavy sync droppings. Also don’t change any other parameters like note length
  5. as-workaround-screenshot-5A: Save your preset under the same name “Action String (tm2).nki” using “patch only”
    B: repeat steps 1 to 4 until you have edited all Time Machine Pro groups
  6. B: Save your preset under the same name “Action String (tm2).nki” using “patch only”

 

[yasr_visitor_votes size=”large”]

 

How useful was this article?

something you didn't like? Please tell us before you rate!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

NOTE: highly negative votes may be removed without any reasonable given feedback!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

4 Responses to “[Workaround] [NI – Action Strings] [Time Machine Pro Bug] – Tempo Sync & Voicing / Note Dropping Issue”

  1. JF

    Hey, Thank you very much for this help ! I am having trouble with assigned unpurged to Time Machine 2,,there is still an error.I was wondering if would be possible to download your Action Strings (tm2).nki . It is very annoying that AS does not work as they supposed,I bought whole Komplete 9 and now when I need to hand in music for a commercial I find this bug :(. Thank you for your help !

    • YummyBeats

      Have you tried the other approach from below? It should also work with the latest Kontakt and Action Strings Version.
      Also see this screenshot: http://blog.yummybeats.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/action-strings-voicing-fix.png

  2. TheMuchEasierWorkaround

    Hi, could you try if increasing the voices for time machine pro playback on the original nki would also fix your problem ? Go to instrument edit page> instrument options > voice handling and set 'Standard Mode Voice Limit" to a higher number such as 30. This should fix at least the note dropping. Thanks..

    • YummyBeats

      Thx for the hint. We already tried that with previous versions which didn't work. But probably meanwhile it works which would be great. We will check that again.
      However I don't know about the sync problem. I guess it hasen't been fixed yet since it seems to be a serious issue with the whole time machine engines since "Time Machine 2" is affected as well (but not that worse). Only Beat Machine would work well but that's no option with sustaining/tonal loops etc.

Leave a Reply

use <pre> </pre> to wrap code blocks

use <code> </code> to wrap small code snippets

use basic html to style your comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *