HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN NKS PRESETS WITH KOMPLETE KONTROL 3

*This guide essentially relates to Windows, using the ReaHotkey utility as a helper within Reaper as a host DAW.

*The same concepts will still apply for other DAW’s and platforms, however access methods will vary.

*The guide is specific to using the plug-in version of Komplete Kontrol within a DAW

BACKGROUND

One of the most desirable features of Komplete Kontrol, at least for blind & VI users has always been to have the ability to create our own NKS presets.

There are so many plug-ins, both instruments & FX which do not natively have NKS support, some can be free offerings, others fully commercial, regardless of which, most KK users will at some stage wished that a particular VST could be controlled directly from their hardware keyboard controller.

This is now possible, well sort of, so before we start dishing out the bouquets in celebration, I should clarify a couple of points.

PLUG-IN prerequisites

Much OF THE OLTIMATE ACCESS will depend upon the particular VST plug-in that you are hoping to use.

Before you begin this process, you can try loading the intended plug-in directly into Reaper outside of Komplete Kontrol, just minimise the plug-in window, and press the OSARA parameters key, which is P.

The list which appears will be the parameters that get assigned to the hardware knobs, up to a maximum of 128 parameters over 16 pages.

Whilst IN theory it is possible to load any VST2 or VST3 plug-in, the level of eventual access will depend on two factors.

First, the parameters from the user interface need to have been made automatable.

Developers do this so that DAW users can harness the automation features of their digital audio workstation, to create and automate things like pan, filters, volume levels, and all manner of other parameters that the developer ultimately deems to be useful to the end user.

This process can vary considerably however, so it is not always a given that every perceivable control will have been made automatable, there are various reasons for this, ranging from lack of awareness, laziness or simply being too complex, as the configuration process may involve more than the straightforward single stage operations needed for such controls like an on and off toggle, or a value range dial.

The second factor, is whether the factory presets that ship with the product, are also otherwise accessible. Here some plug-ins are better than others, and their presets can be accessed outside of the Komplete Kontrol environment through a dropdown combo list within the plug-in window.

Others, may have preset switching assigned as an automatable control, generally named as program.

These two scenarios are great, as it means we have a fighting chance of saving out individual factory presets if we wish to do so, however if neither of these options are available, then without sighted help the opportunity to load anything beyond the initial or default preset can be a little limited.

I should state that this is not always a reason to curl up on your bed and sob with your thumb in your mouth, because provided that there are enough useful controls available, you can still create and shape your own instrument sounds or fx with what’s on offer from the default preset, without the reliance we all too often have on those factory patches.

LETS GET GOING

With these few caveats explained, let’s now look at how we go about this preset creation malarkey, and fear not, in practice, it is actually extraordinarily easy to do.

With ReaHotkey loaded, first instantiate an instance of Komplete Kontrol into Reaper.

Now, With the KK plug-in loaded, ensure you are in the section of the plug-in window that offers the add or remove option.

Hit F6, to drop into the Komplete Kontrol plug-in window, and tab until you hear menu.

Hit enter at this point, whereupon you will be able to arrow down to explore the resulting menu options.

At this stage, Instruments is what we are looking for, and pressing enter here will reveal three choices.

Internal
VST3
VST

Internal refers to loading audio into the Komplete Kontrol sampler module, which can be useful but not what we need for the purpose of this guide.

Option 2 is the ideal candidate, since going forward VST3 will be the predominant format, however naturally there are still plenty of VST2 plug-ins which are often free offerings, so we cannot dismiss them entirely, and this process will be exactly the same should you require a VST2 plug-in.

After hitting enter on either of these options, a list will appear showing all relevant plug-ins that Komplete Kontrol is aware of from the specific developer on your system.

Now you can simply arrow down the list to find the developer of choice, hit enter once again, and you should now see a list of plug-ins from that manufacturer.

Hit enter on the plug-in name, and it will now load into Komplete Kontrol, and you should already find yourself in plug-in edit mode.

Any automatable parameters will now be auto mapped across the eight hardware knobs, pressing page up will take you through subsequent pages, although bear in mind, that as these have been auto mapped, page naming and also parameter naming can be at times vague, spurious and challenging to interpret, so results may vary.

Now that you have your plug-in loaded, we can save it for future recall within Komplete Kontrol.

Press the browser button on your KK keyboard, and get back to the point where you are again in the initial Komplete Kontrol plug-in window, and tab through until you hear menu once again.

Hit enter, and then arrow down to file, then save as.

Hit enter, and type in a suitable name for your initial NKS preset, and finally hit enter to save.

Now you should find that in your default user content folder, there will be a folder relating to the plug-in name, and inside this will be your shiny new .NKSF preset file, all ready for your future recall, where it will be found on the user side of the Komplete Kontrol browser.

This is the same process that has been available for Maschine users, and will be an integral part of the accessibility helper for the new Kontrol S MK3 range when accessibility becomes available.

I hope that this is a useful feature that will make life a little easier.

CREDITS

Special thanks go to Matej Golian & Toni Barth for developing and making the ReaHotkey utility available for the community, the latest version (Windows only), can be obtained as a direct download here:
https://github.com/MatejGolian/ReaHotkey/releases

Chris
http://www.kk-access.com

31st July 2024