USER MANUAL
Produced by Vir2 Instruments Vir2 Instruments / is an international team of sound designers, musicians, and programmers, who specialize in creating the world’s most advanced virtual instrument libraries. Vir2 is producing the instruments that shape the sound of modern music. 29033 Avenue Sherman, Suite 201 Valencia, CA 91355 Phone: 661.295.0761 Web: www.vir2.
USER MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS 00 Q/ TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 01 01 INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY CHAPTER 02: REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION 03 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 03 INSTALLING 04 UPDATING 04 AUTHORIZING CHAPTER 03: USING KONTAKT 05 HOW TO ACCESS THE Q LIBRARY FROM KONTAKT 05 USING KONTAKT IN STANDALONE MODE 07 USING KONTAKT AS A VST PLUG-IN IN CUBASE AND NUENDO 08 USING KONTAKT AS A VST OR AUDIOUNIT PLUG-IN IN ABLETON LIVE 09 USING KONTAKT AS AN AUDIOUNIT PLUG-IN IN LOGIC PRO, LOGIC STUDIO, LOGIC EXPRE
CHAPTER 04: WORKING WITH THE INSTRUMENTS 14 THE FX TAB 15 the envelope tab 16 The legato tab 17 the layer control tab 17 keyboard mapping 19 loops and construction kits mapping 10 morphstruments CHAPTER 08: TECH SUPPORT, ETC.
CHAPTER 01 / INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY 01 CHAPTER 01 Q/ INTRODUCTION TO THE LIBRARY In a world...in a land...coming to studios near you: Vir2 Instruments’ Q, a massive sound design and scoring instruments library designed for the unique needs of television, film, game, and media composers and music producers who want to add a fresh and previously unheard dimension to their sonic palette.
02 Ambiences, Pulp Surfer, Sound Effects, Stylistic Phrases, Tempo Textures, Toys and Character Keyboards, Voices, and Western. Q’s easy-to-use interface provides one-click effecting of the library, including the famed EZRoom convolution, delay, chorus, filters, chorusing, flanging, and more. Other advanced functions include a special legato mode for melodic instruments, and crossfade controls for multilayered instruments.
CHAPTER 02 / REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION 03 CHAPTER 02 Q/ REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS For Mac users, Q requires OS 10.5.x or greater, an Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz or higher, a DVD drive, and 4GB of RAM. For Windows users, Q requires Windows XP (SP2, 32-bit), Windows Vista (32/64 bit), or Windows 7 (32/64 bit), a Pentium or Athlon 1.4GHz or faster, a DVD drive, and 2GB of RAM. The library requires approximately 9GB of disk space.
04 drives may give somewhat less optimized performance. We also recommend 7200 or 10,000rpm drives regardless of the interface used. UPDATING After installation, please make sure that you are fully updated to the most recent versions of the three components that make up the Q package: the library (which contains all the patch information and programming), the engine (which is powered by Kontakt), and the authorizer (Service Center).
CHAPTER 03 / USING KONTAKT 05 CHAPTER 03 Q/ USING KONTAKT HOW TO ACCESS THE Q LIBRARY FROM KONTAKT Q ships as a Kontakt-powered library, and Q is opened from within Kontakt, which can be run either as a standalone application, or as a plug-in hosted by any major sequencer on either Macintosh or Windows platforms. All these versions are installed by the Easy Install option of the installer.
06 or less. The lower the latency slider, the less latency (the split second between the physical playing of the note and the sound coming out of Kontakt) will be, but the harder the computer will have to work. Typical useful values range between 128 and 256, however very fast computers may be able to handle lower values, while very slow computers may need higher values. [01] The MIDI page of the Options dialog box must be configured in order to let Kontakt know which MIDI device(s) to respond to.
07 USING KONTAKT AS A VST PLUG-IN IN CUBASE AND NUENDO Users of Steinberg’s Cubase or Nuendo sequencers can use Kontakt as a VST plug-in. These instructions have been prepared in Cubase 5, although Kontakt may also work in earlier versions if the computer meets the system requirements. Once the project is open, go to the Devices menu and choose VST Instruments: [01] 01 When the VST Instruments window appears, click in the first available slot in which “no instrument” is listed.
08 The Kontakt window will appear, and a MIDI track will be created, transmitting to Kontakt’s MIDI channel A-1. When it is record-enabled, it will send any incoming MIDI played on your controller into Kontakt. At this point, you can skip down in the instructions to the Getting Started With Q section below. USING KONTAKT AS A VST OR AUDIOUNIT PLUG-IN IN ABLETON LIVE Users of Ableton Live can use Kontakt as a VST or AudioUnit plug-in, depending on the version. The functionality is the same.
09 USING KONTAKT AS AN AUDIOUNIT PLUG-IN IN LOGIC PRO, LOGIC STUDIO, LOGIC EXPRESS, ETC. Users of Apple’s Logic can use Kontakt as an AudioUnit plug-in. These instructions have been prepared in Logic Pro 8, although Kontakt may also work in earlier versions if the computer meets the system requirements. Once inside your Logic project, go to the Track mini-menu (in the central area of your screen) and choose Track > New... [01] 01 The New Tracks dialog box will appear.
10 The Kontakt window will appear, and a MIDI track will be created, transmitting to Kontakt’s MIDI channel A-1. When it is record-enabled, it will send any incoming MIDI played on your controller into Kontakt. At this point, you can skip down in the instructions to the Getting Started With Q section below. USING KONTAKT IN GARAGEBAND Users of Apple’s GarageBand can use Kontakt as an AudioUnit plug-in.
11 USING KONTAKT AS AN AUDIOUNIT PLUG-IN IN DIGITAL PERFORMER Users of MOTU’s Digital Performer can use Kontakt as an AudioUnit plug-in. These instructions have been prepared in Digital Performer 6, although Kontakt may also work in earlier versions if the computer meets the system requirements. Once the project is open, go to the Project menu and choose Add Track > Add Instruments... [01] 01 In the resulting dialog box, click on the Unassigned pulldown menu, and choose Native Instruments > Kontakt 4.
12 Once the project is open, go to the Track menu and choose New... [03] 03 In the dialog box that appears, choose the appropriate options, such as the following: create 1 new stereo Instrument Track in samples. Then click Create. [04] 04 Go to the Mix window and look at the channel strip for the instrument. At the very top is an area for Inserts A-E. [05] Click on the first of the five slots, and navigate through the popup menu to choose multichannel plug-in > Instrument > Kontakt 4.
CHAPTER 04 / WORKING WITH THE INSTRUMENTS 13 CHAPTER 04 Q/ WORKING WITH THE INSTRUMENTS Q has been designed to be as easy to use as possible. To load an instrument, look on the left side of the Kontakt window at the Browser sidebar. If it isn’t already clicked, click the Libraries button, and Q should appear there as an available library. (If it is not, you can use the Add Library button to permanently add it.
14 THE FX TAB This main effects (FX) interface offers instant access to ten different effects that are all available to each instrument in Q. Click the circle above any effect to activate it, and click on the square box for any effect to display its parameters. (Note: clicking on the square box for an effect does not automatically activate the effect.
15 THE ENVELOPE TAB The Envelope tab allows instant tweaking of the envelope (volume shape) of the instrument. The five knobs available are attack, hold, decay, sustain, and release. The Attack knob specifies the time it will take the envelope to reach its maximum level when the MIDI note is received. The Hold knob adjusts how long the envelope will stay at its maximum level after the attack has finished.
16 THE LEGATO TAB Instruments that can be played in legato fashion (for example, horns, winds, etc.) feature special legato options that can be accessed by clicking the Legato tab at the bottom of the instrument. Use the orange switch at the top to switch legato mode on. When legato mode is on, the instrument can only be played monophonically (one note at a time), however, the legato mode will seamlessly help connect the notes the way a real player would.
17 THE LAYER CONTROL TAB The Layer Control tab appears in any Multilayer instrument in Q, for example, the Multilayer Dreamscapes and the Multilayer Drones. These instruments were all created with anywhere from two to several different layers, some of which are pitched and some of which are unpitched. Layer Control allows you quick access to the volume, pan, tuning, and envelope of each layer within each instrument. Only as many knobs will appear as there are layers in the given instrument.
18 starting at C1 (two octaves below middle C) and going up chromatically. This was used for instruments that feature collections of sounds, for example, Cartoon Comedy SFX (in the Sound Effects folder) includes dozens of unique one-shot cartoon sound effects. Instruments with a [Chrom] designation are mapped chromatically on the keyboard, and are pitch-centered to their actual sounding pitch. In each case, we took liberties with the mapping.
19 LOOPS AND CONSTRUCTION KITS MAPPING One folder in the Q library contains a large quantity of loops and construction kit material, presented in three different formats and mapping: Construction Kits Time Machine, Individual Loops Beat Machine, and Individual Loops Time Machine. All of the material in these folders was recorded to a click, and has been designed to tempo-sync with your host sequencer or Kontakt’s MasterKontrol tempo.
20 loop has been mapped chromatically going up. This enables you to play each slice of the loop in any order you want, assembling a new loop from the component parts of the original loop. MORPHSTRUMENTS The Morphstruments (MW) folder features a number of hybrid instruments which are morphs between two other instruments in Q. For example, The Bamboo Fluted Flugelhorn is a morph between a bamboo flute and a flugelhorn. Use the mod wheel to adjust the morphing between the two included instruments.
CHAPTER 05 / TECH SUPPORT, ETC. 21 CHAPTER 05 Q/ TECH SUPPORT, ETC. TECH SUPPORT Vir2 Instruments stands behind its products and is committed to helping you get the most out of using them. Please check the Support area of the www. vir2.com web site if you encounter any difficulties in using the product. You may also e-mail support@vir2.com.
22 performance that includes the licensed samples as part of a derivative musical work created by the licensed end user. This license expressly forbids resale, rental, loan, gift, or transfer of these samples in any format or via any medium, except as part of a derivative musical work. The samples may not be included, whether unmodified or as part of a derivative work, in any sample library product. Any unlicensed usage will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law.
4 © 2010 Vir2 Instruments. Q All trademarks used are property of their respective owners. Specifications subject to change.
