C. Bechstein digital division releasing Kontakt Instrument

[ElmerJFudd]

 

The SoundCloud examples sound really really good.

https://www.bechstein-digital.com

 

Its a monster of a piano to begin with.

[Fleer]

Absolutely.

Recently got a great update.

This grand is simply wonderful.

[Mark Schmieder]

I'll check for the updates -- I'm probably still registered at my old email that suddenly went away with two hours warning in late October. Thanks for the alert! Good timing as I plan to do more tracking with it tonight.

[Mark Schmieder]

Can't find the serial number. I have five emails related to the purchase, but none contain a serial number for re-registering the new 1.2.0 version in Native Access. Nor does the serial number show up in my account. Time for a problem report. Maybe they sent out update notices. I am 100% unable to receive forwarded email. Long story. It was 100% out of my control what happened to my old email and the repercussions as well.

[Mark Schmieder]

I bootstrapped my way to success, sort of. I merged the 1.1.0 samples into the 1.2.0 update after unzipping it, deleted 1.1.0, which forced Native Access to ask me to redirect it.

 

It is relocated to the 1.2.0 folder and authorizes as a result, and I was able to capture a screenshot of the serial number from Native Access for future reference, but it still thinks it is version 1.1.0 in Native Access. Maybe I need to remove and re-add it for it to identify as 1.2.0 (if it matters)?

 

Within Kontakt, I had to relocate the samples folder for all instrument and multi presets and then resave each one; a bit of a PITA.

 

There might have been a quicker and more direct way, but there were no instructions. Maybe I should have just downloaded the full 1.2.0 instead, even though the samples are the same (only the programming of presets changed, including some mic variants).

[Mark Schmieder]

I ran into problems with snapshots not exposing a drop-list within a Kontakt Instrument once loaded, which also afflicted me in several Soniccouture products until I did additional updates that were a bit cleaner than manual merges, so I am now downloading the full 1.2.0 update and deleted all other copies as well as the preferences file for Digital Piano and temporarily killed it in Native Access.

 

Hopefully I can stay awake long enough to finish this clean install and make sure everything works correctly. If I have to enter the authorization code again, I am hoping it is the same one I took a snapshot of, for the previous 1.1.0 update (which is when I purchased in August).

[Mark Schmieder]

What a waste of time. This is a very broken update, in so many ways. The full 1.2.0 download doesn't solve any of the problems, and I discovered that the Multis point to a user directory named after one of the developers. Renaming the enclosing folder to 1.1.0 at least saves me from yet again stepping through the instrument presets, redirecting the sample folder, and resaving the instrument preset.

 

I don't even know what changed, if anything, other than adding two variations of two mic settings. I'll see if I can find a description in the updated manual in a bit, as now I need to take time to re-download 1.1.0 as I deleted my backup earlier, thinking I had a third copy somewhere else (I didn't).

 

Hopefully reinstalling 1.1.0 will clear up the snapshot list being blank/empty, which makes me dead in the water on using this library otherwise, and puts a dent into my music production during this week and a half off work.

 

I get the same results if I load in Kontakt 5.6 vs. Kontakt 6.0.

 

A reboot did not clear up the problem. Sometimes that does the job. Maybe a power down and a restart is better than a recycle, as Apple doesn't treat them quite the same way (not does Microsoft).

[Mark Schmieder]

Rats; I carefully wrote up a lot of details just now, and only had a few characters to type, but another process kicked in and aborted my editing and any ability to get back what I typed. Writing something up a second time is never as lucid, for so many reasons, one of which is not bothering to remember what you wrote if you expect to be able to review it later anyway.

 

I'll edit this multiple times this time, so at least incremental writing gets saved. It's a big flaw of web-hosted stuff.

[Mark Schmieder]

Safer just to add a bunch of small posts, even though nothing I write at this late hour, the second go around, is going to be remotely as lucid or concise as what I so carefully crafted and lost to the ether earlier.

 

I can't go back to 1.1.0 as it doesn't seem to be posted anymore and I lost my backup for that one file. If I load a Digital Performer project with a snapshot being used, it loads with the right settings, but the snapshot drop-list is still empty. Maybe I can use DP to make what they call a clipping, so that at least I can use that one snapshot in other projects until this problem is sorted out. But I'm too tired to feel confident writing a problem report to Bechstein at this point.

[Mark Schmieder]

Interesting. This is my first time using Komplete Kontrol, which took over a half hour to bootstrap -- I thought it was for NI keyboards, but it's also sort of a universal browser that cuts across all NI products. Anyway, it shows the snapshots, and when I try to load one, it can't find the "owner" because it thinks the 1.1.0 patches are under "Instruments" vs. "Instruments/Legacy".

 

So, it seems that Bechstein did a lot of bad hard-wiring of directories across the 1.2.0 installation. But making copies of the 1.1.0 presets to put one level up -- where they used to be -- fixes the snapshot issue for those presets at least, and explains why the snapshots list was blank in Kontakt, as it couldn't resolve the paths.

 

This also means that 1.2.0 is currently useless on macOS. Maybe the Windows version is correct, and they haven't gotten feedback yet from macOS users, but one of the hard-wired directories is Unix-based so likely is from the Mac unless they also support Linux.

[Mark Schmieder]

Only a partial fix, that helps Komplete Kontrol but not Kontakt, unfortunately. One has to re-point the samples directory during loading of the snapshot, and in Kontakt the snapshots STILL don't show up in the drop-list for the 1.1.0 presets (much less the 1.2.0 presets) after copying the 1.1.0 presets back to the top-level "/Instruments" folder.

 

I really regret doing this update now -- I could have been very successful this week working with Bechstein on a lot of sessions, but now I'm dead in the water on this product, unless I do tweaks in Komplete Kontrol vs. Kontakt, just to get some track rendering done, knowing that any further work later on would have to reset the plug-ins if Bechstein fixes their problems.

[Mark Schmieder]

Just to be clear, there isn't really an installer on the Mac; just an ISO file that expands to a directory (when clicked) that you copy. So all of the errors are in the saved Kontakt snapshots and presets. But maybe they didn't make these mistakes for the Windows download.

[Mark Schmieder]

I found the update instructions for those who don't do the full download of 1.2.0. It only showed up when I accidentally hovered on a part of the screen that was all-white, as it was white text against a white background, but became blue when the mouse hovered there.

 

https://www.bechstein-digital.com/how-to/update-instructions-for-the-digital-grand-1-2-0/

 

I'm too tired by now to process things well, but I think those are the steps I took earlier, which I knew from past experience was the right way to merge. But it does no good if the files weren't programmed correctly.

 

I'll try to concentrate on those instructions and recreate the steps in my head and verify against the disc to see if that's exactly what I did the first time or not, as the full download effectively created the same result anyway so should show the same comparisons (plus I have the earlier merge in Trash and haven't deleted Trash this time around after kicking myself for doing so the previous time -- a habit I am in when things go wrong, thinking that something in the system is getting confused by looking at Trash).

[Mark Schmieder]

I thought it might help to delete the ".nkc" files as those weren't intended to be copied; only the ".nkx" files should be cloned from 1.1.0 to 1.2.0.

 

I'm afraid I have exhausted any possibility of fault at my end, at this point, as well as a workaround that will get Kontakt to show a non-empty snapshot list.

 

But at least I can get things to work in Komplete Kontrol for now, and maybe use Digital Performer's Clipping feature to clone the cached instance of Digital Piano in the project I used it in last night, which has my tweaked settings.

 

Note that the problem with the snapshots not being available to select, is unrelated to Audio Units vs. VST, or Digital Performer as a host, as it crops up in both Kontakt 5.6 and Kontakt 6.0 standalone on the desktop as well.

[Mark Schmieder]

I just filed a problem report and also asked if they could get me a link to 1.1.0's ISO file again due to my mistake in deleting my backup, so I can be productive with this library this week, as it's doubtful they'll be addressing issues with 1.2.0 anytime soon and especially not over the holidays.

[Mark Schmieder]

In vi-control, the guru (and developer) known as "Evil Dragon" says that an NKI preset file has to be the same version as the snapshots: EXACTLY the same version (not just 5.6.x).

 

I suspect that Bechstein rolled a new version of Kontakt between the 1.1.0 and 1.2.0 releases, and didn't properly re-save the snapshots as they hadn't really changed (in their minds, as they were probably thinking in terms of settings vs. NI file versions).

 

I'll try to communicate this possibility to them if they respond to my problem report. I do hope they respond to customers; there are currently two vendors I am EXTREMELY annoyed with due to no response to me or anyone else I know (all of whom own full product suites and have been loyal for many years). I won't name them here though.

[Mark Schmieder]

A Bechstein rep got back to me right away, with a comprehensive and helpful response, which I will put into action shortly (I have to first take advantage of limited solstice daylight hours).

 

They are aware of the problem, and it is because Native Instruments is the only one that make a fully proper package (not the right term) -- I have heard this for a couple of years now and think it kicked in with Kontakt 5.6, as several vendors have complained about how it slows their release launches that they can't do the whole thing themselves anymore.

 

So the workaround for now, is to use the file browser in Kontakt instead, to get to the snapshot files, which should then load correctly, as long as file paths are resolved (and usually Kontakt throws up a dialog for that).

 

I'm pretty confident this will be a workable solution until they are able to repost 1.2 with a fully self-consistent bunch of files.

 

That's just a quick summary, hoping it will help others. I've got a lot of things I have to do within the next two hours that are do-or-die deadline-wise, as probably do many of you as well. :-)

[ElmerJFudd]

Very helpful, Mark. Sorry you had to go through this, it seems to have kept you up late (at least one night)! But will surely save some other KCer some hassle.

[Mark Schmieder]

I may try to pare down some of what I wrote, before the edit option goes away. But for anyone reading this later on, my comment right above Elmer's, is the most pertinent.

[Fleer]

Cheers Mark, thanks for your posts.

Bechstein support is very knowledgeable, so any queries will surely get solved.

[Mark Schmieder]

In summary, the workaround is quite simple now that the problem is fully understood as one of an inconsistent collection of files that were released anyway so that people have early access to the new mic presets.

 

I re-copied the full 1.2.0 installation from the ISO file that I downloaded last night, to reduce any confusion over files I might have edited or re-saved during my debugging process, and sure enough, everything works fine if using Kontakt's file browser to select the snapshots.

 

The only thing one has to do is point Kontakt to the "/Legacy" subfolder under "/Instruments" when asked to re-find the v1.1 preset that the snapshots are still attached to.

 

Moving those presets up a level doesn't work, because then the sample location gets confused and is hard to correct.

 

So this is a straightforward workaround until the mid-January update to 1.2.0 that is compiled by Native Instruments.

 

It is unfortunate that NI no longer lets third-party vendors do this, but apparently it has to do with guaranteeing consistency of anti-piracy enforcement.

 

Note that this workaround does not let me use snapshots with the 1.2.0 presets, but the only ones that are different (other than in name only) are the two new mic presets that have "SP" at the end of their names.

[Michael Wright]

Worked with the Bechstein library tonight. What a nice piano this is. I bought the essentials first, and was a bit , eh...but figured in for a penny, so shelled out for the upgrade.

This is a great addition to my piano options.