1)   What is Kontakt?
2)   How is the Kontakt interface structured?
3)   What soundfile formats does Kontakt support?
4)   How do I load samples into Kontakt?
5)   What is an Instrument in Kontakt?
6)   How do I create an Instrument in Kontakt?
7)   What is a Multi-Instrument in Kontakt?

1)   What is Kontakt? top
Kontakt is a software sampler with exceptional synthesis capabilities and an impressive, user-friendly interface. Kontakt features interface support for VST 2.0, DXi, MAS, ASIO, DirectConnect, MME, DirectSound, FreeMIDI, SoundManager and OMS.

2)   How is the Kontakt interface structured? top
The Kontakt interface panel is designed as a virtual rack comprised of ‘foldable’ modules. The central module is called the Instrument Header and this is what you see when first loading Kontakt. Here you can establish the basic parameters for your Instrument such as Name, keyrange, and MIDI channel etc. Activating the large Edit button on the left of the Instrument Header gives access to the modules comprising your Instrument as well as revealing the Loop, Mapping and Group editors. To the left of the Kontakt Instrument panel is the browser window for navigating your system or, by clicking on the Structure button, for viewing the internal structure of your Instrument. The fact that the rack-style layout of Kontakt parallels its internal architecture makes it much easier to understand than some other software samplers Also, any modules not being used by Kontakt are neither displayed or calculated by cpu, thus optimising efficiency.

3)   What soundfile formats does Kontakt support?  top
Kontakt can import SDII, AIFF , WAV, Akai S-1000/S-3000, SF2, Gigasampler (RAM import) and Battery sound formats.

4)   How do I load samples into Kontakt? top
To load a sample into Kontakt either double click on the sample in the browser window and this will open a new Instrument Header and the sample will be mapped across the keyboard. To load a sample into a pre-existing Kontakt Instrument simply click and drag the sample from the browser window and place it on the Mapping Editor screen.

5)   What is an Instrument in Kontakt? top
A Kontakt Instrument is one or several samples/zones which can be organised into groups.

6)   How do I create an Instrument in Kontakt? top
Kontakt creates an empty, default Instrument as soon as you open it. This is the basic container into which you load your samples. Samples are edited as zones, and zones can be arranged into groups. Groups enable related sounds to be edited   collectively (in the Group Editor) and routed to different MIDI channels from that of the Instrument in which they’re housed.  The creation of a Kontakt Instrument is as simple or as complex as your project demands. The options available in designing an Instrument include the choice of 3 sampler modes in which your sounds can be re-synthesised and time stretched, or where you can easily adjust tempo and formants settings. Each Instrument also has its own insert and send effects, can be put through an extensive range of native filters, and thanks to its semi-modular design almost all Kontakt parameters can be modulated. In addition to this, Kontakt also has 2 additional editing panels. The Mapping Editor allows intuitive and fast sample mapping, as well as (velocity) crossfading with up 127 velocity layers per key. The Loop Editor provides a graphical view of sample waveforms and sophisticated looping options, with up to eight  loops per sample, the starting points of which can be manipulated via controllers and modulators.

7)   What is a Multi-Instrument in Kontakt? top
A Multi-Instrument is a single instance of Kontakt with more than one Instrument loaded. A Multi-Instrument can contain up to 16 Instruments assigned to different MIDI channels.