Drumagog, Kontakt, and POD Farm Questions

[Spokid]

Hi.

I've posted these questions on the support areas of their respective websites, but have yet to recieve any sort of response, so I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me out.

First of all, I would like to know if I can use Drumagog 5 to trigger drum samples from Kontakt 5, and if so, will they be the appropriate velocities, or will it only trigger one sample per drum?

Second, I have a Firestudio Project as my interface, and I was curious if POD Farm 2.5 Platinum and its expansions (metal shop, bass expansion, etc...) would work for me? (I only ask because the Line 6 website seems pretty set on POD Farm users ONLY using a Line 6 interface, which makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but I'd really rather not buy a Line 6 interface JUST to use it for POD Farm).

Also, I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit. Will the Drumagog 5 Platinum/Kontact 5 set-up work smoothly with that? Will POD Farm 2.5 Platinum work with that as well?

Thanks in advance. I've been looking for answers for days now, and I just want some answers. (Could be I haven't been looking in the right places, but hopefully this is the right place)

 

[3tuxedo]

hey broskee, I only answered the ones i know, i'm not sure about Kontakt and Drumagog.

I have a Firestudio Project as my interface, and I was curious if POD Farm 2.5 Platinum and its expansions (metal shop, bass expansion, etc...) would work for me? (I only ask because the Line 6 website seems pretty set on POD Farm users ONLY using a Line 6 interface, which makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but I'd really rather not buy a Line 6 interface JUST to use it for POD Farm).

Good question, I have a Presonus Firestudio Tube, and i use (and have been for multiple years) Podfarm. When you buy it, make sure you get the iLok version, you'll need to get an iLok and a licence which i believe comes with the purchase. That way, the iLok acts as the Line 6 interface which "unlocks" if you will, the program.

I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit. Will the Drumagog 5 Platinum/Kontact 5 set-up work smoothly with that? Will POD Farm 2.5 Platinum work with that as well?

I use Windows Ultimate 64-bit and a Presonus interface as well. I use Cubase and it is very smooth. I've even used Drumagog on it, no problems whatsoever, even for real time playback. The only thing you might have to play with is Universal control. If you are playing back or recording with heavy plugins, then you might need to change the buffer size.

Hopefully that helped.

 

[oroinvictus]

To answer the questions 3tuxedo couldn't, kontakt will only work with kontakt files (.nki) or battery files (.kt2). Drumagog requires its own file format.

 

[Spokid]

Thanks for the answers!

As far as the Drumagog/Kontakt issue, I may have worded that poorly. What I mean is that Drumagog 5 Platinum has a feature that allows direct triggering from other plugins, which in this case would be Kontakt 5. My worries are 1.) I'm not sure if Drumagog 5 Platinum will trigger different velocity samples from Kontakt 5, or just one velocity sample, and 2.) I'm worried about how they'll work together, since Drumagog is still 32-bit, and I'm not sure what Kontakt is, although I'm thinking it's probably 64-bit, and most of what I've read about Drumagog states that it has issues with handling 64-bit plugins.

 

[oroinvictus]

Kontakt comes in 32 and 64 bit like most other programs. Triggering its samples through another external program seems like a lot of work for a pretty simple result.

 

[Spokid]

Well, my thought process was that I'd use Drumagog for its drum replacement function, and have it trigger samples from Kontakt, since many of the samples I'd like to use are only available as Kontakt instruments, and as far as I know, Kontakt doesn't have a drum replacement option.

Finally heard back that Drumagog will indeed trigger different velocity samples from Kontakt (or whatever plugin is set on it), so that's good news for me.

 

[tmitchell33]

Save your money by learning to use 'Tab to transient' mode (Assuming your working in PT) and good workflow (ie learning shortcuts and beat detective), you will get a better result by carefully listening and adjusting every edit you make. Kontakt can be flakey on Windows or OSX but its free. Pod farm GX was the best investment I have ever made at $90AUD and is ample, you don't need the metal pack or HD as the dual treadplate simulator is just as good. The pod farm interface in the GX edition must be connected to your computer for licensing purposes, however you can still use any AD/DA converter you want - just choose it in your system preferences.

 

[neonlight]

just download the drumagog demo and try it yourself. I used the ''plugin trigger function'' (don't know how it's called) with superior drummer and it worked with velocities. So if drumagog is able to load up kontakt, it should be as well able to give you the velocities you need I guess.

 

[Spokid]

Not sure what program I'll be using yet. I've been using Cubase for the past few years, and I like it, but I'm looking to upgrade, and I've heard a lot of negative things about the newest Cubase, so I'm looking into my options. I've used ProTools in the past quite a bit as well, but I have to say, between that and Cubase, I prefer Cubase. So there's a chance I might not go with either one.

Like I said, still looking into my options, and definitely trying to figure out the best use of my "budget".

 

[oroinvictus]

reaper.fm

 

[Spokid]

I was actually thinking I might check out StudioOne. Anyone have any experience with using that?

 

[tmitchell33]

Cubase has a very unique workflow, most others are very similar to Pro Tools. If you are comfortable with Cubase's workflow then why spend any money changing? Especially if you are trying to be mindful of budget. What advantages do you se in changing DAW?

 

[Spokid]

There's a couple issues, such as plug-in limitations, and new features that would be helpful. My version of Cubase is old enough that, while it still works and I enjoy it, I'm noticing some restrictions that I previously did not notice for various reasons.

If I have to keep using it until I'm 100% sure on something else, I don't mind. I'm just saying that the newer programs would allow me more freedom in some aspects.

 

[tmitchell33]

Fair call. Pro Tools LE or HD 10 is very good - especially from an audio and track IO routing point of view. Everyone will have an opinion as to what DAW they think is best, but PT is considered an industry standard. In saying that they all can do the same job, so I would choose whatever seems like a logical workflow to you! I would also try Cubase 7 and decide for yourself, as I wouldn't rely on what some Joe blow thinks about the software ;-)