Minimum Kontakt version is v5.8.1.

In order to allow musicians to use the Glow Worm sample packs even when they have not updated Kontakt to the latest available version, as a compromise all instruments have been created using v5.8.1. There are some recommendations and considerations for Kontak v7 users as a separate topic.

As the instruments consist of many (sometimes very long) samples, up to 380 in some cases, playing without glitches requires a fast I/O between disk, CPU and memory. In general it is recommended to place the sample packs on a disk as close as possible to the CPU using fast drives (SSD works perfect).

The Glow Worm instruments are created using Kontakt 5 so that also musicians who do not have the latest version of Kontakt can enjoy the sample packs. Here are some new features in Kontakt 6 and 7 that you may want to use when modifying Glow Worm instruments, or making variations.

There are many minor changes between Kontakt 5 and Kontakt 6 and 7, as well as under the hood improvements which will not be discussed here. But a few new options can be of interest and useful when you happen to have the latest and greatest Kontakt version. Screenshots are from Kontakt 7.

Effect section

The effect section has a number of interesting additions:

1. A number of new 6-pole filters have been added (SV LP6, SV HP6, SV BP6 and SV Notch 6).
   No changes to the EQ section.

   

2. As can be seen from the screenshot above, the effects are now more clearly split into different categories.

   New in Dynamics:Feedback Compressor, Supercharger GT, Transparent Limiter
   New in Amps:Bass Invader, Bass Pro, EP Preamps
   New in Stomps:Big Fuzz, Cry Wah, Dirt, DStortion, Fuzz
   New in Lo-Fi:Bite
   New in Tape:Wow/Flutter
   New in Modulation:Choral, Flair, Freak, Phasis, Ring Modulator, Vibrato/Chorus<
   New in Delay:PsycheDelay, Replika Delay, Twin Delay
   Reverb:Plate Reverb, Raum, Reverb (different from Legacy Reverb)
   Spatial:Stereo Tune
   Utilities:no changes
   
   

   A number of effects found in Kontakt 5 have been renamed as follows (and still work as expected):

   Modulation:Legacy Chorus, Legacy Flanger, Legacy Phaser
   Delay:Legacy Delay
   Reverb:Legacy Reverb

Instrument Main FX

A new layer of effects has been added, called Instrument Main FX.

You have purchased one or more sample packs and want to load them in NI Kontakt to check out your new sounds. Two procedures:

Procedure 1:

1. Unzip the pack and place the directory containing the .nkm files on a disk as close as possible to your CPU. External drives also work as long as the USB connection is fast enough.

2. When you bought a complete pack, which means that you have a number of related downloads for a particular type of synth, copy all related .nkm files in a single directory.

3. Start NI Kontakt (minimum version v5.8.1)

   

4. Select “Files” in the left top panel.

5. Browse to the disk and directory of the packet you want to explore in the left top panel and left click on the directory (in the example above ROLAND MKS-30 Pack).

6. The .nkm files (“Instruments”) will now be listed in the left bottom pane.

7. Drag the desired instrument into the right pane. In this example BASS MKS-30 – WB Bass 1.

   

8. You will now be prompted if you want to Replace Multi (pressing “No” will merge in the new instruments)? – Click “Yes“

   

9. The instrument now appears in the right pane. Make sure your settings of the Output and MIDI Channel are set to match your set-up.

   

Procedure 2:

1. Unzip the pack and place the directory containing the .nkm files on a disk as close as possible to your CPU. External drives also work as long as the USB connection is fast enough.

2. When you bought a complete pack, which means that you have a number of related downloads for a particular type of synth, copy all related .nkm files in a single directory.

3. Start NI Kontakt (minimum version v5.8.1)

   

4. Locate your instrument using Explorer and drag the instrument into the Kontakt pane directly (in the example above: BASS Model D - 3 Osc Pulse Bass 1).

   

5. You will now be prompted if you want to Replace Multi (pressing “No” will merge in the new instruments)? – Click “Yes“

   

Note: When changing one instrument for another, just drag in the new instrument using one of the methods above, and answer “Replace Multi” with “Yes”. When you answer “No” you have created a layer, as both instruments will be played simultaneously.

When you have purchased multiple sample packs, here you find some recommendations to stay organized.

To help you find your instruments, the names of the instruments as found in the Glow Worm sample packs are following a strict format:

Example: LEAD Model D - Minimoog Lead 2.nkm

When the name starts with WB, KN, etc. that refers to the creator of the original patch (when known). WB is me.

Note: It is highly recommended to use the same naming conventions for the instruments you create yourself, eventually based on the Glow Worm libraries.

Categories

The categories are just an indication, it may well be that a BASS sound can be used as a lead sound in the higher regions, or to play chords in the middle section. So don’t let the categories restrict you in any way!

The following categories are used:

Descriptions

Some information you may always find in the descriptions of the instruments:

• If more than one velocity layer is used. You may consider to remove layers to reduce the size of the instrument, or create a round robin scheme.
• If the sound fades out, so no looping has been applied. You will find “No looping, fades out.” In the description. When that is not the case, looping is used to allow sounds to play infinite.
• If the MW is used for anything else than vibrato, it will be indicated in the description, and mostly also in the instrument name (MW).
• When aftertouch has been programmed, it is indicated in the description.

Organizing sample packs

Most sample packs that you may find in the Glow Worm collection are directly related to the original instrument from which the samples have been derived. They contain usually around 100 instruments.

In some cases different instruments of the same brand have been bundled in a single pack. In that case you will find different folders and descriptions in your zip file.

In other cases the sampled sounds from a single instrument have been divided into different packs. When purchasing different packs from the same instrument, hose packs should be put into a common folder. You can download a description that reflects the complete collection.

Two ways

One way to organize your instruments is to make folders per brand, then subfolders per hardware instrument containing all instruments (Kontakt talk…) created from that hardware instrument. This is how the Glow Worm shop has been organized.

Some people say: I don’t give a sh.t from which synth an instrument has been created, I just want a good bass sound. Makes sense, so here is another structure. You create folders per category. Then you copy all BASS instruments in the Bass folder, BRASS instruments in the Brass folder, etc. Because of the naming convention mentioned above, the instruments will still be listed per original HW synth.

How to add effects, remove a reverb, change a delay, add EQ, remove a limiter, etc.

1) Click the edit button:

2) Scroll down until you find Insert Effects and Send Effects. When the panels are closed like the example below, open them by clicking the open button.

In this example you see two Insert Effects: Gainer and Limiter and one Send Effect: Reverb. Notice that the parameters of the selected effect are shown below the overview pane.

Insert effects

3a) To remove effects, press “X”. To bypass the effect, press “B”.

3b) To add an effect, press “+”.

You will get a pop-up menu as below:

When choosing “Effects” you get a list of optional effects to select from.

Select an insert effect from the list and adjust the parameters as required.

Send Effects

In case of a send effect you will get a pop-up menu as below:

Select a send effect from the list and adjust the parameters as required.

Note: The send levels for the Send Effects are (usually) the last in the row of insert effects. You may want to adjust the default value(s) (0 db) to avoid distortion or clipping.

You will notice that most instruments in the Glow Worm sample packs have effects added to make them shine as standalone sounds. It is very likely that in a mix you want to reduce or get rid of reverb and delay effects, or that you want to adjust the EQ and limiter settings. Using the instructions above will make that a piece of cake.

Some synths however have characteristic effects embedded, for example the chorus of a MKS-70 or any of the instruments of the ARP Odyssey + FX pack. Those effects are part of the samples and can’t be altered.

Creating a new instrument from different existing instruments by layering is quite simple.

Let’s look at an example. Suppose we want to layer three instruments:

PAD Xenophone – BP Cult.nkm
PAD Poly Evolver – Alien Texture Unisono.nkm
LEAD Odyssey – WB 2-OSC Riverside + Deco

1. Drag PAD Xenophone – BP Cult.nkm into the right Multirack window. Answer the “Replace Multi” question with “YES”.

   

   

2. Drag PAD Poly Evolver – Alien Texture Unisono.nkm into the right Multirack window. Answer the “Replace Multi” question with “NO”.

   

   

3. Drag LEAD Odyssey – WB 2-OSC Riverside + Deco.nkm into the right Multi Rack window. Answer the “Replace Multi” question with “NO”.

   

   

4. Although this already results in a beautiful evolving pad with room for melodies and basses, you now may make a few adjustments:

   1. Volume per layered sound.
   2. Add, alter or remove effects.

   3. You may want to alter the tuning of one or more of the layers. When you want to create for instance a fifth or an octave interval you can do that in Instrument Options – MIDI Transpose

      

5. When you are happy with the result, don’t forget to save your work!

   1. Click the "Save" button

   2. Select “Save multi as…”

      

   3. Rename the new instrument and select the appropriate folder. In this case I would advice to save as monolith.

      

   4. Click “Save”.

This procedure will show you how to create an instrument with one or more splits.

Let’s assume we want to create an instrument consisting of a bass on the left side (C0 – B2), a pad in the middle (C3 – B4) and a lead sound on the right (C5 – C7). We choose the following sounds:

Bass: BASS Prophecy – Fretless Bass.nkm
Pad: PAD Matrix 12 – KN Mellow Pad 1.nkm
Lead: LEAD Oberheim SEM – WB Pulse 25%.nkm

1. In first instance we drag the instruments in the Multi Rack window, as were it for a layered multi-instrument (refer to “Making layers” instruction).

   

2. Click the edit button of the BASS Prophecy – Fretless Bass.

3. Select the Mapping Editor.

4. Select the zones from E3 – C7 by clicking on the zone starting at E3 and then clicking the other zones on the right side while pressing the SHIFT button.

   

5. Use right mouse knob to show the pop-up menu. Select “Cut Zones” to remove the selected zones.

   

6. Mouse over the right boundary of the zone starting at A#2 until the cursor changes into <->. Drag the right boundary to B2.

   

7. We are done with the bass section so close the editor by clicking the edit button

8. Open the editor of PAD Matrix 12 – KN Mellow Pad 1 and select the Mapping Editor (see for procedure above).

   

9. Select the zones as shown in the figure above.

10. Cut the selected zones (see procedure above).

    

11. Select the left zone and drag the left boundary to C2. The select the right zone and drag the right boundary to B4.

    

12. We are done with the middle (pad) section, close the editor.

13. Open the editor of PAD Matrix 12 – KN Mellow Pad 1 and select the Mapping Editor (see for procedure above). Note that this instrument has 5 velocity layers.

14. Select the zones as shown in the picture below.

    

15. Delete the selected zones.

16. Select the 5 zones left and drag the left boundary to C5.

    

17. We are done with the LEAD section, so close the editor.

18. At this stage it is time to adjust volume, EQ, effects, etc. for the different instruments making up this multi-instrument.

19. When we are satisfied with the result, don’t forget to save the multi instrument.

    1. Click the "Save" button

    2. Select “Save multi as…”

       

    3. Rename the new instrument and select the appropriate folder. In this case I would advice to save as monolith.

       

    4. Click “Save”.

Note: The procedure above assumes that MIDI Transpose (Instrument Options) are set to 0. When that is not the case the offset(s) have to be taken into account when determining the zones to be selected.

Here you find a procedure how to adjust the volume envelope and/or vibrato LFO of an instrument.

1. Click the edit button.

   

2. Scroll down to the bottom where you find the Modulation window. Open when it happens to be closed.

   

3. In most instruments you will find one AHDSR which is corresponds to the Envelope slider controlling the volume. There may be more envelope generators listed here, for instance when Kontakt filters have been used. You can adjust the AHDSR parameters as required.

   

This is how you can make an instrument that will switch between different sounds using velocity switching.

Let’s assume we want to velocity switch between 3 somewhat similar MKS-50 pads:

PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 1
PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 2
PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 3

1. Drag all three instruments into the Multi Rack (refer to “Making layers” if needed).

2. Open the mapping editor of PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 1. This instrument happens to have 5 velocity layers (or groups in Kontakt speak). Let’s keep the top two layers and delete the otter three. That currently covers Velocity value 111 to 127. Close the editor.

   

3. Open the mapping editor of PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 2. This instrument happens to have only one velocity layer.

   1. Select all zones in the group and copy them.
   2. Close the editor of Filter Sweep 2
   3. Open the Mapping Editor of Filter Sweep 1
   4. Paste the zones from Filter Sweep 2 in the map of Filter Sweep 1
   5. Limit the group from Filter Sweep 2 from Velocity value 79 to 110

   6. Close the editor of Filter Sweep 1

      

4. Open the mapping editor of PAD MKS-50 – Filter Sweep 3. Also this instrument happens to have only one velocity layer.

   1. Select all zones in the group and copy them
   2. Close the editor of Filter Sweep 3
   3. Open the Mapping Editor of Filter Sweep 1
   4. Paste the zones from Filter Sweep 3 in the map of Filter Sweep 1
   5. Limit the group from Filter Sweep 3 from Velocity value 0 to 78

   6. Close the editor of Filter Sweep 1

      

5. Now let’s clean up a bit and delete Filter Sweep 2 and Filter Sweep 3 and rename Filter Sweep 1 into “Velocity Switching Filter Sweep”.

6. Time to save our instrument. Press the save button, select “Save multi as…”, change the file name into “Velocity Switching Filter Sweep” and select save mode “Monolith” then click the save button. Done, we have created an instrument with 4 velocity layers switching between three different sounds!

Here you find a procedure how to adjust the velocity sensitivity of an instrument. Also manipulating the velocity behavior of instruments with different velocity layers will be discussed.

Adjusting the amount of velocity modulation applied is quite simple. Most Glow Worm instruments have this value set around 50% or less (default = 100%).

1. Drag an instrument from your collection into the Multi Rack window. For this example: BRASS Evolver – Dreamy Sweets.

2. Click the edit button

3. Scroll down until you find the Amplifier section with its modulators.

   

4. Adjust the velocity modulation value with the corresponding slider.

BRASS Evolver – Dreamy Sweets happens to have 5 velocity layers (groups). Open the Mapping editor to see how they are divided over the velocity range (0 – 127).

Per default all layers (groups) are evenly spread over the velocity range. However, that means in real life that with an unweighted keyboard you probably only hit the top three layers. To avoid that, almost all Glow Worm instruments with more than one velocity layer have a division as shown above.

You may change that as you see fit by selecting a whole group and drag the upper and/or lower boundary to a new value.

In some cases you may want to reduce the number of velocity layers. Maybe because the top layer is too bright, or the differences between the layers are subtle and you can do with only one or two.

Here we will discuss how to control vibrato via aftertouch.

Let’s assume we have a lead sound which will very likely have no aftertouch (AT) and subtle 6Hz vibrato via the modulation wheel (MW). Suppose you want to control vibrato via AT.

1. Take any instrument and open the editor by clicking the editor button./p>

2. Let’s first remove the MW controlling the amount of pitch modulation by the LFO, by removing the MIDI automation linked to the MW. Hover over the slider of the LFO and right mouse click to get the menu show below. Click “Remove MIDI Automation”.

   

3. Set the modulation shaper to default. Click “Preset”, then “Factory”, then “Default”.

   

4. Now let’s control the vibrato by AT. Scroll down to the modulation section.

5. Click the “Mod” button associated with the LFO, then click “add modulator”.

   

6. You will get a pop-up menu. Select “External Sources”, then “mono. aftertouch” (unless you have a controller supporting poly aftertouch, in that case select “poly. aftertouch).

   

7. Now select as destination for the AT “intensity (add)” (default is frequency). With the associated slider you can determine the intensity of the LFO modulation via AT.

   

Note: When you hear a constant vibrato without applying AT, check that the LFO slider, now adding constant vibrato, is set to zero.

Here you find a procedure how to insert filters and modulate them with envelope generators and/or LFO’s.

Kontakt has an extensive set of very capable filters which may be used to add juice to a sound, shave off some undesirable sharp edges, make a sound more evolving, add an extra dimension to velocity control, besides just controlling the amplitude, etc.

Let’s take a five velocity layer instrument, like LEAD Xenophone – Fuzzy Man. This is a bright lead sound, so let’s shave off some brightness, but controlled by an envelope generator to add some movement over time.

1. Click the edit button.

2. Scroll down to Group InsertFx.

3. Add a low pass filter called “Ladder LP4”.

   

4. Click the “Mod” button as indicated.

   

5. Click “add modulator” and select Envelopes. Then select ahdsr as modulation source.

   

6. Now scroll down to the modulation section. You will see that a new envelope generator (EG) appeared. By tweaking the envelope parameters, eventually match the release time of the volume EG with that of the filter EG, and tweaking the filter settings (cutoff and resonance typically), you can make this instrument more interesting while maintaining its character.

   

   

7. Default destination for the modulator is cutoff frequency, but you could also select resonance. The amount of modulation can be determined by the slider, as indicated above.

8. Now let’s add some LFO modulation to the same filter, just for demonstration. Click “add modulator” select “LFOs” and then “triangle”.

   

9. Now alter the LFO Frequency and Fade In as well as the modulation amount to taste.

   

   

This procedure explains how to turn a multi-velocity layer instrument into a round robin scheme. In other words, instead of selecting a layer based on the velocity value, layers are picked in a round robin (or random) scheme.

Let’s take BASS Matrix 12 – WB Bass 2 as an example. The mapping editor looks like this:

1. In the Group Editor rename the different velocity layers A, B, C, D, E. (Double click on the group name to edit).

   

2. Click “Selected Groups only”.

   

3. Now select each group one by one in the Group Editor and give them full velocity range by selecting all zones in the group and grabbing the upper limit and drag to the top, and grabbing the lower limit and drag to the bottom.

   

4. Switch off “Edit All Groups”.

5. Click “Group Start Options”.

6. Select group A

   1. Select under Group Starts: “Cycle Round Robin”
   2. Position in round robin chain = 1
      

      

7. Select group B

   1. Select under Group Starts: “Cycle Round Robin”
   2. Position in round robin chain = 2
      

      

8. Do the same for group C, D and E (position 3, 4 and 5 resp.).

Note: You can also choose under Group Starts “Cycle random” instead of “Cycle round robin”.

Almost all Glow Worm instruments have the pitchbend limits set to -2 to +2. Here you find how to change those values.

1. Drag the instrument you want to modify into the Multi rack.

2. Click the edit button.

3. Scroll down to the source section and identify the pitchbend controllers.

   

4. With the associated slider, you determine the pitchbend range. Completely to the right, the range is +/- an octave.

Almost all Glow Worm instruments have the same (very subtle) modulation wheel settings to modulate a 6HZ triangle LFO. Here you learn how to change those settings for more extreme effects.

1. Click the edit button.

2. In the source section, identify the “LFO (triangle)” section. When you move the modulation wheel (MW) you will see that reflected by the corresponding fader. (The MIDI learn function has been used to connect the MW to the LFO modulation amount.)

   

3. The orange line is the Modulation Shaper. It looks like it is completely horizontal but it is not. The left side is a fraction lower than the right side. This makes the subtle vibrato. Lets change that into the default value. Click “Preset”, then “Factory”, then “Default”.

   

   Now the Modulation Shaper looks like the screenshot below:

   

   You will notice that the modulation wheel can produce a much more extreme vibrato effect. You can modify the Modulation Shaper as you see fit.

4. To change the waveform or frequency of the LFO scroll to the bottom where you find the Modulation section. In the example below the frequency has been changed from 6Hz to 12Hz and the waveform from Triangle to Sample & Hold.

   

You may want to use the samples and/or reverb impulses for other purposes. How to do that?

1. Click the save button on the top panel.

   

2. Select “Save multi as…”

   

3. Select under Save Mode “Patch + Samples”

   

Note 1: All instruments in the sample packs have been saved as Monolith, which means that patch information, samples and impulses are all saved in a single file. When saving as Patch + Samples, the patch information is saved as a separate .nks file, the samples are saved in a separate directory (which has to remain in the same directory as the .nks file) and eventually a separate impulse file (when used in a convolution reverb typically).

Note 2: Saving an instrument as Patch + Samples is handy when you intent to create and save variations using the same set of samples. You then may save subsequent variations as Patch Only, and rename the variations as appropriate. This method saves substantial disk space.

Yes, you can.