597: How to use the Kontakt 3 factory library in Sibelius

Kontakt 3 from Native Instruments includes a 33 GB library of sounds from Orchestral, World, Vintage, Band, Synth to Urban Beats. It's possible to have these sounds loading automatically and playing back in Sibelius 5 and 6, just like the Sibelius Sounds libraries do:

Step 1:

Download this Kontakt_3_Library.zip file and extract the Kontakt 3 Library.xml file to the following folders:

• Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\your username\Application Data\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 6\Sounds
• Windows 7 or Vista: C:\Users\your username\AppData\Roaming\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 6\Sounds
• Mac OS X: /Users/your username/Library/Application Support/Sibelius Software/Sibelius 6/Sounds

NOTE: if you're using Sibelius 5, substitute the 6 for a 5 in the folder paths above

Step 2:

To get the sounds to load in Sibelius, you need to move the Kontakt 3 library that you have installed so it's in an Instruments folder:

Before:

..\Kontakt 3 Library\Band
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Orchestral
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Synth
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Urban Beats
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Vintage
..\Kontakt 3 Library\World

After:

..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\Band
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\Orchestral
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\Synth
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\Urban Beats
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\Vintage
..\Kontakt 3 Library\Instruments\World

This will allow the loading to be able to find the samples so if you still get 'File not found' then check:

• The library is in an Instruments folder (as above)
• You have installed the whole library from the Kontakt 3 DVDs
• Kontakt 3's settings. Open the Kontakt 3 interface, click on the Settings cog and in the Load/Import tab make sure the Library Path is set to the ..\Kontakt 3 Library folder. Make sure it is not the Instruments folder. If you change this, be sure to restart Sibelius before it takes affect

Step 3:

Ensure you are using the latest version of Kontakt 3.5, which you can download from here:

www.native-instruments.com/kontakt35.info

Native Instruments fixed a crash with this update so you are advised to install the latest version

Step 4:

Once in Sibelius go to Play, Playback Devices. Create a new Playback Configuration with two or so instances of Kontakt 3 (remember each Kontakt 3 will hold 16 sounds each so activate more for larger scores).

Now, check in the Manual sound sets tab that you don't have 'Use Manual Sound Sets' ticked. Chose Save, then Close and play back your score. The samples should get loaded in automatically and do all the correct key switching for the articulations too.