Optimizing System Performance for Kontakt Instruments

System performance depends on various factors, including your computer’s specifications (processor, RAM, hard drive type, etc.) and the settings in your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), such as buffer size and multi-processor support.

In Kontakt, performance can be impacted by the number and type of effects used within an instrument. My instruments make good use of Kontakt’s effects to shape their unique sound, some of which, like Replika, are more CPU-intensive. Additionally, some instruments use Time Pro HD, which also requires more processing power.

Another key factor is the number of Kontakt and virtual instrument instances running in your project. As more instances are loaded, the demand on your system increases.

For reference, I create all my Kontakt instruments on a 2013 Intel iMac with a 3.4 GHz Quad-Core i5 and 24GB of RAM. Yep, it’s over a decade old - and that’s intentional! Developing on an older system allows me to ensure compatibility with a range of setups, often less powerful than many users’ systems today. So, whether you're on an older or a newer, high-powered setup, you should experience smooth performance with Kompose Audio instruments.

While I can’t guarantee compatibility with every system, I can confidently say all Kompose Audio Kontakt instruments run beautifully on my iMac, which is over 10 years old!

Helpful Tips for Improving Performance

  • Enable Multi-Processor Support: In Kontakt, go to Options > Engine, and set multi-processor support to match the maximum number of cores in your system. This can significantly improve performance.
  • Optimize Buffer Size on Newer Macs: Setting the buffer size to 128 samples on newer Macs can improve performance by ensuring processing stays on performance cores instead of efficiency cores, which can slow things down.
  • Use Track Freezing in Logic Pro: Freezing tracks in Logic Pro is a handy way to free up CPU by temporarily "disabling" instrument or effect plugins on a channel strip. When you freeze a track, Logic converts your software instrument track to audio, reducing the real-time processing load. You can unfreeze tracks any time to make further edits. This is an effective method to improve performance in larger projects with multiple virtual instruments.

You can also freeze tracks in Cubase, Ableton and Pro Tools, see links below for more infomration.

Useful links

How to freeze tracks in Logic pro
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgcpf1cbfd51/mac

Freezing multiple tracks in Cubase
https://archive.steinberg.help/cubase_pro/v12/en/cubase_nuendo/topics/track_handling/track_handling_multiple_tracks_freezing_t.html

How to freeze tracks in Pro Tools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41FJ6Cln6lc&t=4s

Avoid system overloads in Logic Pro for Mac
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/108295

Cubase - Optimizing Audio Performance
https://archive.steinberg.help/cubase_pro_artist/v9/en/cubase_nuendo/topics/optimizing/optimizing_audio_performance_c.html

Ableton - Computer Audio Resources and Strategies
https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/computer-audio-resources-and-strategies/