# Can I use many articulations instead of keyswitches? Does it take more ram?



## !Sorcerer! (Oct 27, 2018)

Can I just use a different instrument inside the same kontakt instance for each articulation instead of using keyswitches? Will this take more ram or will each instrument share samples? The idea feels like it should be somewhat cumbersome but I could also see why it should make no difference.


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## TGV (Oct 27, 2018)

It depends on the implementation. I know that East-West programs certain patches by overlaying samples. If you load them as different instruments, the pre-load buffers will be duplicated. But the only way to know for sure, is test: start a fresh copy of your sequencer, load one set of patches, look at memory usage, quit, and repeat for the other set. You do have to pick the right memory statistic, though.


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## JohnG (Oct 27, 2018)

I don't like keyswitches. The reason is a little bit complicated but all comes from the responsiveness (in time) of different articulations, also called "latency."

Here's what I mean:

1. With all sample setups of a large size, there is a lag between the time you put your finger down on a key and when the sound starts to be audible, called latency. To counteract this latency, I adjust my DAW software to play back each articulation a little bit earlier than normal; sometimes this offset is only a couple of frames, but sometimes it can be 15 or even more. This is called using a midi offset, though there are probably other words for it.

2. The trouble with keyswitches is that you can't set a single offset that works for every articulation because not all articulations "speak" at the same rate. "Legato" articulations, for example, often start more slowly; in other words, there is a longer lag in time between the instant you put your finger down on the keyboard and when the sound actually starts on a legato articulation than there is on, say, a staccato articulation. (This lag is usually less for short articulations like staccato and spiccato than it is for long articulations, particularly "legato.")

3. Consequently, if you have two or more articulations on a single keyswitch, the same midi offset will not work for all the articulations, because you'd need a different offset for different articulations within the keyswitch.

So I like everything separate -- legato patches have one midi line with a longer midi offset; shorter articulations like spiccato have a much shorter midi offset. Probably it takes some more RAM, but I don't know that it's a lot more.


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