Your library and your synth

Manual contents

Know where the sound is

A patch is a sound's data plus the information KnobKraft keeps about it. The database stores those patches on your computer. A patch may appear in several lists without becoming several independent copies of the sound.

Your hardware has separate storage. A stored program is a sound in a numbered hardware location. An edit buffer, where supported, holds the sound currently being edited or played. Selecting another program or sending another patch can replace the current editable sound. Capture an edit you want to keep before doing either.

From	Action	To
Patch file	File import	Computer database
Hardware programs	Bank retrieval	Computer database
Current hardware edit	Capture, if supported	Computer database
Computer database	Audition / send	Device-dependent hardware destination
Computer database	Export	Patch file

The audition destination is conditional: some synth integrations send to a stored program location instead. See audition modes before clicking patches on connected hardware.

Choose the right container

Container	What it represents	Useful for
Database	The open library file, including patches and organizational data	Keeping your collection together and backing it up
By import entry	A source grouping created during import	Finding newly introduced sounds from a file or capture
User list	An ordered collection of references to patches; can contain different synths	Shortlists, projects, and listening sessions
User bank	A synth-specific arrangement with a target bank and capacity	Preparing a set of hardware program slots
Synth bank	KnobKraft's stored view of a hardware bank	Inspecting or rearranging known hardware locations

A file called a “bank” need not become a user bank when imported. File import adds recognized patches and import organization. Build a user bank when you need deliberate program placement.

Recognize a snapshot

The hardware bank view records a retrieval and displays elapsed time for an active synth bank. It is not a continuous readout of every front-panel change. If you rearrange programs on the synth or with another librarian, KnobKraft's known positions can become stale.

In Current Patch, Program describes the patch's recorded program information; In synth at lists locations known from the database's bank records. Neither field alone proves what is in the hardware now. Import again refreshes the bank view.

Build a useful library

Suggested workflow: import a collection, audition a few sounds, mark favorites, add comments, then place the useful sounds in a project list. Use a user bank only when the project needs a hardware slot arrangement. Export the arrangement separately from backing up the database.

KnobKraft's duplicate recognition depends on the synth's patch fingerprint. Importing the same sound again may reuse an existing database patch and update metadata. A name change alone is not a dependable way to create a separate version. See capture versions.

Glossary