Dorico 3 Elements doesn't recognize Kontakt 5 or 6

Dorico
#10

I can confirm the following:

#1 Launch new install of Doric 3 and all VST paths are reset to the following:

At this point the Vst2xPlugin Blacklist VSTAudioEngine3.xml contains no entries.

#2 Next, I add the path for Kontakt:

#3 Finally, I click “OK” and Dorico freezes for a moment.

I discovered while it was “frozen” it was actually detecting Kontakt.dll from the path I added, and then putting it on the blacklist instead of the whitelist.

This happens even when I manually move the entries from the blacklist to the whitelist and restart–they are reverted to the blacklist and Kontakt is unavailable.

#11

Hm, very strange. I need to discuss tomorrow in the office with my colleagues what can cause Kontakt to get blacklisted. Please wait.

#12

I can confirm that using this file means the following path:

*C:\Program Files\Native Instruments*

Shows up on the VST paths dialog between Dorico 3 restarts. However, even in this case a blacklist file is created and/or entries are created for Kontakt. It doesn’t matter if I delete the blacklist file or simply remove the entries manually. Even when I confirm “Kontakt” is on vst2whitelist.txt, and even when I manually move the entries from Vst2xPlugin Blacklist VSTAudioEngine3.xml over to Vst2xPlugin Whitelist VSTAudioEngine3.xml, for whatever reason, Dorico continues to blacklist Kontakt.

Hm, very strange. I need to discuss tomorrow in the office with my colleagues what can cause Kontakt to get blacklisted. Please wait.

Ok, I look forward to a resolution, I’ve got homework to finish! :slight_smile:

#13

We are still not sure, why Kontakt gets blacklisted. Anyway, let’s try and whitelist it again. The whitelisting refers to the plug-in scanner, not the other whitelisting you do via Dorico.

Attached to this posting is a zip file containing 2 xml files. Please copy those two files to /Users//AppData/Roaming/Steinberg/VSTAudioEngine3_64 and let it override the existing ones.
And, at the same location you find the file ‘Module Cache.xml’, simply delete that one.

Then, open Dorico and start with a project from the piano template. Go to Play Mode and check if Kontakt does appear in the list of available VST-instruments.
If it does, then choose Kontakt. Does it crash? I would not wonder, because there was a (still unknown) reason that the plug-in scanner did blacklist it before.
whiteblacklist.zip (972 Bytes)

#14

I’ve just tried this with Kontakt Player 6 and it loads for me without problems. Dorico already whitelists ‘Kontakt5 16 Out’ and ‘Kontakt’ so you shouldn’t need it in your own whitelist file.

I’d suggest:

  • copy your current whitelist file and edit it to remove the Kontakt entries from it
  • delete C:\Users{username}\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg\VSTAudioEngine3_64 directory
  • start Dorico again so it recreates the default configuration
  • Open a project in Dorico then in Preferences > Play edit the VST plugin paths again to add C:\Program Files\Native Instruments\VSTPlugins 64 bit
  • Restart Dorico
#15

I’m also trying to get Kontakt 6 into Dorico, but Im still in Dorico 2. Earlier I managed to get the Aria Player on board (I think it was Dorico 1 when I did that), Again I follow exactly the steps in the video of Anthony, but nothing happens. Has something changed in-between Dorico 1 and 2 regarding this white-list-nerdiness? I’m on Mac. Is there an updated step-by-step guide for Dorico 2 and whitelisting?

#16

Whitelisting became much easier in Dorico 2. Go to the Dorico preferences dialog, choose the Play tab and scroll all the way down. There are two buttons, ‘Edit VST2 Whitelist’ and ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’.
Editor windows will open where you simply add the plug-in’s name that you want to whitelist or add the path to the path list, if it is somewhere located outside the standard paths.

#17

Thanks ! That has become way more easy. It would be a good idea that this video get’s an update. (btw I don’t see a button ‘VST2 Plug-in Paths’…)

#18

That button only appears on Windows, since there is only a single system-defined path for VST 2.x plug-ins (and indeed VST 3 plug-ins) on macOS.

#19

I don’t know if this relevant but the second picture in your post shows the new path for Kontakt as:

C:/Program Files/Native Instruments/VSTPlugins 64 bit

instead of:

C:\Program Files\Native Instruments\VSTPlugins 64 bit

Forward slashes are illegal in path names if you use Windows, unless Dorico automagically corrects the “/” to “”.

Just a thought.

#20

I think the forward slashes in the path shouldn’t be a problem - we do convert them internally.

I’ve been looking at the logs that you uploaded and found a couple of things that may have clouded the picture. There are a few crashes in there, and so it could be that setting the VST paths didn’t ‘stick’ because the engine crashed shortly after. Firstly, I would advise disabling the ‘suspend audio device in background’ option because we’ve found cases where it can cause problems. Secondly, I see that you’re using the ASIO Generic Low Latency device rather than the native ASIO drivers for your devices, so I would change to use the proper ASIO driver. Once you’ve made those changes, then hopefully that should stabilise things a bit so we can work out what’s going on with Kontakt.

#21

Confirmed, changing my audio settings solved the VST path sticking problem after completely deleting the VSTAudioEngine3_64 folder. Thank you!

Kontakt still not available unfortunately.

I’ve now bee testing with no whitelist at all, but the problem persists. For what it’s worth, Kontakt gets put onto the blacklist immediately after clicking “OK” in the VST2 paths dialog, no program restart required (but I still tested this anyway). My next test is to completely remove Dorico 3 and reinstall.

#22

I’m afraid I don’t think uninstalling and reinstalling Dorico will have any bearing on this – the question is why Kontakt is getting blacklisted on your system. For the answer to that question I’m afraid I think you need to wait for Ulf to come back to you.

#23

Your fears are confirmed. Full removal and reinstall did nothing to address the problem. I’m stumped!

#24

For your information, here is the latest diagnostic report after a fresh install: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkJKS0bhzKxZrXWCIORUHJqvKvb8?e=UwwlDf

#25

One of my computing mentors from way back used to say “when all else fails, assume the error message actually means what it says”.

Is it possible Dorico is blacklisting the Kontakt VST simply because there is something wrong with your installation of Kontakt?

Does Kontakt work in any other apps on your PC?

Have you tried deleting and reinstalling Kontakt, as well as Dorico?

#26

I´m having the same problem with Dorico 3 Pro. I hope there will be a happy end to this soon…

#27

Thanks for the data. This is all totally weird. According to the latest log it said:
2019-09-06 10:35:51 : Plugin refused: Komplete Kontrol.dll
2019-09-06 10:35:51 : Plugin accepted: Kontakt 5 16out.dll
2019-09-06 10:35:54 : Plugin refused: Kontakt 5 8out.dll
2019-09-06 10:35:54 : Plugin refused: Kontakt 5.dll
2019-09-06 10:35:54 : Plugin accepted: Kontakt.dll

So Kontakt and Kontakt 5 16out got accepted. Why does it not turn up in the list of instruments in Dorico then?

Can we try something different then. You say it works in Dorico 2.
Under AppData/Roaming/Steinberg is also a VSTAudioEngine2_64 folder. If you go into that one and delete the Module Cache.xml file and then start Dorico 2, does Kontakt still get recognized by Dorico or also blacklisted?

In 99% of all cases, when a plug-in gets blacklisted, then because it is crashing in the vstscanner. This is an additional program that acts as a safeguard. It tries to load all plug-ins once and sort those out that make trouble, so that the audio engine later only meets well behaved plug-ins.

This is all so weird, I propose we do a TeamViewer session next week, where I can see your desktop and see myself. In what timezone do you live?

#28

Could you please also post a diagnostic report? Maybe your case is different, you can never rule it out.

#29

I completely removed Dorico 2 and 3, include Steinberg Roaming App data. I then resinstalled both versions + components + content.

Dorico 2

I started by opening Dorico 2 and adding the Native Instruments path for VST2. Everything works as expected:

Diagnostics of the working Dorico 2 are available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkJKS0bhzKxZrXYRg8N7nEQujLxb?e=JNbzcb

Dorico 3

I then opened Dorico 3 and followed the same steps, adding the Native Instruments VST2 path. Sadly, Kontakt shows up in the blacklist file, and is not available in the UI:

Diagnostics of the failing Dorico 3 are available here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkJKS0bhzKxZrXdMHRJqBSacBlRK?e=RYEGiG

I’m afraid there is nothing more I can do without guidance on your end. I am happy to screen share to facilitate troubleshooting.