Kontakt 8.8.0 won't start and causes Ableton crashes

thx538

Good Morning,

I wanted to report here as well.
since updating to 8.8.0 :

Kontakt 8 standalone application refuses to launch
Kontakt 8 VST3 crashes Ableton live (v 12.3). Log file says :
2025-12-11T06:55:24.301838: info: VST3: Going to restore: Kontakt 8
2025-12-11T06:55:27.520895: error: Windows Exception: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION

I tried deinstalling and reinstalling but with no effect

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DunedinDragon

No problems here on Windows 10 and the same configuration of Ableton and Kontakt 8

Joep1234567

Kontakt does launch in Ableton Live and as Standalone, but when I open the set that I always use, it crashes. It's a multi instrument bank with a multiple plugins, which was working fine before I updated Kontakt to 8.8.

I'm on Macbook Pro M4 Max and MacOS Sequoia 15.7.2

Is there a way to go back to Kontakt 8.7?

Please?

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/250580#Comment_250580

Is there a way to go back to Kontakt 8.7?
Please?

You can use your Account downloads where you will find previous versions…

Jeremy_NI

@thx538 and @Joep1234567 before downgrading, please try these steps: Kontakt Crashes

If crashes still occur, then get in touch with our support here: https://bit.ly/NI_Support_All

Joep1234567

Thank you @Jeremy_NI. I already downgraded.
I’ve got my set working now. I’m using it live on stage about every night this month. Unfortunately I had to do one evening on an acoustic grand piano instead of with my NI set. I wish I had an undo button for the update then.
For now I keep it as it is, since things work for me with Kontakt 8.7. In January, when my live tour is over, I’ll try updating to 8.8 again.

thx538

Thanks @Jeremy_NI

Re initializing the Kontakt DB did the trick, but once reinstalled, I could easily reproduce the crash after I saved a custom multi as the default multi. So there's probably something to fix on your side.

This issue is also reported here so there's something to be fixed IMHO.

Jeremy_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/250744#Comment_250744

It seems the other user managed to solve it. If you want us to have a look on your issue with your custom multi and perhaps help to find what should be fixed if needed, then please get in touch with support.

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