Ableton12 contantly crashes when using Kontakt8

J0J00 · 2025-04-10T21:38:51+00:00

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I am on a Mac with Ableton12 and have only purchased VSTs installed. So far Ableton was super stable with maybe 1 crash every month while I have been using it daily.

Ever since installing Kontakt8 producing has become an absolute nightmare.

Whenever I use Kontakt on a Midi track I get crashes over crashes.

I even tried working around it by freezing the Kontakt8 midi tracks. But even then I get crashes during the freezing process. Even worse is not a random event but I can consistently trigger a crash when I hit freeze on a Kontrakt Midi Track.

Is there any workaround to use the library without that Kontrakt garbage?

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Jeremy_NI

@J0J00 I see on your profile that you are on Mac.

Have you tried to open Kontakt 8 in standalone? Is everything functional there? Can you browse; load, play and control instruments?

Do Kontakt and Ableton have full disk access? How to Enable Full Disk Access on macOS

Have you tried the following? Kontakt Crashes

Does it happen all the time or on certain instruments? Where did you install your libraries? On an external hard drive? What is the format of that drive? On Mac it should be APFS: Notes on Hard Drive Formats on Mac Computers

J0J00

I can load, play and control Kontakt in Ableton. But it just crashes seemingly random, sometimes working for a few beats. Once I figure out when it crashes, I can trigger that crash over and over again, making it a consistent "feature".

I dont see a point using it as a standalone. I just see that Ableton crashes each time when I try to freeze a midi track with Kontakt on it. That way I am 100% certain this is a Kontakt issue.

I have only Kontakt and the 1 Spotlight Collection that I purchased installed. It is on the internal HD with no changes in the standard installed paths and formats, both on the OS, Ableton as well as Kontakt.

DunedinDragon

Just out of curiosity, how far does it get in the freeze process? Do you have any other MIDI files that are NOT using Kontakt that complete the Freeze process successfully? I can't see how freezing a track would need to have any interaction with Kontakt. Flattening certainly would, but not so much for Freezing I wouldn't think.

J0J00

Yeah the Serum midi tracks have no issue and can get freezed without any issue.

The freezing is very weird. I have a a 16 bar segment, where variations in the pattern start around the 12th bar. It crashes at around 72% "freezing" each time. After this happened a few times I cut it down to only 1 bar, feezed and flattened it, and then copy&pasted it as a loop. Ableton hasn't crashed ever since now that Kontakt is no longer in use.

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/221140#Comment_221140

What version of Ableton are you using? There were a few posts from a month or two back where Abletons reps themselves - said there were problems with Kontakt (and other plugs).

You should be checking with Ableton on this as well - as it is common knowledge that TONS of users in these forums - use Ableton and outside of this specific thread this past week - not exactly seeing a huge collection of crash reports on Kontakt.

If there was a rampant Ableton/Kontakt issue - it would be obvious in the forums here - bad news travels fast.

J0J00

I am on 12.1.10

Jeremy_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/221140#Comment_221140

If we ask to check the standalone application is to help with troubleshooting. If something is off with the standalone application, it can affect the functionalities of the plug-in.

You didn't answer the questions about where the libraries are installed, the format of the drive, etc…Again if we ask this it's for troubleshooting. Wrong disk format on Mac can cause severe performance issues.

Any reason why you have not updated to the lats version available for Ableton?

J0J00

I do not know how to trigger the crash in the standalone version and I can not use it without a purpose in the hopes it would crash at some point?

I have only the Cuba Spotlight collection installed, if you think this is the library?

It is APFS format and the latest Ableton Version seems to be my 12.1.10. At least thats what the official website download area shows me too.

Jeremy_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/221646#Comment_221646

And have you followed the steps for Kontakt crashes? Did you check the full disk access options?

J0J00

I do not feel comfortable doing this. I have no other software on my device that has full disc access. Honestly, the reason why I am buying plugins and avoiding obscure installers is because I have sensitive data on that I do not want to put in jeopardy.

Jeremy_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/221671#Comment_221671

Full Disk Access is a really simple thing, it just fixes any permission issue. It just means that you tell your computer that these programs are not threats and you allow access for certain programs in order for them to function properly. It has nothing to do with your data.

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