How to Insert Native Instruments Plug-ins in Pro Tools 11 or higher

This article explains how to insert Native Instruments plug-ins in Pro Tools 11 or higher, including:

  • Inserting instrument plug-ins (e.g. MASSIVE, KONTAKT, etc.) as insert in an Instrument track.
  • Inserting effect plug-ins (e.g. GUITAR RIG 5, SUPERCHARGER, etc.) as insert in an Audio track or an Instrument track where an instrument is loaded.

    Note: some NI products can be inserted both as instrument or effect plug-in (e.g. ABSYNTH 5 / ABSYNTH 5 FX, etc.).

Inserting a NI Instrument Plug-in

A NI instrument plug-in has to be inserted in a Pro Tools Instrument track.

  1. Open a Pro Tools Session and choose Track > New from the menu bar.
  2. In the New Tracks dialog you can define the properties of the new track you want to create. Choose Stereo and Instrument Track from the respective drop-down menus, then press the Create button.
  3. After creating a new track click the first insert slot under INSERTS A-E of the Instrument track to open the inserts drop-down menu.

    Note: If you do not see the insert column, choose View > Edit Window Shows > Inserts from the Pro Tools menu bar.

  4. Navigate to the NI instrument plug-in you want to load, which you will find under multi-channel plug-in > Instrument. In our example, we want to load FM8_AAX (stereo).
  5. FM8 is now loaded in an Instrument track. If you want to play the NI instrument plug-in via a MIDI keyboard, make sure Record Enable is activated for the track.
  6. When first loaded, the NI plug-in's user interface is automatically open in a floating window. To show or hide the FM8 floating window, click its slot in the Instrument track of the Edit window once.

Inserting a NI Effect Plug-in

An effect plug-in has to be loaded as insert in a Pro Tools Audio track or on an Instrument track where an instrument is already loaded. As an example, we will load GUITAR RIG 5 on the Instrument track where we have previously loaded FM8.

  1. Click on an empty insert slot under INSERTS A-E to open the inserts drop-down menu. If you are loading an effect on a track where an instrument is loaded, you can load it in any of the empty slots following the instrument in the Insert chain. If you are loading an effect on an Audio track, you can load the effect in any of the slots.
  2. Navigate to the NI effect plug-in you want to load, which you will find under multichannel plug-in > Effect. In this example, we want to load Guitar Rig 5-AAX (stereo).
  3. The effect plug-in now affects the audio coming from the Audio or Instrument track where it is inserted. When first loaded, the effect plug-in's user interface is automatically open in a floating window. To show or hide the GUITAR RIG 5 floating window, click its slot in the Instrument track of the Edit window once.