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My Sequencer Does Not Show an Installed VST Plug-in (Windows)

If an installed VST plug-in is not displaying on your sequencer's plug-in list, this may be due to several reasons:

  • The folder containing your plug-in is not defined as a VST plug-in folder in your host sequencer.
  • A 64-bit plug-in is installed in the 32-bit plug-in directory.
  • The plug-in has been disabled by your sequencer.

Note: Content products like KONTAKT Libraries or REAKTOR Instruments are not directly available from the plug-in-list of your sequencer and have to be opened within the corresponding main plug-in. Please read this article for more information.

Wrong Plug-in Path in Sequencer

In order to load a VST plug-in, the host sequencer needs to be pointed to the folder the plug-in is located in. If the sequencer does not search for the VST plug-in in the correct folder, it will not find anything or possibly load a second, older installation of the plug-in in question. Follow the steps below to fix this:

  1. Open Native Access > Installed products.
  2. Click on the product's entry (e.g. Massive) and select Installation Path.
  3. The info pane shows the installation paths of the VST32 plug-in and the VST64 plug-in:
    NAVSTInstallationPaths.png
  4. Make sure that the same directory is selected as a VST folder in your sequencer (32-bit or 64-bit, depending on your sequencer). If this is not the case, add it.
  5. If the sequencer loaded a wrong version of the VST plug-in before, ensure to either remove the wrong VST path from the sequencer or remove the older VST file (*Product Name*.dll) from the directory the sequencer loaded it from.

    Note: If you use a 64-bit sequencer, the VST path should point to the location where the 64-bit VST version is installed. If you use a 32-bit sequencer, it has to point to the location of the 32-bit VST version. If you are unsure on how to set a VST folder in your sequencer, refer to the sequencer's manual.

64-bit Plug-in in 32-bit VST Directory (64-bit Windows only)

The following steps explain how to check if a 64-bit plug-in has been installed into the 32-bit VST folder and if so, how to fix it.

  1. Open the Windows Start menu
  2. Search your local disk for the name of the plug-in in question, followed by the extension ".dll": "Plug-in Name*.dll (for example "Battery 3.dll" or "Kontakt 5.dll").
  3. Right-click all files you found and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
  4. In the window that opens, click the Details tab.
  5. In the field Product version you can see the version of the plug-in file and whether it is a 32-bit (IA32) or a 64-bit (x64) version.
    properties_64bit
    properties_32bit
  6. Make sure that the 32-bit plug-in file is located in your 32-bit VST plug-in folder and the 64-bit plug-in file is in the 64-bit VST folder. If you find files with different versions (e.g. BATTERY 3.2.0 and BATTERY 3.2.3), only keep the file with the highest version number and delete the others.
  7. Ensure that the correct VST folder is defined in your sequencer. Afterwards it should find the correct plug-in version.

Plug-in Disabled by Sequencer

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, your sequencer may have blocked the plug-in in question. Since there are different possible reasons for this and plug-in administration varies widely among sequencers, please refer to your sequencer's manual or contact the respective manufacturer for further information on this.

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