My NI Software Does Not Appear in my DAW

Symptom

Your NI product appears correctly installed in Native Access, but you cannot find it in your DAW.

Solutions

Below you will find the most common reasons why you cannot find your NI product in your DAW after installation.

1. Instruments Based on REAKTOR or KONTAKT

Some instruments are REAKTOR based or KONTAKT Libraries which require the REAKTOR or KONTAKT Player to power them.

It will be mentioned on the product page that the instrument is for use with KONTAKT or REAKTOR.

PRODUCT_SPEC.png

To use these instruments, you must load an instance of REAKTOR or KONTAKT in your DAW. From there you can load your instrument in KONTAKT's or REAKTOR's browser.

2. Blocked Plug-ins

If your plug-in does not appear in your DAW, it may have been blocked by your DAW's plug-in manager. Check with your DAW's documentation on how to reactivate blocked plug-ins. The following article shows how to do this in Cubase 9.5: I Cannot Find my Native Instruments Plug-in in Cubase 9.5. Similar steps would apply to other DAWs.

3. Plug-In Location

Mac

If your NI plug-in does not appear in your DAW, check the following:

  1. Ensure that you are opening a 64 bit version of your DAW. Many of NI's current products are only available in 64 bit.
  2. On a Mac computer, audio plug-in files are automatically installed to default system folders. Your DAW should scan these folders automatically on startup. If that is not the case, ensure that those folders have been added to your DAW's plug-in manager. NI plug-ins are installed in the following locations:
    • AU: Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > Components
    • VST2: Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > VST
    • VST3: Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > VST3
    • AAX: Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > Avid > Audio > Plug-Ins

Windows

If your NI plug-in does not appear in your DAW, make sure you are using a 64-bit DAW and use Native Access to check the VST plug-in location.

  1. Make sure that you're using a DAW that runs in 64-bit mode. Current NI products are available only as 64-bit plug-ins.

    Note: To find out if your DAW is running in 64-bit mode, contact the manufacturer.

  2. Start Native Access and go to Library > Installed.
  3. Select the product's Installation Paths from the three dots menu on the right.
    INSTALLATION_PATHS.png
  4. Check the 64-bit VST location and make sure this folder has been added to your DAW's plug-in manager.
    VST_PATH.png

    Note: Click here to search our knowledge base for details about VST Plug-in administration for your DAW.

4. Where is KONTAKT 6?

The predecessor to KONTAKT 7 is called "Kontakt" in Native Access. This applies to the name of the standalone application and the plug-in version.

KONTAKT_6_VERSION_NA.png

5. NI Plug-Ins in VST3 Format Only

These NI plug-ins are available only in the VST3 plug-in format:

  • KONTAKT 7
  • SUPER 8 (R2)* 

If your DAW does not support the VST3 format, you still have the option to open these products in the KOMPLETE KONTROL VST plug-in (which is still available in VST2 format).

*Note: If you have SUPER 8 registered, but you don't have the VST3 plug-in, you can load SUPER 8 in REAKTOR. Please see this article for more info.

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