# Kontakt 5.3, unstable?



## Resoded (Feb 18, 2014)

I'm having a lot of crashes due to the latest Kontakt update. I remember a few weeks ago other people were saying the same thing but haven't heard any more about it since. So are everyone having problems with the latest update? Any news from NI about fixing it?


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## Mike Greene (Feb 18, 2014)

If you're on a Mac, then you're not alone. Developers are getting a number of complaints from customers using 5.3 and Mavericks. I don't know the percentages, but it's definitely an issue. NI is aware and supposedly trying to get to the bottom of it.


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## chimuelo (Feb 18, 2014)

I'm on 5 and remeber their 3.0 and 4.1 "upgrades", thanks for the heads up, I'll wait for 2015. What's the reason for the fix any ways, better stretching algos for using pre recorded string runs or something...?


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## IFM (Feb 18, 2014)

Hmm, I'm on Mavericks and have had zero issues with K5.3...but then again I better check I am not still on K5.2. I don't remember the last time I updated it.


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## Resoded (Feb 18, 2014)

Nope, I'm using Windows 7. Maybe I should send NI a support ticket.


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## Patrick de Caumette (Feb 18, 2014)

Plenty of crashes with K5.3 and W7 here too.
You're not alone, and it is a K5.3issue.

What is not cool, is that NI hasn't release a hot fix for quite a while now.
Productivity is affected by this for sure...
:evil:


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## chillbot (Feb 18, 2014)

I've been using 5.3 for a month on Win7 without a crash. I'm on 5.3.0.6464 is there an update later than this?


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## IFM (Feb 18, 2014)

Nope I checked and I'm on 5.3 and have not had any issues.


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## gpax (Feb 18, 2014)

Mike Greene @ Tue Feb 18 said:


> If you're on a Mac, then you're not alone. Developers are getting a number of complaints from customers using 5.3 and Mavericks. I don't know the percentages, but it's definitely an issue. NI is aware and supposedly trying to get to the bottom of it.


Good to know, Mike. 

Several subsequent email exchanges with N.I. last Fall resulted in a concession from tech support that their developers needed to investigate things further. Perhaps you know more about where things now stand. The last I heard from them was in December. I too am on a Mac (running Mavericks), but have experienced the crashes with both Logic 9, X and Cubase 7, and 7.5. 

While there may be other variables and issues, I finally determined many crashes were occurring when accessing anything in the Kontakt GUI (or launching the GUI itself from a channel strip) while there was still activity of any kind involving tracks using Kontakt throughout the project. My workaround has been to leave all Kontakt instances open, and to make sure playback has completely stopped (edit: before making changes in Kontakt), including any release samples etc. It’s been a pain, but it’s minimized the crashes significantly for me. 

Greg


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## Dracarys (Mar 20, 2014)

Well, at least PLAY is running great these days


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## JPignatoMusic (Mar 20, 2014)

Since the upgrade I've been getting crashes when I uses the "drag to midi" feature from Heavyocity Libraries. Haven't had any problems with that in the past..


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## gpax (Mar 20, 2014)

I'm still having crashes with Logic Pro X when trying to access a Kontakt instance via the channel strip : (


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## Guy Rowland (Mar 20, 2014)

last couple of posters - is this with the new 5.3.1 as opposed to 5.3.0?


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## gpax (Mar 20, 2014)

Guy Rowland @ Thu Mar 20 said:


> last couple of posters - is this with the new 5.3.1 as opposed to 5.3.0?


Yes Guy, that is correct, though I am obviously commenting as a mac (Mavericks) user. I had high expectations when the update was released yesterday. 

I detailed the specific 5.3.0 issues earlier in this thread, but am of a mind now that the 5.3.1 update, while addressing crashes specific to Mavericks and Kontakt compatibility, may also now indicate that there is (still) a LPX issue that needs to be resolved (by whom, I cannot say). 

For now, I can continue to workaround this by keeping all instances open. 

G


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## bcarwell (Mar 20, 2014)

I've had a thread going the last week reporting Kontakt freezes on boot of my PC running Win 7 64 bit. It only happens on standalone, works fine in Cubase. The Kontakt version is 5.3.0.6464. There was a Knowledgebase question/answer at N.I. about this and a regedit "fix" to try, but it did not fix my problem. Another "fix" also mentioned was to insure all asio sound drivers were set to the same parameters for record and play, e.g. 16 bit 42K or whatever, but this wasn't my problem either. And yes, my Symphonic Choirs is still running fine on PLAY (!!!). I've provided my error log dutifully to N.I. Tech Support but have heard nothing and expect a phone call will be the only way to get any attention. Really disappointed as a rookie Kontakt newb.

Grrrrrrrrrrr, Bob


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## Guy Rowland (Mar 21, 2014)

That's pretty depressing news - its taken them months to release 5.3.1 and they've been sat on what must be hundreds of support tickets from mac and PC users with their crash reports. Grrrrr indeed.


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## mk282 (Mar 21, 2014)

The bug was quite tricky to find what's the actual cause for it, that's why it took so long to release 5.3.1.


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## Guy Rowland (Mar 21, 2014)

mk282 @ Fri Mar 21 said:


> The bug was quite tricky to find what's the actual cause for it, that's why it took so long to release 5.3.1.



But it sounds like they still haven't found the cause? Have they decided to release this update to solve Mavericks and a few other minor issues while they still keep chasing the bigger issues, perhaps?


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## mk282 (Mar 21, 2014)

The biggest issue was heap corruption crash on Mavericks - that one was fixed, and it took the most time to find and fix. Several other types of crashes were also fixed (some OS-agnostic, like crashing when clicking on Limiter module in Monitor->Modules)...



gpax @ 21.3.2014 said:


> I'm still having crashes with Logic Pro X when trying to access a Kontakt instance via the channel strip : (



Are you using Kontakt's memory server or not?


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## gpax (Mar 21, 2014)

mk282 @ Fri Mar 21 said:


> The biggest issue was heap corruption crash on Mavericks - that one was fixed, and it took the most time to find and fix. Several other types of crashes were also fixed (some OS-agnostic, like crashing when clicking on Limiter module in Monitor->Modules)...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have not been using the Memory Server since Kontakt 5 was released. I had always understood this to no longer be necessary (or advisable) when running in 64-bit. Please tell me if you know differently, and/or why this would make a difference. As I recall, this was one of the scenarios N.I. support had me test out last Fall. 

I did, however, enable the memory server today - based on your question - for the purpose of experimenting again. After opening and closing active instances in a project, I experienced the crash. Like before, it is intermittent and unpredictable. 

To clarify: I am not having issues loading a new instance, or successfully running projects with multiple instances of Kontakt. For me, it is simply having closed the GUI, then later trying to open it again via my DAW. If I leave all the instances open, I can work for hours with few problems, though I have obviously experienced the heap-related crashes as well. 

Greg


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## Softmo06004 (Mar 21, 2014)

Kontakt 5.3.1 is available now. I wish it would be the end of the nightmare .


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## Resoded (Mar 21, 2014)

Downloading it now, keeping my fingers crossed.


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## mmendez (Mar 22, 2014)

All my crashes are gone. This is with Kontakt 5.3.1, Logic Pro X 10.0.6 running on Mavericks (10.9.2).

Every operation that could cause Kontakt (and Logic) to crash is working fine. I can enjoy that beautiful Spitfire sound and the Soundiron choirs again :D 

Miguel


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## JPQ (Aug 16, 2014)

To me is crashed whole i think many times same applies older versions as well and i mean Kontakt 5.3.137 and OS X 10.7.5. Only program i think which also crahsed my mac so badly is one long tme ago firefoxversion. i have still Kontakt 4 i think even with it have problems. report says something about xalloc..


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## Arksun (Sep 1, 2014)

Bumping this thread again as I just recently installed Komplete on my Win 7 64-bit system and trying to decide which is the best version of Kontakt to have running.

The Komplete installer has me currently at 5.1.0. NI Service center has a 5.3.1 update, but I can also get my hands on the 5.2 installer if need be.

For best stability with Cubase 7.5 64-bit in Win 7 64-bit, should I stick with 5.1, jump to 5.2, or get the 5.3.1 update?


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## tokatila (Sep 1, 2014)

Arksun @ Tue Sep 02 said:


> Bumping this thread again as I just recently installed Komplete on my Win 7 64-bit system and trying to decide which is the best version of Kontakt to have running.
> 
> The Komplete installer has me currently at 5.1.0. NI Service center has a 5.3.1 update, but I can also get my hands on the 5.2 installer if need be.
> 
> For best stability with Cubase 7.5 64-bit in Win 7 64-bit, should I stick with 5.1, jump to 5.2, or get the 5.3.1 update?



On my Win-8 64-bit system the newest version is unstable and crashes quite a lot. One sure way to do that is to change spitfirelibs mic positions while playback is on.


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 2, 2014)

I'm 80% sure 5.3.1 hadn't crashed for me in win 7 64bit (have had a few ve pro crashes, but I don't think K caused then). It's certainly better than 5.3.0. For me too many libs wouldn't work with earlier versions.


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## Simon Ravn (Sep 2, 2014)

5.3.1 causes some libraries to not work properly on Mac when hosted in Vienna Ensemble Pro, so I reverted to 5.3.0, as did many others.


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## pmountford (Sep 2, 2014)

I'm on Win 7 x64 with Cubase and getting multiple crashes per day - either BSOD or Cubase quitting. Kontakt is 5.3.1.37. I'm mid project otherwise I'd reinstall and start again.

This might seem a stupid question but how do you know that the culprit is Kontakt? Is the DAW crashing and allowing you to see where the exception occurred or error message? Or does it take down the OS (which is happening more frequently in my case)?


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## Resoded (Sep 2, 2014)

pmountford @ 2nd September 2014 said:


> I'm on Win 7 x64 with Cubase and getting multiple crashes per day - either BSOD or Cubase quitting. Kontakt is 5.3.1.37. I'm mid project otherwise I'd reinstall and start again.
> 
> This might seem a stupid question but how do you know that the culprit is Kontakt? Is the DAW crashing and allowing you to see where the exception occurred or error message? Or does it take down the OS (which is happening more frequently in my case)?



Isn't BSOD often related to hardware problems and not software though?

I still have some problems but the latest version of Kontakt works ok. As tokatila points out though, changing mic positions on spitfire libraries during playback always leads to a crash for me too.


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## pmountford (Sep 2, 2014)

@Resoded Yes, I agree, I thought BSOD tended to be more related to hardware issues. I guess I'm trying to put 2+2 together and either rule out Kontakt (in my case) and understanding how others see Kontakt crashes. Does it take down the DAW and the OS? (on Windows)


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## Resoded (Sep 2, 2014)

Well, for me Kontakt only messes with the DAW (Win7 64 bit, Cubase), so sometimes I have to force shut down Cubase. But it doesn't affect anything else in Windows.


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## Arksun (Sep 2, 2014)

I guess what I'll do is just stick with 5.1 for now unless a particular library demands a more up to date version is installed, as 5.1 has felt pretty stable so far.


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## reddognoyz (Sep 2, 2014)

I have issues with K5.3 usually when I try to close a project that's connected to VEP hosting k5 instances. Still 10.8.5 here(not for long though)


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## passenger57 (Sep 2, 2014)

I have all the latest versions of everything. Kontakt sometimes crashes Logic X (Mavericks) when I'm selecting patches in the Kontakt GUI and then go back and try to play something. The more complex the GUI, the more it crashes. Most of the heavy GUI instruments I've moved to a VEP machine and that has helped a little. This has been an issue ever since I upgraded to Mavericks. I got the latest macpro and the issue remains. 
If they can figure this out and that damn single core overload problem I'd be a happy camper


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## JohnG (Sep 2, 2014)

No problems here.

Early 2008 Mac Pro (3,1) with Mavericks 10.9.4, using Digital Performer, Kontakt full version (no memory server on) v5.3.1.37

Multiprocessor support within Kontakt is off.

Not hosting Kontakt in VE Pro; it's directly in Digital Performer, which seems to do a good job spreading the load over multiple processors.


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## NYC Composer (Sep 4, 2014)

Simon Ravn @ Tue Sep 02 said:


> 5.3.1 causes some libraries to not work properly on Mac when hosted in Vienna Ensemble Pro, so I reverted to 5.3.0, as did many others.



Which libraries, please? My K5.3.1 seems to be ok, but my ancient DAW (Cubase 6) runs on my ancient 2008 MP on ancient SL, and my less ancient Mini slave runs VEP 5 in 10.85.  still, I do have occasional issues with extremely scripted libraries, so I'm curious.


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## chibear (Sep 4, 2014)

Up until now I've been bridging 64 bit Kontakt into a 32 bit DAW (Mixcraft). That was quirky with lots of rules of engagement or Kontakt 5.3xx would crash taking the DAW with it. Before 5.3 the crash would be contained by jBridge and only affect that track.

Recently I am helping Beta test a 64 bit version of the DAW and Kontakt 5.3 has been rock solid. I have purposefully made all the 'mistakes' that would make the bridged version crash with no effect.


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## samphony (Sep 4, 2014)

Kontakt rarely crashes on me. If it happens it does when the GUI is in front with spitfire, mural, sable or Albion loaded and while tweaking.


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## JPQ (Sep 5, 2014)

To me i goed away (i use mac) and when it crashed whole mac (needs reboot) is no sounds loaded. I earlier used few patches on it. i use os x 10.7.5. i dont remember which i loaded before this something for NI Komplete 9 or some free ones which linked somewhere in this forum or Galaxy II pianos i dont remember. somthing related xalloc.


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## pmountford (Sep 10, 2014)

Don't know whether this will help anyone else in the future preventing them wasting days (and preserve their sanity) trying to isolate the cause of seemingly random Cubase & Kontakt crashes and Blue Screen Of Death reboots - in my case it turns out that the DDR3 was failing. (I used Memtest to validate this)


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