Solved Massive works in Komplete Kontrol application but not GarageBand from Komplete Kontrol plugin

I've got a weird problem where Massive works in the standalone Komplete Kontrol application but not in GarageBand through the Komplete Kontrol plugin. I'm running Mac OS 10.15.4, GarageBand 10.3.4, Komplete Kontrol 2.6.4 (R211), and Massive 1.5.8 (R64). I obtained the Native Instruments software after purchasing a Komplete Kontrol keyboard. The included software is all up-to-date.

The symptoms are that I can start the standalone Komplete Kontrol application, select Massive, and then select presets without any issues. However, if in GarageBand I select the Komplete Kontrol plugin, and from there do the same thing, after selecting Massive and attempting to select a preset I get the error, "Loading Issue, Plug-in not found. Please open the standalone application to rescan, or rescan manually in the Plug-in preferences."

So I did indeed rescan, but it didn't help. And besides, the standalone Komplete Kontrol application doesn't have any problems loading Massive. It's only attempting to use Massive from within Garage Band using the Komplete Kontrol plugin. Furthermore, I can also use Massive from within GarageBand directly if I select it explicitly as a plugin. I can select from there the various presets without any issues.

I've tried reinstalling the software plus rebooting the system to no avail. Pretty much all the other installed software components work fine (although I had similar trouble with Battery and Maschine 2 Factory Selection, but I don't care about those items).

It doesn't make sense to me why the standalone Komplete Kontrol application is fine but the GarageBand Komplete Kontrol plugin can't seem to find the Massive plugin. What further befuddles me is that GarageBand can find the Massive plugin when selected explicitly. So the issue is isolated to the GarageBand Komplete Kontrol plugin.

Lastly, I've searched the web and the forums and can't find any similar reports, so I'm asking here.

 

Hey Thomas,
Have you checked that article regarding Komplete Kontrol and garageband ? Setting Up Apple GarageBand for KOMPLETE KONTROL

 

Oh yes! That was the first thing I did when I installed the software. Also, I've gone through those steps, one way or another, multiple times at this point. As I said, the standalone Komplete Kontrol application works perfectly fine with Massive. Furthermore, Massive works perfectly fine with GarageBand when used explicitly. I only have trouble when I try to access the Massive presets through the GarageBand Komplete Kontrol plugin, or the Komplete Kontrol keyboard.

It's particularly bad when perusing the presets using the Komplete Kontrol keyboard. If I try to load through the keyboard a Massive preset, it hangs GarageBand! What I see is a little 1/8 inch square (or so) white box in the middle of the screen and the entire GarageBand interface locked up. It looks like GarageBand is attempting to pop up a dialog (probably the "plugin not found" dialog I get when explicitly trying to look at a Massive preset using the Komplete Kontrol plugin directly in GarageBand). The little "box" dialog however has no content. I have to force quit GarageBand once it gets in that state.

So this issue is nasty in conjunction with the keyboard. Basically I've got Massive "minefield" entries mixed in with other presets while perusing them using the keyboard. If I "step" on one, the keyboard and GarageBand lock up.

 

Ok, I have a followup. This looks like some kind of permission problem. I normally log into my system as a non-admin. I just tried logging in as an admin and ran through this scenario. For the admin account it works. I can access the Massive presets from within GarageBand using the Komplete Kontrol plugin. Switching back to the non-admin account the problem persists. And yes, I've tried logging out and back in again multiple times. Furthermore, I have given GarageBand and Komplete Kontrol full disk access. I've also rescanned plugins multiple times.

No, I'm not going to run this software as an admin. That should be unnecessary. (I don't run normally as an admin for security reasons.) As I've said, the only plugin that's affected by this is Massive. My guess is Massive or Komplete Kontrol are making some assumptions about permissions that the other plugins are not. However, note again that accessing the Massive plugin directly within GarageBand isn't an issue. It's only attempting to access the Massive plugin/presets through the GarageBand Komplete Kontrol plugin that I have an issue.

To Native Instruments, I suggest doing some testing with a non-admin account.

 

I filed a ticket for the issue. The responder worked with me through the problem, sending me to the Setting Up Apple GarageBand for KOMPLETE KONTROL article. There's a particular step there that discusses opening the Preferences from within the Komplete Kontrol GarageBand plugin, as opposed to the Preferences in the standalone Komplete Kontrol app. Rescanning the plugins from within the GarageBand plugin fixed the issue.

I know I'd run through some set of instructions for setting up Komplete Kontrol in GarageBand. After all, it worked for everything except Massive. My guess is I downloaded Massive after that initial setup. Unfortunately (as noted in the article) the cache used by the Komplete Kontrol app is separate from the cache used by the Komplete Kontrol plugin. That's likely what tripped me up, since I know I'd rescanned plugins in the app multiple times.

So lesson learned. For future reference (for anyone else reading this), the symptom of a mismatched plugin scan is (potentially) the "missing plugin" message. The solution is to rescan plugins from within the plugin and NOT from within the Komplete Kontrol app.

(The other issue is that the plugin preferences dialog isn't exactly in an obvious location for the uninitiated. It's accessed by pressing a little down arrow and then selecting the Edit submenu.)