Sonoma 14.4 crash/kernel panic/reboot with Kontakt 7

[mikehalloran]

I just now got an email from NI announcing an update for Kontakt to 7.9.0.

A new update for Kontakt 7

The latest update for Kontakt has arrived. Version 7.9.0 introduces support for macOS Sonoma and various bug fixes.

Update now for free via Native Access.

Firing up Native Access and let that update. 7.9.0 ain't there yet. I can wait.

Update: I rebooted, re-launched NA and there it is.

Remember that for DP to load Kontakt updates, you have to shut down then reboot your Mac, This build is no exception.

[mikehalloran]

Dammit!

No improvement in DP with Kontakt 7.9.0. Still works in Logic for me.

Time to update my TechLink. I recommend that others do so, too.

[James Steele]

I'm going to update to it. Just did a TM backup so why not. Just for anyone curious:

Release Notes
Version 7.9.0 2024-03-27

FIXED
On macOS 14, crash when switching Hypha presets whilst Kontakt is hosted in Logic Pro

FIXED
Crash when opening a Multi saved with Kontakt standalone whilst Kontakt is hosted in a DAW

FIXED
Visual flickers and crash when multiple Kontakt instances are hosted in Cubase 13 on Windows

FIXED
Width of Rack View side pane was recalled incorrectly after closing and reopening Kontakt instances

FIXED
Wave Editor slices are correctly recalculated when switching between Auto and Fixed grid settings

FIXED
KSP: Crash when Ul ID of parent i_panel is higher than the child ui_panel

FIXED
API: Console output to VS Code now works

FIXED
On macos 14, main menu drop downs had no hover mode

FIXED
On macOS 14, filename path visible during drag and drop

IMPROVED
Drag & Drop from Files panel now works between different Kontakt instances

KNOWN ISSUE
On macOS, CoreAudio device needs to be reselected when updating from older Kontakt versions to 7.9.0. but this is only needed once

KNOWN ISSUE
In Pro Tools, Kontakt window is cropped when zooming larger than available display size

KNOWN ISSUE
In Single View, instrument loses focus when clicking level meter or blank space of the instrument header

KNOWN ISSUE
Crashes when loading content in Logic Pro in combination with the KKS MK3 keyboards, very rare if the KKS MK3 is not connected

KNOWN ISSUE
Crash on launching Kontakt standalone if Canon EOS webcam utility software is installed

[waterstrum]

Bummer!
K7 still crashes DP.
Oddly, it is working fine for me in Logic now.
The saga continues.

[Michael Canavan]

So the update is worse for me in DP, crashes DP every time now. So to be fair to MOTU, this also happening in Reaper 7, it's not happening in Logic or Live.

So it's not a specific to DP bug anyway. NI need to step up their game, this is pretty silly, they have no excuses here, this is not a hard bug to catch.

[James Steele]

I guess for now I'm lucky to be on the "older" M1 processor. This stuff seems to be M2/M3 specific still?

That said, I'm still up the creek without a paddle with Console 1, DP11 and Sonoma.

[Michael Canavan]

I guess for now I'm lucky to be on the "older" M1 processor. This stuff seems to be M2/M3 specific still?

That said, I'm still up the creek without a paddle with Console 1, DP11 and Sonoma.

So do you have more than one monitor? Even previous to this latest update I would get a kernel panic and restart of the the computer by moving Kontkakt 7 to the other monitor and messing with the GUI. It doesn't crash just with Kontakt instruments here, it seems to be related to touching the interface.

[James Steele]

I guess for now I'm lucky to be on the "older" M1 processor. This stuff seems to be M2/M3 specific still?

That said, I'm still up the creek without a paddle with Console 1, DP11 and Sonoma.

So do you have more than one monitor? Even previous to this latest update I would get a kernel panic and restart of the the computer by moving Kontkakt 7 to the other monitor and messing with the GUI. It doesn't crash just with Kontakt instruments here, it seems to be related to touching the interface.

Hmmnm... I will have to give that a try and see what happens.

[James Steele]

Well I just tried it. Yes... I have THREE monitors. I opened an instance of Kontakt 7.9.0... moved it over to one of my other monitors... loaded different instruments from different libraries... moved it back over to my main monitor. No crashing. Maybe this is an M2/M3 issue like the iLok issue was?

[James Steele]

Bummer!
K7 still crashes DP.
Oddly, it is working fine for me in Logic now.
The saga continues.

What processor is in your Mac? (You don't have it listed in your sig.) I'm on M1 Max. Michael is on M2 Ultra. Wondering if this might be chip specific like the iLok issues were?

[waterstrum]

Hey James,
It is a Mac Studio M2 Ultra...
Maybe that's the problem?

[James Steele]

Hey James,
It is a Mac Studio M2 Ultra...
Maybe that's the problem?

Just curious. I know that one of the issues Sonoma 14.4.1 was supposed to address was a problem with certain iLok protected plug-ins, that oddly enough only happened on M1/M2 Macs. For reasons I sure don’t understand, M1 Macs weren’t affected. It looks like maybe this Kontakt 7 problem might be another issue that is bypassing M1 processors. Strange.

[hammerman]

Hey James,
It is a Mac Studio M2 Ultra...
Maybe that's the problem?

And M3

I'm on an M2 Mac Studio Ultra and Kontakt 7.9 kernel panics as usual...

[zuul-studios]

Interesting. . .

The Native-Instruments website now lists Kontakt 7 as compatible with the Sonoma macOS, after its most recent update.

Unfortunately, Kontakt 7 still crashes DP 11 AND my new M2 Mac Studio (that came housed with Sonoma). So far, the work-around, that seems stable for me, is using Kontakt 6 that I recently configured on a new sequencing project. Also, using VSL's VEPro 7 to house Kontakt 7 connecting to DP11 still works. . . so far.

[Michael Canavan]

Hey James,
It is a Mac Studio M2 Ultra...
Maybe that's the problem?

Just curious. I know that one of the issues Sonoma 14.4.1 was supposed to address was a problem with certain iLok protected plug-ins, that oddly enough only happened on M1/M2 Macs. For reasons I sure don’t understand, M1 Macs weren’t affected. It looks like maybe this Kontakt 7 problem might be another issue that is bypassing M1 processors. Strange.

Considering it's only Kontakt 7, and only in DP and Reaper here, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that NI in their usual scr3w the rules fashion did some workaround not recommended by Apple that is directly affecting these two DAWs in Sonoma and on the M2. The way these things work is Apple will give a restricted access security update, developers will have to rewrite things to adjust for workarounds previously made, and sometimes they don't experience any issue, so the plugin ships with the code being on the edge of compatible, until it's not. One thing that changed is M2, M3 are probably using software protection for that security vulnerability that the M1's literally have a hardware protection against, if you recall that article posted here a few days ago.