Amplitube 5.3+ issues with Pro Tools on MacOS 12.3.1

[owent2600]

I am making this post in case anyone is in a similar situation and was able to figure this out.

I am on an M1 Max Macbook Pro running the Pro Tools Studio 2022.5 and MacOS 12.3.1. My issue is that ever since I updated Amplitube to 5.3.0, instantiating the plug-in within Pro Tools will cause Pro Tools to crash immediately in every scenario. I updated Amplitube to 5.4.0 recently in hopes that the "M1 Compatibility" meant this issue was resolved, however, Amplitube still immediately crashes Pro Tools. The strange thing is that Amplitube 5.4.0 (and 5.3.0) works just fine in Logic Pro X and standalone.

I contacted support about this before 5.4.0 was out and their suggestions were to reinstall the software and launch Pro Tools using Rosetta (which is the only option at the moment) to no avail. Eventually, it was determined that I should downgrade my Amplitube back to 5.2.0 which did work on my system in Pro Tools. This is not the most satisfactory solution though because I lose access to ToneNET and it downgraded Amplitube in Logic and standalone meaning it erased 5.4.0 and replaced it completely with 5.2.0.

Is anyone else on a system similar to mine running into this issue/was able to fix it? If it's a common issue, I want to make sure the IK team knows about it, but if it's unique to me I'd like to track down why it's happening. Does anyone know if I can have AT5 two versions on my computer (5.2 for PT and 5.4 for the rest of my computer) until it's patched?

[owent2600]

Bumping because 5.4.1 is out and I am still suffering from this issue.

[wfm]

Hi '2600,
Sorry to hear about your troubles! I too will say that Amplitube 5.4/5.4.1 crashes my Pro Tools 2022.5 app every time. I am on Intel 10.14.6 on a maxed out 2011 Cheesegrater Mac Pro (cMP).

I love Amplitube and own the equivalent of Amplitube 5 Max. I also have a LARGE Pro Tools plugin folder (just looked, 1381 items in my AAX Plug-Ins folder!)

However, just putting the AmpliTube 5.4.1.aaxplugin in my Plug-ins folder causes a crash / crash report dialog.



Solution: I have found that using Blue Cat Audio's Patchwork and running a VST version of Amplitube 5.4.1 works fine.

While it is a 3rd party fix, it is working for me, for now. Hopefully you will be able to do this on your M1 system. I also have a M1 Mini where Amplitube 5.2 is working (and I'm not looking to upgrade it for now!)

The fact that both the AU and VST Amplitube 5.4.1 versions work for my inside BCA's Patchwork leads me to 'guess' it may be Copy Protection related on AAX or perhaps related to a TONEnet call-out or something?

Good luck and All the Very Best

wfm

[owent2600]

Thanks for the idea wfm!

I downloaded the demo and this seems to do the trick! However, Blue Cat Audio's Patchwork is $99 and has way more bells and whistles than what I need. Any recommendations on a cheaper/free AAX plugin that can host VSTs inside of it?

Thanks again for helping me out. I was definitely stuck.

[wfm]

Cool that Patchwork worked for you!
Sadly, as far as alternative 'free/cheap-ware', IMHO, nothing compares.
BlueCatAudio has another product, the MB-7 that does it too, but it costs more.

Patchwork is $87 on Thomann Music right now, which is slightly better than last year's $10 off for Black Friday.

The ability to load AU and VST 2.4/VST3 plugins in Pro Tools, my main DAW, makes it so worth it. Of course, loading VSTs into Logic is also a cool trick! On Mac, there are just so many cool cheap and free FX and Instruments that buying Patchwork was a 'no brainer' for me a few years back. Patchwork has served me well. YMMV.

Alternatively, we could see an update that fixes this crashing issue in Pro Tools?
Good luck '2600 and All the Best

[Peter_IK]

Alternatively, we could see an update that fixes this crashing issue in Pro Tools?
Good luck '2600 and All the Best

If you report your issue to IK Support then I'm sure they can get you up and running since AmpliTube 5 is definitely compatible and running in Pro Tools. Thanks!

[owent2600]

So, I figured it out.

After a lot of troubleshooting, I discovered that I somehow had 2 Amplitube versions in my Pro Tools Plugins folder. An older version was hidden in a sub-folder within that Plugins folder so I hadn't seen it. After removing them all and reinstalling the newest version of Amplitube, it's working!

Thanks for your help.

[jsegel1]

Same problem, after installing Amplitube 5.5.2, it crashed ProTools on startup.
And yes, I had Amplitube 4 in the AAX folder. Removing it allowed Pro Tools to start up.

But! I would like to have Amplitibe 4 still! I actually like it better in certain cases. I'm more into its old GUI and structure. Sad to not be able to use both.

[DarkStar]

^^^^
I thought that you could have both AT4 and AT5 installed and usable. Maybe that is an AAX / Pro Tools problem?

Other users may chip in with suggestions. Meanwhile, the best thing to do is contact Technical Support via the IKM web site, for some one to one diagnosis and help. Search the FAQs first, as there may be relevant results. After that, you should see a [Contact Support] button at the bottom of the page, linking you to the Support form.