MuseScore Studio 4.4.2 crashes when Play button is clicked in Windows for scores with VST instruments

[VladaScore]

Issue type

Crash or freeze

Description with steps to reproduce

1. I create a brand new score with a VST accordion and MuseScore plays it perfectly fine.
2. I save that score, close it and quit MuseScore.
3. I start MuseScore again and open the same score.
4. I confirm that the reloaded score visually looks like its previous original.
5. I check the VST plugin in the mixer and, sometimes when originally chosen and saved VST instrument is not properly memorized, I assign again the same VST accordion.
6. When I press the space-key or click on the Play button MuseScore immediately crashes :-(

So, everything works fine while a brand-new score is created and being played (before closing it). MSStudio plays it fine only and only until that score file gets closed. Furthermore, after pressing Play button MSStudio crashes without playing any single note.

My MuseScore Studio 4.4.2 also crashes when trying to play any of the old scores.

Please note that I use Native Instruments - Kontakt 7 and Virtual Accoustic VST accordion. I have been using this software for more than a year and everything worked just fine with the MuseScore Studio 4.3.x.

Supporting files, videos and screenshots

Diagnostics_Win-11_MuseScore-4.4.2-Crashes.zip Diagnostics_Win-10_MuseScore-4.4.2-Crashes.zip https://musescore.org/en/node/369488

What is the latest version of MuseScore Studio where this issue is present?

OS: Windows 11 Version 2009 or later, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.4.2-242570931, revision: github-musescore-musescore-3130f97

Regression

Yes, this used to work in MuseScore 3.x and now is broken

Operating system

Windows 10 Home and Windows 11 Enterprise

Additional context

My MuseScore Studio 4.4.2 also crashes when trying to play any of the old scores, both on Windows 10 Home and Windows 11 Enterprise :-(

a) I have already reinstalled my MuseScore 4.4.2 Studio and it didn't help.

b) Reverting MuseScore to factory settings doesn't help either.

c) Important or not, but I have no ideas about the errors: "Could not find the tokens file: C:/Users/Kw5U/AppData/Local/MuseScore/MuseScore4/musescorecom_cred.dat and audiocom_cred.dat".

d) I also tried to bypass the Log error message: "ERROR | main_thread | ExtensionsConfiguration::manifestConfigs | failed read config data, err: [406] An error occurred when reading from the file: C:/.../AppData/Local/MuseScore/MuseScore4/plugins/plugins.json". I temporarily created a directory ...\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\plugins and copied file ...\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\known_audio_plugins.json as ...\AppData\Local\MuseScore\MuseScore4\plugins\plugins.json. This doesn't help.

Checklist

• [X] This report follows the guidelines for reporting bugs and issues
• [X] I have verified that this issue has not been logged before, by searching the issue tracker for similar issues
• [X] I have attached all requested files and information to this report
• [X] I have attempted to identify the root problem as concisely as possible, and have used minimal reproducible examples where possible

[VladaScore]

My apology, I forgot to mention above that there is also a lot of QML error messages in the MS Studio logs. So, I suspect these crashes might be caused just by the QML error(s) or by the bugs in the score file saving process for those with the VST instruments used.

[cbjeukendrup]

In both attached crash logs, the crash is caused by Kontakt. We'll need to look for a way to work around the crash.

[VladaScore]

Casper, thank you for the quick action and your investigation, but last time I have to point out and stress it that both Music Score Studio and Kontakt work perfectly together with the brand-new score without any single malfunction, failure or crash. Once the score file gets closed and that session ends, crashes or problems start when the same (or any previous) music score gets reloaded.

Personally, I believe that there might be a problem in the interaction between the Kontakt software and MuseScore 4.4.x. I beg you to check it and re-think about the data and/or requests MuseScore saves into .mscz file and later sends it to Kontakt, please. There must be something wrong there, as no single crash ever happened in Muse Score Studio 4.3.x with the same Kontak.

FYI, there is one additional VST related malfunction that I will report later within the VST issues (#24980). It is, most likely, corelated with these Studio crashes.

[DmitryArefiev]

@VladaScore Did you get a crash with other VSTi using Kontakt 7? (maybe with some Native Instruments libraries)

(I don't have Virtual Accoustic VST accordion and there is no trial of it)

[cbjeukendrup]

@VladaScore Yes, I understood that already. There is doubtlessly some way that we can work around it, and doubtlessly some reason that it didn't happen before (for example, maybe we didn't use a certain functionality of the VST API), but a fact is that the actual crash happens inside Kontakt code. But as I said, we are indeed going to look into it.

[VladaScore]

@DmitryArefiev Unfortunately, I only use VA Guerrini Accordion, but I might be able to try to reproduce the crash with Efimov Bayan for the KONTAKT. First, I have to familiarize myself with its control notes/keys in order to properly set the sound(s) on this Bayan. If I manage to do it, I will provide you the results. OK?

[VladaScore]

@cbjeukendrup Thank you so much! As I explained in #24980, the root cause of both issues might be the special control notes (keys).

[VladaScore]

@DmitryArefiev MS4.4 also crashed with the VST Bayan. The diagnostic file is attached. MSStudioCrash_Widows-11_VST-NI-Kontakt-BayanAccordion.zip

[DmitryArefiev]

@VladaScore Thanks for the new crashlogs. Unfortunately, VST Bayan is also not available in demo version. I have KOMPLETE 13 ULTIMATE Collectors Edition, will try to find some instrument with key switches there and check it in Kontakt 7.

[VladaScore]

@DmitryArefiev My apology for the delay. Unfortunately, I don't have NI-KOMPLETE software :-( By the way, I would have never used KONTAKT either if I had been able to find better accordion samples. Hopefully, Muse Hub will offer (a) good, professional accordion(s) one day for a decent price :-)

[DmitryArefiev]

@VladaScore We don't have licenses yet to understand the issue properly.. But if you don't have any alternative accordion VST that works with 4.4.x, you can use 4.3.2 build in portable version to work with that specific VST. You can download it here https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/releases (use MuseScore-Studio-4.3.2.241630831-x86_64 .paf.exe )

[VladaScore]

@DmitryArefiev Thank you Dmitry so much for not forgetting me :-) That is very kind of You. VST accordion is the musical instrument No1 in all scores of mine. Personally, I bypassed the trouble caused by rollout of the MuseScore Studio 4.4.x by restoring a system backup altogether with the OS. Otherwise, it was mission impossible because Studio 4.3.x doesn't play the new MuseSound fonts and the installation of new MuseHub removed old SoundFonts. Old version of the MuseHub is not available for download anymore and the old fonts were kept in the hidden system directory ProgramData anyways; scores created with Studio 4.4.x can not be opened in 4.3.x unless you use export/import of musicXML's or, better, you know a secret trick to add statement "disableVersionChecking=true" to [project] group into MuseScore ini file, etc.

So, the average user is stuck with new versions of MuseHub and MuseScore which is not good because I am not your only user experiencing Studio crashes related to the "VST KONTAKT bug(s)" garanted. Some of us may go off - back to Sibelius, Finale or, better, to Dorico and NotePerformer.

Thanks anyway and I will be happy to see Italian Accordion Guerrini, Scandalli, Settimio Soprani, Bugari, Dallape or Beltuna offered by MuseHub one day - the sooner, the better :-) Best regards!

P.S.1. By the way, FYI MS Studio 4.4.x also crashes with the newest KONTAKT 8 . P.S.2. As the professional software developer who spent 30 years in the IT arena (10 in Serbia & 20 in Canada), I suspect the bug is most likely within VST Kontakt information being saved in mscz "file". P.S.3. I noticed the following difference in old and new MuseScore4.ini : The old 4.3.x ini file encoding type was ANSI and the non-Ascii data was saved in hex format like "\x107", but the new 4.4.x ini file encoding type is UTF-8 and the same special character mentioned above is saved as "ć". I just mentioned this as the programmer who made this change might have introduced "similar" change(s) in the way
VST KONTAKT information gets saved into mscz "file".