Help
Last updated 23 September 2026
Nearly everything that goes wrong on the first day is a DAW that hasn't noticed a new plug-in yet. That's first, then where Songling puts its files, then what to send us when something is genuinely broken.
My DAW can't see it
Almost always the installer worked and the DAW simply hasn't looked since. Two things to try before anything else: quit the DAW completely and open it again — not close the project, quit the program — and check you are looking under Pyrokinesis, as an instrument, not an effect.
If it still isn't there, make your DAW look again:
Logic Pro
- Logic uses the Audio Unit, not the VST3 — make sure you installed it.
- Logic Pro › Settings › Plug-in Manager.
- Find Songling, select it, and click Reset & Rescan Selection.
The Compatibility column is worth a look: a tick means the scan was happy, and not compatible means it wasn't. If you see that, tell us — send the setup description below and we can usually say why.
Ableton Live
- Settings › Plug-Ins — or press Cmd , / Ctrl ,. In older versions this is Preferences.
- Turn on Use VST3 Plug-In System Folder. On a Mac you can use the Audio Unit instead — Use Audio Units is in the same place.
- Click Rescan.
Live doesn't notice a plug-in installed while it is running until you do that, or restart it. If Rescan doesn't find it, hold Alt / Option while clicking it — that throws away Live's plug-in database and scans from scratch.
Cubase and Nuendo
- Studio › VST Plug-in Manager.
- Click Scan for new and blocked plug-ins. Hold Shift while clicking to rescan everything, not only what is new.
- Restarting Cubase does the same job, if you would rather.
If Cubase refused it at some point it goes on the Blocklist tab and will not be loaded again until you say so: select it there and click Reactivate.
REAPER
- Options › Preferences › Plug-ins › VST.
- Click Re-scan. It also re-checks anything that failed to scan before.
- If the VST3 folder isn't in the path list, Add system VST paths puts the standard ones in.
One REAPER quirk worth knowing: it scans those paths left to right, and if two copies of a plug-in share a name only the last one found survives. Keeping the VST3 folder last in the list is the usual advice.
Studio One, and Fender Studio Pro
Studio One Pro became Fender Studio Pro at version 8, so the menus may read either way depending on which you have.
- Preferences › Locations › VST Plug-ins on a Mac, Options › Locations › VST Plug-ins on Windows.
- Click Reset blocklist — this is the one that usually does it.
- Then View › Plug-in Manager: Songling should have a white dot beside it.
The Audio Unit needs none of this on a Mac — that folder is scanned automatically.
Bitwig Studio
- Dashboard › Settings › Locations, under Plug-in Locations: check the VST3 folder is listed.
- Restart Bitwig.
If it is installed and still not listed, look at the format preferences on that screen — Prefer CLAP over VST and Prefer VST 3 over VST 2 don't just reorder things, they hide the format that loses. Bitwig also keeps a plug-in cache that can go stale; their support site has the steps for clearing it, and the menus move between versions, so theirs is the page to trust over ours.
FL Studio
- Options › File settings › Manage plugins — or press F10.
- Turn on Verify plugins, then start the scan.
- Songling appears under Generators › New, since it is an instrument.
FL Studio only lets you add custom search folders for older VST2 plug-ins — a VST3 has to be in the standard system folder, which is where our installer puts it. On an Apple silicon Mac, FL Studio scans separately in each mode, so if you switch between Apple silicon and Rosetta you will need to scan again the first time.
Where everything goes
The installer puts each piece where your programs expect to find it. Nothing lands in a hidden folder of ours.
macOS
| The app | /Applications/Songling.app |
|---|---|
| Audio Unit | /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Songling.component |
| VST3 | /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Songling.vst3 |
| Sounds and screens | /Library/Application Support/Songling |
| Your songs and settings | ~/Library/Songling |
| Crash reports | ~/Library/Logs/Songling |
Windows
| The app | C:\Program Files\Songling |
|---|---|
| VST3 | C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Songling.vst3 |
| Sounds and screens | C:\ProgramData\Songling |
| Your songs and settings | %APPDATA%\Songling |
| Crash reports | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Songling\Logs |
The app, the Audio Unit and the VST3 all read the same sounds folder, which is why three of them together take up little more than one. If that folder is missing or half-installed, Songling says so on its own screen rather than opening and doing nothing — installing again is the fix.
Removing it
On Windows, use Add or Remove Programs as with anything else.
On macOS, the installer leaves an uninstaller beside the sounds. Open Terminal and run:
sudo sh "/Library/Application Support/Songling/uninstall.sh"
It needs an administrator because the files are system-wide, and it takes away all four things in the table above. If you would rather do it by hand, dragging those same four to the Bin does the same job.
Either way, your songs and settings are left where they are, in your
own user folder, so reinstalling picks up exactly where you left off. That folder is
the one beginning ~ in the table above — delete it as well only if you
really mean to start from nothing.
When something is actually wrong
Open Settings › About and press Save a description of this setup. It writes a page of plain text — version, computer, audio settings, which program Songling is running in, and how much work you have — and that answers most of the questions we would otherwise have to ask you one at a time. It contains none of your music and no licence key, and you can read it before you send it.
If Songling stopped unexpectedly, the same screen will say so and offer to show you the report it saved. Those are kept on your machine and sent nowhere; attaching one to your email is the single most useful thing you can do, because it says where in the code the fall happened.
Send either to support@songling.app, with what you were doing at the time.
Questions
Is there a trial?
Yes — the download is the trial. Without a licence key Songling runs as the demo, and the only thing the demo holds back is taking your work out: exporting a file, or dragging onto a track. Everything else is open for as long as you like — the whole library, every sound, the Studio, the Sketch, and the progressions you keep. When you buy it, the same copy becomes the full version; there is nothing to download again.
I bought it — where is my key?
In the email you got straight after paying. It comes from Polar, who handle our purchases, rather than from songling.app — so if it isn't in your inbox, search for Polar and check the junk folder before writing to us. Copy the key, open Settings › License, paste it in, and you're done. It is yours for good: no subscription, no expiry, and it keeps working with no internet connection.
Do I need an internet connection?
No. Songling works completely offline, and will keep working offline indefinitely — a studio with no connection for a year is a case we test for deliberately. Nothing you write is sent anywhere.
How many computers can I use it on?
Three. If you replace a machine, you can free its place yourself from Settings › License on any of them, or write to us and we will.
Does the plug-in make sound on its own, or drive my instruments?
Both, whichever you want. It has its own sampled instruments so you can hear a chord the moment you find it, and it sends ordinary MIDI, so putting it before an instrument track plays whatever is on that track instead. You can also drag a progression straight out onto a track.
Will it work in my DAW?
If your DAW takes VST3 instruments — or Audio Units, on a Mac — then yes. Logic, Ableton Live, Cubase, REAPER, Studio One, Bitwig and FL Studio are the ones we test in by hand.
Is my work locked inside Songling?
No. Anything you make can leave as MIDI or MusicXML, which every DAW and every notation program reads.
Known issues
Nothing here yet. As Songling reaches more machines this is where the problems we know about will be listed, with whatever gets you moving again in the meantime.