Are you a Sibelius user tired of waiting ages for the software to launch? Many musicians and composers who use Sibelius alongside DAWs like Pro Tools face a frustrating issue: the lengthy plugin scan at startup. This problem is particularly acute when you’re working on a laptop away from your studio setup and plugin licenses. Let’s dive into why this happens and, more importantly, how you can avoid this time-consuming plugin scan.
The frustration is real. Imagine you’re on the go, wanting to quickly sketch out a musical idea in Sibelius on your MacBook Pro. But instead of launching swiftly, Sibelius crawls to a halt, scanning through every single plugin on your system. If you have a vast collection of plugins – like many Pro Tools users who utilize AAX, AU, and VST formats from Waves, Slate Digital, Soundtoys, FabFilter, and more – this process can be excruciatingly slow. Sibelius will repeatedly prompt you for license verification, especially if your iLok or USB drive (common for Waves licenses) isn’t connected. Clicking “cancel” hundreds of times just to get Sibelius to open is a creativity killer.
The core issue lies in how Sibelius, and similar music software, handles plugins at startup. It attempts to scan and validate every installed plugin each time it launches. This is normally intended to ensure all your virtual instruments and effects are ready to use. However, when licenses aren’t available, or when you simply want to use Sibelius without your full plugin suite, this process becomes a major bottleneck. Users have been asking for a simple “ignore plugins on launch” option for years, but as of now, Avid hasn’t implemented a direct setting.
Fortunately, there’s a straightforward workaround that many users have discovered: temporarily disabling plugin scanning by renaming your plugin folders. This trick works by preventing Sibelius from “seeing” your plugins during startup, drastically reducing launch times. Here’s how to do it on macOS:
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Open Finder: Navigate to your main Library folder. This is usually hidden, so you might need to press Shift + Command + . (period) to show hidden files and folders, or use the “Go to Folder” option in the “Go” menu (Shift+Command+G) and type
~/Libraryor/Library. -
Locate the Audio Folder: Inside the Library folder, find the “Audio” folder.
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Find the “Plug-Ins” Folder: Within the “Audio” folder, you’ll see a folder named “Plug-Ins”. This is where your AU and VST plugins are typically stored.
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Rename the “Plug-Ins” Folder: Simply rename this folder to something like “Ignore Plug-Ins” or “Plug-Ins Disabled”. Adding “Ignore” or “Disabled” effectively hides it from Sibelius and other applications looking for plugins in the standard location.
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Restart Your Computer: This step is crucial to ensure the system recognizes the folder rename.
After restarting, launch Sibelius. You should notice a significantly faster startup time as it skips the plugin scan. If Sibelius still scans plugins, repeat the process for the user-level Library folder: Your User Name/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins. Some plugins might be installed in this hidden user-specific location as well.
Important Considerations:
- Pro Tools and AAX Plugins: This method primarily affects AU and VST plugins, which Sibelius scans. It generally won’t impact Pro Tools’ AAX plugins. Pro Tools has its own plugin management system. Therefore, this workaround is safe for users who use both Sibelius and Pro Tools.
- Reverting the Change: When you want Sibelius to scan your plugins again (perhaps when you are back in your studio with licenses available), simply rename the “Ignore Plug-Ins” folder back to “Plug-Ins” and restart your computer.
- Why No Official Option? It’s unclear why Avid hasn’t implemented a built-in “ignore plugin scan” option. Perhaps it’s related to plugin management architecture or a perceived need for plugins to be readily available within Sibelius. However, for many users, the ability to bypass the scan for faster startup would be a welcome feature.
By renaming your plugin folder, you can effectively avoid the plugin scan in Sibelius and drastically speed up your startup time. This simple trick can save you significant frustration and get you creating music faster, especially when you’re on the move and need Sibelius to launch quickly. Give it a try and reclaim your Sibelius startup speed!
