“Cannot open MASTER.INS. No instrument definitions will be available” message when opening Cakewalk

You may get a “Cannot open MASTER.INS. No instrument definitions will be available” message when opening Sonar for the first time.

The Master.ins file is used by Sonar to store instrument definitions for any hardware synthesizers you may own, but the file is not required for Sonar's operation. The file simply allows you to see banks and programs by name in Sonar.

To re-generate the Master.ins file, do the following:

1.	Hold down the SHIFT key when you start Sonar.

The following message appears: “Cakewalk will now personalize your user settings...”

2.

Click OK.

Sonar copies over the Master.ins file behind the scenes and you will no longer receive this message.

For more information about instrument definitions, see Instrument definitions.

 

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