Sidechain help

Troubleshooting

Side Chain menu missing in Logic Pro

TonalBrain Mix loads and plays fine, but the Side Chain dropdown that normally sits in the top-right of the plugin window is gone, while other plugins still show theirs.

Why this happens: the first time Logic sees a plugin version, macOS saves a small record of what that plugin can do. If that first scan gets interrupted (a crash, a force quit, a shutdown at the wrong moment), the record is saved incomplete and Logic stops offering the Side Chain menu for that one plugin. Nothing is wrong with the plugin or your projects. The fix is simply getting Logic to scan it fresh.

Try these in order. Most people only need the first one.

1. Update TonalBrain Mix

  1. 1Download and install the latest version from your TonalBrain account.
  2. 2Restart Logic. It scans the new version fresh, and the Side Chain menu comes back.

Logic keeps a separate record per plugin version, so a new version always gets a clean scan. This is the easiest fix.

2. Reset and rescan in Logic

  1. 1In Logic, open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager.
  2. 2Find TonalBrain Mix in the list and select it.
  3. 3Click "Reset & Rescan Selection".
  4. 4Quit and reopen Logic, then check the plugin header for the Side Chain menu.

This asks Logic to throw away what it remembered about the plugin and look at it again.

3. Clear the macOS plugin scan cache

  1. 1Quit Logic completely.
  2. 2In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder and paste: ~/Library/Preferences
  3. 3Move the file com.apple.audio.AudioComponentCache.plist to the Trash.
  4. 4Restart your Mac (important: macOS keeps this file in memory, and a restart makes sure the old copy is really gone).
  5. 5Open Logic again. It rescans your plugins and rebuilds the file automatically.

This file is only a cache. Deleting it is safe and does not touch your projects, presets, or settings.

Menu still missing after all three? Contact us and mention this page. We can walk you through it on a call.