FAQ: on eSoundz Orders

[Squids]

Here is a convenient Q&A you can look at to get some quick possible answers to common questions about esoundz orders (covering a lot of the group buy specific questions)

1. What is the normal expectation of receiving my package ordered from www.esoundz.com?

Answer: Normal product shipping times on esoundz.com are within the next business day of your order and can take up to 7-10 days to arrive to you depending on the shipping method and where you are in the world. Exceptions to the norm are pre-orders and a group buy product which are clearly marked as such on the order pages.

2. It's been several weeks since I ordered the group buy bundle, where is my package?

Answer:

If you ordered before August 15th on the SS1 group buy bundle then you should have at least received an email notification about your product's shipment. If you haven't then please email: shipping@esoundz.com and tell them that. They will get back to you with the status of the shipment. Please understand that perhaps your email on the account is different than the one you were expecting to receive it at (work email, wrong email typos etc. are common).

Please understand that with this particular group buy bundle we have been waiting on ST2 LE which has only just become available and in short supply. Also, these packages are going out in the order they were received. So, while the benefit of the large group is the lower price, what goes along with that is the extra time it takes to get everyone's orders out. This makes it different than normal esoundz shipping which is generally one of the fastest in this business.

3. I got my Sonic Synth 1 group buy bundle and I am trying to install it but how am I able to use this as a plug-in?

Answer: Sonic Synth 1 is "sound content" and the plug-in part is "SampleTank". You need to either own SampleTank already to use it or have selected the option to get SampleTank 2 LE in the "choose your freebies" part of the order. If you didn't choose ST2 LE in the order and don't already own SampleTank 1 or 2 (ST2 FREE does not work with it- you need a real commercially sold version) then please contact: sales@esoundz.com to find a way to solve that you need to get ST2 LE or you can also just buy SampleTank 2 L or XL -OR- just pick up ANY SampleTank 2 LE product such as the Sonik Capsules or Expansion Tank products on www.esoundz.com - that will automatically come with an ST2 LE that can read ALL of your ST format sounds.

4. I didn't receive the ST2 LE in my Sonic Synth 1 group bundle package. Why?

Answer:

a. It was not actually ordered correctly because it had to be selected in the "add freebies" part of the order.

b. WAS ordered correctly in the "add freebies" part of the order (ie. chosen as ST2 LE + 1 free library) in which case shipping made a mistake (which of course they will fix right away for you)

c. That you changed your order after the fact and perhaps this was missed (when going through hundreds of orders, more chance for human error if it is not IN the system which is why it is best to try to get the original order correct as much as possible)

Now, if it is A. it is not our fault. It was explained on the page that if you don't already own ST2 that you have to select ST2 LE in the order and that it doesn't "automatically" come with it as the rest of the bundle are "sounds only" and you can choose ala carte.

Contact esoundz at: support@esoundz.com so we can figure out the best solution to that right away for you.

If it is B. and you ordered it correctly but didn't receive it in your shipment then this our error which we apologize for and will of course correct right away.

If it is C. then please understand that a LOT of people change their order info around. It was unusually high for address changes, freebie changes and all kinds of things. We had a good system for cross-checking changes but unfortunately in the last several days Dan who was handling that part became ill. If you sent an email to dan@esoundz.com in the last few days and didn't get a response then this is why.

I gave you guys dan@esoundz.com so you could talk personally with one of the head people at the company. But, there's also Mark, Rob, Marcos, Dave (not me, we call him LD), Ben, Dustin, Jimmy and interns who help out part time. So, it is perhaps best to email the whole department that relates to the your inquiry.


5. What are the general email contacts of the different departments at esoundz so I can be responded to as quickly as possible?

shipping@esoundz.com - for questions about the shipment, any issues with the package etc.

support@esoundz.com - any issues getting up and running, any problems with the sounds (any problems with the software part you can also email and we at esoundz will walk you through IK tech support and follow up to make SURE you have everything up and running- this is a new level of support that we're going to be doing more and more for our customers... because we can.)

sales@esoundz.com - any issues with needing to make special order arrangements or to discuss products, orders etc.


Personal emails of supervisors:

mark@esoundz.com - operations manager
dan@esoundz.com - customer support manager
dave@esoundz.com - the big cheese


Phone number if you are in the US is toll free

800 232 6186

International including the US and Canada + the rest of the world

954 846 9447

If you don't get somebody keep trying back. However, we are adding more lines to accomdate a large increase in activity that are proud to accomodate.

6. I haven't heard back from anyone at esoundz, will I be taken care of?

Answer: Yes.

6a. Can you elaborate please Squids?

Answer: Sure.

6b. Can you stop horsing around and be professional for a change and answer my freakin' question?

Oh, sorry... I was just trying to add a little comedy relief for a second... here you go:

Answer: All esoundz customers WILL be taken care of properly. Please understand that sometimes we may not receive your email or you may not receive ours for errors in email (typos, server barfs.. voodoo or the person you are emailing is out sick- in which case you should email the department so it goes to more than one person). We have a phone system that we're improving drastically this week to accomodate more people. We have new personnel joining the team to help as well and most importantly that we care about each and every customer and will do whatever it takes (within reason) to make everyone happy.

A large percentage of customers on esoundz.com are REPEAT customers and the reason for that is because we take good care of them, listen to an issues and solve them logically and with compassion and understanding. We correct any of our own mistakes and even offer solutions to mistakes that are made on the customer's side as well. We here to follow through to make sure you get tech support from other company's products that we carry. We here to help you get the sounds that are going to take your music to the next level (sorry, corny marketing mode just kicked in... but you get the point. We're here to make sure you are ALL SET when it comes to sounds and related software).

I will continue to add to this FAQ list and this will be the official GENERAL question thread regarding esoundz orders. I say GENERAL so it can be helpful to everyone so let's try to keep it non-specific to individuals and more about the question and answer or the issue and what to do, where to go etc. about it.

Thanks!

Squids and www.esoundz.com

[Stephan326]

what about customers who ordered Acoustic Drums or other CDs, got ST1LE and were supposed to receive ST2 LE..

Regards

Stephan

[Squids]

what about customers who ordered Acoustic Drums or other CDs, got ST1LE and were supposed to receive ST2 LE..

Regards

Stephan

It depends on what you mean.

If you mean non-group buy orders then. Anyone who ordered any of the ST libraries from esoundz.com since January can contact sales@esoundz.com to have the option of a free upgrade to ST2 LE (no other type of "official" upgrade from IK is offered I should point out) or you can get $30. in ePointz toward a library that comes with an ST2 LE which you might even prefer! Mark is the one who makes that magic happen for you. sales@esoundz.com


However, if you mean that a customer accidentally received ST1 LE when they were suppoed to receive ST2 LE (understanding that this is only possible for orders received in the last week, since ST2 LE has only just become available)- then contact support@esoundz.com to look up your order and they will contact you about getting an ST2 LE.

[Squids]

Another FAQ regarding Sonic Synth bundle with other ST1 sounds:

Q: Some of the sounds I load up in ST2 LE are either silent or crash my host! What gives man?

Answer: We are working on a fix for certain sounds in ST1 format from SR that do this in ST2. We're sorry for the inconvenience of it. It only causes the ST2 LE to crash in certain systems (usually hosts that are not the "main" ones we test in). We've expanded our own testing to include Project 5, FL studio and others besides the usual suspects (Cubase, Logic, PT etc.).

We taking a look at each and every sound from all of SR's ST1 format sounds and making an internal report that are checking against anyone's reports emailed to me: dave@sonicreality.com and will investigate all sound-related issues so that we can promptly have a replacement disc or download plus a full list that I will post here on any "problem" sounds.

An important clarification here is that these sounds were designed for ST1 and work well in ST1 (without crashing typically and no silent patches). They are also all being dicontinued in terms of production and all of the version 2s of these called Expansion Tanks (and Sonik Synth 2 for that evolution) are designed specifically for ST2 format.

But, we will still make sure that the ST1 sounds SR makes work right in ST2. So, we'll have a sound update fix soon.

[Squids]

(Steve, Mark will get back to you but send your email to sales@esoundz.com to be sure.)

Okay, some more FAQs for you guys. This one is about Sonic Synth 1:

QUESTION: I have received the Sonic Synth group buy bundle. The first three ss disks seem to all have the same files and most of them only have the extensions: .sth and .sti. Only a handful have the stw. The same file names appear on all three disks too.

ANSWER: Sonic Synth Disc 1-3 have the files of the samples spread across the three discs. If you run the installers on those discs and install them all into the same place and check ALL of the boxes then all of the samples will come over fine. The sti and sth files are repeated on ALL 3 discs. But the STW file is the one that has all of the raw samples (which are spread across the three discs). The sound will show up in the browser but WILL NOT LOAD unless you have all three files (.Sti, .Sth and .Stw) of the same patch name together in one place for it to work.

If you want to just drag the sounds over from the Sonic Synth discs 1-3, then find the folders that have ALL THREE files together on that disc and drag those along with the outter folder. For example, on Disc one the only ones that have ALL THREE files are the Pianos, Organs and Chromatic instruments. So, even though there are folders for Strings or Synths etc on disc one, they only contain the Sti and Sth files on THAT disc. But, you don't need those if you are dragging because they are repeated on the other 2 discs along with the STWs that are there. Bottom line is that you can drag the STIs, STHs over only when you have the STWs to go with them... so it depends on the disc. You can tell easily though by the SIZE of the folders. If it is large then it has the STW samples (which take up the most space) but if it is just STI and STH then it takes up very little space by comparison.

But, you should really just run the installer and install into the same place (into the STInstruments folder.... of course AFTER you have installed your ST2 first). If you have any questions about this you can email support@esoundz.com

[krraqk]

Hi

just want to ask a question about my order of SS2.

I have sent an email about it to Dan Dashnaw, he repplied me and informed me about the price as an SS1 and SStation owner.

I have repplied to this email saying that I want SS2 now, sending all the details and my credit card number, but also asking some questions (about the holiday cd).

The question is that I have not received an answer to my last email and Im getting a bit nervous because I dont want to miss this oportunity at all(the offer ends 31 december).

I also asked to sales@esoundz.com but they responded with a tel. number but I cant do that in this way because I dont speak english and also Im in Spain.
Is Dan Dashnaw in vacation or something?
What I can do in order to dont miss this offer?

Please help me.

[dougsyo]

Edit: has been taken care of.

Hi, I e-mailed dan at esoundz dot com on October 18th, haven't gotten an answer yet. Perhaps he is busy, or maybe some mail server or filter silently ate my e-mail.

Anyway, I ordered the ethnic/folk group buy in SampleTank format. I received the DVD, and I'm very pleased with what I've tried so far. The DVD said it had all the sounds on it (including the C7 piano), but the C7 piano instead came on a separate disk in a blue package marked M-Audio.

Problem is, it appears to be a Refill for Reason, not ST2 format. Did I get the wrong package by mistake? Is it multi-format media that I missed? What should I do? I haven't opened this package.

Again, I'm happy with what I've already installed into ST2. This is a minor nit, but I was looking forward to the C7 piano. Also, I have Sonic Synth 1 and ST2XL, is this the same C7 as came with SS1? If so, then I'm fine as things are.

Doug

[flynn]

You're supposed to have got an e-mail, with a link to a download for C7 in ST2/Kontakt2 format.

Have you looked in your junkmail folder?

I dont want to send the link, unless I get OK from Squids.

EF

[dougsyo]

Thanks for the offer.

Since this was the Group Buy, I didn't expect any download links. There weren't any on the two e-mails I received about my order.

I'm sure SR will take care of it. I have broadband so if they choose to fix with a download, it works.

Edit: has been taken care of.

Doug

[dougsyo]

I just got Miroslav and there was a problem with one of the disks. I called and at almost 7pm on a Friday, Elijah@SR answered and got me sorted.

As long as SR keeps treating me well, they'll get my business

Doug

[scottedog]

I'll give that a 'Hell Yeah!".


Impressive CS.

[LiteOn]

Hi,

I just want to testify to the public my utter satisfaction with Esoundz!

Got CSR and the StudioProfiles today (unfortunatly no more time for it now....). As a
new Esoundz customer I'm especially happy with the aftersales support. The
service is always very responsive (and patient ) and "problems" (delayed
overseas shipment) have been taken care of immediately and sorted out perfectly (thanks
again, Elijah).

So, here's my score:


cheers,
LiteOn


PS: Hope that's the right place to post..

[JSLmusic]

I not sure it this was asked but, how much do I have to spend to be upgraded to silver membership status???


thanks in advance



- JSLmusic

[Squids]

I not sure it this was asked but, how much do I have to spend to be upgraded to silver membership status???


thanks in advance



- JSLmusic

I believe it is a few hundred. Gold is $500 and Platinum is $1,000. Not at one time, but over the course of a year.

One of the things we are very proud of is that a majority of esoundz members who have purchased something are either Gold or Platinum members. It is a nice system that benefits the user but these kind of statistics let us know that we have repeat business and must be doing something right. If we didn't have this ratio of gold and platinum users then it would be a sign that we need to do more. Although we're always thinking of ways to do more anyway. In fact, esoundz is going to have a MAJOR update by next month or so (maybe sooner). We call it "esoundz version 8" internally.

We have plenty of Silver members too. You get some nice benefits even as just a member which people can join www.esoundz.com for free. (a little add statement there... Subliminal Squids, sorry).