Sampletank 3?

[1-2-Many]

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/3teaser.php

[djanthonyw]

That's old, it was for amplitube.

[lotus2035]

When you click on the "click here to discover more" link it takes you to the T-Racks 3 Deluxe page... (Which I happen to be selling in the marketplace right now..)

[1-2-Many]

I know - I suck at April fools jokes.

I stumbled across it when searching for news on ST3...it fooled me (until the end) so I thought I'd pass it on

But seriously, I didn't see any threads here at KVR devoted to it so I thought one might be apt. Here's a somewhat old discussion on IK's facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=8 ... opic=17575#!

Can anyone suggest further reading?

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

I know - I suck at April fools jokes.

I stumbled across it when searching for news on ST3...it fooled me (until the end) so I thought I'd pass it on

But seriously, I didn't see any threads here at KVR devoted to it so I thought one might be apt. Here's a somewhat old discussion on IK's facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=8 ... opic=17575#!

Can anyone suggest further reading?

That's our old page that will be taken down. Our current page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IK-Multim ... 7617160146

Sorry for any confusion. We've definitely taken down what we need to from that discussion.

[zedd]

That's old, it was for amplitube.

Thankfully.

When I saw "October 15th" I was horrified.
I hope we'll see SampleTank 3 long before that.

[vespers75]

Sampletank 3...that has taken too long already. Sampletank was the first sample-based VSTi I ever bought. This was back when Kontakt was still on version 1 and not all too impressive. Well, I sort of regret going the Sampletank route instead. So many other samplers have surpassed it now, because its been ignored for way too long. Hell, even cheap-ass Wusikstation now has surpassed it in several ways. IK is really going to have to add alot of things to ST3 to make it even worth considering in the face of its competitors. Unfortunately, I'm willing to bet the upgrade price for current users is going to be quite high as well.

[zvenx]

I hope it is worth waiting for.
rsp

[Squids]

SampleTank isn't a sampler. It's more a "rompler" and actually SampleTank 2.5 still has certain things like its built-in effects system and models that are unlike anything else on the market. It is a great workhorse and the amount of people that have it and use it on albums is massive! There's nothing wrong with it whatsoever. I can think of a bunch of things I'd like to see in a Sampletank 3 and some day there may be one... I wouldn't assume it is going to cost this or that. You don't know that! I can tell you that whatever it will be it won't be something that's negative or discouraging... there'd be no point in that! So try to think positive.

I will tell you one thing positive for ALL SampleTank users and future users. There's a special version of the current SampleTank coming VERY soon and also a little (lot of) something from Sonic Reality that'll take that rompler to the next level. Keep your eyes peeled next week and let's see what happens. There are some GREAT samplers out there - no doubt. But for a tight multitimbral rompler module with "virtual expansion boards"... it has its place! Meat and potatoes baby. I love all of my other advanced and feature-filled samplers and synths. But, even with all of those I still SampleTank is always used in any music product I am working on. It's a powerful workhorse for quick creative results.. and plus it really ties the room together.

[zvenx]

Dave, when I say you are the premier PR person in music software I kid you not, when I read any post from you I feel that product MUST be owned by me. For me personally no product that I have bought from SR or IK (with the exception so far of Amplitube 3) has ever lived up to that expectation for me.... Sampletank is dated period!!!!
rsp

[Scotty]

I use it much like Squids says. If I am looking for small percussion sounds, an unusual upright grand or even some of the loop libraries that I picked up on GBs, I go to Sampletank or should I say, I went to Sampletank.

A major limitation of Sampletank is the slow and limited search function. I have converted a number of my Akai libraries into Sampletank format so my Sampletank folder is quite large. The slow search speed just kills the main advantage of having the library which for me is to find the inspiration and keep a session moving. If IK re-released the included library of sounds with descriptive tags and improved the search engine it would gain increased value for me. I would pay for this update. The number of users who paid for the update would give a great indication as to how much life is left in the Sampletank platform. My guess is there is plenty.

Recently, I upgraded my Line 6 Pod Farm Platinum to Platinum 2. Line 6 was added some midi automation to the package but the selling point for me was that they repackaged all the amps, stomps, preamps, into elements which could loaded into inserts without having to load the entire Pod Farm plug-in. Instantly I am using these elements on some sketches and rediscovering the value that was already there. Should line 6 improve their models further I will most likely upgrade again due to the value and use I am experiencing presently. Line 6 models are a generation or two behind Amplitube 3 but the access of the individual components made it a worthwhile upgrade for me despite recently buying Amplitube 3 .

I think that Sampletank could enjoy a similar renaissance if they realized the power in what was there and gave as better access to it. - Scotty



quote="Squids"]SampleTank isn't a sampler. It's more a "rompler" and actually SampleTank 2.5 still has certain things like its built-in effects system and models that are unlike anything else on the market. It is a great workhorse and the amount of people that have it and use it on albums is massive! There's nothing wrong with it whatsoever. I can think of a bunch of things I'd like to see in a Sampletank 3 and some day there may be one... I wouldn't assume it is going to cost this or that. You don't know that! I can tell you that whatever it will be it won't be something that's negative or discouraging... there'd be no point in that! So try to think positive.

I will tell you one thing positive for ALL SampleTank users and future users. There's a special version of the current SampleTank coming VERY soon and also a little (lot of) something from Sonic Reality that'll take that rompler to the next level. Keep your eyes peeled next week and let's see what happens. There are some GREAT samplers out there - no doubt. But for a tight multitimbral rompler module with "virtual expansion boards"... it has its place! Meat and potatoes baby. I love all of my other advanced and feature-filled samplers and synths. But, even with all of those I still SampleTank is always used in any music product I am working on. It's a powerful workhorse for quick creative results.. and plus it really ties the room together. [/quote]

[lotus2035]

Honestly I love the sound quality of SampleTank, Sonik Synth (which I use quite a lot) SampleTron and Miroslav but I never feel 100% comfortable using any of them too many times in one project.
I have had far too many cases of hung notes, entire soundbanks and patches disappearing on song load, blasts of noise, audiocard hanging that forces a reboot that doesn't happen with other software.

It would be easy to say well maybe these things are caused by my host but I've had the same problems with the SampleTank line in both Cubase 5 and Ableton Live 8 and on two totally different systems.

I still hang in there with them however because I think the quality of the sounds are top notch.
I'm hoping that SampleTank 3 will be a total rebuild not just a facelift.

[Squids]

Dave, when I say you are the premier PR person in music software I kid you not, when I read any post from you I feel that product MUST be owned by me. For me personally no product that I have bought from SR or IK (with the exception so far of Amplitube 3) has ever lived up to that expectation for me.... Sampletank is dated period!!!!
rsp

Thanks. But I disagree with the last comment. Is a B3 "dated"? Is a Rhodes "dated"? If something emits a sound and it is musical and accomplishes certain things - especially in a particular style or method that other products do not then it isn't out-dated at all! Okay, graphically perhaps it could be spruced up a bit... the old T-RackS wasn't dated either because a good model of a analog gear is still useful (and the original tube gear itself is also not dated!). But when TR3 came along the wider scope of modules, the improved graphics and everything else were a warm welcome! It didn't make the previous TR any less useful... and actually in some cases I still use it! But it was updated with more and that is surely what will happen some day with SampleTank 3.

In the meantime though, that engine has its uses musically. I can tell you as a sound developer who has worked in nearly every platform and while SampleTank currently is not EASY to develop sounds for... once the sound is in SampleTank it is SO FAST to be able to mess with it and get something creative going. Whether it is the effects or just the layout of everything right there in front of you or perhaps the layering of the sounds and routing the whole layered sound through a series of effects... it just accomplishes something musically that is convenient, efficient and productive... the more sounds you have in it the more you can play with them like clay and mold what you need. THAT is why it is used on so many records.

Look, I come from the world of hardware workstations. We did samples for companies like Alesis and Roland, we did patch programming and samples for Yamaha Motif and all sorts of products like that. Those were all about presets too and despite the fact that some of them had DEEP engines to tweak the sound it was kind of hard to access all of the different menus and pages so most people didn't tweak the sounds that much. Even I didn't apart from when we were hired to do so or if I really needed but I don't like hunting through pages and pages either. One of my favorite hardware keyboards is the NORD STAGE because everything is right there in front of me and the creativity I pull out of those built-in effects (which are MUCH more limited than SampleTank's... although the Nord Leslie is better than SampleTank's... and AmpliTube 3's Leslie is better than Nord's... so yes if there is a SampleTank 3 someday - which I am not saying but come on we all know there will be - then let's just hope they have the AmpliTube 3 Leslie in there!!!!).

So, what I am saying is the musicality of the effects in ST2, the easy and speed at which you can access parameters and save back variations plus the overall organic sound of it all adds up to a timeless useful device! Even if I obviously love Kontakt for our Infinite Player and it has its strengths and "sound" to it... SampleTank has a very DIFFERENT flavor! Sure, this is still subjective and each of you will have your preferences. I am not saying you're going to like SampleTank the same way I do or thousands of others. But, if you're thinking that just because it has been a while since a major overhaul that it is dated... I'd think again... especially if you own it! Give ST some love and perspective. It has its place in the music set up and does that job quite well! The "glue". The "let me see if SampleTank can get that sound for me" and as long as you have Sonik Synth 2 in there and Miroslav Philharmonik, SampleTron, SampleMoog and the upcoming massive.... woops, I almost spilled the beans (I love doing that! It is my specialty to tease) then there's a good chance you can pull a rabbit out of the hat in a session! I've done it many times and for that reason alone SampleTank and the SR sounds we've done for it are a staple piece in my set up. I know it is the same for many others... whether those people are in this thread or not is another story! But they're out there making music with it today just as much as a year or two or three ago. It's a valid tool for music-making and IMO a mistake to dismiss.

[Squids]

Honestly I love the sound quality of SampleTank, Sonik Synth (which I use quite a lot) SampleTron and Miroslav but I never feel 100% comfortable using any of them too many times in one project.
I have had far too many cases of hung notes, entire soundbanks and patches disappearing on song load, blasts of noise, audiocard hanging that forces a reboot that doesn't happen with other software.

It would be easy to say well maybe these things are caused by my host but I've had the same problems with the SampleTank line in both Cubase 5 and Ableton Live 8 and on two totally different systems.

I still hang in there with them however because I think the quality of the sounds are top notch.
I'm hoping that SampleTank 3 will be a total rebuild not just a facelift.

I don't have too many problems like that. No more than with anything else. Always best to keep saving as you go and then that is not such a big issue.

That said, don't get me wrong. I am ALL FOR improvements and new versions. I am one of the biggest "pushers" of it both for my own desires and the ones I read from you guys. I try to consolidate what I see and then "lobby" for it. The more I can ask for and comes true the more we can talk about it here and hopefully people buy it from esoundz... and the circle of sampled life is complete! Yes, of course, we still want to sell it to you buy you can take what I say with a grain of salt knowing that - which most of you know to do by now. But, I am talking very practical here. Musician to musician. Each of us work differently and do different styles of music so it may not always apply... but some things are universally appealing such as speed of workflow. I find SampleTank offers that most of the time and that's important to me. It has come through too many times musically for me to think anything but praise for it...

I mean, I am an effect collector as well and even things like that "Lofi" effect ALONE are worth it for me. There are some gems in that thing. Also Stretch is just amazing if you dig into it. I find it to be better than many other tools on the market for that. Plus better or not it has its own unique thing about it and it is another tool to have on hand in case it does the trick! That's my 4 cents.

[Squids]

I use it much like Squids says. If I am looking for small percussion sounds, an unusual upright grand or even some of the loop libraries that I picked up on GBs, I go to Sampletank or should I say, I went to Sampletank.

[/quote]

Yeah, you're working on a track and you think "Man, I need a messed up sounding upright on this" and you grab any piano and start putting it through the LOFI effect or maybe the Phonograph one and dial back the crackle of the record or filter it a bit and then put a slap back delay on it... all in seconds. This is what I mean. You just grab something and quickly process, layer, tweak a few synth parameters and you've got it!

It comes in handy. When I say a "workhorse", I mean that if you're writing - even if you might replace the instrument later with a live instrument or something fancy from a 100 gigabyte library on something else - for writing inspiration and quick production you have these sounds that are not so large they can't be loaded into ram and they work nicely on a laptop as well, they get results and sometimes that is what ends up on the record and sometimes it acted as a scratch pad mock up of what you were thinking (the amount of people that use Philharmnik first and then a real orchestra later for example and maybe mix Phil in a bit to lush it up)...

We all have our complaints about it. I do too... some, not many, and nothing that holds me back from being able to make good use of it. For new users perhaps if it was more affordable and they could pick and choose which sounds they wanted to focus on then that itself would be a different kind of improvement as well. The access price and options! But for veteran users... I just hope you don't miss out on its usability still today. It has been around for awhile. But it still has legs!