SampleTank

After reading a few reviews of Sampletank 2 XL and playing about with the demo, I decided to take the plunge and part with my hard earned cash on this 'Super ROMpler'. I wasn't disappointed!

The XL version comes with about 1500 sounds (plus loops)covering a wide range of (mainly) organic instruments including Brass, Strings, Guitars (electric and acoustic), Vocals / Choir, Woodwinds, Drums (electric and acoustic), Bass (double, synth, fingered fretless), aswell as Lead Synth, Fx, ...The list goes on. With so many sounds there are always going to be some that would not cut it in a commercial project (IMO). However, with the depth of sounds Sampletank has it is perfect for mapping out you ideas and getting the framework in place and there are enough sounds that are highly useable in a professional situation.

Due to the settings available in the module there is scope for manipulating the sounds to get what you are looking for. You can add up to 5 effects including, Reverb, Chorus Flanger (25 or so to choose from)as well alter settings such as pitch fine-tuning and LFO's.

A nice feature of Sampletank is the ability to import AKAI samples and patches directly into the Sampler. This is a painless operation and only takes a few minutes to convert whole cds.

Overall this is a great all in one workstation that has plenty of useable sounds. It is perfect for mapping ideas at the very least and has many sounds that could be used professionally at best. Personally, if i was starting out, this would be my first VSTi purchase as it covers all the bases although the price is quite high for some users(but good value for money all the same).Read Review