Sonik Synth 2 or SampleTank 2.1 soundset upgrade?

[Rellik]

I was able to find Sonik Synth 2 online (academic crossgrade version) for roughly the same price as the upcoming SampleTank 2.1 soundset upgrade! That's pretty amazing - so now I'm wondering which would be best for me.

Before you say "both", I'm not going to be getting both I'm spending 10% of my stipend from my internship, and that covers one or the other. My initial reaction is to jump on the Sonik Synth 2 price (I won't be angry if IK or SR shuts down the price, given that I already printed out a copy of the page, so I can take it down to Guitar Center and do a price-match whether it's still online or not ). But I don't really know much about the 2.1 update, so I have to consider.

What am I looking for? Good sounds in every department - realism is nice, but pleasant 'fakeness' can also be cool. I don't compose any particular genre of music - not that I don't do genres, I just do them all . Need to be flexible, if I ever am going to be a professional some day...

Anyway, I'll be reading more about Sonik Synth 2 now that it's within my pricerange (was never too interested in it before for price reasons), listening to demo's, etc. I like the GUI alot . I figured I'd post here to get some opinions on Sonik Synth 2 vs. the upcoming 2.1 soundset - I know that SR people are the only ones that know about the 2.1 soundset, but I'm more than happy for this thread to have discussion of Sonik Synth 2 in general, and any expectations/knowledge people may have of the 2.1 soundset, or wisdom, or advice, etc. from the many experienced users and developers of this forum

[Kim Lajoie]

Well, I suppose the first question is - what do you have already? If you're looking at the ST2.1XL sounds upgrade, then I suppose you've already got ST2L or ST2XL?

Regarding just ST2.1XL vs SS2, it's really a matter of taste. ST2.1XL covers the same ground as ST2XL, but of course it does it better! It takes particular advantage of the new features in the ST2.1 engine. However, 2.1XL is basedon 2.0XL, and it's designed to replace your existing ST2 base library, rather than add to it.

On the other hand, Sonik Synth 2 has a different focus. SS2 is a super synth workstation, and really excels at synthetic sounds, as well as hybrid sounds. It's also a completely different sound to the regular SampleTank2 library, which means you can add it to your existing libraries.

Having said all that, if you can get Sonik Synth 2 for the same price as the ST2.1XL sounds upgrade, then that is killer value. Let me say that again: Killer. Sonik Synth 2 is already amazing value at regular price!

-Kim.

[Mr. Tunes]

I do all genres of music like you rellik, (with an emphasis on an electronic/orchestral sound) and i give sonik synth 2 more of a workout than sampletank 2xl
there are certain sections that i dabble into here and there from ST2, and those sounds save my butt when i need them, but in general SS2 runs the show here at Mr. Tunes Central. and i still use Symphony Strings EROM a lot.

it really is taste though. some composers might tell you they use ST2Xl way more even if they do the same type of stuff as me.

[zai]

SS2...go for it, you won't be disappointed...use it in ST2...you WON'T be disappointed...layer, layer and layer those sounds! :p

Zai

[Caleb]

and i still use Symphony Strings EROM a lot.

Do you think that will still be the case when Miro finds its way onto your harddrive Tunesy?

Caleb

[Mr. Tunes]

and i still use Symphony Strings EROM a lot.

Do you think that will still be the case when Miro finds its way onto your harddrive Tunesy?

Caleb

no, she will be put to rest

but realistically, yeah i will keep using it for sure. there are some patches in symphony strings that make me weepy ( ) and i'll always use them. who knows the two might play very well together?

[pheeleep]

Same here, I will always use the symphony strings add on in some songs.. It depends what I am after, but I currently use them as much as the EWQLSO Gold strings, if not more.. There are many patches that I find oh so beautiful. I can identify with how you feel Mr. Tunes!

Oh, and to answer the initial question, I would go with Sonik Synth 2. I find that Sonik Synth 2 sounds sound better than the Sampletank ones. Don't get me wrong, I love my sampletank and many of it's patches, but the Sonik Synth 2 sounds are really super top notch. I feel lucky I have both ( Ps: I can only compare to the current version of Sampletank.. I am waiting on 2.1 like everyone else.. )

[Mr. Tunes]

yeah pheeleep, there is so much emotion in symphony strings and since they stood the test of time in my setup(about 3 years), there's no reason why they would go 'poof' the second something new shows up. but it was interesting you brought it up caleb, made me think.

alright so here are a bunch of the sounds in STXL that i keep going back to:
-upright basses, there's one that slides it's a cool sound
-percussion, and percussion loops(vibes are in the percussion section, there are great vibes here)
-brass, i like the brass here, and the brass phrases
-ethnic, great accordians, sitar, and an awesome mandolin patch that has a tremolo picking built into it
-in the orchestra section i like the Harp and the Orchestral Percussion the most
- i like some pianos a lot like 1920's Upright, but on the rhodes side of things it really lacks compared to Sonik Synth2's rhodes section. Rhodes are a huge part of my playing so i take that category seriously. the vintage keys in general are nothing like SS2's vintage keys.

and i like some of the woodwinds.

there are more but as you can see I prefer Sonik Synth2 over this one. i do look forward to the 2.1 update a lot though.

[Caleb]

Tunesy - I always listen to what you and Kim have to say about these things. You are both the kind of composer I aspire to be so your continued support of SR/ST products constantly validates the purchases I have made.

Even if Kim has moved to the DARK SIDE (over the other side of the counter)

I don't even have any of SR/ST stuff installed at the moment because I had to rebuild my computer (AGAIN) and I'm wondering whether I should just put together my music computer again and install everything on that harddrive instead.

I've been relying on my WusikStation and some old soundfonts at the moment and I'm missing alot of my SR content.

Caleb

[Mr. Tunes]

oh caleb. your post means a lot to me. it's hard to give people advice though. that's why i ask often "what genre of music do you make?" when people ask what they need. i mean if you look at my previous post, i could give someone the wrong impression that ST2XL has only those sounds that are good when it's far from being the case. those are just those few sounds i go back to often. i cant tell you how many times sampletank2 has saved my butt, especially when knocking off realistic stuff.

and yeah kim is over on the darkside now but at least we have an extra set of hands around who can prevent any streakers from running onto the field and causing a ruckus.
i used to be a moderator here a while back but then one day i fell off the face of the earth and had my status removed. i was honoured at the time i was knighted though.

a few years ago, i thanked dave for making such great sounds cause i believed that this SR sound helped a lot in people taking my music seriously. he told me it was not the sounds, it was me that was talented, but to this day i think that i wouldnt be able to do what i do without these products. when i meet people that are getting started or want to improve their sound i point them over to esoundz(dont get me wrong if you tell me you want to create post-industrial synthetic glitch techno punk i will send you over to reaktor). i am totally convinced that the path to success is starting out with great sounds and then the talent bursts out of that. all i can say is when i started out in music production, my roland xp-10 and the thin soundfonts i had just werent doing it for me. i had ideas, but they werent coming into fruition until i got sonic synth. every year i have grown musically alongside these products and continue to discover my inner self through these sounds.

i spend a lot of time here on the SR forum cause i feel like a missionary. instead of spreading the word of jesus i have a different message to send out to the music world. it changed my life and i hope it changes yours too caleb


i'm kind of confused why were computer is in shambles but get your Sonik plugins back up soon or else you'll die of sonic dehydration

[Caleb]

The real problem wasn't why my computer was in shambles but why my MUSIC computer hasn't been running now for well over a year.

I made an "innocent" upgrade to WINXP Home and the problems cascaded from there. The WIN98SE setup was rock solid before that.

It seems that WINXP had a slight altercation with $11,000 of Creamware soundcards and I was the casualty.

I'm so sick of not having all these tools that I spent so much money building up and then trying to "get by" on my non-music computer.

I can't even feed my audio through my expensive monitors or through my mixing desk. I can't use my condenser mic - in fact for some reason I can't even record audio on my non-music computer. It's ARGH!

Now I'm just trying to finally get off my ever-widening arse and put my music computer back together.

Oh - this wasn't the home studio woes thread was it?

Caleb

[Mr. Tunes]

caleb i was just going through the archives, looking for any traces of my song Funk N' Bass and the remixes that followed it.
so i'll be darned you've been with me since day one here at kvr listening to my work and all. i have the foggiest memory i'm sorry. when i took the hiatus i mentioned above i forgot so many names and faces. i have the memory of a geriatric(and the physical makeup of one too)

[telebunke]

there are some patches in symphony strings that make me weepy ( )

which ones would that be?

[Mr. Tunes]

there are some patches in symphony strings that make me weepy ( )

which ones would that be?

All of them

here are some:
A Large String Ensemble
Ambient VStrings
Expressive VStrings
Sweet Strings
Tremelo Strings
Movie Strings
Lush Violins
and more

[Caleb]

caleb i was just going through the archives, looking for any traces of my song Funk N' Bass and the remixes that followed it.
so i'll be darned you've been with me since day one here at kvr listening to my work and all. i have the foggiest memory i'm sorry. when i took the hiatus i mentioned above i forgot so many names and faces. i have the memory of a geriatric(and the physical makeup of one too)

Hahahaha - I still remember the hiatus. Wasn't it white water rafting or something? You were going to be gone for months.

I've had my own breaks from KvR and music - usually intense relationships that sucked up all my spare time.

And yeah - used to listen to alot of your music back then. Haven't listened to it for some time now though. I don't spend anywhere near as much time as I should in the Music Café listening to great new stuff people are producing.

Shame on me.

Caleb