Clarification wanted on upgrade from SampleTank 2.0XL to 2.1

[mle]

I've been waiting for SampleTank 2.1 to be released, but since the release does not appear to be imminent, I've been thinking about the possibility of getting SampleTank 2.0 XL now, and taking advantage of the free upgrade to 2.1 when the time comes.

Problem is, I have little enough time to work on music as it is. I don't want to futz around with installing one product now, and then turn around and deinstall the product, and reinstall something else a couple months down the road, unless it's truly going to be a painless process.

So I have a few specific questions to help me get a feel for how convenient or not the process might be.

1. Will a user who buys 2.0 now, and then upgrades to 2.1, end up with exactly the same stuff on his hard drive as a user who buys 2.1 directly? If not, what are the differences?

2. Although the 2.1 upgrade has been promised as a free update, will there be any hidden costs (such as a shipping/handling free to receive the new CDs)?

3. If I get 2.0, and start using those sounds right away, what sort of differences in those sounds can I expect after installing 2.1? Will the sounds I'm already using be altered by the new 2.1 engine? WIll any of the sounds be overridden by updated sounds with a different tonal color or volume?

Thanks,

Mark Engelberg

[Squids]

Different sound set so you would reinstall the sounds (optionally but most would). The software update is seemless and a download. If you bought the ST2.0 XL from www.esoundz.com then we wouldn't charge you for the shipping of the sounds update as a courtesy ourselves. But, I am not sure if there would be a charge for just the shipping of the update otherwise. Maybe a minimal charge I would guess.

My advice is to either wait to get it or to get it now and just reinstall the sounds (all you have to do is delete the ones you have and replace them with the new ones which takes less than an hour to do and is a 2-3 step easy process) and get it now.

[mle]

OK, so I'm understanding now that the entire sound library is intended to be deleted and replaced with the new version. (Which reminds me, is the new sound library shipping only on DVD, or will it be possible to get a CD version?)

So what happens to any song that I'm working on that uses sounds from the 2.0 sound library. Must I first go through and do a "backup" of any sounds I'm using in songs-in-progress? Or will SampleTank 2.1 somehow know how to find the comparable sound in the new library?

Thanks for the great info. It's really helping me understand how this process is going to work.

--Mark

[Squids]

The new sounds ship on DVD only I believe. Although a DVD drive is $35. so that shouldn't really hold anyone back!

The good news is that your songs will find the sounds that were from the original set for the most part (unless they were sounds we axed). They'll just sound a bit better. Not bad. In fact, even if you just kept the sounds from the original installation they would sound better with the new engines.

In some ways, it isn't bad to get ST2.0 now because there are some sounds (like some of the vocal speaking choirs) that may not be in ST2.1 as some sounds were axed. Although we axed sounds that we didn't think were as good or useful at the others but you never know. It might be better to have than not since it doesn't cost any more to right now.

[mle]

So if you were to copy over the new instruments without deleting the old, would that preserve any "axed" sounds, while updating any that have been updated? Can you think of any problems that a copy/paste without deleting might cause?

Thanks,

Mark Engelberg

[Mallory]

What I plan to do, on receipt of 2.1, is do a folder comparison of the old and the new and, using my own utility, delete all the identical files from the old sounds. If this works out correctly, I should end up with only the axed sounds in the old set. Now move that inside the master folder of the new 2.1 and everything will be available for use, new and old

Not sure how that would work with saved songs, however...

[Bassballjg]

I think that a list of axed sounds would be in order. That way, people can work out for themselves what they need to keep so that any songs or child presets created using sounds no longer in the library remain viable.

[telebunke]

you can always keep the old sounds as well.
The you couzld have
root folder
2.0 folder
2.1 folder
folders for other libraries...

[Squids]

I think that a list of axed sounds would be in order. That way, people can work out for themselves what they need to keep so that any songs or child presets created using sounds no longer in the library remain viable.

Exactly.

[FlounderEye]

Squids, can you make any comments on the nature of the improvements made to the sounds? Maybe specifics regarding how much is reworked and how much actual new sample content? This kind of information would figure in to my final determination on whether or not to spend money towards the upgrade. Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere.

Thanks and kind regards.

[Squids]

If you have ST2 LE then it is worth upgrading even more than it already is. If you have ST2.0XL then there really ISN'T an official upgrade because... the software part is free. The sounds part will be available but at a nominal cost for shipping (since it can't be downloaded... too large). There won't technically be a sound upgrade for people that bought it before ST2.1 was announced. But, we may see if we can offer it for a small price just so it is possible to benefit from the tweaks and additional sounds.

I think there is about a gig or so of additional sounds. The "tweaks" that were done were cleaning up somoe samples and also optimizing some for stretch in various ways. Any additional child presets will be something I will see if I can make as a free download (like we did for the eROM to Expansion Tank title updates for you guys). There are new parameters in Stretch like "harmonic preservation amount" which is an AWESOME parameter for getting different timbral results.

But, the biggest aspect of this update is really the software itself. Just THAT alone applied to your original sound set is MOST of what makes a difference. The sound set is just something gone through by SR and tweaked up here and there. We didn't need to do an overhaul because a lot of it is fine how it is, especially for a general overview of different types of samples. You always have things like Miroslav Philharmonik, Sonik Synth 2, Studiophonik and Expansion Tanks to add more specific collections to your set up. In fact, some of the new material in ST2.1's sound set are tastes of these other products.

[FlounderEye]

Exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks for being so prompt!

[krank]

So if you were to copy over the new instruments without deleting the old, would that preserve any "axed" sounds, while updating any that have been updated? Can you think of any problems that a copy/paste without deleting might cause?

Thanks,

Mark Engelberg

This seems like what I would do. Can any of you esounds people confirm that this is hassle-free?

[riley4reason]

So if you were to copy over the new instruments without deleting the old, would that preserve any "axed" sounds, while updating any that have been updated? Can you think of any problems that a copy/paste without deleting might cause?

Thanks,

Mark Engelberg

This seems like what I would do. Can any of you esounds people confirm that this is hassle-free?

This is how I would like to do it too...as a 2.0 XL owner. Can it be done? Squids?

Riley