impatient with IK and Sampletank 2 LE UB

[fanfarecircuit]

If anyone would like to email me about the ST 2 LE macintel issue, I would be glad explain and offer another solution for a macintel version.

i did. you're solution was for me to pay another $150-$250 for the full version. i bought the le version and there was no warning that it would be excluded from the ub update. please explain why it was excluded. we realize now that there was a plan for a ub and that some customers were even told it was a month or so away, so why was it cancelled? and why is it not clear on your website until after the product is registered?

[flynn]

Sorry for asking ,
You bought the LE version? Isn't the LE version a bundle "give away" with other software???

EF

[fanfarecircuit]

Sorry for asking ,
You bought the LE version? Isn't the LE version a bundle "give away" with other software???

EF

given away with a sampleset i bought in sampletank format. just like i have kontakt player for the garritan personal orchestra soundset.

furthermore, if ik multimedia really wanted to give good customer service and offer a solution to the problem, then they would have not ignored my request to de-register sampletank le. i contacted them 15 minutes after i registered and found no ub update. instead they ignored that and leave me with the option to pay a very high transfer fee on a product registered for less than a day or pay up more money to be able to use the samples. you tell me where their head is. sampletank 2 comes in several versions...l, xl, se, le...le is the only version without a ub. why? they want to force people into upgrading. that's the way i see it, though i'm happy to listen to other reasoning.

[Squids]

Please know that posts will be edited and deleted in this thread because of course we can't have anyone quoting emails from other companies in here... read the forum rules please. This is the SONIC REALITY and ESOUNDZ forum, not an IK forum. You want to post quotes from esoundz and SR emails? Okay, even that is bordeline inappropriate and information about prices is supposed to be private... ie. the forum isn't used to individual price quoting and would be unfair and confusing to the world wide readers if it was... but at least it would be something myself or someone from esoundz support could deal with directly to you.

I will post my response in a minute... hang on.

[beergeek]

You know, you CAN post this stuff elsewhere if you need to vent. Just not in Squids "front yard" so to speak

[Squids]

Fanfare, this is not the place to sell your stuff. Please do it in the marketplace forum where it is appropriate. If you are just trying to make a statement of rebellion, this is also not the proper place. Again, please read the SONIC REALITY forum rules. This is not an IK forum and Sonic Reality works with IK so we're not using this forum to bash companies we work with PERIOD. Please respect that and we welcome your participation.

I am not saying you guys can't be critical or concerned or even upset. Parma, you're a happy esoundz customer, this is the esoundz forum so let's discuss it without everyone going batty over this...

Okay, first of all, Jason IS just a tech support person doing his best to try to predict when and what will be done... however, he is NOT a developer! He only goes by what he has heard and it can change from one day to the next. As one who has developed SampleTank 2 LE bundled products I can tell you that there WERE plans on doing a UB update but then we've shifted gears and decided to cancel the Expansion Tank series and do something else. If you look on IK's site and esoundz you'll notice they're gone! Pretty soon we're going to be selling Squids Tron just as a library without the LE... because we're running out of the last ST2 LEs. It's the end of that product.

So... what are your options? Yes, one of them is to upgrade to SampleTank 2 XL. There are a few other options to upgrade to an engine-only or ST 2 L with the full engine. If you are an esoundz customer just contact jorge@esoundz.com and he kind find a solution there for you if that is your route.

Other options... at least for Squids Tron users, we're doing that lib in Reason and Kontakt. We'll crossgrade you cheap or possibly even free if you are a frequent esoundz customer (like gold or platinum)... that's one option. There IS one other thing for Squids Tron users that I can't exactly talk about right now but something that will make a lot of sense to you and I'll be able to talk about it next month okay? Let's leave it at that.

Parma, you know I personally appreciate your support as well as SR/esoundz as a company so hang in there and we'll come up with a solution for you that is reasonable. I know it sucks when a product is canceled before it gets updated to the version you need. I know it is even more frustrating when you hear one thing that contradicts with another. These things can happen though. However, remember that you are an esoundz customer and we stand behind our customers as good or better than any retailer on the planet. There may have to be some kind of compromise or work around but we'll work on it for you. However, those things are best done individually because each person is in a different situation with a different need and there's no standard way to handle this.

Thanks.

I may close the topic. Please keep it under control and respecting the rules ok?

[Squids]

You know, you CAN post this stuff elsewhere if you need to vent. Just not in Squids "front yard" so to speak

Exactly. It's WHERE you post that I have a problem with. Say what you want about whoever you want! That's done all the time on KVR. But it is a big place. There's different forums for different topics and this is our own company forum where we get away with all kinds of GREAT things we can say relating to companies SR works with... but if the forum became a platform for hurting the companies we work with I don't think I'd have that same latitude and support from the corporate folks I deal with everyday. We get a lot of respect for keeping this forum productive and a friendly atmosphere (when some company's forums, won't say which, are complete anarchy and there is no FACE of the company present). In this case, you get to speak directly to the CEO. Me. So... when it concerns SR or esoundz have I ever let you guys down and ignored reasonable concerns from you? No. I certainly hope not. I can even sometimes help you with concerns about related companies but it is a delicate thing and there's a respectful way of dealing with it that is what we ask...

I have to go back to work. I am actually in the studio right now recording a Genesis song with Phil Collins' son. Isn't that cool? If you bought something from esoundz don't forget to call esoundz support first for your solutions and feel free to ask ME about things like ST2 LE UB support... although the decision to cancel LE was actually fairly recent.

[fanfarecircuit]

squids...

first of all, i meant no offense about trying to sell the set. it was an afterthought and i apologize if you feel it was inappropriate.

second, i am not merely trying to give you or ik multimedia a problem.. i have lost money on this. a simple warning or clarification before registration of sampletank le would be nice. it also would have been nice if i was given the choice to de-register without fees, since i contacted them within 15 minutes of registration. the option would have made me feel less "pushed" into upgrading.

third, as far as posting the emails. i was not the only and not even the first in this thread. i feel like the information was very relevent and i am glad forums like this are available for customers...we need protection too when companies flip flop on promises. if it wasn't for the original poster, i probably would have bought the upgrade and regretted it.

so we are left with me being just critical...which you said was okay. i have nothing against you or your company and would prefer if you reserve your judgement on me for a day when you actually know me.

go ahead and lock or delete the thread. i could give two shits. i was just responding with the correct info for the poor guy who opened the thread and then we both realized we had been duped.

[parma]

Squids -

thanks for being understanding. I'm sorry that I posted personal emails - it was done out of pure frustration. When I found out differently than what I had been told I felt mislead and lied to. I apologize for posting this in your forum but I don't know of any IK forum and I thought I might be able to get some kind of "official" response due to SR's relationship with IK (which turned out to have worked because Jason posted in this thread). My intention in starting this thread was just to express frustration with how long it was taking for the UB version of STLE to come out since I was told that it would eventually. When fanfarecircuit informed me that he had word from IK that no UB would be released I became quite frustrated.

Since I am a Gold member at esoundz I will take you up on your offer on the Reason format - that is extremely generous of you. Thanks for continuing to come through for your customers. It doesn't go unnoticed.

again I apologize for raising such a stink about this and I completely understand any locking/editing that you feel needs to be done.

I will be in touch with you once you release the Reason version of the Trons Collection.

[parma]

just so you know, I went ahead and edited out the text of the email I had posted.

[Bobby Hull]

Every time I pop my disrespectful nose into this forum, paying customers are apologizing to the software developer.
There's something deliciously ironic about this but bringing up religious metaphors is probably against the SR forum rules. By the way, I'm currently recording In The Ghetto with a fat guy I met at Taco Bell who claims to be Elvis' illegitimate son. He's sitting right beside me eating a fried banana sandwich.

[parma]

Every time I pop my disrespectful nose into this forum, paying customers are apologizing to the software developer.
There's something deliciously ironic about this but bringing up religious metaphors is probably against the SR forum rules. By the way, I'm currently recording In The Ghetto with a fat guy I met at Taco Bell who claims to be Elvis' illegitimate son. He's sitting right beside me eating a fried banana sandwich.

I apologized for the way in which I made my point not for the point I was trying to make.
And as for the second part of your post I assume you are referring to Squids occasionally posting about who he is currently working with or anecdotes about famous people. I'm not apologizing to Squids because I'm star-struck if that's what you are implying. The kind of people Squids seems to work with are not what I'm into (I'm much more into experimental electronic music). With the exception of Tom Waits, none of the people that Squids has mentioned have any impact on me. I think it's great for Squids that he gets to work with people that he appreciates, but I don't think we share the same "scene". So no, I'm not trying to kiss Squids ass if that's what you think.

Also I should add that my frustration lies not with SR or Squids but with the way IK handled this. Unfortunately I chose to discuss that here. I wish I would have just PMed Squids about this in the first place.

Anyway, I think Squids has done the stand-up thing for his customers with his offer.

I'm done with this thread. Sorry I started it.

[fanfarecircuit]

Every time I pop my disrespectful nose into this forum, paying customers are apologizing to the software developer.
There's something deliciously ironic about this but bringing up religious metaphors is probably against the SR forum rules. By the way, I'm currently recording In The Ghetto with a fat guy I met at Taco Bell who claims to be Elvis' illegitimate son. He's sitting right beside me eating a fried banana sandwich.

agreed.

and for the record...my apology was really only a partial apology, so it does not really count.

[Squids]

Well, anyone who frequents the forum knows that I report from activities in the music scene... the scene I am into of course. Some people like it. Anyone who doesn't can simply avoid it.

I will just lock the thread and leave it up for now so it can be read. Points made and I think we're on the same page now more or less. But, let me clarify something that may still not be understood. No promises were officially made by the company that ST2 LE would be updated further to any newer formats like UB. No offense but "a tech support guy said" does not count as an official announcement from ANY company... you know how many times I've talked to companies where a support guy said something or a salesman and it turned out they were incorrect or thought something but the plans of the company changed? A lot! There's a big difference between that and official news from the company.

As for why it is being cancelled... there are many reasons most of which are not for public knowledge but quantity of stock is one of them and the product has been out a while and we're due for a change at least from the SR/IK cooperative sound/ST engine thing... Sonic Reality Expansion Tanks are almost completely sold out. We're going to put all of the SR ET sounds on www.esoundz.com for download as sounds for ST2 now... no more LE.

There will be new things coming though. There's something cool for all Squids Tron users as well (besides what I mentioned about alternate formats). If anyone is a Squids Tron user then that means you're also an esoundz customer and believe me there's going to be ways to make you happy. We won't stop working at it because it is important to us and we listen... plus we can get creative with solutions but they ARE private details that shouldn't be shared in the forum, just like the emails with tech support of other companies.

Anyway, if a product - particularly even one that is more like an OEM "Lite version" add on to a library -is going to be discontinued then further developing it in the newest formats doesn't make much sense and companies just can't afford to do that! The libraries that LE comes with are mostly from OTHER companies besides IK. IK itself only has 2 titles. SR has 6 (plus the 6 Sonik Capsules but those are also multiformat libraries), Masterbits has two and AMG has the rest (most of them). When you buy those products you are paying MOSTLY for the sounds and the LE is just a "player" for convenience. They're also meant to be EXPANSION libraries for ST2 L and XL. If you have UB they DO still work as sound expansion for your FULL version if you have it.

One last thing here... this aversion to the full version... guys, it blows away the LE. It's REALLY worth getting. Okay, if it bugs you out of principle to be forced to get it but even still... should you not be as frustrated with the computer company for changing it's system??? That's computers for you... next it'll be Vista. It never ends. But we deal with it as consumers all the time. If you want the latest coolest Mac then you run the risk of not being able to use all of your previously purchased software. My Mac laptop isn't Intel.

The full version of ST2 is in opinion totally worth getting. You have the ability to edit the effects and that right there is HUGE because it is a major part of what makes ST2 so darn FAST to use and great sounding, diverse and more. Then the ability to import sounds is also really good... plus full editing which I know I couldn't live without. LE was always supposed to be a stepping stone, a taste of what the full version is. Now that you can pick up SampleTank 2 L for just $150. it doesn't make much sense to have a lighter version for not that much less in price.

Well, anyway, topic closed. Good luck and if you need our help we're always here to do our best.