IK Multimedia Xpansion Tank 2 Group Buy

[Artgiver]

I'm thinking of joining the GB, but after buying Independence Pro which is 70 gigs of extremely HQ samples for only $190 i can't get around the fact that i would only be getting 10 gigs of mediocre - and some HQ - samples that costs $50. AND Inde Pro is 64bit! If i knew Sampletank would go 64bit within AT LEAST two yrs i would go ahead and join.

I'm getting nearly twice the amount of samples per dollar with the Inde deal compared to the IK deal (10gb at $50 = 40gb if you joined the GB four times). I know that many times size isn't a deciding factor, but as i said the Inde samples are indeed very HQ - nearly all of them.

So can anyone convince me to join this GB without playing the devils advocate, are a fanboy of IK, are drunk on the hype, or just like Squids & Peter a whole lot ?

Tim

[jobromedia]

I bought in a 2nd time today. These are the expansions I've collected:

Cinematik Collection
Vocal Collection
World Grooves
Hip Hop Grooves
Piano Collection 2
Hip Hop Instruments
Bass Collection 2
Acoustic Drums 2
Acoustic Guitar Collection 2
Electric Guitar Collection 2
World Instruments Collection
Jazz Grooves
Modern Tech Rap
SampleArp Solo
SampleOB Xpander
Vintage Keys Collection

[Ceej]

Best I can offer is to point out that it's normal in the real world to get more per dollar if you spend more dollars. 6 rolls of toilet paper costs $4, 24 rolls costs $12.

Also, the Independence deal is a pretty special case. It's not really fair to let their self-proclaimed "fire sale" mark down the value of every other sample library on the market.

I'm not going to go near the discussion of relative sample quality. From all I hear, Yellow Tools do really know their stuff when it comes to sampling (not so much when it comes to software development and website administration, though). I think it's fair to say that a lot of folks think Sonic Reality does a professional job too.

Really it's up to you to decide for yourself whether the price is worth it for you, as it is with any potential deal. It could be the best price you'll ever see on the world's greatest coffee, but if you're not a coffee drinker, it's not worth even that much to you. Me "convincing" you to buy it won't make you like coffee any more.

[Artgiver]

Best I can offer is to point out that it's normal in the real world to get more per dollar if you spend more dollars. 6 rolls of toilet paper costs $4, 24 rolls costs $12.

Yeah, forgot/didn't think about that.

not so much when it comes to software development and website administration

Since i was 50/50 on this decision i needed another head in the equation.
I'm about 60/40 now so i think i'm going to join. God i hope ST goes 64bit soon.

thanks..

Tim

[I.P]

I just find an extra coupon on my esoundz account (i guess is about the "10th" lib?? or there is something wrong??)


now i cant decide what to pick


My 9th lib was Tron extras

so for the 10th im thinking to go

SampleTank Rare Vintage

but i already have the following and im afraid for overlap ...

Cinematik_Collection_new
Hip_Hop_Instruments_new
OmniSynth_2
SampleArp_Solo
SampleOB_Xpander
SampleTank_2_XT_Sounds
Vintage_Keys_Collection
World_Grooves
World_Instruments_Collection_new


what you think?

[zedd]

So can anyone convince me to join this GB without playing the devils advocate, are a fanboy of IK, are drunk on the hype, or just like Squids & Peter a whole lot ?

I *am* a Sonic Reality and IK Multimedia "fan boy", and I also like Squids and Peter a whole lot.

However I am also objective about the worthiness of my purchases. I wouldn't be a fan of their products if I didn't like them and appreciate the value and quality of those products.

This GB may not be for you, if you are starting from the perspective that the quality of the sounds are going to pale in comparison to what you have already. These sound collections span almost a decade and I can guarantee that you will not like or appreciate all of the presets. You might not even like 90% of it, if you are expecting to be totally dazzled. But there are some gems in each pack, and if you are willing to look for them, see the value of them, and use them to make your music sound fabulous, then you will never such a heap of instruments at a better price.

Your other collection may have more GBs, but probably not as many different instruments.

If you don't like a lot of instrument choices, however, and you are already thrilled with your recent purchase, then this GB is probably not for you.

Another thing to consider is that other libraries may have a lot more instrument detail, but lack the charm. Squids has a knack for recording things with a really nice character. So they may be tiny and simpler instruments, but have a tonne more charm and character.

Personally I love many of these sounds, and I know from experience that I can tweek any average preset and turn it into something cool with either internal ST FX or external plugins. When SampleTank3 comes out, and we will probably be able to save convolution reverb with the presets, and they will have new life yet again.

I love this stuff, and am always happy to have more choices, since different songs demand different variations on common instruments.

It's up to you to see the value in anything that is before you. If you don't see value, then you probably won't be any worse off not having it.

[Artgiver]

Fair enough. That was some mighty tempting persuasion ..and justified at that (not that you were trying to persuade me).

Yeah Inde Pro has great HQ instruments, but not a large assortment of instruments. If the GB samples have even a few 'oddities' that are good i'll need them cause i usually run up to 95 tracks in Sonar and many times can't find what i need.

thanks zedd..

tim

[I.P]

so what everybody else picked as the 10th lib?

[torgo]

Fair enough. That was some mighty tempting persuasion ..and justified at that (not that you were trying to persuade me).

Artgiver - now that you're leaning this way, I'll play devil's advocate the other direction: what are you hoping to get by adding a second product line??

The obvious deciding factor for anyone already hooked on the Independence product, the Kontact line, Wusikstation, etc is whether the specific libraries here offer things that are different than what you already have - and whether the offerings here fill in any gaps better than other items on the market.


If you have tinkered around with that huge Independence library and decided you want more loops/grooves, then this Group Buy is a little slice of heaven - Jazz Grooves, Blues Grooves, World Grooves, and many flavors of house/hip hop/trip hop/etc, plus three sets of Latin grooves as possible esoundz "+1" bonus selections.

On the other hand, do you really need more drums, guitars, pianos, strings, etc? I personally like all these offering from IK/Sonic Reality, but I'd be stunned if the 70 gig Independence Pro library can't fit the bill for all those items.

Some of us are wanting more sax/brass/woodwinds than what this group buy has to offer. If you're into the horns, you might want to look elsewhere.



Bottom line: after buying the Independence sample playing engine and huge library, you really want to ask yourself WHY adding a second, incompatible line would be a good idea.

PS... if you need more cowbell, go here:
http://www.delamancha.co.uk/dynamite_cowbell.htm

[Reverend Rhythm]

PS... if you need more cowbell, go here:
http://www.delamancha.co.uk/dynamite_cowbell.htm

We all need more cowbell!

[torgo]

so what everybody else picked as the 10th lib?

I went for the Latin grooves collections. All three are tempting if you have jazz/Latin interests.

In particular, the Latin Caribbean set is about 1.6 gig zipped. I got the ReTank version, which turns out to be about 1.9 gig when unzipped. If the Caribbean sound is something you find useful (be sure to play the demos on the web site), that's a heck of a lot of loops for a bonus freebie.



(I already have the full Squids Tron Collection, so the Exclusive Extras set isn't anything new for me. Otherwise that would have been the most tempting.)

(Reminder: the "Expansion Tank" titles are the OLD ones. The ones in the group buy have more material. The Piano Collection is pretty close to the Piano Collection 2 in the group buy, so that might be a viable option. There are only 3 new parent samples, and 2 of them are identical, meaning there are really only 2 new samples in the new version.

But the others, such as Omnisynth, Symphony Strings, etc, pale in comparison to the versions you can get in the group buy. I'd avoid all those.)

(And I'll repeat the warning on the Rare Vintage Collection vol 1: the description is very misleading. It is NOT a set of previously unreleased samples. They're all from the Electric Guitar, Acoustic Drums and Vintage Keys sets in the group buy. Getting it would be a mistake, as it's just a repeat.)

[I.P]

i made the mistake and picked the vintage rare keys

and there was a warning from a kvr user about the big overlap with vintage keys !(there are 45 conflicts )

now it is late
come on esoundz why so many overlaps?
its better to offer 5 completly different packs than 20 that have the same sounds

[oiramo]

I thought that the 10th library was going to be the "wildcard". And has anyone else not received a redeem code.

[Photo_G]

I just find an extra coupon on my esoundz account (i guess is about the "10th" lib?? or there is something wrong??)

I don't see the extra coupon code in my account. Do I need to do something to get this?

Thanks,
G

[D-Fusion]

I thought that the 10th library was going to be the "wildcard". And has anyone else not received a redeem code.

Yes.
I haven't got it yet.