IK Multimedia Xpansion Tank 2 Group Buy

[Squids]

Thanks Squids! Putting the pieces together (checking to see if I have it all straight)...


RAW Trip Hop Beats = XT Trip Hop + XT Down Tempo (but in RAW rather than ST format)

ReTank Trip Hop Beats = XT Down Tempo (same loops, but maybe not the same slice maps, etc)

Remaining question: ReTank ????? = XT Trip Hop

ReTank is the same as the RAW title.

[Squids]

For esoundz customers, we should have the Wild Card ready either today or tomorrow for you! Pretty cool stuff... and yes Zedd we put the Studiophonik unreleased content in its own folder.

Don't forget guys you can actually STILL get this Xpansion Tank 2 deal with our exclusive 10 for 1 offer (2 additional libraries - one is the Wild Card and the other is a choice amongst OTHER titles we have on esoundz for ST) and that's here http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?Prod ... =XT2KVREXT

Just remember there's only FIVE more days and that link will no longer be offering this deal anymore... back to 1 for 1! So don't miss out!

[Bradster]

...
The spreadsheet labeled "Down Tempo vs Trip Hop" actually lists the RAW Trip Hop Beats vs the XT Trip Hop set. The Down Tempo set isn't included at all, and the sheet includes the RAW rather than ReTank set. (The RAW and ReTank sets might have identical loops, so it might not make a difference.)
...

Thanks for pointing that out, Torgo. The second column was incorrectly titled "XT Trip Hop" when it was in fact the "XT Down Tempo Electronic" as the page title suggests. I've fixed that error and added a third column on that page for the actual "XT Trip Hop Collection".

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... yV0E&gid=6

You can now see clearly how

XT Down Tempo + XT Trip Hop = R.A.W. Trip Hop


Not very obvious from the titles, I know... Hope this helps!

[zedd]

I've fixed that error and added a third column on that page for the actual "XT Trip Hop Collection".

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... yV0E&gid=6

Ah... there he is. The Bradster!

I have posted links to your spreadsheets a few times in this thread, and had forgotten your name! (So you might want to include that on your spreadsheet.) Your work has been very helpful to myself and others!

I still think Squids would be wise to give you some complimentary Xpansion/RAW packs in exchange for having you prepare these comparisons for any other libraries which have overlaps and content information that would be useful to both current and future purchasers!

Great work.

[Bradster]

Thanks Zedd. Glad to hear that folks found these helpful -- reward enough!

I took a few spins with that Anti-twin byte comparison tool as well (who posted that, you?). Pretty neat...and rather revealing. It was surprising the amount of duplicates it found under my SampleTank sounds. While I've been far to busy to delve deeply into this, it might be a nice project to to deconstruct all the various sound sets and see how many have actually been repurposed.

[zedd]

I took a few spins with that Anti-twin byte comparison tool as well (who posted that, you?). Pretty neat...and rather revealing.

AndroidLove, I believe.

Most of the duplicates I have found are a result of having my Sonic Synth library housed in my ST library. The ones that are actually duplicates (with the same ID) can cause conflicts. However, the ones where different versions of an instrument are saved as unique parents (and thus have different IDs) do not cause conflict, and presumably sound different from one another.

It would be great to have a complete list of matches, though. Having a comparison of Sonik Synth and all the content from these Xpansion Tanks would be a very useful bit of reference material.

[MountainKing]

I'm about to choose my last soundpack ... and I'm looking on the Pianos and the Strings.

But I already DO own the esoundz expansion tanks "Piano" and "Symphonic Stings" (or the like). How large is the overlap? And should I quit those options and rather go for anther pack?

[Reverend Rhythm]

The new Strings 2 has more new content. Solo strings have been added.

[MountainKing]

Thanx Reverend.

Do YOU think it's worth (if one aöreday owns Strings v1)?

[torgo]

Geoheid - thanks for the epointz!

Bradster - thanks for updating those spreadsheets!

[Ceej]

MountainKing - the general consensus is that the Piano Collection 2 is NOT worth it if you have Piano Collection 1. There are a grand total of 3 new (parent) patches in Piano collection 2, and two of those are based on identical samples. So the amount of new content is very small.

[torgo]

Thanx Reverend.

Do YOU think it's worth (if one aöreday owns Strings v1)?

MountainKing - the new one adds layer elements (some solo, some ensemble) as well as all the solo strings bits. Put it all together, and there's well over 300 meg of new samples. That just about doubles the size of the set compared to the original.

That might not make a tough decision any easier, but as far as "is it worth getting" goes, yes it is.

I have V1 and V2, and I really like some of the solo content. Zedd also has both, and I think he said he liked the new content better than most of the original sounds. (Zedd?)

If you're facing a tough decision, I guess it depends on how well you like the alternatives.

[torgo]

Just saw the other message. If you have Piano Collection and Symphony Strings and want to choose between Piano Collection 2 and Symphony Strings 2, I'd say the strings set is an obvious choice.

The new Piano set has only three new parent samples. Two of them are identical, and at least one user has given the third new sample a pretty bad review.

The two that are identical are about 150 meg, so it's probably a really good patch. (The samples are "Acoustic Grand" and "Granduation Day".)

But still, note that it's just another acoustic grand - you already have plenty more of those in the original collection. So even if this new one is bigger and better, it really isn't adding all that much new content to your collection.

On the other hand, the new Symphony Strings 2 set adds 200+ meg of solo strings plus the layer elements (100+ meg) and a small set of "attack elements".

[zedd]

Zedd also has both, and I think he said he liked the new content better than most of the original sounds. (Zedd?)

I like the content. I honestly can't remember how much of the non-solo stuff existed in the original library, since I didn't have it installed. But after going through a lot of presets, I can say that the ensembles sounded better than I remembered them. I am glad to have the new pack installed and available.

But interestingly, I just went to it searching for the perfect string section for a song I am working on. I couldn't find anything that was exactly what I was looking for, so I went to the orchestral sounds of the Cinematik Collection, and found something perfect. So if I had to choose between those two packs, I would not want to be without the Cinematiks.

[MountainKing]

Great!

I thank you all a thousand times! I'm so glad that asked my question here before hitting the button (I definitely thought that it wasn't worth the Strings 2 since I already own v1).

But NOW of course I will go for the Strings 2 - solo instruments are a good value and if there's an additional content of about 300 MB ... so what!

Thanx again!

Cheers Jens


edit:
I already chose the Cinematiks! That sounds good, zedd!