Sonic Reality

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:00 pm

By the way this promo is almost over!

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:21 pm

That's an interesting assortment of libraries, Tzaris.

You have Vintage Keys already? GREAT! Load up that "D Violins" sound and play around with it. It will help you answer your SampleTron question real quick.

"D Violins", "Watcher 2", "Tony Choir", and "Tronny Strings" are all classic Mellotron sounds - and frankly, they're among the best of the bunch.

So if you play that D Violins sound and find yourself asking why anyone would pay real money to play that sound, then you'll know immediately that SampleTron isn't for you.

(Or if you fall in love with Tony Choir and Tronny Strings, then welcome to the club of mentally derang... er, Mellotron lovers.)

On Sonik Synth and the repeats... the bigger question is whether it would overlap the other products you currently have or plan to get, such as the next release of Kontakt, or Wusik, or perhaps even SampleTank 3 whenever it's finally available.

Of the XpansionTank sets you currently have, the only ones with major overlaps would be the Piano Collection and Omnisynth. (And with Omnisynth, there aren't many repeats at all in the Bonus Larger Instrument section. It's mainly just that with the 8.5 gig Sonik Synth library, you'd find yourself rarely if ever using the much smaller Omnisynth.)

The other sets have a few repeats, but nothing significant - 3 from Acoustic Guitar and Acoustic Drums, 2 from Vocal collection, 5 tiny ones from Vintage Keys, and 12 tiny ones from Bass Collection.

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:24 pm

Squids - offhand, can you remember what make/model of piano was recorded for the Antique Grand Piano in the Squids Rare Instruments vol 2 Acoustic?

Also, was that the same piano used to record the "Clean Piano" in Hip Hop Instruments?

wbes · Post by **wbes** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:53 pm

ok we are getting close to the finish line of this great group buy.... I am still undecided whether i should go for Miroslav, or by the refills that are on sale - Epik Drums and Ultra symphonic. I do have tons of drums already, can someone who has the Epik Drums refill tell me if they are nice for classic hip hop breaks etc. I like my drums to have that vinyl feel to them. But Mirolsav is tempting for just $99 !!!

Xenobt · Post by **Xenobt** » Mon May 30, 2011 11:30 pm

wbes,
Miroslav is an EXCELLENT VI, and I believe has already been a MFSDOD and don't think they repeat, so the price probably won't get lower. Add in the free content... DAMN!

The three free Expansion Tanks may help with your drum-lemma too. The Acoustic Drums 2 set is especially nice. I've listened to the Epik Drums demos, and I like the ones in AD2 just as much, if not more.

And if you want that classic breakbeat feel, there's a "vinyl" effect in Sampletank which adds a PERFECT outta-the-crate LP noise to ANYTHING you put it on! If you do lots of beats, the Electronic Drums, Symphony Strings and Hip Hop Instruments are also sweet sets for urban stuff.

As others have mentioned here, download the free version of Sampletank and put all your IK/SR Exp tanks and VIs in its "Instruments" folder, open ST and hit the relist button on the right side of the GUI. Everything will come up in its browser, and no used Miroslav authorizations from your IK account!

SO, you'd get three free new libraries (with a good chance for a fourth!), some bonus Miroslav outtakes, PLUS the full MPO VI... Now THAT's a No-Brainer deal! Just make sure to go thru eSoundz when you buy, and be sure to refer someone for epointz at checkout.

There've been some mentions of Tron sets as free choices, but the list on eSoundz just shows the 30 from last years XT/ET GB. Did I miss something? Inconceivable!

KVR/eSoundz: Xenobt

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Mon May 30, 2011 11:44 pm

wbes wrote:ok we are getting close to the finish line of this great group buy.... I am still undecided whether i should go for Miroslav, or by the refills that are on sale - Epik Drums and Ultra symphonic. I do have tons of drums already, can someone who has the Epik Drums refill tell me if they are nice for classic hip hop breaks etc. I like my drums to have that vinyl feel to them. But Mirolsav is tempting for just $99 !!!

The bigger question is whether you need to stay within the Reason environment or feel free to break out of Reason's walls.

For the $59 sale price, that Ultra Symphonic refill sounds like the best bang for the buck on getting Miroslav in Reason. For dedicated Reason users, I'm not sure I could justify breaking out and going with the ST-based Miroslav Philharmonik instead.

The group buy extras are well worth the extra $40 for most users, but they aren't very useful for those who need to stay inside Reason. I don't have Ultra Symphonic for direct comparison, but for the lower price I think I'd lean towards it over the ST-based version.

Yeah, I'm steering you away from the group buy. But for Reason users, that package makes sense. (On the other hand, if you're not dedicated to Reason, you'd get plenty of extras for the additional $40 - a bigger Miroslav library plus three extra libraries of your choice. That's a great bargain.)

And if you're willing to go with other formats, I'd definitely put the money into the Infinite Player-based drums rather than those drum ReFills. The IP versions offer more bang for the buck.

If you don't have Infinite Player, the Ocean Way Drums SE and the Neil Peart Snakes and Arrows kit currently come with it. I don't think the Epik Drums SE includes it, but you could check with Squids or with Allen at esoundz.

Ocean Way Drums SE = 15 kits, each offered in dry, medium and ambient recorded versions:
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4698

Epik Drums SE = more detailed versions of those kits than the Refill, plus they're offered as multitrack rather than straight stereo:
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4670

Neil Peart Snakes and Arrows kit = might be even cheaper than the Reason version, comes with the Infinite Player, and it's multitrack (I think the Reason one is limited to straight stereo):
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=4432

Unless you have to use the Reason format, I can't see going with the Reason versions of any of these high end drums when better versions of the same kits are available at close to the same cost.

osidenick · Post by **osidenick** » Mon May 30, 2011 11:59 pm

Tzarls wrote:Ok, I need some advice here....

First of all - I already have Miroslav CE, Sampletank Free, SampleMoog and 8 Expansion Tanks from a previous group buy. I also have Garritan Personal Orchestra, Kontakt 4 and a few other VSTi's (Z3ta+, Rapture...).

Now, what do you think I should do:

Get Miroslav Full (Do I really need it?)
Get SampleTron (couldn't I get it cheaper some time)?

Don't get anything and wait for Sampletron at $50 (No brainer or Stupid Deal or whatever) and live with Miroslav CE. (Do I really need more expansion tanks?)

What would you do?

Tzaris,
I never was able to track down a list of the exact differences between Miroslav CE and Full, but I think the main differences are in types of articulations. Full has 1362 parent sounds vs. 156 in CE. I would suggest watching Squids videos on the IK site on the Miroslav videos page. Freeze the "Articulation" video at 2:00 and you can see some of the trumpet articulations, and then compare it to CE. Someone mentioned earlier that the full version also has "unlooped" samples with a higher quality, but I've been unable to confirm or hear this difference. It seems the other big difference is Combi presets, so check out that video also.

If that sells you, there are bonus combis from esoundz. Also I think you can get $15 in epointz if you show proof of having the CE version. And then there's the $5 epointz if you take advantage of the refer a friend. Esoundz certainly lines up a lot of enticing offers.

Hope that helps,
osidenick (here and at esoundz)

bigtom · Post by **bigtom** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:29 am

osidenick wrote:

Big Tom,
Have the Leslie Effect on the screen in the Effects slot. Click "MIDI CTL" (top left). Click the effect you want to control: Speed, Drive, or Lo/Hi. A pop-up window appears, and you can set values and controller number (1 for mod wheel). Click OK, and it should work.

osidenick (here and at esoundz)

Thanks, I found I could click on the min and max vel # to change values, but didn't realize you can only change the midi controll # by click and drag. Seems strange to set things up like that, but I think I have that part figured out now.

Thanks again,
Big Tom

jamestoffee · Post by **jamestoffee** » Tue May 31, 2011 7:06 am

Squids wrote:By the way this promo is almost over!

Well, I've done my fair share of buying.

I bought Miroslav, then SampleMoog and now Sonik Synth 2. I did see the earlier post about the bundle from another sale, but having to have CDs shipped overseas is tricky business....paying the overseas shipping and then import tax (at least in Thailand) on top all adds up to heavy shipping costs.

Anyway, each package seemed to be worth it's price...then with discounts like TANK10.....and the ez-sounds-fills on top.....maybe even reaching 400

.... I'll be hours at the computer this summer writing music with my new toys.

Thanks to all sharing their expertise......as a noobie, I found it quite helpful.

dmorrill · Post by **dmorrill** » Tue May 31, 2011 11:05 am

jamestoffee wrote: Well, I've done my fair share of buying.

I bought Miroslav, then SampleMoog and now Sonik Synth 2. I did see the earlier post about the bundle from another sale, but having to have CDs shipped overseas is tricky business....paying the overseas shipping and then import tax (at least in Thailand) on top all adds up to heavy shipping costs.

Anyway, each package seemed to be worth it's price...then with discounts like TANK10.....and the ez-sounds-fills on top.....maybe even reaching 400 .... I'll be hours at the computer this summer writing music with my new toys.

Thanks to all sharing their expertise......as a noobie, I found it quite helpful.

As a fellow noob, it sounds like you and I are more or less on the same page.

I originally bought Miroslav and SS2 while the CINCO15 coupon was active a few weeks ago, then made a last minute decision to also get SampleTank XL using the TANK10 coupon just a few hours ago. I also like to avoid overseas shipping costs and customs fees. Here in the Philippines, customs is so bad that it's more of a ransom than a duty. They just charge you whatever they feel like. So now I simply refuse to order anything that can't be downloaded. That's good for esoundz, but not for companies that want to send me a bunch of needlessly expensive CD/DVD's.

In any case, I've now got more sounds that I know what to do with

. I used my first four freebies to get Acoustic Drums, Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitars and Piano Collection, but I've still got five more to go.

I'm currently thinking World Instruments, Hip Hop Instruments and Electronic Drums, and maybe a couple of the loops (Country Folk and Nashville Pop are the top contenders at the moment). If anyone has any contrary advice, I'd be more than glad to hear it...

sunmachine · Post by **sunmachine** » Tue May 31, 2011 11:09 am

huh, nearly missed this great deal

But now I'm IN!

So I'm well prepared to take referrals... my esoundz user name is sunmachine

Thanks for this group buy!

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:04 pm

We're in the final day of the group buy promotion, and the other Memorial Day Weekend sales only have a few hours remaining (the sale on those ReFills for Reason apparently ends at 6pm eastern, which is seven hours from now).

So if you're sitting on the fence, it's time to make your move.

The current package = for $99, you get your choice of the main five VI's (typically $150+ each), your choice of three ReTank libraries (typically over $40 each), and the extra Miroslav Outtakes set (will not be available separately).

You can also scoop up $5 in epointz towards your next downloadable purchase by referring an esoundz user - anyone will do. And when you register your VI with IK, they'll donate $5 towards Japan earthquake relief efforts.

And there's still a chance at a fourth bonus ReTank library if we reach 400. But even without that fourth library, it's still a shot at $275+ of bounty for $99.

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:08 pm

For the newcomers out there...

Don't forget to pick up SampleTank Free from the IK web site. All the sounds from the five instruments and all the other libraries play in SampleTank, and SampleTank Free is the full engine.

There are also some YouTube vids to demonstrate some of SampleTank's features:
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/sampletankf ... hp?movie=0

sunmachine · Post by **sunmachine** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:21 pm

Can anybody explain to me, where to find the bonus sound sets like the Piano Collection 2 on http://www.downloadablesoundz.com?

Thanks!

BTW... the coupon code TANK10 still worked earlier this day. So I got each instrument for $89 instead of $99!

torgo · Post by **torgo** » Tue May 31, 2011 3:30 pm

Also for new users... the process of getting all your loot can be a bit tricky if you haven't been through it before.

Part of the challenge is that the base promo (the $99 price) is an IK Multimedia promotion, while the group buy (the extra ReTank libraries) is an esoundz promotion to get you to buy the IK promotion from them rather than from some other dealer. The flip side is that you have to navigate through both web sites to get everything.

Here's the walkthrough:

(1) select the instrument you want and order it from esoundz. If you have any doubt that you're getting the right link for your instrument, the price will be $99 and the link will be labeled "Hot Buy Group Buy".

(2) You'll see a spot on the order page asking about a referral from other users. Be sure to list someone - anyone - as a referral in that box. You'll get $5 in epointz for doing it, and that user will also get $5 in epointz. Those epointz are essentially coupons or rebates that go towards your next regular download purchase.

(3) After you order, you'll get a serial number in your User Area in the esoundz web site. You'll also get a couple of links that you use to choose your bonus libraries. When it's released, the link for the Miroslav Outtakes library will also appear in your esoundz user area. But for now, its the serial number for the instrument that you really need.

(4) You'll take that serial number to the IK Multimedia web site. (If you don't have a user ID there, you'll need to set one up.) Go to the Support area of the IK site and select Product Registration. Enter the serial number that you got from the esoundz web site.

(5) After you register your instrument, it will appear in two parts in two other areas on the IK site. Go to the User Area, and look for items labeled Download and Sounds Download. The instrument interface (the program) will be in the Download section. But its sound library - which is really the important part - will be in the Sounds Download section.

(6) IK has a 30-day time limit for downloading the sound library from the Sounds Download section. So don't wait around on getting it. And when you do get it, make backups immediately! After the 30 days, they'll charge a "convenience fee" to put it back up for you if you need to download it again.

(7) The bonus libraries all come from esoundz. The links to select them will be in your esoundz user area. Those links will take you to another web site - downloadablesoundz - where you complete your selection. Downloadablesoundz and esoundz are the same company, but they're on separate servers. You'll have yet another user area on the Downloadablesoundz site, and THAT one is where you'll find your bonus sounds after you select them.

(eight) You can see the list of bonus library choices on page one of this thread. You do NOT have a time limit on selecting and downloading your bonus choices. You might want to wait a bit, ask questions of other users about the various libraries, or see what other promotions pop up in the very near future before making your choices.

(9) If you run into problems, the support folks at IK are pretty cool, and Allen at esoundz is simply the greatest. And we also have a pretty good community of users here on this thread, so feel free to ask questions if you get stuck.

-torgo (esoundz = bhall1968)

Sonic Reality

KVR Audio

IK/SR VI HOT BUY - GROUP BUY on eSoundz!!! SampleTank Instruments for $99 + more!