Sampletank 2 opinions please
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- KVRist
- 98 posts since 21 Sep, 2004
I an considering this upgrade. I have sonic synth 1 and Emulator X which has the proteus soundset. What are the strong points in ST2? would I just be getting more of the same?
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 98 posts since 21 Sep, 2004
It sucks
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- KVRian
- 787 posts since 19 Feb, 2004 from QLD, Australia
It's good if you can afford to buy the pre made samples for it...
otherwise it's just another sampler, although it is pretty to look at
otherwise it's just another sampler, although it is pretty to look at
I play guitar
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- KVRAF
- 1651 posts since 14 May, 2002 from Earth
I like it alot - it's quick and easy to use, and it's full of sounds. While I don't think the sounds are that amazing, they do the job in a lot of cases. Of course soemthing like this can't compare with some of the specialized libraries out there but it's got a good variety of things and great sounding effects with a really nice interface that's quick and easy to use, and also pretty easy on the eyes 
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- KVRAF
- 4692 posts since 28 Jan, 2003 from In these very interwebs
My perspective:JaseisMusic wrote:I an considering this upgrade. I have sonic synth 1 and Emulator X which has the proteus soundset. What are the strong points in ST2? would I just be getting more of the same?
ST2 is a all-round library, so you probably wouldn't be getting much that you don't already have, in terms of sound variety. Of course, you'd be getterin different sounds, so you might be able to use it to plug some of the weaknesses in your existing libraries.
The biggest advantage ST2 has over what you've got are the effects. Every ST2 channel has its own chain of compressor+EQ and four other effects in series. These aren't just regular synth effects though - ST2 has the algorithms from Amplitube (guitar amp modelling) and T-Racks (dedicated mastering effects), as well as other goodies (like an analogue-modelled phaser, awesome bitcrusher, etc). They're also available in components, which makes it easy to mix and match combinations.
The other thing is that because the effects are integrated into ST2, all the presets come already set up with effects. So you have things like electric guitar presets that have realtime amp modelling that's not part of the sample - you can modify the amp settings to suit your music. Similarly, there are drum kits with tube-modelled compression and eq that's not part of the sample - so you can adjust and tweak the settings. Pretty cool huh?
Of course, you can do all that with your current setup (providing you have the appropriate effects plugins). But with ST2 the effects are part of the presets, and part of the synth engine - which means they're already set up for you, which means you can spend less time setting things up, and more time making music.
Forever,
Kim.
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- KVRist
- 51 posts since 9 Nov, 2003
I have SampleTank2 and have mixed feelings about it.
I some ways its great - it has a vast range of different samples and is really useful for throwing sounds into a mix to see what may or may not work but, and this is a pretty frustrating aspect, its pretty bloody awkward to use sometimes, and you have to remember to load your samples into the midi channel that corresponds with whatever is active in your sequencer or it will default to something else, and changeing midi channels in ST2 is awkaward, and the GUI doesn't support a mouse wheel.
Some of the sounds are great, but some, notably the horns, are awful (with clicks and whirrs and very synthetic artefacts) and I suspect are just badly-made samples.
I've not tried any of the stretching functions (which are apparently part of ST2's great selling point) but haven't heard anything bad about them.
It is pretty useful, but for the price (which I'm prepared to pay) you want a better set of samples and a better-functioning GUI. More time spent designing the basics rather than showing off with the fancy stuff would have made this a better deal.
I some ways its great - it has a vast range of different samples and is really useful for throwing sounds into a mix to see what may or may not work but, and this is a pretty frustrating aspect, its pretty bloody awkward to use sometimes, and you have to remember to load your samples into the midi channel that corresponds with whatever is active in your sequencer or it will default to something else, and changeing midi channels in ST2 is awkaward, and the GUI doesn't support a mouse wheel.
Some of the sounds are great, but some, notably the horns, are awful (with clicks and whirrs and very synthetic artefacts) and I suspect are just badly-made samples.
I've not tried any of the stretching functions (which are apparently part of ST2's great selling point) but haven't heard anything bad about them.
It is pretty useful, but for the price (which I'm prepared to pay) you want a better set of samples and a better-functioning GUI. More time spent designing the basics rather than showing off with the fancy stuff would have made this a better deal.
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- KVRian
- 1360 posts since 4 Aug, 2004 from Ain't tellin' ya...
BRILLIANT saxophones and pianos and synth sounds, no matter how you slice it. Horns are not that great, and the orchestrals and organs are okay, I'm not too keen on the drums or electric guitars, so I grabbed Studio Drums and Electric guitar Sonik Capsules. The saxophones are the main reason I use ST2XL.
Overall it is definately a great buy if you want a big library of general sounds to choose from and want to chuck something together really quick. It's very useful.
If you're into more specific higher quality instrument samples (especially guitars and drums) then you can look into Sonik Capsules which are absolutely fabulous!!! Hands down these are the most (and I mean the MOST) realistic samples I've ever heard and they are ridiculously cheap when you consider the superb quality you get. I hear these guitar sets combined with SampleTank 2 effects are awesome - you basically get most of Amplitube actually built in to SampleTank 2 which will allow you to get the most out of those guitar capsules. You can get all three pretty cheap (I think it was under $220). If I were you I'd grab them, I am told they are just fabulous. I grabbed the Studio Drums and the Electric guitars nice and cheap. I know I'll never regret that purchase.
As with any library, your mileage may vary.
Overall it is definately a great buy if you want a big library of general sounds to choose from and want to chuck something together really quick. It's very useful.
If you're into more specific higher quality instrument samples (especially guitars and drums) then you can look into Sonik Capsules which are absolutely fabulous!!! Hands down these are the most (and I mean the MOST) realistic samples I've ever heard and they are ridiculously cheap when you consider the superb quality you get. I hear these guitar sets combined with SampleTank 2 effects are awesome - you basically get most of Amplitube actually built in to SampleTank 2 which will allow you to get the most out of those guitar capsules. You can get all three pretty cheap (I think it was under $220). If I were you I'd grab them, I am told they are just fabulous. I grabbed the Studio Drums and the Electric guitars nice and cheap. I know I'll never regret that purchase.
As with any library, your mileage may vary.
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- KVRAF
- 4692 posts since 28 Jan, 2003 from In these very interwebs
I just want to make a note here. STRETCH is good, but it doesn't work on everything. It's designed to work best on dry monophonic samples. ST2 has a number of presets specifically designed to use STRETCH.Tea wrote:I've not tried any of the stretching functions (which are apparently part of ST2's great selling point) but haven't heard anything bad about them.
JaseisMusic, download the ST2 demo (ST2FREE). You will have to register (kinda like challenge and response), but ST2FREE is a fully-working instrument on it's own - no limitations like timeouts or periodic noise or anything like that. That way you can get a feel for the ST2 UI and know for yourself whether you like working with it or not.Tea wrote:It is pretty useful, but for the price (which I'm prepared to pay) you want a better set of samples and a better-functioning GUI. More time spent designing the basics rather than showing off with the fancy stuff would have made this a better deal.
Forever,
Kim.
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- KVRian
- 882 posts since 20 Feb, 2004
I have ST2 and do not regret having purchased it, but I think its strength, like a lot of samplers, is really in creating the equivalent of backing tracks in the mix. It sits nicely and fills in the sound well, but it does not have much that I would feature as my lead sounds.
It is also great as a scratch pad if you are a composer and want to try out interesting combinations of instruments, but I do not think it is up to the final recording.
I have had the most success with it as backing for my own guitars and vocals.
It is also great as a scratch pad if you are a composer and want to try out interesting combinations of instruments, but I do not think it is up to the final recording.
I have had the most success with it as backing for my own guitars and vocals.
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- KVRAF
- 2172 posts since 14 Feb, 2003
Some good sounds, plenty of ducks, plenty of sounds that are very similar to others. If you treat it as a ROMpler, you'll get tired of it pretty quickly, but once you roll up your sleeves, you'll love it. Because its extremely tweakable.
Stretch is really good on certain sounds, really weird (good and bad) on others. You'll have to experiment.
Effects are really good too. But they put a reverb on every stinking preset. The first thing you should do is disable the reverb. I especially like the guitar amp sim and the distortion/overdrive effects.
Stretch is really good on certain sounds, really weird (good and bad) on others. You'll have to experiment.
Effects are really good too. But they put a reverb on every stinking preset. The first thing you should do is disable the reverb. I especially like the guitar amp sim and the distortion/overdrive effects.
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
With good reason -- IIRC, those were lifted from Amplitube.mjones4th wrote:I especially like the guitar amp sim and the distortion/overdrive effects.
Meffy
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- KVRAF
- 2172 posts since 14 Feb, 2003
Yep, and the mastering effects were lifted from T-Racks. Good stuff...Meffy wrote:With good reason -- IIRC, those were lifted from Amplitube.mjones4th wrote:I especially like the guitar amp sim and the distortion/overdrive effects.
Meffy
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- KVRist
- 156 posts since 13 Jun, 2002 from Northern California
The electric basses in ST2 are pretty outstanding. I will usually use ST2 for 95% of Bass tracks when it comes to songwriting.
ST2 Drum patches are also pretty sick when you run them through some convolution reverb.
The key to using ST2 sucessfully I believe is not to use the on board efx. Turn all that off and use insert efx. You'll get a lot more milelage.
One last note. Having Spent some time with my friends Yamaha Motif ES 8, I can faithfully say that even with The Motif's Massive soundset (192mb), Sampletank 2 still puts bullet holes into it's heavy weight chassis.
- juanito
ST2 Drum patches are also pretty sick when you run them through some convolution reverb.
The key to using ST2 sucessfully I believe is not to use the on board efx. Turn all that off and use insert efx. You'll get a lot more milelage.
One last note. Having Spent some time with my friends Yamaha Motif ES 8, I can faithfully say that even with The Motif's Massive soundset (192mb), Sampletank 2 still puts bullet holes into it's heavy weight chassis.
- juanito
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
I'm of two minds on ST2's effects. (And me with barely enough IQ points to keep one mind running!)
I usually end up either removing effects (some or all), sometimes also layering samples, or piling yet more effects onto a single sample for bizarro world presets.
A shame: I haven't even begun to dig into the synth-ish bits of SampleTank. They're quite impressive. Same with Reason's NNXT, my other favorite sample player. *sigh* Some day.
Meffy
I usually end up either removing effects (some or all), sometimes also layering samples, or piling yet more effects onto a single sample for bizarro world presets.
A shame: I haven't even begun to dig into the synth-ish bits of SampleTank. They're quite impressive. Same with Reason's NNXT, my other favorite sample player. *sigh* Some day.
Meffy
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- KVRAF
- 2172 posts since 14 Feb, 2003
I'm an owner of a MOTIF Rack, and IMO, it blows the socks off Sampletank 2 in all areas. Can't say that I turn to ST for any particular sound category before the MOTIF. Having said that, ST does have its place in my studio.juanito wrote: One last note. Having Spent some time with my friends Yamaha Motif ES 8, I can faithfully say that even with The Motif's Massive soundset (192mb), Sampletank 2 still puts bullet holes into it's heavy weight chassis.