SampleTank 4 MAX v2

[BrokenTrance]

87.49 euros now on IK Multimedia site. https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/s ... k-4-max-v2
I am tempted. But then there is the problem with big sample libraries and the installation.... paths and so. Syntronik i don't care about anyway.
What you think?

[jamcat]

Installation isn’t too difficult. You can change the path in SampleTank’s settings, if needed.

My biggest issue with the SampleTank Sounds installers is they have separate downloads for Mac and Windows, even though the sounds files themselves are identical. IK could offer a single download per instrument that includes the sounds and both Mac and Windows installers (which are just small programs that copy the sounds to a destination.)

This would make a lot more sense, since IK charges to reactivate your sounds downloads after 180 days. If they combined Mac and Windows installers, they’d cut down on downloads so much they could stop charging. Or maybe that’s why they don’t.

As for having SampleTank 4 Max, I find it’s really convenient for quick mock-ups and writing arrangements, because it’s comprehensive and no-fuss, unlike sample libraries which are a PITA to load and fuss about with keyswitches and articulations.

But once that’s all done, I will swap out SampleTank with something else, typically physically modeled instruments.

[geiger167]

It's a bargain, I got it last week, you are effectively getting sampletank, an orchestral library, sampletron library and syntronik library all at once which is about 600 gigs in total. Needless to say the install was long and nightmarish but mo issues on the value for money side

[iPlogger]

I've really been thinking about the MAX deal going on. I don't really have a good set of bread and butter basic sounds. I love the sounds from my Yamah Motif series, but I use all softsynths now. What I really want are some good basic string sounds, organs and even some good, basic pads. I mainly use Native Instruments (for pianos) and organs (but I don't totally care for Vintage Organs and their strings are better for orchestral than for rock/pop style in my opinion), Omnisphere and Spire.

Is SampleTank a good VST for getting a good set of standard bread and butter sounds? I was never much interested in ST, but it looks like they now allow some editing which makes it a lot more interesting than from a few years ago.

I also have Jam Points, so I'd be getting it for a really great price.

[You Cannot Stop Me]

I picked up Sampletank 4 MAX v2 for a very reasonable price because I already owned Syntronik and a couple other IK FX plugins. But I swear to god IK makes it so unnecessarily complicated and such a pain in the ass to install their software. Jesus christ, this is the one thing that any software company needs to get right. But IK just can't seem to figure it out.

It's a shame because IK offers a lot of bang for the buck. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if they would hire a few more entry level engineers to simplify their installers.

[glokraw]

If you figure you'll get a 100 sounds you'll actually use, out of many thousands, add in the layering possibilities and the effects, it's hard to go wrong. Nobody has to install all of this, or all of Komplete etc, just start with your most desired parts. The tuba, alto flute, and bass marimba will still be there next year

I've found as my exposure to music increases, my tastes change, and knowledge of instruments expands, so the once ignored parts of the content get revisited I love the standalone Mixbox, it's receiving and helping almost anything, and I still need to learn what 90% of the gizmos
do, and why they reside where they do in a preset

[Bippo]

LOLL
Goodluck trying to download and install 600gb of sounds from IK Multimedia, been there done that.
Get ready to babysit your computer and spend hours upon hours of manually extracting zip files and launching installers one by one.
If they could automate things like any decent company these days (native instruments, arturia, steinberg ) it was a different story, but thats simply not the case.

Oh and prepare to pay even more in a few months if you'll want to regain access to your downloads, that you already paid for.

In 2 months Yamaha should release a montage vst, I bet it won't take 600gb of your hard drive, installation will be easy and the sounds will be 10x better.

Pass.

[Igro]

Got that for 48 Euro with Jam Points. Haven't tried that yet, because waiting for a larger Nvme SSD. I mean, Sample Tank was (finally) the reason to upgrade my storage

I think, it's a very very good value for money. No need to search for samples elsewhere. It's all there.

[Bippo]

Got that for 48 Euro with Jam Points. Haven't tried that yet, because waiting for a larger Nvme SSD. I mean, Sample Tank was (finally) the reason to upgrade my storage

I think, it's a very very good value for money. No need to search for samples elsewhere. It's all there.

48 euros is indeed a good price.
BUT, since when declaring a gigantic size of hundreds of gigabytes became a positive thing?

Why companies think its advantageous to have a sample library of 600GB?
If you compare it to the hd space of korg kronos or yamaha montage...you'll realise that its completely unnecessary to reach such exaggerated files size.
I hope companies will shift their marketing strategies from having sample libraries that take up your whole disk space, to making lighter less hard disk demanding products, without compromising on quality.

[Igro]

Got that for 48 Euro with Jam Points. Haven't tried that yet, because waiting for a larger Nvme SSD. I mean, Sample Tank was (finally) the reason to upgrade my storage

I think, it's a very very good value for money. No need to search for samples elsewhere. It's all there.

48 euros is indeed a good price.
BUT, since when declaring a gigantic size of hundreds of gigabytes became a positive thing?

Why companies think its advantageous to have a sample library of 600GB?
If you compare it to the hd space of korg kronos or yamaha montage...you'll realise that its completely unnecessary to reach such exaggerated files size.
I hope companies will shift their marketing strategies from having sample libraries that take up your whole disk space, to making lighter less hard disk demanding products, without compromising on quality.

I don't know. Does Yamaha use a different audio format?
Also, I guess that for many instruments every single note was sampled individually. Like pianos, guitars and so on. Hence the size.

[lobanov]

Is SampleTank a good VST for getting a good set of standard bread and butter sounds? I was never much interested in ST, but it looks like they now allow some editing which makes it a lot more interesting than from a few years ago.

I'd say yes. ST sounds are a bit inconsistent. It's not a good choice for orchestral music, for example (Miroslav Philharmonik is rather good indeed). But as a source (or one of sources) of bread and butter sounds it's without doubt usable.

IMO, it's a bit better (and more diverse) than NI Factory Library. But worse than Halion.

I don't like the interface of ST4. Hate it.

In general it is worth to have two or three sources of bread and butter sounds. If you really need it and are in doubt download the free version and try included sounds, it's sufficient to form your judgement.

[iPlogger]

Thank you all. I saw the Yamaha VST mentioned in another thread which is what got me thinking about SampleTank. If I knew for sure Yamaha would make it available for everyone (not just owners of a certain synth) I would wait.

I have actually been a longtime owner of ST2 and ST3 (free through other things) but never cared for them so never installed (I do have the download files). ST4 finally sounds pretty good to what I can tell in videos. Are the downloads all handled through the Manager application or can you still download all the files from the IKM website and deal with it all later? I don't necessarily want to install all 600GB at once, but I do want to download the files so I don't have to pay to do it later.

I don't really need much. Just two or three organs and some strings. I did find a video review where the organs sounded quite nice, but I'm still not sure about the strings. What I find so difficult is finding strings with no vibrato. On my Yamaha I made a no vibrato version that worked great. If the vibrato is part of the sample, that's a problem.

[glokraw]

LOLL
Goodluck trying to download and install 600gb of sounds from IK Multimedia, been there done that.
Get ready to babysit your computer and spend hours upon hours of manually extracting zip files and launching installers one by one.

It's more enjoyable for me to install incrementally. I use wildcards to unzip a folder of archives with a single command. And paste commands with the correct path, to launch the desired installers.

Most people have little need to download and install everything in one fell swoop. A studio might, but they likely have or arrange to use a fast internet connection. Even with Syntronik or Komplete, I typically install the most important parts for my setup first. And add more later if something grabs my attention by review or comment. I have more things I've never heard of, than those with recognizable names, and am still flooded with sounds yet to be auditioned
Cheers

[glokraw]

Are the downloads all handled through the Manager application or can you still download all the files from the IKM website and deal with it all later?

In your Support-User Area-My Products page, each item will have a button for "Past Releases" which will have installers to download. It has the latest version, and a list of older ones as may be needed.

The "Download Resources" button reveals presets, manuals, drivers
and maybe some unique extras.

[iPlogger]

Thanks again everyone. I spent some time listening to Syntronik examples and that sold me. I didn't initially realize all that came with the bundle. Had a lot of exactly what I was looking for in the synth/pads department. I bought the SampleTank Max V2 deal last night. I haven't installed or done anything with it yet.

Listening to Syntronik made me decide to go through some of the Hardware sounds in Omnisphere and I found a few good ones I hadn't starred before.