Total Studio 5 MAX released

[herbaltree]

Disk space has made me hesitate to install any of the Syntronik instruments. Do any of them sound especially good, or unique? What are your favourites?

[Examigan]

Syntronik is mostly junk.

A bit harsh. Maybe they don't sound exactly like the original hardware (I wouldn't know) but they sound a lot better than any number of flat sounding VST instruments I have used. Aren't they based on samples of the relevant hardware?

Not really. Yes, Syntronik instruments are comprised of samples from the original hardware instruments. But IK mostly sampled these synthesizers at one velocity level with no round robin samples and the filter "wide open." IK then used the stock Sampletank digital filters to provide dynamics and motion. At that point, Syntronik just is a "flat-sounding VST instrument." Actually, it's worse. Because the "oscillators" are static samples (which may evolve over time but not under user control).

IK could have gotten around this to some degree by sampling each Syntronik instrument at multiple velocity levels and using round robin samples. At least that way the velocity response would have better approximated the original instruments.

I don’t think they mention velocity, but on their website they say:
“We captured multiple round-robins of single oscillators, oscillator combinations (including sync and FM sweeps)”.

[SLiC]

Disk space has made me hesitate to install any of the Syntronik instruments. Do any of them sound especially good, or unique? What are your favourites?

I spend longer installing it than I ever did using it....nothing special and if it I ever clean install I won't bother putting it back on.

[Hyperbole]

I don’t think they mention velocity, but on their website they say:
“We captured multiple round-robins of single oscillators, oscillator combinations (including sync and FM sweeps)”.

Interesting. That wasn't my experience with any of the Syntronik instruments. But perhaps the round robin samples were so subtle that I didn't notice them?

Regardless, the biggest problem I had with the Syntronik instruments was their reliance on the Sampletank digital filters to provide any expressiveness to the sound. And at that point, the instruments sounded more like virtual analogs than sampled analog synths.

For what it's worth, Spectrasonics took the same approach with Omnisphere/Trilian. Almost all the sampled waveforms were sampled with the filter open and rely on Omnisphere's digital filters to recreate the sound. The advantage is that this allows you to program a smooth velocity response (i.e., no abrupt changes in tone when switching velocity layers) and to program filter sweeps and the like. However, THE characteristic sound of most analog synths is their filter. And by not sampling the sound of that filter (as it responds to velocity or when sweeping the patch, etc.,) the patches don't sound as authentic.

The trade-off is authenticity vs. expressiveness. Of course, none of the Syntronik patches are as expertly and musically programmed as those in Omnisphere and Trilian.

[mambo888]

I think that the Syntronik instruments are actually quite good, they are not just simple sampled instruments but they have been programmed with added effect chain as well tailored to each preset. Since they sampled real instruments it captures the vibe of those synths and the patch selection is very interesting. Definitely not just random patches but meticulously programmed and of course it will not meet everybody's taste profile as a result, however there is added value and I for one would not be able to program all these patches myself nor had the time to do so. I appreciate the creativity that went into creating these patches.

Well, at least they aren't badly sampled, you can't hear the loop points and in my view they don't feel like static samples with fixed arpeggio or LFO. My only gripe would be the size of the samples (all in all takes about 600gb and I have not installed everything). Also they should include various redesigned character filters or IR or AI based filters to bring the instruments up to date compared with the latest developments in the area. I would even pay for that.

Nevertheless, I feel that they captured the character of the sampled synths very well and if you are looking for analog vibe an odd afternoon it is fun to go through the presets. It is a good snapshot of the 60-80s era. Along with Omnisphere and UVI I'm happy that I have this tool as well in my arsenal of synths and samplers and I don't regret buying it although I'm not using it on a daily basis, I'm happy that it's available any time I want to play with it.

For sure do not get it at full price, but wait for black Friday, Thomann, etc. other promos, which sadly go throughout the year these days.

[mumpcake]

Disk space has made me hesitate to install any of the Syntronik instruments. Do any of them sound especially good, or unique? What are your favourites?

I spend longer installing it than I ever did using it....nothing special and if it I ever clean install I won't bother putting it back on.

They are perfectly fine if you don't happen to have anything that sounds like what they offer. For me, that means most of the sounds I like are quite similar to sounds I already have.

[AdvancedFollower]

Just upgraded, primarily for T-Racks 6 since there isn't much else that's new.

I had forgotten just what a pain it is to install the sample based stuff. The Product Manager makes it a bit easier since you don't have to run 120+ installation programs manually, but it's still a bit of a mess.

I find the only reliable way to change the default installation path is to use Regedit and edit the LibraryPath key under each product, otherwise the installer will randomly decide to install under Public Documents in C: anyway. It also throws a curve ball at you, because some of the SampleTank 4 content actually uses the SampleTank 3 install path so if you're not careful you can still end up with hundreds of GB of sample content on C:.

Also a lot of the sound libraries are duplicated as it's both included in ST4 Max and listed as separate libraries, so it's easy to end up with duplicate files. My library was 850+ GB but after I re-installed it shrank to about 500 GB.

There's also no way to *uninstall* a sample library, so make sure you'll actually use whatever you install. The only way to uninstall is to manually hunt down the installed files one by one, or uninstall everything and start over.

[Examigan]

Disk space has made me hesitate to install any of the Syntronik instruments. Do any of them sound especially good, or unique? What are your favourites?

I spend longer installing it than I ever did using it....nothing special and if it I ever clean install I won't bother putting it back on.

They are perfectly fine if you don't happen to have anything that sounds like what they offer. For me, that means most of the sounds I like are quite similar to sounds I already have.

I liked them at first, but never used them in any projects. I like the main ones from the group... such as Sampletank 4 MAX, Sampletron 2, B-3X, Mixbox, MODO Bass, etc.

[sodbuster-ca]

[quote=EDIT: I just noticed if I use Jam points it gets the price down to $139.99, which isn't too bad.
[/quote]

Thanks for the tip. I forgot about my Jam Points. I think I'll join the party.

[Echoes in the Attic]

I just noticed that for the Total Studio Max 4 to 5 Upgrade, it's normally 199, but there was a checkbox at checkout that was a coupon to take off $100. Checked it and voila it was 99. Tried applying jam points and it didn't work though.

[tonymax]

its not on my checkout... jampoints work though...

I just noticed that for the Total Studio Max 4 to 5 Upgrade, it's normally 199, but there was a checkbox at checkout that was a coupon to take off $100. Checked it and voila it was 99. Tried applying jam points and it didn't work though.

[kyubi_fox]

Is the new Mastering Console like MixBox? Sad to see it discontinued.

[Examigan]

Is the new Mastering Console like MixBox? Sad to see it discontinued.

At least it’s still being sold (for now), I guess until various sites run out of licenses:
https://forum.ikmultimedia.com/viewtopi ... 0&p=159874