IK Multimedia Xpansion Tank 2 Group Buy

[forkol]

Bottom line: after buying the Independence sample playing engine and huge library, you really want to ask yourself WHY adding a second, incompatible line would be a good idea.

Oh, I can answer that one: The sheer raw all-consuming gear lust that controls me, that's why!

I'm in the exact same boat as Artgiver. I did not really need this GB, either, and I also got into the Independence group-buy. And I have numerous VIs too. And also plan on getting th upgrade to Komplete 6. But I did get in on the GB, because 1) Zedd convinced me 2) I have some JamPoints I must use up by the end of the year, 3) and it was a good deal.

I just look at the fact that it's been a good season for deals lately. I too have been worried about duplication, but as mentioned before, we have all this power to warp and use sounds in new ways, so I guess it's all good.

[JavaJ]

I thought that the 10th library was going to be the "wildcard". And has anyone else not received a redeem code.

Yes.
I haven't got it yet.

nope- now I am jealous.

[torgo]

The gear lust thing is a powerful force, no doubt about it. This group buy is a great way to get a fix. You can easily rack up over 12 gig of samples for $50 in this deal.

It's an absolute screaming bargain.

(I've jumped into the pool three times - in spite of the fact that I already owned SampleTank 2.5 XL and its huge library, Sonik Synth 2 and its even bigger library, SampleTank 2 L, SampleTron, the Squids Tron Collection, SampleMoog, Miroslav Philharmonik, and a whole shelf of original Expansion Tank titles...)

But the incompatibility thing is something anyone new to the SampleTank line needs to consider. These samples are in SampleTank's own format. They won't work in Independence Pro, Kontact, Kore Player, WusikStation etc, and the libraries from those players won't work with SampleTank XT.

So if you want to mix and match these sounds in a project with the sounds from those other products, you'd have to open yet another player within your host sequencer.

Not to mention you'd have yet another whole new set of folders to search when you're trying to find where that hi-hat sound was that you thought would be perfect for your next song...

That may not be a big deal, but it is something else to consider. Especially when there are so many other great deals going on this summer as well.

[zedd]

(I've jumped into the pool three times - in spite of the fact that I already owned SampleTank 2.5 XL and its huge library, Sonik Synth 2 and its even bigger library, SampleTank 2 L, SampleTron, the Squids Tron Collection, SampleMoog, Miroslav Philharmonik, and a whole shelf of original Expansion Tank titles...)

You and me both... that entire paragraph.

At this very moment I am loving some of the new electric guitar sounds I got in Electric Guitar Collection 2. I never had the Sonik Capsule guitars, and there are some gems. I'm playing with a MIDI-equipped telecaster which is perfect for mocking up guitar solos before recording the real audio track... but these guitar sounds are so good that it is tempting to either keep the mock up tracks or just double them with the real thing.

I have Kontakt 6, and PLAY with a bunch of EW libraries, and there are some great things in those VIs, but I still prefer the ease of using SampleTank and my SR/IK sounds for most of my day to day creative work.

[torgo]

To play devil's advocate for those who are on the fence in these last few days...

There certainly are other products and deals to consider. As I posted earlier, these sound sets are in the SampleTank format. If the budget isn't too tight and you're simply looking to get a whole lot of gear for a good price, this group buy combined with the just-starting group buy on the other SampleTank products would make a nice combination.


On the other hand, if the budget is particularly tight, there are other sales to consider as well as this group buy.

Two noteworthy alternatives:

1) the Indie Dev Collective sale is a simultaneous sale by many of the other, smaller developers whose products are listed here in the KVR database.

http://www.indiedevcollective.net/index.php

It's basically a whole lot of stuff individually priced rather than a great big honking group buy. But it's good to remember that there are other, independent developers out there. And there are some great products on the list, including some specialty items. (Example: most people wouldn't even know what a look-ahead ducker is, but for those who do that sort of mixing, a sale on AutoBed is a Good Thing.)

And of course those developers also offer a lot of freebies on their respective web sites. The cowbell thing from De La Mancha that I linked earlier is just one example.


2) If you want a sample-based instrument like Independence Pro, Kontact, SampleTank XT and big library of samples, but don't have the budget, check out the Wusik site and its current pair of "Special Bundles".

The WusikStation comes with a 15 gig library. The bundles also give you EVE2, which is one of my personal favorite synth instruments. It's another sample-based library aimed at the retro synths and instruments like the ARPs, Oberheims, Moogs, Mellotrons, etc. It comes with its own library and features two other libraries (Mellotronix and Genesis) as part of the bundles.

The bundles also throw in other libraries of sounds. The first one adds a set of ethnic instruments, an electronic drums library, and a small pads library (by Autodafe, who popped by this thread earlier).

Full package price is only $80. I'd be all over it if I didn't have it already...

[Photo_G]

I thought that the 10th library was going to be the "wildcard". And has anyone else not received a redeem code.

Yes.
I haven't got it yet.

nope- now I am jealous.

Me too.

Squids, what's up?

G

[torgo]

Might be some confusion there - I don't think ANYONE already has the extra bonus 1 gig set yet.

They're finishing it up, and the download link will theoretically appear in our boxes either later this afternoon or tomorrow.

[zedd]

To play devil's advocate for those who are on the fence in these last few days...

You sure are playing a lot of devil's advocate today.

Bottom line is... this group buy is a FANTASTIC deal. Make sure you join in!

If you have IK Jam Points you can get in for as little as $25. For a little more, you can join through eSoundz and get a couple of extra packs. But either way, don't miss it. This is probably the best VI deal you will ever come across, and I mean it whole-heartedly!

This post isn't just hype. It is the truth.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

$25-$50 can easily be made back by using just a couple of these sounds on something you do as a commissioned piece, for example. Sell a tune for someone's podcast theme or a local cable company commercial, or score a student film for small $$ to be a supporter AND participant in independent arts and you'll recoup your costs. Not to mention if you are using these in that capacity, you are already seeing the no-brainer of a $25-50 writeoff or similar (typical "I am not a lawyer/accountant" disclaimer so seek the advice of your own). Point is, with a little effort, these can pay for themselves in one job. Even by taking a quick, easy one.

Likewise for Monday's group buy. You can recoup that easily using the tools you get for such little $$ there too.

[Mikelo]

Bottom line: after buying the Independence sample playing engine and huge library, you really want to ask yourself WHY adding a second, incompatible line would be a good idea.

Oh, I can answer that one: The sheer raw all-consuming gear lust that controls me, that's why!

I'm in the exact same boat as Artgiver. I did not really need this GB, either, and I also got into the Independence group-buy. And I have numerous VIs too. And also plan on getting th upgrade to Komplete 6. But I did get in on the GB, because 1) Zedd convinced me 2) I have some JamPoints I must use up by the end of the year, 3) and it was a good deal.

I just look at the fact that it's been a good season for deals lately. I too have been worried about duplication, but as mentioned before, we have all this power to warp and use sounds in new ways, so I guess it's all good.

+1

I love Independence Pro, no doubt there. One of the reasons I bought Sample Tank XT group buy (twice) was the sheer range of on the fly instruments and loops.
Plus what Independence has in shear quality, it still falls short in certain library areas, for instance, voices and solo orchestral instruments, which I may say that Strings 2 Xpansion makes up handsomely.

[Mike777]

I'm ready to purchase this GB at esoundz, and I have some epointz to use, but at the checkout it says:

"ePointz™ cannot not applied because you have at least one physical product in your cart. ePointz only apply on downloads."

This Xpansion Tank 2 Group Buy is not a download? It's a physical product? I have nothing else in the checkout cart. Can I use my epointz with this GB?

[Photo_G]

Might be some confusion there - I don't think ANYONE already has the extra bonus 1 gig set yet.

They're finishing it up, and the download link will theoretically appear in our boxes either later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Hm. It seems that some of us are receiving another redeem code though...

G

[Toxie]

Might be some confusion there - I don't think ANYONE already has the extra bonus 1 gig set yet.

They're finishing it up, and the download link will theoretically appear in our boxes either later this afternoon or tomorrow.

From an eSoundz newsletter, sent out a couple of days ago:

"PLUS we are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of the mysterious "Wild Card" extra on top of extras library with previously unreleased SampleTank sounds from Sonic Reality. Everyone who joins the group buy on esoundz will get this library automatically available for download in your eSoundz member's area early next week."

I'm guessing that means Monday or Tuesday...

[torgo]

Interesting to hear that Independence Pro falls short in spite of the sheer size of its sample library.

I skipped that one for the reason I mentioned earlier - unless it had something different and specific to offer, there wasn't much point in going for yet another product line.

I'm certainly NOT bashing the SampleTank line. As noted earlier, I own pretty much the entire line plus had the v1's of several of the ExpansionTank sets, and STILL jumped in on this group buy three times. It really has become that great a deal at 8x1.

I'm just noting that it's not the only game in town, and that the whole proprietary sample format thing is a possible issue that Kontact/Kore, Independence, Wusik, etc users would want to keep in mind.

[Mikelo]

Hi Torgo,
You have to remember that all these "super" samplers/romplers are expandable and none of them are what you could say "complete". That's including Kontakt.