Sonic Reality

torhan · Post by **torhan** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 8:45 pm

Just rec'd the May issue, and went to the link provided (at ikmultimedia's site), and the link is dead. Any info on this?

Thanks!

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 3:45 am

torhan wrote:Just rec'd the May issue, and went to the link provided (at ikmultimedia's site), and the link is dead. Any info on this?

Thanks!

You got the May issue already? Wow. It's still April. Well, next week you'll see something there. The Sonik Synth 2 demo won't be ready until the end of May though however audio demos will be up shortly relating to the article. Nice article eh?

torhan · Post by **torhan** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 10:25 pm

Yes, nice little article. However, whoever did the transcriptions of those rifts, are a bit off on "Only Time Will Tell."

Reverend Rhythm · Post by **Reverend Rhythm** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:12 am

Hey! My copy hasn't come yet! That's just not right.

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 6:34 am

torhan wrote:Yes, nice little article. However, whoever did the transcriptions of those rifts, are a bit off on "Only Time Will Tell."

I think Ernie, the editor of the magazine did the riffs. Perhaps he was dancing around some publishing issues. I am making audio demos for these and I am altering the riffs so they are not EXACT to the note just in case. Of course, when the trial version of Sonik Synth 2 is out at the end of May YOU can play the riffs exactly like the record.

Geoff Downes uses SampleTank 2 by the way. I think he'll love Sonik Synth 2.

Anyway, there will be an update to the Keyboard mag link this week. Little by little there will be more and more info there, pictures, videos, audio and eventually the free trial version with the sounds to play the licks authentically in the article.

torhan · Post by **torhan** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:17 pm

Squids wrote:I think Ernie, the editor of the magazine did the riffs. Perhaps he was dancing around some publishing issues.

Good point!

Squids wrote: Geoff Downes uses SampleTank 2 by the way. I think he'll love Sonik Synth 2.

Was a huge fan of Asia, and always loved his style!

Squids wrote: Anyway, there will be an update to the Keyboard mag link this week.

Will keep my eyes peeled for it!

Thanks for the info.

gmstudio · Post by **gmstudio** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:00 pm

So...wait a minute. The article says it's a full version (special version) of this synth...the post above says it's merely a free trial version.

What's the deal here? Is this nothing more than an ad for a crippled demo version disguised as an article in Keyboard? Boo on both parties, if this is truly the case.

I had some issues with SampleTank 1 that caused me to doubt the sincerity of IK and lost my trust in their company, so if this turns out to be nothing more than a misleading "check out our demo" pile of BS, well, I won't be surprised. Only disappointed that Keyboard got dragged into the muck as well.

jeffn1 · Post by **jeffn1** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:23 pm

I wouldn't think this would be the full Sonic Synth 2. On the other hand, it would annoy me if this was a demo that timed out.

If it contains a portion of Sonic Synth 2, but lacks some sounds/capabilities, that would make sense.

Could you please advise how this "special" version of Sonic Synth 2 compares to the full version? (i.e., is it a demo that times out, what is missing from the full version, etc.)

Thanks.

JeffN

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 6:03 pm

gmstudio wrote:So...wait a minute. The article says it's a full version (special version) of this synth...the post above says it's merely a free trial version.

What's the deal here? Is this nothing more than an ad for a crippled demo version disguised as an article in Keyboard? Boo on both parties, if this is truly the case.

I had some issues with SampleTank 1 that caused me to doubt the sincerity of IK and lost my trust in their company, so if this turns out to be nothing more than a misleading "check out our demo" pile of BS, well, I won't be surprised. Only disappointed that Keyboard got dragged into the muck as well.

That's rather dramatic. I am not sure how Keyboard worded it exactly as I haven't gotten my final copy of the issue yet myself. However, hopefully no one expects we're giving away the full boxed $399. product to everyone that reads Keyboard magazine.

Ok, so it is a reasonable question of "What is it?" although it would be nicer to have just the question first without the threats... ie "IF this is a demo then etc etc".

So, answering the question itself for those that are interested, the "special version" of Sonik Synth 2 is going to be a version that gives you a taste of what the full version of Sonik Synth 2 can do with the content of the article in particular being one of it's main focuses. It's not a demo that stops working, it will continue to work with the full functionality of the plug-in, just limited of course to the sounds offered for it. The sounds included will of course be sounds to be able to play the classic riffs in the article as well as a few other sounds that give an idea of what the full version is capable of.

It's a nice freebie and I can't see why anyone would complain. It is no secret that it is a promotional tool to also get people interested in actually buying it. This isn't a charity non-profit organization. But, we put a lot of effort into participating in a cool interactive article like that with them and I think that when this Sonik Synth 2 special version and the full version are released many people will enjoy it... especially if they enjoyed the article.

gmstudio · Post by **gmstudio** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:51 pm

Yes, and this has been typical of any interaction I've had with IK...attitude first, followed quickly by a butt-covering condecending response.

I'm a reasonable person, Mr. Squid, but the interaction I had with your company 3 years ago still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and like it or not, customers don't forget such things. Hence, the skepticism I cast towards your company and motives. No one expects a full working version of a $399 synth, but your use of "trial version" and "demo version" verbage definitely does NOT match what the Keyboard article implies. Hence, our questioning of what exactly we're getting here.

The fact that the "article" has caught you unprepared and by surprise is a whole other issue.

jeffn1 · Post by **jeffn1** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:12 pm

So, answering the question itself for those that are interested, the "special version" of Sonik Synth 2 is going to be a version that gives you a taste of what the full version of Sonik Synth 2 can do with the content of the article in particular being one of it's main focuses. It's not a demo that stops working, it will continue to work with the full functionality of the plug-in, just limited of course to the sounds offered for it. The sounds included will of course be sounds to be able to play the classic riffs in the article as well as a few other sounds that give an idea of what the full version is capable of.

It's a nice freebie and I can't see why anyone would complain. It is no secret that it is a promotional tool to also get people interested in actually buying it. This isn't a charity non-profit organization. But, we put a lot of effort into participating in a cool interactive article like that with them and I think that when this Sonik Synth 2 special version and the full version are released many people will enjoy it... especially if they enjoyed the article.

Thats good enough for me. If will check out, thanks.

By the way, did you change the name from "Sonic" to "Sonik"?

JeffN

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:35 pm

gmstudio wrote:Yes, and this has been typical of any interaction I've had with IK...attitude first, followed quickly by a butt-covering condecending response.

I'm a reasonable person, Mr. Squid, but the interaction I had with your company 3 years ago still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and like it or not, customers don't forget such things. Hence, the skepticism I cast towards your company and motives. No one expects a full working version of a $399 synth, but your use of "trial version" and "demo version" verbage definitely does NOT match what the Keyboard article implies. Hence, our questioning of what exactly we're getting here.

The fact that the "article" has caught you unprepared and by surprise is a whole other issue.

Well, let's fix this. Obviously you are interested enough to even take the time to discuss this and read the article. So, that's good. 3 years ago IK was a different company with different people than today. It's a cool company with an open mind and definitely a big thought toward increased customer satisfaction. This is in some ways a result of working closely with companies like mine (Sonic Reality actually) and we share resources and ideas to help better both companies. In other words, many people that have loved the level of respect and service they get from SR are learning that they are starting to get more of that from the much larger IK company as well. Some influence from Squids included.

I understand you could have had a bad taste from the past but companies that are doing great things for musicians should get another chance especially if there is a product that you may really enjoy. If you love synths you'll probably love Sonik Synth 2 for example and may even see the two companies SR & IK completely differently than you did before.

Sorry if I offended you in my post, I was only trying to say "hey, can we at least answer the question before being threatened?" and even then we are pretty light about that stuff because we think like customers do too.

As to the article prep, this is supposed to be the May issue and on line in May with the version being available in late May at the earliest. Subscribers sometimes get the issue early and this being only mid-April right now the link in the article only goes to the PR page for SS2. In a few days or so it will go to a page full of info and audio demos plus a place where people can get on the list to get this special version of Sonik Synth 2 when it is available. I'd have prefered that the article came out next month instead but these things are decided way in advance and to be honest we are lucky that Keyboard magazine came to me wanting to do this at all! So, we're doing our best.

As to my wordage, you are absolutely right for coming to those conclusions. I was using those words loosely but it can be looked at in many ways. It IS a trial/demo version but it does NOT time out or have any annoying artifacts such as demo mode restrictions such as noise bursts or limited polyphony. It's very similar to what SampleTank FREE was like. It has most of the functionality of the full plug-in but it is just limited to sounds made for it- freebies that are meant to give you a "taste" of what the full module would be like.

Now, it just so happens that these "freebie" sounds make this version a pretty cool free synth itself because patches can be made using those waveforms. Not a bad synth to have at all! So, hopefully this can be seen as something positive, despite my previous wording (I know those words "Trial and demo" make something sound worthless... this, however, is cool to have regardless of whether you really plan to get to the real deal... although it's worth it).

Reverend Rhythm · Post by **Reverend Rhythm** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:38 pm

I, for one, am excited to give this puppy a go. Bring it on! Free is free!

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:48 pm

Thats good enough for me. If will check out, thanks.

By the way, did you change the name from "Sonic" to "Sonik"?

JeffN

We changed Sonic to Sonik for Sonik Synth 2 because it is more of a collaboration between Sonic Reality and IK than the previous version which was sounds + separate OEM software ST LE. This time it is it's own instrument designed by both and there is also a path of updates that will enhance it further that can only be possible when sound developer and software developer are working this closely.

Plus to keep people on their toes.

Anyway, this is what I always wanted Sonic Synth to be. The ultimate synth workstation. To be honest, I can't believe how good it is coming out. You have to understand that many of the things I've prepared to do for years sampling all of my favorite vintage synths and workstation synth elements I've only now been able to hear all together in the right engine. It's by far my favorite soft synth already and I love my Absynth 2, CS80, Modular V and CA5000 etc. I love them for different reasons though but for the diversity of flavors that I love from hardware synths, Sonik Synth 2 gets the closest for me (although I did just buy a rack of 8 Oberheim SEMS a few weeks ago... back in the saddle... so I still love the hardware too).

I'm a synth junkie like a lot of people here. The virtual plug-in way allows many people to have access to things they might not otherwise find or be able to afford if they did. I only buy vintage synths when I know it is a good deal. It's like a fun savings bank because you know if you had to you could sell it to pay for new tires on your car or whatever (had to do that too... not as fun). But, it's harder and harder to find good deals on vintage stuff and for some things it is just impossible to find for any price! That is why I think synth lovers would really appreciate the rediculous effort done in Sonik Synth 2 to capture so many esoteric flavors. It just makes no commercial sense for someone to set out to do that because it is too time consuming and particular (not mention expensive now) to be able to collect all of that material and program it up to be an all around synth plug-in. We did it in large part for the love of it and to of course have it for ourselves to use.

Anyway, you can see I like to blab about it. That's because I am really excited about it. You'll be able to hear some cool sounds from it in a few days on that link from the Keyboard ad. In the second week of May we'll also open soniksynth.com and it's going to get fun. Many well-known artists have already let us know that they want to order it as soon as it is available to use on their records, soundtracks etc. Some of them even want to contribute patches as well! It's going to be a cool thing. [/quote]

Squids · Post by **Squids** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:50 pm

DKeenum wrote:I, for one, am excited to give this puppy a go. Bring it on! Free is free!

That is the response we're going for on this one.

This will be a good discussion piece for ANYONE regardless of budget (because everyone can afford free) to talk about patch programming or DSP processing etc. We'll make good use of it around here I'm sure.

Sonic Reality

KVR Audio

Keyboard Mag version of Sonic Synth 2?