Total Studio 5 MAX released

[Examigan]

I didn't see a topic about this, so I thought I'd make one. It might belong in "Effects", but then there are many instruments also.

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/t ... tsincluded

I'm not sure I'd upgrade for now. I logged in and it shows my price as being $199.

I already don't use T-Racks that often, but there are improvements in that department. I have a decent amount of pianos already, and I don't play guitar. OTOH it might be cool (for me anyway) to get the Alex Lifeson Legacy and use Sampletank's guitars with it. I guess Pianoverse might be nice to have, but I'm not dying to get it.

What's new:
Pianoverse, with its 9 pianos and 33 cinematic spaces
The full version of TONEX + 9 Signature Collections
AmpliTube Morley Collection with 3 classic stompbox FX
T-RackS 6’s streamlined workflow and 10 new processors
ARC 4, boasting faster calibration and stunningly natural result

[mabian]

Currently 199€ for me, if it goes on sale at around 99€, it will be tempting. Lately, their product manager seems much more solid than before, I just tried it in a recent Humble Bundle purchase.

- Mario

[Examigan]

Currently 199€ for me, if it goes on sale at around 99€, it will be tempting. Lately, their product manager seems much more solid than before, I just tried it in a recent Humble Bundle purchase.

- Mario

That would be a great price, since I am still at version 3.5 of Max. There are some things I still don’t have that were added to v4.

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

[enCiphered]

I only have two or three of the smaller IK effect plugins so far, so I don’t have much experience with the full T-RackS suite. I’m curious though, what are the real standouts for you, guys? Not just the flashy ones, but the ones you actually reach for in real projects. Oh, and if there’s a really creative one in there, bring it on, please.

[starflakeprj]

Currently 199€ for me, if it goes on sale at around 99€, it will be tempting. Lately, their product manager seems much more solid than before, I just tried it in a recent Humble Bundle purchase.

- Mario

That would be a great price, since I am still at version 3.5 of Max. There are some things I still don’t have that were added to v4.

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

Lucky you! I hate the pricing strategy IK Multimedia has. The amount is the same in USD and EUR, even though the EUR is valued higher than the USD. On top of that, due to f*cking EU, they are forced to charge local sales tax (VAT) as well, which in Sweden is 25%.

[starflakeprj]

Currently 199€ for me, if it goes on sale at around 99€, it will be tempting. Lately, their product manager seems much more solid than before, I just tried it in a recent Humble Bundle purchase.

- Mario

Being at v3.5 I'm also waiting for a sale, preferably through AudioDeluxe, who don't charge me any tax. I would be fine with $129, though $99 is better ofc

[Examigan]

I only have two or three of the smaller IK effect plugins so far, so I don’t have much experience with the full T-RackS suite. I’m curious though, what are the real standouts for you, guys? Not just the flashy ones, but the ones you actually reach for in real projects. Oh, and if there’s a really creative one in there, bring it on, please.

Some of my favorites are the X-Gear line of effects.
However, I have a couple of issues with them.

I know they were mainly made for guitar or bass, but I wish they'd make it so they could be used separately outside of Amplitube. You can load Amplitube and bypass everything such as amps and cabinets etc. and then make use of them, but it's a bother.
Also, the edit screen for each of those is too small.

[Hyperbole]

I got sucked into the IK vortex by first purchasing an inexpensive version of Syntronik 2 just to check out a few of the instruments. And then I was able to upgrade Syntronik CS to the Max version for next to nothing. Why I did this is still a mystery to me, as Syntronik is mostly junk. Just because the UIs of the various instruments sort of look like the original hardware synths doesn't mean they sound anything like those synths.

I was then able to crossgrade to Sampletank 4 Max V2 for not much money. The thinking there was I might actually use a few of the Syntronik sounds if I had the full editor available in Sampletank. But I didn't. I ended up uninstalling everything because it took up too much space on my original 4TB Thunderbolt 4 drive. Now that I have an 8TB drive, I might reinstall Sampletank because there are a few "ROMpler"-style sounds I might use. But I will NOT be upgrading to Total Studio 5 Max. I'm done playing that game.

[waxtrax]

I'm done playing that game.

Purchase the upgrade if it has features you want and is at a price that is acceptable to you. If neither of those are true, then don't. That's not a game, that's life, and it applies to all purchases.

[Examigan]

When I upgraded to 3.5 MAX, it had many new plugins I knew I’d actually use. I may skip this version though, since there aren’t many of the types of plugins that got me here in the first place.

[machinesworking]

IMO anyway, IK is just more complicated than say Arturia to purchase from, Jam Points are cool, but it still only gives you a 30% discount at max over someone who owns $100 worth of IK gear, and if you like me recently purchased Max 4 from them it's a bit spendy. But, Max includes all of their FX and instruments, whereas Arturia break it up into three different purchases, all FX, V-Collection and Pigments.

It's true of all collections IMO that the best thing to do is wait at least two versions, it might be a bit more in the case of Arturia (it's not for IK and NI), but you get a lot more bang for your buck. You just have to avoid Pokemon gotta catch them all logic.

Personally I can wait on 5 Max, I still haven't used Tonex Capture to make my own cabs and distortion algorithms, I want the Satriani etc. collections but I have enough to keep me busy.

[Hyperbole]

I'm done playing that game.

Purchase the upgrade if it has features you want and is at a price that is acceptable to you. If neither of those are true, then don't. That's not a game, that's life, and it applies to all purchases.

No, that applies to products from reputable developers like u-he. u-he doesn't have to "entice" users to upgrade their software. For starters, almost all upgrades are free. Moreover, the products sell themselves without the silly games and "inducements."

[lotus2035]

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?

[lotus2035]

Anyone know if Syntronik Synth-X has ever been available to purchase separately?
Seems I can only buy it as part of the Syntronik MAX upgrade which is no use to me seeing as Synth-X is the only one I don't have.

[martinjuenke]

Anyone know if Syntronik Synth-X has ever been available to purchase separately?
Seems I can only buy it as part of the Syntronik MAX upgrade which is no use to me seeing as Synth-X is the only one I don't have.

Have you tried Arturia SynthX?