Please advise?

[Beatles Eternally]

Hey illustrious IK maestros,

I know this has been discussed but, I would like some advice, please. I am on the very cusp of pulling the trigger on either Total Studio MAX or Sample Tank 4 MAX. Here's the issue. I am reading that the download and installation process is horrific. Like many of you, I own a nice collection of VSTs as well as some good hardware. In every case for each of the VSTs I own, download and installation has been very nice, quick, and seamless. These are large VSTs such as Arturia Collection 7, Titan 2, Pigments 2, Rapid, and many more.

What issues should I expect to encounter? I know that official IK reps have stated that a download manager is in the works. That is nice for the future but it does little now to alleviate stories I am hearing about download timeouts that have to be started all over again and having to install the installation manager multiple times.

I really appreciate your advice guys. I never like to make my first post in a community a plea, but, I really want one of these, I do not wish to go down the Nexus 3 or Omnisphere rabbit holes.

Thanks a lot all!!

Beatles

[DarkStar]

Hello Beatles Eternally and welcome to the forum.

Everybody's experience is different. And generally, users post when they run into issues rather than when everything goes smoothly.

Having said that:
-- there are a lot of individual downloads,
-- each one is installed separately,
-- download time-outs may be due to the ISP and, I would think, are not that common, compared with the sheer number of downloads done.

Suggestions:
-- do the download / install activities one at a time,
-- keep a good track of which ones you have done, so you don't miss any,
-- consider getting a USB edition - that will avoid most (but not all) of the need for downloads.

[Beatles Eternally]

Hi Dark Star,

Thank you for your rapid reply! I'll check the shop for the USB edition, hopefully, shipping won't take too long.

These products look amazing. I'm not a guitar player so the amp rigs aren't going to be of use to me unless of course I can use the amps with the other instruments. I guess I'm still trying to figure out which product is better suited for me.

Total Studio MAX seems to be the complete package with Miroslav Philharmonik, Syntronik, and tons of effects. But, unless I am mistaken, I wouldn't need the stuff aimed at guitarists? (I'm a keyboard ;player).

Sample Tank 4 MAX looks cool too though, there would be some overlap with the Arturia Collection. Sorry to be a pest, but, in the Arturia Collection, I can go into the edit mode on any of the synths and actually program them as if they were the real thing. In other words, I can call up the Matrix 12 V and create a patch from scratch. I understand of course that Arturia is modeled synths while Sample Tank is actually a very powerful rompler. So, can I at least do some deep editing on instruments?

Your advise on this final issue will be the one that makes me pull the trigger!

Best to you!!

Beatles

[DarkStar]

Your advice on this final issue will be the one that makes me pull the trigger!

Oh dear! No pressure, then.

You can use the amp rigs on any audio, not just from a guitar. From any sampler (such as ST3, ST4, Arturia Collection 7), any synth, from recorded audio etc. There are also many FX built into SampleTank.

You are correct that Arturia is modelled synths while Sample Tank is actually a very powerful rompler. And, yes you can do some deep editing of the instruments. Here's a pic of the Edit pages in ST3 and ST4.

>>> https://i.imgur.com/Dns9Mm2.png

If you download, install and authorize "SampleTank 4 CS" from your User Area ( https://www.ikmultimedia.com/userarea/my-products/ ) you will be able to see what you can do with ST4. Get the Sounds Download too. And there are separate user manuals in Download Resources.

[Beatles Eternally]

Hey there DarkStar,

Your excellent advice helped! I looked at both products again and I opted for Total Studio MAX. I chose the download option because with COVID-19, shipping can be slow.

I am looking forward to this deep journey! This is a scary big plugin and I sense infinite possibilities!

Thank you so much for your patience and help!

Now, to start the download process!

Best always,
Beatles