SampleTank 3.5 now available - new sound collections and more

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

SampleTank 3.5 now available - new sound collections and more

Featuring 11 brand new sound libraries, Custom Shop integration and user requested features

Announcing a major update to SampleTank 3 for Mac/PC, the industry standard sound and groove workstation. The new 3.5 version consists of 11 brand new sound collections (Elektronika Series and Beats Series), which are now also available in IK’s new SampleTank “Custom Shop.” Also introduced — by popular demand — are a spread of new features that make browsing SampleTank 3’s thousands of sounds and patterns even faster and easier than ever before. SampleTank 3 has become an indispensable tool for professional musicians due to its massive 33GB library of premium sounds (over 4,000 instruments from every category), 55 high-quality effects, MIDI patterns, advanced groove tools and a powerfully enhanced sample engine. The 3.5 version also introduces a range of downloadable sound libraries that will expand and grow alongside SampleTank 3, allowing its world of sounds to be customized to suit the needs of any creative workflow.

An expanding world of sounds

Version 3.5 marks the beginning of a massive expansion of SampleTank 3's sound content, with exclusive new instruments, patterns and loops. 11 new sound collections covering a wide range of electronic music production styles are now available for SampleTank 3 and SampleTank 3 SE. The new sounds are split between 2 different series: The Elektronika Series contains construction kit loops of the most popular electronic dance music genres of today. The Beats Series contains drums, percussion, special effect sounds and MIDI patterns tailored to meet modern producer's needs. The new Elektronika titles feature 8 genre-specific sound libraries. Each of these libraries include over 250 high-quality combinable construction loops that cover every layer of electronic dance music production: drums, grooves, basslines, melodies, stabs, effects and more, designed to take full advantage of SampleTank 3's loop manipulation features. Genres include: Chillout, Deep House, Drum'n'Bass, Hardcore, Indie Dance, Minimal, Techno, Trance. Check out the library descriptions for further details.

The Beats Series titles feature 3 new libraries comprised of one-shots and construction kits - with 20 sound kits and 120 MIDI patterns, for a total of 250 MB each - that are suited for everything from the head-nodding boom-bap of hip-hop to the hands-in-the-air euphoria of stadium EDM. Specifically designed for pad controller playing, these new choices include: Nanotube, NRG, and Power Up. Check out the library descriptions for further details. These three new libraries join The Grid — a beatmaker-centric collection of electronic rhythms and loops released with iRig Pads — to give The Beats Series a total of 4 available titles. And, thanks to SampleTank 3's powerful loop and pattern synchronization features, musicians can mix-and-match elements of all Beats and Elektronika libraries to create millions of different, unique and inspiring groove combinations. SampleTank 3 now offers a total of 12 exciting sound libraries for electronic dance music producers and beatmakers. However, stay tuned as IK will be releasing a continuous monthly stream of new libraries, covering all fields of music from acoustic to electronic and beyond.

A-la-carte sounds

All the new sounds are available for purchase via the IK online store. Alternatively, they can also be directly purchased from within SampleTank 3 itself thanks to its new integration with the IK Custom Shop. First launched in 2011 for AmpliTube and then T-RackS, and with an active community of over 1,000,000 registered users, the IK Custom Shop is the most convenient way for musicians to purchase inspiring new IK Multimedia gear while using their favorite software or plug-ins. Users can now browse, preview and download this world of new expansion content directly from within SampleTank 3. And since it's a part of the Custom Shop, every new sound collection is also available for purchase via the same Gear Credits used for T-RackS and AmpliTube. It has an easy-to-use interface and visually rich categories menu that displays sound libraries as Instruments, Loops, Beats, MIDI patterns and Collections - with full audio demos for each library. Beyond this, SampleTank 3 FREE users can now upgrade to SampleTank 3 SE or the full version, and SE users can upgrade to the full version seamlessly from within Custom Shop.

Play well together

These new sounds have also been designed to be experienced with IK's growing range of companion hardware controllers. The new Beats Series is perfect for IK's iRig Pads groove production controller, thanks to its effortlessly deep integration with SampleTank 3's workflow. Traditional keyboard players will also find that the portability and universality of IK's iRig Keys or iRig Keys PRO can't be matched when it comes to playing SampleTank 3 while on the go, anytime and everywhere.

We're listening

IK Multimedia values the feedback of its community, which is why we've implemented a number of features requested by producers and musicians who use SampleTank 3 to empower their daily creative lives. There is now a new favorites system, which lets musicians star and store the sounds they use most. SampleTank 3 instruments can now also be browsed using the arrow keys on any conventional computer keyboard, which makes finding that perfect sound as easy as hitting a key. In addition to these requested updates, SampleTank 3 also amps up its already gorgeous aesthetics via a new organizational system that uses banners to graphically display its libraries. Now it's even easier to find the right sound, right when it's needed.

More features, same price, free update

The latest update to SampleTank 3 is complimentary for current users of all existing SampleTank 3 versions. SampleTank 3 and SampleTank 3 SE users can purchase the new Beats Series and Elektronika Series sound libraries from the IK online store for $39.99 each or 50 Gear Credits in the IK Custom Shop. The SampleTank 3 full version is available now via the IK online store and select music instrument retailers, with upgrades starting at $199.99 and for $349.99 for new users. SampleTank 3 SE, a fully functional and expandable affordable special edition with 6.5GB of sounds, is available for just $99.99 (all prices excluding taxes).

[musicman691]

Thanks Peter for the notice. Did IK send out anything on this? Received nothing on this even though I am signed up to receive regular IK emails as well as the newsletter.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Thanks Peter for the notice. Did IK send out anything on this? Received nothing on this even though I am signed up to receive regular IK emails as well as the newsletter.

Yes, it has not completed so you may not have received it yet. If you don't let support know and they'll take a look and make sure everything is set correctly for you going forward.

[Top Jimmy]

Peter, Sampletank 3 still needs a resizable window and the browser needs to be much larger. Now that you're grouping sounds by collections that show up in the instrument browser, imported libraries should no longer be in a subfolder within the Sampletank 3 collection, but should be collections unto themselves. Currently, navigating to the Miroslav, SampleMoog, SampleTron and Sonik Synth 2 libraries is frustrating.

The browser navigation needs to be changed too. Opening folder within folder and having the list just keep getting longer is the worst. If I open a folder, the browser should only show what's in that folder and there needs to be navigation buttons to move forward, back and to the top level.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Peter - IK Multimedia

Yes, it has not completed so you may not have received it yet. If you don't let support know and they'll take a look and make sure everything is set correctly for you going forward.

I've contacted support a couple of times about not getting the newsletter emails and supposedly they fixed it but if they have and IK has sent out newsletters I've not received anything. Getting tired of trying to solve this and nothing happens. I think IK's newsletter system is broken.

OTOH the download and update went swimmingly. Something to mention and it's easy to miss is the library has to be updated as well by the end user and that's NOT a small download (approx 1.4 gig) compared to the program update itself.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

Peter, Sampletank 3 still needs a resizable window and the browser needs to be much larger. Now that you're grouping sounds by collections that show up in the instrument browser, imported libraries should no longer be in a subfolder within the Sampletank 3 collection, but should be collections unto themselves. Currently, navigating to the Miroslav, SampleMoog, SampleTron and Sonik Synth 2 libraries is frustrating.

The browser navigation needs to be changed too. Opening folder within folder and having the list just keep getting longer is the worst. If I open a folder, the browser should only show what's in that folder and there needs to be navigation buttons to move forward, back and to the top level.

Have you mentioned this in the IK forums? I think there's a thread going for feature requests in ST3.

Next thing I'm waiting for is the highly anticipated Amplitube 4!

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Those piano samples sound amazingly convincing.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Originally Posted by TonyFlyingSquirrel

Those piano samples sound amazingly convincing.

Thank you!

[chrisdee]

I'v downloaded and installed the update and the new content but where do I find the new content when I open SampleTank?
Can't se it anywhere.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by chrisdee

I'v downloaded and installed the update and the new content but where do I find the new content when I open SampleTank?
Can't se it anywhere.

It's not flagged as new content so you'd have to specifically look for it by name in the patch browser.