Installing & using Sound Tank samples & Rex Collec

[alexbutterfield]

I have the Mbox 2. I'm using it with an iMac G5, 1.8 gHz. My software is on the iMac's hard drive and my session files are on an external hard drive.

Where do I put the Sound Tank samples folders and how do I then access and use them in Pro Tools LE? I don't find any manual or directions on the Sound Tank disc.

Similarly, where do I put the Deus Ex machina Rex Collection loops and how do I access them in PT LE?

Thanks.

[spkguitar]

Same question from Your old thread

You mean to tell me after almost a whole year, you haven't figured this out? Holy Cow, man!

First, it's not Sound Tank, it's SampleTank, and SampleTank is a plugin; it requires installation. Installation instructions for Sampletank are included on the disk in a PDF titled "ST2 SE Installation Manual.pdf". The directions are very straightforward. Samples for SampleTank can be stored in the default installation location, or a location on your hard drive of your choosing. (In your case, I would recommend the default location).

As for the REX files, you can copy them to a hard drive if you like, but there's no real reason to do that. You can import them into any session directly from the CD. You would use them as you would any other REX files. Importing REX files is covered in Chapter 12 of the Reference Guide, which is available as a PDF after installing the Pro Tools software.

[alexbutterfield]

I went to my Pro Tools reference guide. There was nothing in Chapter 12 that answered or addressed my question.

The reason that I'm posting a new thread on this same topic is that I didn't get the answer I needed the last time I posted. Perhaps I should say that I am a complete novice to the use of samples and loops in recording. I'm a rock n roller. But not a dogmatic one. I got a MIDI controller last September and I want to explore incorporating the use of samples and maybe loops to make my songs more psychedelic.

But the point is, I have NEVER imported REX files into a song--and I don't find REX files mentioned in the index of the PT Reference guide--so writing, "You would use them as you would any other REX files," is of absolutely no help.

Also. If you are going to be sarcastic and snarky you should at least get your facts straight. Otherwise, as in this case, you risk looking stupid as well as obnoxious. When I wrote "Sound Tank," I meant Sound Tank. It was a DVD that was bundled with Mbox 2--it says it includes Vols. 1, 2, 3. It is a totally different thing from SampleTank. It appears to be loaded with samples and loops.

So again, the question is: How does one "play" the samples or audition the loops? What is the usual process or procedure for using resources like BFD drums, REX collective files and Sound Tank (NOT SampleTank) loops and samples?

Thanks to anyone who can offer non-sarcastic, non-obnoxious advice.

[spkguitar]

I went to my Pro Tools reference guide. There was nothing in Chapter 12 that answered or addressed my question.

Perhaps you are using an older version of Pro Tools? You never mentioned which version of Pro Tools you were using, so I assumed you were using the latest version, 7.3. In Chapter 12 of the 7.3 guide is the information I was referring to. It's hard to give you proper advice when you aren't giving enough information to give it to you.

But the point is, I have NEVER imported REX files into a song--and I don't find REX files mentioned in the index of the PT Reference guide--so writing, "You would use them as you would any other REX files," is of absolutely no help.

Perhaps an understanding of what REX files are would help? A definition of REX/ACID files on my website. Whether or not you have used them before doesn't matter, but whether or not you have the right tools to do so does, and this goes back to the lack of information. Do you have Reason Adapted? If so, load adapted into a session, and then load the rex files into DrRex in Adapted.

So again, the question is: How does one "play" the samples or audition the loops?

A lot of this answer, as you have discovered, depends on what version of Pro Tools you are using, and what other peripheral software you have installed and available. Since, again, you have not mentioned which version or what other software you have at your disposal, it's very difficult (for me at this moment anyway) to give you an appropriate "non-sarcastic, non-obnoxious" answer.

In newer versions of Pro Tools, you would audition the loops in the workspace, and then import them into a tick based audio track. In older versions of Pro Tools, if you want to use REX files, you need to load them into a REX capable sample player, such as DrRex in Reason or Reason Adapted.

What is the usual process or procedure for using resources like BFD drums,

BFD is a plugin. You would use it like any other virtual instrument plugin. Before you go calling me "snarky" again, You do know what a plugin is, right? And how to use one?

As for loops and samples, the "usual process" all depends on what kind of loops and samples they are, which version of Pro Tools you have, and what other resources you have at your disposal.

The Sound Tank loops, which are NOT a standard addition or inclusion to the Digidesign hardware, but third party add on that I have only seen provided on eBay, are basic loops in WAV format. They can be used in a sampler, such as SampleTank, Kontakt, nn-19 from Reason Adapted, or they can be used directly on a stereo audio track. Which version of Pro Tools, and how the WAV files were created, will determine if you can use them to their full potential directly in Pro tools or not. You can also use audio loops in audio stretching programs such as Ableton Live, or ACID.

The loops themselves also play a part in this, as some loops are not "ACIDized" or "REXed", meaning they have not been sliced on the beats.

It is up to you to decide what method best suits your purposes, or what method would be easier for you to understand and learn.

So, to review your options, your choices for using loops are;
1. import them directly into Pro Tools audio tracks
2. import them into a sampler

• SampleTank
• Kontakt
• Intakt
• nn-19
• NN-XT
• DrRex

3. Import them into an "elastic audio" program like Ableton Live, or ACID
4. Several other methods that I'm probably overlooking...

[alexbutterfield]

I am presently running PT LE 7.1cs10. I plan on moving to 7.3 but am paying off some other recording-related purchases first (I know it's cheap but $49 is $49 when there other bills to pay--Amplitube 2, Izotope mastering effects bundle. Also, I wanted to haunt the forums a bit to see what folks were saying about 7.3 before taking the plunge. Like, if I upgrade to 7.3 from 7.1cs10, am I going to have to start upgrading large numbers of my plug-ins? I'd like to know that before making a change. Does 7.3 impose more or less on CPU? etc.)

The software I have is Reason Adapted 3, Ableton Live 6.0.3 and SampleTank 2 SE. I have an Edirol PCR-M50 MIDI controller. (I have absolutely no idea how to deal with MIDI control maps but that's beyond the province of this forum, I suppose.)

Yes, I know how to use a plug-in, although I'll confess that I didn't realize BFD was a plug-in. I thought it was a collection of drum samples.

My guess is, given the type of music I play, that I'm more likely to be playing a sampler with my MIDI controller than using loops.

At any rate, thanks for the additional info.