Sure, the basic layout is very much like the parent product, but subtle graphic tweaks have been made, the most obvious being the colour scheme - gone is ST orange. Whereas the original Sonic Synth just looked like Sampletank, the new product has its own look and feel, beyond swapping a 'c' for a 'k' in its name. Sonic Synth was covered in November 2002:Īnd finally, Sampletank 2 had its outing in February 2004: The first Sampletank review was in August 2001: You can track the evolution of Sampletank and Sonic/Sonik Synth yourself by tracking down the SOS reviews. In all, 8GB of samples is provided, on two DVDs (the cross-platform installer has its own CD-ROM). But a healthy selection of bread-and-butter sounds is also provided, also all new and created by Sonic Reality. The focus of this first release is classic synths: a veritable museum of instruments has been sampled during the creation of this set. SONIK SYNTH PATCHThe first result of this closer relationship is Sonik Synth 2, one of an impending series of specialised sample and patch sets created by SR that are played back by a modified version of the latest Sampletank engine. You might call it a 'strategic alliance' if you were writing their press release. This all-new set of samples and patches came with a playback version of Sampletank.įast-forward to now, and not only has Sampletank morphed into an even more serious instrument - version 2 offers improved effects, many more editing options, comprehensive user sample import and some funky loop-manipulation options - but we discover that Sonic Reality's relationship with IKM has grown rather more close. For example, American sample-library wizards Sonic Reality released a collection dubbed Sonic Synth back in 2002. The engine itself became a vehicle for other IKM and third-party sound sets. Initially at least, editability was not a high priority, and the basic samples were not upgradeable by the user (the XL version offered basic Akai sample library import, though), but the system wasn't exactly closed. As a result, IK's software has won an enthusiastic customer base. When IK Multimedia's Sampletank hit our computers a few years ago, its novel aim was to function as a plug-in alternative to the standard multitimbral sound module. Few other plug-ins provided such a broad-based sample collection, organised to give users the basic sounds necessary for day-to-day sequencing work. The latest instrument plug-in from IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality packages eight Gigabytes of samples, mostly from a huge range of classic synths, in IK's Sampletank front end. Highlighted is one of the excellent acoustic drum kits note the handy little 'library' graphic to the right of the display. Still, it’s encouraging to see product support start to fill out - at about six months in, which really isn’t all that atypical for music support on any major OS release.Everthing you need to know about, or do with, Sonik Synth 2 is done from this window. SONIK SYNTH UPDATEI would think we’re likely to see a cycle that starts with fixes and adds features in a later update (a la XP SP2). Updated: Microsoft is in fact promising an SP1 update, though there’s no date and not a whole lot of detail about what’s in it just yet. It’ll be interesting to see if an SP1 update (still not formally announced by Microsoft) might turn sentiments around. I’d say we’re not just getting a lag, but a general lack of interest. SONIK SYNTH UPGRADEThat to me is disappointing, regardless of how you feel about Vista itself, in that we were promised this upgrade would be significant to the music community. That’s not to say some people aren’t happily chugging away on Vista, but there certainly isn’t a sense among many third parties that this is an essential upgrade for music. SONIK SYNTH FULLIt’s also worth noting that a full six months after the Vista launch, many music vendors still stop short of recommending Vista. SONIK SYNTH DRIVERSoftware compatibility generally hasn’t been as much of an issue as driver compatibility on Vista we’ve been watching as M-Audio drivers, for one, have slowly crept in. These are not only tested, but certified under Microsoft’s “Works with Windows Vista” program. The latest versions work if you have an older version, your mileage may vary: IK Multimedia says its whole product line is now ready for Vista, fully tested across the software line. All along the watchtower, Princes kept the Vista: IK’s Hendrix software emulation, now on the newest Windows.
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