Why I bit on Sampletank 3

I don't think any software product generates as much passionate response as ST3. It even gets mentioned in threads not direcly about it like referring to it as "septic tank". I pre-ordered despite a few reservations.

For starters, I wholeheartedly agree that ST3 is years late in coming and unfulfilled promises did not help. On a personal level I am VERY annoyed that multiple messages to them were ignored here and on their site. I also know some of the exchanges here could have been handled better but I cut some slack because people tend to eventually lash out when getting perpetually bombarded on multiple fronts by an angry mob.

I upgraded mostly because there is nothing else in my budget at the moment that has the cross-genre capability with minimal tweaking out the box as ST3. If I had Komplete I would probably not bother. If ST2.5 worked consistently in X3 I would probably skip. If Dimension Pro was multi-timbral I wodul likely not bother. What it comes down to is it fills a gaping hole in my workflow. I know some will chalk it up to GAS or fanboy syndrome but I'm not all that impressed. It's GREAT product 5 years ago but probably just a good one now, but it does offer a vast workstation at decent price.

bapu
I do hope it is everything you need and more.

it's never enough but thanks

I certainly can't argue with any of that. I guess in my old age I am starting to figure out that it is very difficult to buy from ONLY companies who's policies I agree with I would have few options. I HATE Adobe's policies but have not thought of a suitable replacement for what I do. The only products for compositing that are equal or better cost thousands more. Before biting . I seriously considered other options, especially after being ignored. The one option I considered most was getting a Mac and using Logic's excellent sampler.
I still think dropping the free version is huge mistake and likely the reason third party sample packs are not lining up with new ST3 releases.

This is why this is the funnest forum. Lots of debate but little rancor. going against CCLarry is like ignoring Babe Ruth on battings... but I'm a newbie and I think ST3 sounds cool and I can get it for a 100 bucks.
Oh and because I like lists of instruments (http://bigcatlists.blogspot.com/). I made a short list of the stuff I could find that was in ST3 based on pictures, demos and descriptions.

Pianos
There are 5 Acoustic Pianos. Presumably Yamaha Grand, Baby Grand and Upright and Steinway Grand.
Here's a patch list.
Baby Grand
Grand Piano 1
Grand Piano Eco
Grand Piano 1 SE
Grand Piano 2
Grand Piano 2 Eco
Honky Tonk Piano
Jazz Upright
Jazz Upright Eco
Modern Grand Piano
Natural Grand Piano 1
Natural Grand Piano 2

E Piano
There are 12 Electric Pianos.
Cembalet II
Dyno E Piano
Electric Grand 1
Electric Grand 2
FM EP 1
FM EP 2
Pianet
Stage Electric Piano
Suitcase Electric Piano
Vintage EP
Wurly Stage Piano
Wurly Suitcase

Organs
There are 25 Organs
3 Drawbar Organ
4 Drawbars B
Cathedral Organ 1
Cathedral Organ 2
Cathedral Organ 3
Combo Organ 1
Combo Organ 2
Combo Organ 3
Full Drawbars A
Pipe Organ Full
Pipe Organ Positiv
Pump Organ

Acoustic Guitars
There are 6 Acoustic Guitars.
12 String Acoustic
Nylon String 1
Nylon String 2
Steel String 1
Steel String 2
Steel String 3

Electric Guitars
There are 5 Electric Guitars.
Humbucker 175
Humbucker 345
Humbucker LP
Single Coil STR1
Single Coil STR 2
(Pedal Steel not included)

Basses
There are 10 Electric Basses.
There is A Jazz Double Bass.
Finger 4001 F
Finger 4001 F+R
Finger 4001 R
Finger Fretless Bass
Finger Hollow
Finger JBass 1
Finger PBass
Finger PBase Flatw
Finger Soft Fretless JBass
Finger String5
Finger Studio Bass
Palm PBass Flatw
Percussive Bass
Pick 4001 F+R
Pick Hollow
Pick JBass 2
Pick PBass
Pick PBass Flatw
Pick String5
Slap + Pull JBass 1
Slap + Pull PBass
Slap + Pull Studio Bass
Slap + Pull String5
Soft Pull PBass

Synth Bass
There are 91 Synth Bass sample sets

Acoustic Drums
There are Five Acoustic Sets.
There are separate snares, kicks, toms, hi-hats, ride cymbal and crash cymbals sample sets.
There are midi patterns for Blues, Country, Funky, Metal, Pop, Punk and Rock.
Alt Rock Kit
Brush Kit
Jazz Kit
Metal Kit
Pop Rock Kit
Kick Menu
Snare Menu
Kit Components
> Crash Cymbal Sets
> Hi-Hat Sets
> Kick Drum Sets
> Ride Cymbal Sets
> Snare Drum Sets
> Toms Sets

Electronic Drum Sets
55 Electronic Drum Sets
They will cover EDM, Dance, Dirty Sound, East Coast, Electro, Old Skool, R&B, Reggaeton, Soulful House, Tech House and West Coast.

Chromatic
There are 8 Chromatic Instruments.
Harpsichord
Vibraphone
Xylophone
Marimba
Glockenspiel
Clavinets

String Instruments
There are 17 string instruments.
Solo Violin
Solo Viola
Solo Cello
Solo Contrabass
4 Violins
11 Violins
> Pizz 1
> Pizz 2
> Soft
> Stacc Short
> Staccato
> SulPonte Fast
> SulPointe Slw
> SulPointe Trem
23 Violins
Cello Ensemble
Viola Ensemble
Contrabass Ensemble
Cello plus Contrabass
Full Strings
Orchestra

Brass Instruments
There are 19 Brass instruments
There are 70 samples sets that cover everything from Pop to Jazz to Orchestral.
Miroslav Philharmonik French Horn
Miroslav Philharmonik Flugelhorn
Miroslav Philharmonik Trombone
Miroslav Philharmonik Bass Trombone
Miroslav Philharmonik Trumpet
Miroslav Philharmonik Muted Trumpet
Miroslav Philharmonik Tuba
Miroslav Philharmonik Muted Tuba
Miroslav Philharmonik Trumpet Ensemble
Miroslav Philharmonik Trombone Ensemble
Pop Trumpet
Pop Mute Trumpet
Pop Tenor Trombone
Pop Bass Trombone
Pop Piccolo Trumpet
also Pop Solo and Brass ensembles

Woodwinds
There are 14 Woodwinds
There are 75 sample sets
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
Flute
Bass Flute
English Horn
Oboe and Piccolo with Bassoons
Flute Section
Clarinets Section
Alto Sax
Baritone Sax
Soprano Sax
Tenor Sax

Synth Lead

Synth Pad
There are 51 Synth Pad sample sets.
Goblins
J-6 Pad
> Juniper Pad
J-8 Strings
J-60 Strings
> Juneau Lush
> Juneau Strings
> Juneau Warm Pad
Marktree
Mega Motion 1
Mega Motion 2
Mega Motion 3
Mega Motion 4
Motion Crystalline
Motion Harmonics
Motion Hollow
Octave Pad
RF Strings
String Machines
Super Motion
Syn String
Sync Sweep
Warm Profit Pad

Synth FX
There are 400 Synth FX Sounds.

Voice
There are 84 Voice single sample sets derived from Soloist Ensembles and 40 Voice Choir.
8 Voice Choir
Gospel Choir Whoa
Gospel Choir Mmm
Gospel Choir Ah
Gospel Choir Hum

Ethnic
There are 42 ethnic sample sets.
Accordion
Banjo
Bouzouki
Cumbus
Gu Zheng Picked
Gu Zheng Strums
Gu Zheng Trem and Tail
Dulcimer
Santour
Tamboura
Electric Sitar
Arabic Oud
Turkish Oud
Turkish Saz
Anklungs
Log Drums
Kalimba
Gamelan
Tibetan Bowls
Tibetan Bells
Tibetan Temple Bells
Tibetan Temple Gong
Tibetan Ting Shaw
Crotales
Indian Horn
Poongi Snake Charmer Flute
Conch Shell
Indian Bamboo Flute
Native American Flute
Irish Pennywhistle
Chinese Ocarina
Bag Pipes
Balalaika
Bottle Blow
Koto
Mandolin
Pan Pipe
Shamisen
Sitar
Tamboura

Percussion
Agogo Bells
Bongo
Cabasa
Cajon
Castanets
Claves
Congas
Afro-Cuban Latin Congas
Cowbells
Cuica
Djembe
Dumbek
Guiro
Maracas
Shekere
Studio Shaker
Tambourines
Vibra Slap
Woodblock
Samba Whistles
Sleigh Bells
Marktree
Timbales
Triangles
Tablas
Udu

Sound Effects
Including these categories
Birds
Explosions
Gunshots
Jungle sounds
Rain sounds
River sounds
Water sounds
Pink Noise
White Noise
Zaps

Loops
2,500 loop samples organized in over 100 instruments
Drum Grooves including Funk, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B and Pop
Worldly Loops including Salsa, Merengue, Rumba and Bolero
EDM, Dubstep, Hip-Hop, House, Reggae and Reggaeton construction kits

SampleTank 2 XL sounds
All original Sample Tank 2 XL sounds will be included.

SampleTank 3 was created to further the SampleTank flagship product line, not to imitate or be some "[insert product name] killer" so I'm glad that those who were looking for that have proper expectations for what SampleTank 3 will provide and do for them.  Making informed purchases is always a good thing, glad to see many of those on board understand what the SampleTank line is meant to be.  It will be an excellent upgrade to a flagship product, and will continue to be a unique offering of great value to many that need what it provides to them.  Only a few days left to get the preorder pricing - details at http://www.ikmultimedia.com/news/?item_id=4328

I got ST in a package deal that was offered along with other IK products I wanted. Would I have bought ST alone. No.

But when I got it in that package deal, they gave me everything. I mean everything!! I got it for a steal.

I bit because for $99, it's a good buy for me. Plain and simple. I am also looking forward to the new UI. That old one is.....bad.

Larry you look at their "icrap stuff" with disdain. I look at it as good for IK. They can make a ton of money off of it. And still develop the products I want and sell it to me at a fantastic price. The way I look at it is us PC customers are in a win/win situation.

And dub I am with you. ST3 is going to serve my needs very well.

Larry, you and I went around that corner before. I remember! 😊😊

I understand your position. And respect you for your stance.

I just gave my view on it from where I stand.

Not trying to get you riled up. 😊😊

I don't think they will offer it at bargain basement prices until after Christmas.

It's all good Larry. We alright in my book!!

Actually, it seems like a home run from what we're seeing here but I understand that even a post that contains zero "snark" or similar "tone" of which we've been accused of in the past would be met with multiple snarky replies anyway.  Larry, I'm glad that you have decided that SampleTank 3 is not for you at this juncture, not because I would not want you to have and enjoy a product we make (as you do give compliments where you feel due about our products - edit, and you continue to post links to great deals on our products, both of which show a great deal about your good character which I fully respect) but because I wouldn't want to see you disappointed any more than you already are with the time it has taken etc.  I do wish you success and hope that going forward our success doesn't give you such grief as it appears to do right.  Let's hope time will heal wounds and we can all move on.
 
For those that would like to move on with SampleTank 3 in their toolbox - the preorder pricing is done soon and details can be found at http://www.ikmultimedia.com/news/?item_id=4328

PS...in regards to the "wounds" IK...unless you plan on giving a 
$2,000.00 refund or free copy of ST 3...I don't think that one's going
to heal...just to be clear....

I'm actually looking forward to getting to play with it this weekend. May even sequester myself in studio.

dubdisciple
And although it sucks that ot was delayed, I'm of the school of thought thay I would rather it be right than quick if I have to choose. I suspect if they released it earlier it would have been a far less significant upgrade.

Sometimes I think software companies can't win. If they release an upgarde annually theuvare accused of "milking customers for money for features that should have been in the last one". Fore it always comes down to did I get what I paid for. Most obvioisly felt they got what they paid for enough to even expand on that product. Not one person bought 2 or 2.5 with the expectation that 3 would be free.

I think a 5 year delay is just ever so slightly excessive...but that's just me Dub...

I won't deny that, but to put it into perspective, in thay time I have upgraded photoshop about 4 times and only the latest contains something truly worthwile for my use. I guess if ST 2.5 became obsolete to you 5 years ago you were horribly screwed. I know people who still use ST2.x now making contemporary music. My son loves it. I used it for our xmas EP and it sounded great.

I really do see why you are ticked and it looks like IK lost you as a customer, but I guess I did not ever feel cheated in the same way you did.

Lmao..It would be the ultimate irony if larry got an endorsement deal from IK

Kind of like people who bough laser discs (dating myself).

cclarry
There's the pitch...but it's a swing and a miss....

Excellent "Babe Ruth" analogy there Larry.