IMHO putting sampletank in the same category as Kontakt would be like comparing sample based multitimbral workstation synths of the time to samplers like the akai s1000 or emu samplers in their heyday. Kontakt is an industry standard but just not the same thing as sampletank. Anyone who regularly uses both would not likely use them for the same thing.

dubdisciple
IMHO putting sampletank in the same category as Kontakt would be like comparing sample based multitimbral workstation synths of the time to samplers like the akai s1000 or emu samplers in their heyday. Kontakt is an industry standard but just not the same thing as sampletank. Anyone who regularly uses both would not likely use them for the same thing.

Why is that. What are the major differences. What can one do that the other cannot. I would have thought if you had Kontakt you would not need much else. I don't own either so I am genuinely interested. I use hardware to do this type of work and only have very different and interesting VST's to compliment.
 
Sampletank 3 is not that cheap actually so it needs to offer something different. Is Kontakt the better instrument for not a lot more.

I'd consider UVI Workstation as a closer competitor for ST.
 
Not that Kontakt cannot do what ST does, but it isn't necessarily optimized for that.
IMHO it's like comparing heavy artillery with a Swiss army knife. 
 
That's a perception, of course. Anyway, me I'm an EXS-24 man forever. ;)

Rain, UVI is probably a better comparison but still not quite the same.   The editing abilities alone make Kontakt in another league. In theory a person could create world class instruments on their own for Kontakt if they have the sampling resources and skill.  Although you can import your own samples into ST3 it's more akin to hardware workstaions that offer a sampling option versus a dedicated sampler.  Kontakt could do what ST3 does in the same way a muli-output/channel sampler could do what a hardware workstation could do but , as you stated, not optimized for that.
 
If I had EXS-24, sampletank would seem very redundant since it is optimized to work so well with Logic in a way tha tis integrated well into the program.  It is far more powerful than the average newbie realizes , yet it is Garage band-like easy to insert any instrument into your project.  With that said, my students have found a niche for sampletank even though we use logic

There is a function overlap between Kontakt and Sampletank 3, but they are designed with different priorities. Sampletank seems to be aimed more towards live preformance, a look at the tutorial videos will make that clear.
 
For people using it in a DAW, its closer to Dimension Pro than Kontakt, OK its multi timberal and has built in effects, but in a DAW that does not count for much. Key switch implimetation on the factory sounds seems quite basic.
 
It does not have the scripting of Kontakt or Mach 5 so we are unlikley to see any really outstanding guitars or other instruments that are highly dependent on scripts.
 
The factory library is decent, possibly better than Kontakt in some areas. Independence Pro still has the best factory library IMHO.

Guitarpima
Well, I downloaded it and the sound it pretty good. I don't know if the program is usable though. Just using it in standalone was ridiculous. There is about a 3 or 4 second delay from hitting the keyboard and hearing the note. so, useless there. I haven't tried it in a project so it remains to be seen if it works well there.

Check the Audio/MIDI settings.  Choose your audio interface and change the Audio Buffer Size setting as necessary and you should be able to experience normal playability.  If this still does not help, our support team would be happy to help you at http://www.ikmultimedia.com/contact-support as this is definitely not the normal behavior of course.

I downloaded ST3 Free yesterday. Now, I run some pretty big projects with tons of Vst fx and Vstis. The CPU hit of just the piano ate so much CPU it should have burped after the consumption! I had to turn off all of the processing, EQ, Lid adjustment, reverb, etc. to even get it down to useable in a project that normally runs like a bat out of h-e-double hockey sticks.
I won't be using ST3 very much, if even at all. BTW, the piano was good but nothing to write home about. I guess I'll stick with AK for now. I will stick with it to see if any of the other free instruments are worth keeping it for. In my book, Kontakt still rules.

Larry,
Just for the record, I couldn't agree with you more!

IK_Multimedia
 
If the cost of upgrading to SampleTank 3 is found unreasonable by some, I understand that perhaps these libraries did not give them enough satisfaction and/or income to recoup the investment over the years of use for those individuals and they have a right to feel this way. What I don't agree with is that this major version release (and what we feel is an extremely reasonable upgrade path to this release) negates any or all of the value and use over the years that the previous libraries were in their possession or that it is a malicious act in any way, shape, or form.
 
I hope that helps.
 
(just edited to put paragraph breaks back in)

It's not that the upgrade price is unreasonable, but it's more of paying twice for products I already have........just to be able to use the "facelifted" 64bit interface.
 
The only place where feelings would be involved (IMO), would be (after purchasing all available IK softsynths and all the available libraries to make this my GOTO product) in IK not providing any 64 bit support for any of these products unless you pay for it as an upgrade. This is where I feel there's not any loyalty to us long time customers. Yes, there are workarounds (purchasing J-bridge) to get it to work in a x64 sys, but it certainly looks like IK  just "threw us under the bus" by dropping support on the products they promoted/advertised so vigorously in order to make a sale. This is where it "negates all of the value and use over the years" as I now have to purchase an additional item in order to get it to work as intended.  

SampleTank 3 is far more than a "face lift" and SampleTank 2.x products were never sold as anything but 32-bit products, and had a very long lifespan as such.  I am sorry but I don't see how you are paying twice for something when you got exactly what you paid for when you purchased and used SampleTank products in their 32-bit form (as mentioned - and at the core of what I'm seeing in many posts - for years in many cases).  They served well doing exactly what was stated on the tin, and for quite a long time for the long-term customers that I see expressing disdain for having to upgrade.
 
We stated that SampleTank 3 would be the 64-bit version, was a major update not just a 64-bit version by any means, and that the long-in-the-tooth 32-bit libraries would need to be imported into it to run in 64-bit.  We did provide 64-bit upgrades to T-RackS and AmpliTube as they were far more recently-updated products and thought we were clear about the major changes to the SampleTank line.  We did post an explanation before SampleTank 3 was released, so we could be as clear as possible, on our forum to clear up some questions that were being asked too:  Why SampleTank 3 for 64-bit? An explanation.
 
I understand you disagree with the above, and you most certainly have that right and the right to your own opinion on the matter.