IK Multimedia MAX

doing away with the old-fashioned visuals of ST3
and making every component ininitely prettier
(especially the efects); and the worklow
throughout has been enhanced in terms of
logical layout and general ease of access. The
Browser, for example, now features tag iltering
(Style, Timbre, etc), as well as details of each
sound, including efects and Macro
assignments; and the Part Edit window is a
night-and-day improvement, with graphical
representation and editing of envelopes, LFOs
and ilter response curves, amongst other
tweaks. Hard disk streaming is now supported,
too, for faster loading, but ST4 is fully backward
compatible with older versions, as well as IK’s
other libraries: Syntronik and Miroslav
Philharmonik 2.
IK have had a good stab at making
SampleTank feel more ‘synth-like’ with the
addition of a full-on Modulation Matrix,
expanding exponentially on the established
hardwired mod routings. Up to 32 assignments
can be made for each Instrument, drawing on all
available internal sources (LFOs, envelopes and
Macros), as well as external MIDI streams and
CCs, and targeting all meaningful Zone and
Element parameters, complete with ‘via’
modiiers. It’s a powerful and lexible setup.
In the processing and mixing departments, 13
new efects have been added, bringing the total
to 70. They’re all built on IK’s proven TRackS and
AmpliTube technology and thus sound superb,
and you can now view, adjust and assign Macros
to all ive of an Instrument’s modules together in
a gorgeous new lunchbox rack-style interface
(but not the Send or Master efects, oddly, which
can still only be accessed via the Mixer page).
Players gonna play
On the performance side of things, four new
‘Players’ open up various avenues of MIDI and
audio manipulation, and are catered for in Live
Mode by the addition of a Tempo ield for each
Multi. The Arpeggiator is well appointed for
arpeggiation and sequencing; the Strummer is a
deeply programmable rhythmic chord
strumming engine that works particularly well
with SampleTank 4’s stunning guitar patches;
and the Phraser lets you assign complete MIDI
sequences from the 4000-strong internal
Pattern library, and external MIDI iles (with a bit
of faing), to note triggers. The Loop Manager,
meanwhile, assigns audio loops to triggering
keys, with three distinct algorithms (Resample,
Beats and Stretch) enabling basic control of
pitchshifting and timestretching, and
granularity or harmonic content. This last is the
least obviously useful part of the software, if
we’re honest.
More is more
By far the biggest and most transformative
update to SampleTank yet, ST4 feels so much
more luid, capable and contemporary in its
design than v3 that it would be worth upgrading
just for the new UI, Modulation Matrix and
Player modules alone –particularly the
Strummer. However, that extraordinary sound
library brings incredible sonic range to the
package, too, surely qualifying it as the most
expansive – and, indeed, expensive – ROMpler
ever made. Immense.
Web ikmultimedia.com
Verdict
For Bursting with great sounds
Much better interface than v3
Acoustic and electric instruments are
amazingly expressive
Excellent efects
Arpeggiator and Strummer modules
Against Installation routine is absurd
MAX edition is very expensive
No Multis in main ST4 library
SampleTank hits a new level of reinement
and versatility with its cavernous
soundbank and supercharged interface
9/10
Alternatively
Steinberg HALion 6
243 » 9/10 » £282
Steinberg’s sampler/synth isn’t
short on preset sounds
Native Instruments Kontakt 6
N/A » N/A » £339
With over 1000 instruments, and
the new Play Series ‘synths’
Once you’ve made it through the ordeal
of installation, a vast and – for the most
part – impressive world of
multisampled instrumentation is yours
to command, adding over 200GB of
entirely new material and previously
separate expansion packs to the
SampleTank 3 library (also included).
Recorded at numerous studios
around the world, as well as IK’s new
facility in Modena, the ST4 library
prioritises the depth of its headline
instruments as much as it does the
sheer volume of its sounds. The new
Yamaha C7 grand piano (145GB), with
its multiple mic setups and treatments,
is absolutely beautiful, and the other
keyboards (electric pianos, clavs, etc)
aren’t exactly shabby, either. ST3’s
awesome selection of acoustic and
electric guitars was already a triumph,
but ST4’s 25GB stash trumps it for both
depth and variety.
Similarly, the fresh multi-articulation
strings, brass and woodwinds can be
made to sound wonderfully realistic,
and a ton of drums (12 new acoustic and
107 electronic kits – 65GB) and
percussion provide the source material
for polished beats of all kinds. And for
electronic musicians, a veritable
goldmine of dance music sounds
includes 22GB of colourful new basses,
leads, pads, plucks, sweeps and FX.
In the ’Tank
The Efects Rack at last gives SampleTank’s outstanding
efects the graphical showcase they deserve
SampleTank 4’s
huge library of
sounds will keep
you busy for years
“IK have made
SampleTank feel more
‘synth-like’ with the
addition of a full-on
Modulation Matrix”
June 2019 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 93
ik multimedia sampletank 4 max / reviews <
CMU269.rev_sampletank4.indd 93 4/2/19 9:33 AM