NAMM 2019 News: IK Multimedia SampleTank 4 Announced!

In addition to the new audio interface and speakers, IK Multimedia also presented SampleTank 4 at the NAMM. The new version comes with many new features (huge amount of effects known already from Syntronik, new engine, etc.), over 200 GB of new material (orchestral, piano, synths…) as well as an interface that goes the same direction as Syntronik.

The whole thing looks very tidy and good now. Unfortunately, SampleTank is still not a sampler in V4, but an advanced rompler where you can not import own samples. Many have wished the function, but will probably never come. As IK Multimedia told me, this is not the idea behind SampleTank. Nonetheless, SampleTank 4 looks great from the interface, has a massive library and looking forward to checking it out!

News December 13, 2018

It’s more than a month until the next NAMM show but the first manufacturer already has the first news. IK Multimedia has announced SampleTank 4, a major upgrade of its popular virtual instrument plugin. SampleTank 4 features a new sound engine with efficient hard-disk streaming and new sound design/editing possibilities.

It comes with up to 200GB of new sound content, dynamic groove “players” (arpeggiator, strummer, pattern, loop player), 13 new effects, a new intuitive Mix windows and an improved Live Mode. A nice upgrade in my opinion that brings many new possibilities to this virtual instrument.

Press Release

December 13, 2018 – IK Multimedia announces SampleTank 4, the next generation of IK’s legendary sound and groove workstation that offers professional-quality sounds, an intuitive interface and powerful editing and effects for musicians and producers. This new generation was re-designed from the ground up to be every musician’s “go to” music creation workstation.

Three versions are available: SampleTank 4 SE; SampleTank 4; and SampleTank 4 MAX.

It All Starts With Sound – The Expanded Library

SampleTank 4 offers a massive library of sounds and grooves, with up to 250 GB and 8,000 instrument presets carefully balanced across a wide range of styles, genres and sounds. It contains over 200 GB of new material assembled from dozens of high-quality recording sessions in cities across the U.S. and Europe, including IK’s new custom-built studio in Italy. The new library features high-end recordings of all-new concert pianos, keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, strings, brass, synths, vocals, percussion and more, all with articulations and round robins for the most realistic performance yet, with over 120,000 samples added.

A new stereo grand piano offers multiple microphone sets and carefully blended room mics, to rival the best dedicated piano virtual instruments. A new collection of the most famous electric pianos, organs and keyboards covers everything from classic R&B to modern indie pop. And a massive set of new Synthesizer sounds, using modern hardware instruments, offers a fresh companion to more vintage sounds.

New modern string and brass sections, with multiple musical articulations and deep round robin sampling, were designed to contrast with orchestral sounds rivalling dedicated symphonic libraries. New acoustic and electronic drum kits and loops cover the latest beats straight from the top charts around the world. A timeless library of mallet and chromatic instruments gives tracks vivid melodic percussion with smooth clarity and harmonic brilliance. New basses and guitars offer stunning detail, designed specifically for use with IK’s industry-leading amp modelling effects.

A unique pop choir sound set offers an alternative to typical orchestral choirs, delivering new feel and soul to any recording. Additionally, thanks to SampleTank 4’s new efficient disk-streaming engine, larger sounds are not limited anymore to RAM size and load faster than ever to perform like never before.

Dig Deeper – A Completely Re-Designed Application

SampleTank 4 offers a completely redesigned, fully scalable/zoomable interface that re-sizes conveniently on any type of modern displays. All the interfaces have been redesigned from the ground-up to maintain the ease of use that’s been a staple for SampleTank, for a minimal learning curve and fast workflow that suits the needs of today’s modern producers.

The re-designed Sound Browser lets users browse, filter and search by style, genre and mood to find inspiring sounds quickly. Working with multiple sounds has also been made easier with a new dedicated Layer interface that enables the setting up of layers and split-points for up to 16 simultaneous sounds.

Editing is more powerful, too. Choose from 16 modelled filters, edit envelopes, oscillators, portamento, polyphony and more. Users can edit an entire sound or access individual articulations, zones, or single samples, for the deepest level of control. A new, cutting-edge modulation matrix allows for linking sources like envelopes, LFOs and oscillators to almost any control, for designing intricate soundscapes.

Animate Sounds – Innovative New Dynamic “Groove Players”

Presets can be turned into performances more quickly with four new dynamic “groove players” – an Arpeggiator, Strummer, Phraser and Loop Manager. The Arpeggiator offers a massive range of presets with an option to draw in patterns, set velocity, length, swing and more. The Strummer lets users choose chords, position, direction and more, and then intelligently creates an accompaniment. The Phraser pattern player enables quick browsing and mapping of over 4,000 MIDI patterns. The Loop Manager offers over 7,500 loops that can be mapped to keys and triggered, with controls for pitch, grain and time.

Mix Faster Than Ever

A powerful new Mix window has been added to adjust volume, panning, mute, solo and routing for all 16 tracks simultaneously. It also offers four effects sends and a master bus, with slots for five effects for advanced routing and mixing. New console channel strips give mixes the sound of legendary studio consoles for truly professional results, all within a single plug-in. Convenient access to all effects parameters in-interface allows an entire track to be mixed efficiently in a single window.

The Best Effects Get Even Better

SampleTank 4 adds 13 new effects, for a grand total of 70 studio-quality effects. Effects like these have never before been heard in a virtual instrument – they’re all derived from IK’s industry-leading AmpliTube and T-RackS software. Users can shape their sound with realistic tube saturation, classic analog pedal effects, professional studio processors, creative effects, and more.

More Hands-On Control With iRig Keys I/O

SampleTank 4 now includes seamless integration with IK’s iRig Keys I/O controllers. Users can browse and load sounds, control macros and transport, trigger loops, launch live setups and more directly from iRig Keys I/O, for an entire production set up that’s plug-n-play. Fully MIDI controllable, SampleTank 4 also works with any other standard MIDI controller, be it keyboard or pad.

From The Studio To The Stage

SampleTank 4 makes it easier than ever to hit the stage. A unique, re-designed Live mode offers fingertip-ready controls for live performance and lets users build an entire set list and create song presets. Program change messages can also be assigned to each preset, for switching directly from a controller while performing.

Price & Availability

SampleTank 4 will ship in early 2019, and is available for pre-order from the IK Multimedia online store or from select IK dealers now. Through the end of 2018, IK is offering a special pre-order discount that lets users of any IK product that retails for $/€99.99 and up purchase SampleTank 4 at upgrade pricing for an even further reduced price:

SampleTank 4 SE – An affordably-priced entry into the SampleTank line, offering 2,000 carefully chosen instruments for 30 GB of sounds. SRP $/€149.99* – special pre-order price $/€99.99
SampleTank 4 – Over 100 GB of sounds, including 70 GB of newly recorded material, for 6,000 sounds overall. SRP: $/€299.99* – special pre-order price $/€199.99 – upgrade for only $/€149.99
SampleTank 4 MAX – The largest sample library IK has ever produced, it offers over 250 GB, including 200 GB of all new sounds. That’s over 8,000 sounds in total. SRP $/€499.99 – special pre-order price $/€299.99 – upgrade for only $/€199.99

Any customer who purchases SampleTank 3 SE, SampleTank 3 or SampleTank MAX on or after November 13, 2018, will receive the equivalent version of SampleTank 4 for free at release. Customer who purchases or received any version of SampleTank 3 as part of a hardware or software bundle on or after November 13, 2018, will receive SampleTank 4 SE for free at release.

SampleTank 4 will ship early 2019.

More information here: IK Multimedia

NAMM 2019 News

IK Multimedia SampleTank 4 First Look: New Features, Re-Designed Interface & More Sounds!