SampleTank alternatives

[Meteo Xavier]

I have had enough with soundfonts and I want real instrumentation in my computer work. SampleTank is what I'd like to go with, but its frustratingly expensive and its too much for my computer to handle. I have looked at PlugsoundPro ($299) and it looks decent, but I haven't heard anything about it (I've only discovered it 5 minutes ago)

Any recommendations or ideas? Thanks again.

[zircon]

So you just want an all-around soundset? Well, you could always try Native Instruments' "Bandstand" or Steinberg's "Hypersonic". Other than that I really can't think of anything offhand. You could call up the folks at sweetwater and see if they have any recommendations.

[Meteo Xavier]

Do you use any of those for your mixes?

[zircon]

No. I had a considerable amount of money (on the order of $2500) to begin setting up my studio, so I was able to get a lot of good stuff right off the bat. From that point, I have simply bought additional things to round out areas that are weak. My first purchase was a new computer ($1500) and the next one was Komplete 2 ($900) which came with a ton of samples by itself.

I suppose I COULD recommend Kompakt as another all-around sound module. I have it and use it pretty regularly, so does Mythril. It's not the strongest in any one area but it has a fairly nice variety of stuff.

[Meteo Xavier]

I'm listening to sound samples of Kompakt on zzsounds.com and you have pleased me with recommending this product. I'll have to sell the Chroma Polaris to fund this. Are the presets going to sound this good, or will I have to screw around with the knobs and such for a while before I get something that sounds as good as these samples? I have the sound modeling skills of a loose strand of DNA.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--NINKOMPAKT

And thank you again if I didn't say it already.

Edit: Wait, is this a VST? Will this work for Fruit Loops you think?

[Splunkle]

Edit: Wait, is this a VST? Will this work for Fruit Loops you think?

Yes. From the Fruity loops help file:

Open architecture allowing third-party instruments (enhanced proprietary FL instruments standard, VSTi and DXi2) and effects (enhanced proprietary FL effects standard, VST, VST2 and DirectX).

[DZComposer]

Another nice thing about Kompakt is that if you later decide that you want the power of Kontakt 2 (NI's high-end sampler) you are eligible for the cross-grade price. If you shop around, you can get a good deal. I got the cross-grade for $200.

Kompakt can load many sampler formats as-is, so you can always build upon the samples that come with it. Of course, libraries are sold seperately and can get expensive themselves.

Also, you'll save a few bucks here (It's going for $179): http://www.audiomidi.com/Kompakt-P3576.aspx

That's the same place I got Kontakt from.

[Meteo Xavier]

God bless you people. You have very helpful to this frustrated quasi-musician.