Sample Tank & Live

IK-Multimedia has a group-buy for their Xpansion Tank 2, including some titles, depending on how many participants will join. It’s a really good offer – even if they stole the concept from Image-Line (the company behind FLStudio), so I joined and have 5 sample libraries extra, waiting for the sixth.

Since Sample Tank works as stand alone ánd as a VST, I supposed it would work with my DAWs. FLStudio has no problems finding Sample Tank, neither Energy XT, but Ableton Live unfortunately didn’t work with ST: it simply couldn’t find the dll in the plugin folder. 🙁 A deep shame for such a rather expensive program. Especially when you can read that they are aware of the problem.
On the user’s forum “necho” wrote:

Yeah – there is a lot to be said for sticking with Live (especially if you have the Suite). I think Live makes most sense when you don’t use any plugins – its all about workflow, and the more native Live stuff you use, the more it flows.

I think this is unacceptable: The reason why I’ve abandoned Reason is because it is a closed application, no third party synths allowed. FLStudio and EnergyXT (which is a lot cheaper than Live) don’t have any problems with plugins. Of course it is possible to use EnergyXT or FLStudio as a slave so I can rewire SampleTank and then use it in Live, but why should this be necessary?

All these troubles couldn’t prevent me buying Max for Live, Live’s new product that

puts the power and potential of Max/MSP inside Live. Create all the instruments, effects and extensions you’ve ever wanted. Go beyond the common and predictable, and transcend the limits that conventional tools impose. Build completely unique synths and effects, create algorithmic composition tools, or fuse Live and controller hardware into radical, new music machines. Join a society of makers and share ingenuity. Max for Live was co-developed by Ableton and Cycling ’74.