SPOTLIGHT: Samplers
Samplers have been raining down on my desk recently so I think it’s only fair that we do a comparison of these instrument killers.
Structure
If your only DAW is Pro Tools then I assume Structure looks rather interesting - and it should. To begin with, the interface of Structure has both goods and bads, and often I can’t really put my finger on whether I like it or not. The main pros is that it looks great, it has MIDI learn and it has quick knobs. The quick knobs are awesome. These are the knobs that are around the piano, you can assign pretty much any parameter to them. Since the plug-in window mostly change in the section above, the quick knobs are easy to access at most times. Awesome. This leads me to the con of the interface. Structure has a lo-ho-hot of windows which can get a little confusing and annoying.
Regarding sample formats, it can indeed import a few but I’ve had problems with this. Some Kontakt patches just don’t work for me. I load the patch and Structure just says it’s empty (but it loads without problems in Kontakt). Just to be clear, this isn’t Kontakt 3 patches, which would be understandable if it happened to them. The amount of formats isn’t very impressive either actually. Make sure your favorite libraries are compatible before you buy.
Speaking of importing, dragging audio files from the session straight into Structure is possible and a great feature in my opinion. I actually don’t use it much, but I think it’s such an intuitive option to have. After hearing about it, it just seemed like no-brainer to me. This basically means you can use Pro Tools editing functions with Structure a lot easier than you would with most other samplers. Strctures own editing functions isn’t all that impressive on the other hand, so I guess the drag’n'drop feature makes up for that.
If you’re really interested in Structures editing features and workflow then I suggest you head over to Digidesigns website and check out the videos there. They can tell you much more than I can in a short review like this.
Sampletank 2
Despite only being on version 2, it seems like Sampletank have been around forever. I assume most of you are familiar with it since a special crippled version of it have been bundled with Pro Tools hardware for quite some time now.
Sampletank to me is more of a virtual instrument than a sampler. It seems to me that IK Multimedia are trying to have you buy only their sounds instead of importing others. They have a big collection of “Powered by Sampletank” instruments, that it just so happens that Sampletank 2 can load. Don’t get me wrong though, it can load .wav, .aiff, SDII, AKAI and SampleCell as well.
Sampletank ships with a fair amount of FX (the standards like reverb, chorus, EQ etc.) and a rather small amount of samples for todays standard. The included sounds are in Sampletank instrument form so you won’t be able to open them in any other sampler. All this makes Sampletank seem like a lightweight sampler compared to for instance Structure.
On the plus side I would like to mention that while the interface doesn’t look like anything special, it pretty much fits on one screen (besides small pop-up options) so there’s no confusion or risk of getting lost in window-jumping. This actually makes Sampletank 2 rather pleasant to work with.
The freebies
For you guys out there on a more modest budget there are actually a couple of freebie samplers out there. In the olden days, in the years of early freebie plug-ins, the free samplers weren’t all that good. This have changed, and what’s more importantly, they actually include pretty big sound libraries for being free and downloadable.
Digidesign made a great move in my opinion when they released two new versions of Structure. One of these are free and that made a lot of people happy. I have complained about how Digidesign should include more plug-ins in their Pro Tools packages, but the availability of two great instruments in Structure Free and Xpand! is just great. Thank you Digidesign.
Yellow Tools makes a free version of their sampler Independence. I have never tried it, but you can get it with a rather big sound library which of course is a plus. So far it’s only available in AU and VST.
Conclusion
Structure looked really impressive when Digidesign released it, and it still does. If you’re working solely in Pro Tools land there’s a good chance that this is the only instrument you will ever need. Digidesign have made the smart thing and released a version for every budget, even if you have no money at all. There simply is no excuse not to have a copy of Structure. Sampletank looks like it’s fighting in the wrong weight class when in the ring with Structure, but if you’re looking for a single screen easy to use sampler, or have a load of “Powered by Sampletank” instruments, it can of course be of interest.
Taking the previous reviewed Kontakt 3 into the consideration and matching it against Structure is interesting. If you do work in any DAW other than Pro Tools you might be scared off by the fact that Structure is Pro Tools only. If you have a lot of samples in all kinds of strange formats it’s much more likely that Kontakt 3 can open them. The script functionality in Kontakt 3 is also something else that have no equivalent in Structure. On the other hand, Structures tight integration with Pro Tools is unique. Reports from the forums on the web also indicate that Windows users are having a lot more problems with Kontakt 3.
Also be sure to check out the review of Kontakt 3.
What, no MachFive 2?
By Walternative ~ November 21, 2007 kl 9:17 am
Hi Stiff
No comments on the quality of the sample library…
By Lars Jørgensen ~ November 21, 2007 kl 11:25 am
Hi Lars. No, actually not. The NFR version I got of Structure is the full version but with a limited sample library. Pretty much the reason it’s only featured in a Spotlight as well instead of in a full-blown review.
By stiff ~ November 22, 2007 kl 3:44 am
Okey Stiff, fine. I have just been looking forward to your opinion on the samples, ever since you wrote about it the first time..:-) Im on Sample Tank 2, but in PT 7.3 and my primary concern is the purchase value specific on ther sampels. I only record guitar and voc´s, so im´ looking to upgrade my overall sound quality in samples. But i gues EastWest is pros´ …
By Lars Jørgensen ~ November 22, 2007 kl 9:23 am