However, most of the sounds don't betray any lack of quality and could easily be used in a final production. Because of this, some of the sustaining sounds are a bit weak-you can hear the loop points when holding long notes. This was a bit surprising since SampleTank doesn't support disk streaming so all sounds must be loaded into RAM for playback, thus limiting their file size. Overall, the quality of the included sounds is excellent. The sound library is very extensive with categories including: Bass, Brass, Drums, Ethnics, Guitars, Orchestra, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Synths, Strings, Vocals, Woodwinds, and Loops. SampleTank 2.5 XL includes more than 1,800 sounds totaling over 6.5GB of samples. The included printed, 94-page manual also helps when you want to dig deep and start creating your own sounds. This is one of the things that makes SampleTank so easy to use and accessible. Most parameters are accessed via buttons and knobs with the knobs changing their assignments according to what buttons are pressed, thus using a minimum of screen real estate for maximum parameter access. You can change the color though using the COL (color), LUM (luminance), and SAT (saturation) knobs to create a better contrast for a clearer view of the text and parameters. Unfortunately, you can't change the size of the interface. However, the text in the interface is very small and can sometimes be difficult to see. In many ways, this is good because you have access to all parameters and sounds with one or two clicks of your mouse. Surprisingly, all of this power is housed within a single-window interface. Although, polyphony isn't really limited because you can just open multiple instances. The only limitations are CPU power and a polyphony limit of 256 notes per SampleTank module. This means that you can effectively create a song with sixteen different sounds all playing at once from one instance of the SampleTank plug-in. Its architecture provides sixteen parts, each of which can be assigned its own individual Instrument (patch or sound), MIDI channel, polyphony limit, panning, volume, and stereo output. SampleTank is a software sampler, synthesizer, and effects processor all built into a single virtual instrument. After a bit of searching, I found a product that provided everything needed for this type of situation: SampleTank 2.5 XL from IK Multimedia. Other synths, like Native Instruments KONTAKT, provide plenty of power but lack the interface simplicity for quick and easy access to parameters. Some synths, like the Cakewalk TTS-1, are okay for simple arrangements but usually don't provide enough power. This is especially true if I'm away from the studio and working with a laptop. I like to sketch things out using just one software synth that provides support for multiple sounds playing on multiple MIDI channels through multiple audio outputs. When composing a song using all virtual instruments, I try to keep things simple at first.
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