RESOLVED: issues with new SampleTank 3.5 update

[mhschmieder]

I am losing way too much time trying to fix SampleTank after the problematic 3.5 update today.

It is unable to find any of my purchased libraries or even my pro version of the product (just the free version), even though I downloaded and installed the full version and re-pointed it to my library disc for the content after launching the standalone version and noticing it slammed everything onto my system drive without asking.

I suspect more has to be done to fix its internal default (why do vendors insist on using your main drive for everything, when hardly any pros do things that way?). I've read the updated manual, and they keep talking about how intuitive and easy this vomity new interface is.

Next, I went to Authorization Manager after an updated download, and tried to register a new sound library. It automatically adds an additional row each time you paste a serial number, and refuses to authorize as a result of the illegal blank additional serial number, won't let you delete that one, and if you start over, it happens the same way each time nor can you type in the serial number directly instead so as to avoid its internal software bug that adds an additional blank line each time you paste a serial number.

[mhschmieder]

There is no way to manually register IK products anymore; if they have bugs in their standalone desktop installer (which is frequent), you're screwed. The website just keeps sending you in circles.

As for SampleTank 3.5, I thought maybe I'd need to download the sounds again and reinstall them, but get this error message:

"YOUR DOWNLOAD IS EXPIRED."

Then I looked further up, and hidden in tiny print below the main installer link for the app itself, is a sounds library updater, labeled (with no additional Instructions) thusly:

"Click here to download the Sound Library Update 3.5."

I clicked on that, did the install, relaunched SampleTank 3.5 in standalone mode (generally safer after updates than using a plug-in version right away), and the full SampleTank 3 library is found now but not any of my conversions of my purchased legacy libraries (none of which have yet been directly converted to the new format by IK).

[mhschmieder]

No; not out of the woods yet! I wonder if this stuff was programmed by the Camel Audio team; it rings familiar in terms of the undocumented bootstrapping procedure and massive redundancies, as well as how long it takes to load or renew the database even for a minor addition (my last Alchemy update took over six hours!).

Only a few sounds appear here and there, and they are listed as "free" vs. "full" in the standalone app interface. So if I click on the new SampleTank CustomShop, it tells me my SampleTank license has expired, but gives me an upgrade option from the free version, with a "reactivate" link vs. a "purchase" link.

At this point, I get taken to a purchase page for a sounds download reactivation credit for $9.99. Yet nowhere did I see them mention that the upgrade from 3.2 to 3.5 isn't free! What in the world is going on here?

Unless the manual didn't overwrite itself for the new one vs. the old one (after all it says "3.0" vs. "3.5" so maybe I needed to delete the old version first for the new version to successfully install), none of this is mentioned in the seemingly detailed instructions.

I suspect they rushed this whole thing out, with more interest in attracting new customers to the new EDM-based sound libraries than in making the update process (and hidden costs) clear to existing customers.

No way am I paying the $9.99 at this point, not even knowing if they have their act together on this whole process, given that the authorization app is broken on Mac Mavericks at the moment.

[mhschmieder]

Hmm, maybe this was part of the release plan all along, and it's been so long since SampleTank 3 (July 2014) that I've forgotten?

Was this announced way back as a staged release, with an additional fee once they get to 3.5 status (my last update was 3.3 in November 2014 and it was just a minor update)?

That is, were we just using SampleTank 3 SE until today, so have to pay up to get to the full edition? I still can't find anything in the manual (which IS the updated version) or their website to explain any of this!

[mhschmieder]

How weird: after another relaunch of SampleTank 3, and closing Custom Shop, a spinning wheel said it was still rebuilding the database. Eventually it stopped, and the full list of SampleTank 3 presets became available, along with the two purchased sound libraries I decided to go for (as I had Jam Points that were about to expire).

Good thing I didn't pay the $9.99. Lots of red herrings for sure! A lot of undocumented bootstrapping involved. Maybe it works better on Yosemite?

For those thinking of buying a new sound library or two: unless you have Jam Points you need to use up (requiring a purchase via their website), I recommend using the Custom Shop as it is supposed to automatically and immediately register your license.

As it turns out, this eventually happened with my licenses as well, in spite of all the error messages and the inability of the newly updated authorization manager to authorize due to the problem with it always inserting an illegal blank auth code one line below the one you enter.

Maybe logging into the Custom Shop kicked off the bootstrapping required for the IK software to unconfuse itself.

At any rate, it seems that only the new sound libraries are eligible for the "Restore My Sounds" action in Custom Shop and show up under "My Sounds".

I'm still guessing I'll have to re-import all my SampleTank 2 based libraries all over again, for them to show up in 3.5. If so, I hope there are no errors this time. I saved all my original versions, and the copy of SampleTank 2.5 on my disc, as there were several importation/conversion errors when I did this in maybe version 3.0 or 3.1.

[nk_e]

Jeez o peets, this sounds like a nightmare.

Two slightly OT comments/questions:

I bought SampleTank 3. It stayed on my hard drive for a couple of months then gone. I just didn't like the sounds or the "vomity" interface. You are putting a lot of time into this...which I take it to mean you think it is worth the effort. As yours is an opinion I respect, what did I miss? Was I too hasty?

I recently had to rebuild my main HD from scratch. Fresh install of the OS (10.10.2), DAWs, plugins, etc. Re-nstalling plugins, tracking down and downloading the latest versions, re-authorizing, etc. is a HUGE task. That's before you get to reinstalling templates, key command customizations, etc. (And yes, reinstalling Alchemy and re-indexing the libraries takes a friggin day...as does Maschine, Live, etc.)

Ironically, the absolutely easiest plugins to deal with were the ones on my eliscenser and iLok keys.

I say all of that to say that I wish the industry would get together and do for installs/authorizations what they did for MIDI: come up with some standards and protocols that would allow the marketplace to develop 3rd party products for managing your content and toolset easily.

And yes: PLEASE STOP USING MY HD AS THE DEFAULT FOR SAMPLE CONTENT!

Pretty random rant there. Sorry if it went too far afield.

[mikehalloran]

Oh my... I am not looking forward to this. Yes, I own 3.0, updated to 3.3 last Fall.

[mhschmieder]

FWIW, my company (I don't like saying "my employer" but I also fear sometimes people think I own my own company) is peripherally involved with an evolving standard regarding licensing/authorization, but there are so many forces against it in the industry that I have no idea if we'll ever see the level of cooperation again that we saw to make MIDI happen (and even that remained a bit of a fight now and then with competing enhancements to the spec).

I lost about two hours altogether, and it was my birthday so I was especially peeved. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered, but as a software engineer I feel compelled to debug any problem I see with other people's technology, to the level that I am able in a non-transparent world.

I mostly keep SampleTank around for the Mellotron stuff, but may not need their anymore now that M-Tron Pro from G-Force has expanded so much with all the additional libraries.

To their credit, IK Multimedia has always been quite responsive to customers and issues and generally addresses them pretty quickly. I just don't have time right now to be a "good citizen" by engaging them in the process of solving these issues, as I've just come off one of the most intense three month development cycles of my career and desperately need to focus on actual music production work right now.

[bayswater]

I suspect there is something you did at the beginning of the update process that ST didn't like.

It was very simple for me.

I downloaded the new application file, and the sound update files. When you go to run the installation for the application, it tells you to update the sound files. I did that first. No incidents or issues. It found the original library which I do not have on system drive. Then I ran the application update. It modified the application file instead of creating a new one.

I ran the standalone version, and it spent a while recreating the sound library, including all the older libraries from ST 2, and that was it. After that it worked fine.

No reauthorization was necessary.

[mhschmieder]

Yeah, it's always a bit hard to interpret their instructions in terms of order dependency, but it sounds like it is safest to download the revised sound sources first before running through the full installation.

Glad to hear this also avoided the problem of the V2 conversions at your end.

[James Steele]

I recently had to rebuild my main HD from scratch...

[snip]

Ironically, the absolutely easiest plugins to deal with were the ones on my eliscenser and iLok keys.

Not to beat this drum again, but having gone through this not that long ago, this is EXACTLY why I personally LOVE iLok and opt for iLok protection for every plug that offers it as an option. I wish more did. Just me.

[nk_e]

I recently had to rebuild my main HD from scratch...

[snip]

Ironically, the absolutely easiest plugins to deal with were the ones on my eliscenser and iLok keys.

Not to beat this drum again, but having gone through this not that long ago, this is EXACTLY why I personally LOVE iLok and opt for iLok protection for every plug that offers it as an option. I wish more did. Just me.

And me.

[bayswater]

I prefer iLok too, particularly with the new software, where all you do is drag the license to wherever you want it. But to be fair to IKM, this update did not require authorization.

[HCMarkus]

Happy Birthday MH!

[billf]

I suspect there is something you did at the beginning of the update process that ST didn't like.

It was very simple for me.

I downloaded the new application file, and the sound update files. When you go to run the installation for the application, it tells you to update the sound files. I did that first. No incidents or issues. It found the original library which I do not have on system drive. Then I ran the application update. It modified the application file instead of creating a new one.

I ran the standalone version, and it spent a while recreating the sound library, including all the older libraries from ST 2, and that was it. After that it worked fine.

No reauthorization was necessary.

No problems here either. In the User Area for SampleTank 3.5 there is a small text in the title area for downloading the sounds updater. I downloaded and installed this first. Then I downloaded the application update and installed that.

My sound files are on a different drive, and the update found them without a hitch. Also I did not have to reauthorize anything.