Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital)

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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby AlMoon13 » Sun Mar 12, 2023 10:08 pm

Well, I am still sitting on the fence here. This is why.

This breaks down into two specific areas:
1. Customer support.
2. Installation process.

I did a test and downloaded a couple of demos - Sampletank and Ampire. Neither showed up in my DAW. I think the reason for this is that I chose the install destination. I installed Modo Bass (demo)and Modo drum, without changing the default setting, and these work fine. I am guessing nothing works if you ignore the default installation destination. But - I have no idea and there is no clear guidance on this.

My original question to support was - 'How do I go about making a fresh install?' This was not answered.
Therefore, I am concerned that when I try to install (say) Sample Tank and Ampire - they just will not show up. Knowing that I am unlikely to get official support, I am somewhat nervous about the whole process.
I understand that answering endless questions from multiple users can be a great drain on the resources of a company - but...
1. If everything is working ok, then there should be no need.
2. If there were a complete guide for installation that took user experience into account (in my case - how to make a fresh install) then the heat would be taken off support staff.
3. Other VST companies have good support - and buyer confidence is linked to the quality of support.
4. On a positive, although I have not been impressed by official support - the support here on the forum is very good.

I may pull the switch, as I know Modo Bass and Drum work, and this would be a cost-effective way of getting the full versions of these. Also, there is no doubting the quality of IK Multimedia products.
I may not pull the switch as, if I run into difficulties, I realize that the support is not there, and I may well be left with *a lot* of software that I cannot use.

As to the installation process. I have watched too many Youtube guides on how to track down missing folders and files, as well as descriptions of the somewhat antiquated and lengthy process of installation. This is not helped by zip files expiring if they are not saved to an external hard drive. This is something I have never come across before. [Some of these videos are a couple of years old, so I acknowledge that the information in them may be out of date.]
The guys on this forum are doing sterling work - BUT - should this be necessary in the first place?

I am saying all of this not to be negative, or (as in my post that was taken down) to express my frustration. I am posting this to feedback user experience that may be useful to IK in improving that user experience (and increasing sales). I am also not the only person with concerns over these issues. It is just good business sense to listen to both positive *and* negative feedback and use this to improve and fix problems that customers are having. So, I am not 'ragging' on IK, they are a great company, that has produced some of the very best music software. I hope these comments are taken as they were intended.

In short, the products themselves are simply the best in class. If the same were true for the installation process and product support, IK would already have my cash. As it is, I am sitting on the fence not feeling confident that I have the time or know-how to install the products correctly.
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby AlMoon13 » Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:26 pm

Well, in the end - I flipped the switch, and now own Total Studio Max, :shock:
I may post a sort of 'new installers diary' in another thread (I have derailed this one too much already). I think it may be useful for potential buyers to read the experience of a new user.

Spoiler alert: So far, installation is not the nightmare I expected, but it is not without issues either. The actual software (Modo Drum, Modo Bass, and the Mellotron so far) are of the highest quality.
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby MalBurn22 » Mon Apr 03, 2023 1:41 pm

Thank you for posting your experiences as a new user.

Bought the Tonex Pedal recently which, with the too good to miss software discount offers, has brought me fully into the wonderful world of IK Multimedia!

I'm in the process of installing TS 3.5 Max at the moment and am finding it a little confusing, but it's looking like I'm navigating the loading procedure ok.
Downloading the sounds for Sampletank 4 now and only halfway at 4hrs in! lol.

Have to agree with you on support, it can be extremely slow. This forum seems good for information, however my first impressions are, it's maybe not (but not definitively) the most friendly (or tolerant) for new users.

I will have a look for any new posts you may have listed, after this reply.
Best of luck with your usage of this kit :)
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby jhall123 » Mon Apr 03, 2023 4:42 pm

I'm finding that if I actually go to USE any of the instruments or synths, They work for a few seconds then stop and reload. Thus they are all useless.
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby MalBurn22 » Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:26 am

jhall123 wrote:I'm finding that if I actually go to USE any of the instruments or synths, They work for a few seconds then stop and reload. Thus they are all useless.


I have Sampletank 4 now fully loaded and been playing it since yesterday.
No problems running any sounds, your best bet is to search this forum for anyone who had a similar issue and hopefully a solution.
If nothing there, contact support and hope to get some advice on your particular setup.

They are slow to respond, but the couple of questions I asked them did eventually get a response some 3 or 4 days later.

Good luck getting it solved
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby AlMoon13 » Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:28 pm

I had intended to post a 'diary' of my triumphs and woes around installing all of this, along with my encounters with 'customer support'. I ended up not doing so, as it all went pretty smoothly, and I managed to figure it out without contacting 'support'.
However... I was only able to get this somewhat overwhelming job done because I have come to be pretty adept at installing music software. Out of everything I have ever installed, this was by far the most difficult and clunky system. The newer, or more updated parts of the package are (sometimes) easier - however, I had to scan to find missing drumkits and other missing parts after the installation.

Would I recommend IK Total Studio Max to other users?

In terms of the quality of the software 100% yes.
In terms of the installation process and customer support, I would only recommend the package to those who really know what they are doing and can figure out the inevitable problems they will encounter by themselves.
Were it not for these issues, I would recommend people new to music-making to buy a good DAW (Studio One would be my choice here) and Total Studio - and then put your purse away, as you really do have everything you need - and everything at the highest level of quality.
[I am just talking about the software side of things here].

A final thought - As I have mentioned the quality of the product is beyond doubt. Yet, you never hear anyone talking about IKM stuff anywhere near as often as other companies' (often inferior) products. There must be a reason for this yeah?

From being a customer annoyed about the low quality of customer support, I am now quite happy to champion IK's products, purely because of the high standards of their software.
Therefore, I really hope that they can make the user experience (installation and support) reach the same level of excellence as the software itself.

[again, thank you for the original advice - if you are thinking of buying and installing Total Studio - start by reading the original post here.]
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby FiatLux8 » Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:39 pm

AlMoon13 wrote:Well, in the end - I flipped the switch, and now own Total Studio Max, :shock:
I may post a sort of 'new installers diary' in another thread (I have derailed this one too much already). I think it may be useful for potential buyers to read the experience of a new user.

Spoiler alert: So far, installation is not the nightmare I expected, but it is not without issues either. The actual software (Modo Drum, Modo Bass, and the Mellotron so far) are of the highest quality.

Congrats ! As you point out yourself more places then it is a great product once you have got it installed and working (including making sure that everything is there and where it's supposed to be).
[mod redacted - unnecessary and please review the rules]
At the 'offer' price I still think that TS3.5 MAX is a great deal because you get a lot to play with and quality generally is rather great I think while not perfect always !
Last edited by FiatLux8 on Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby FiatLux8 » Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:09 pm

Metallica93 wrote:SNIP------------------
SampleTank4 MAX:
- "SampleTank 3, Part 5"
- "SampleTank 3, Part 6"

I have no idea why those files are missing from the IK Product Manager, but I assume they're all still needed.


I also bought/ordered the USB version months back but also got a defective drive plus a defective replacement drive (this appear to be before IKM really had fathomed their predicament), and... Well.. It's a very long story...
I will sum it up in that I ended up installing from IKM Product Manager and downloads...
I have no freakin' idea if I go it all installed and because so much time passed and because of that I ran out of money and by now then my free downloads also has expired and the drive I bought to install at turned out to be too small because , well , in the mean time I bought something else that I installed also ! :roll: :lol: 8-)
Anyway, especially with not really enough drive space and mostly no downloads remaining I can not be bothered to have to check it all at this point.....

However , I did check the content of my IKM Product Manager downloads and compared to all the files that you list as missing as (manual ?) downloads (in the IKM Product Manager ?) and I found all as having been downloaded into my IKM Product Manager downloads folder except the two quoted files... "SampleTank 3, Part 5 and 6"...

Anyway , thank you for all the work with the guide which I am sure will be of great benefit to new-comers , I will have to see if I can remember to refer to it in the future now that I spotted it that is !
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Re: Total Studio 3.5 MAX installation guide (boxed + digital

Postby Metallica93 » Tue Aug 08, 2023 8:29 am

It looks like Total Studio 4 MAX released, at some point, but I'm assuming not much has changed and that this guide is still relevant.

If anyone has any corrections for the updated version, post them here!
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