SampleTank 4 import of SampleTank 3 content [Resolved]

[ahodgkin]

I have an extensive collection of SampleTank 2-era sounds many of which I'm very fond, and some SampleTank 3 material too. I have imported the SampleTank 2 material (including SampleTron, SampleTank 2 XL, the original Miroslav Philharmonik etc.) into SampleTank 3 and that's all been fine.

The imported sounds are hidden down a level in the sound menu under an "Imported" top-level entry, but they're properly sorted, categorised and accessible. For example, Philharmonik sounds are properly sorted in a tree - e.g. Choirs -> Female Choirs -> Looped. SampleTron likewise, with top-level folders like "Showcase", "Chamberlin M Series", "Novatron" and so-on. This categorisation and structure is absolutely vital for finding anything and making sense of the library.

Under SampleTank 4, I'm surely doing something wrong!

As far as I can tell from online resources etc., all I'm supposed to do is use the SampleTank 4 settings to add the SampleTank 3 folder of instruments and have it rescan the library. Unlike the ST3 import, ST4 doesn't copy things into its own instruments folder to be self-contained; it just references the external data. IMHO despite me now needing to remember to keep both folders in place, I think this is the one (and only) area where ST4 import is better, since it's far faster and doesn't require huge amounts of free disc space.

Unfortunately though after this positive start, the end result is a complete train wreck. The new instruments - hopefully all of them, but it's such a mess it's hard to tell - are under a "SampleTank" icon titled "Imported" (unhelpfully under the "ST4" icon also titled "Imported", but this doesn't have any sounds "inside") at the bottom of the instrument browser's left hand column. This then has just 2 top level categories - rather bizarrely, Ethnic and Imported. After that, nothing. Sure, the filters seem to be changing the list, but all the structure is gone - no choirs, no Chamberlin, no nothing. Just thousands of files, sorted alphabetically, with lots and lots of them starting with numbers ("001 Abcab Dabra Ld Leg", "001 Andromibass Leg", "001 11th Duke" - lots of 001s! - etc.).

It's hopeless. Surely there's another import option of some kind? This can't be the best that's available for SampleTank 4, is it? It's an absolutely *giant* regression in functionality.

Thanks for any advice / recommendations for how to sort things out

[garfy]

Hello ahodgkin and welcome to the forum.

To enable you to view the folder hierarchy as you can do in ST3, you need to switch to Folder View in ST4.

In the browser, click on the folder icon (top left hand corner, where it says library) and this will switch off the categories and style filtering. If you now click on the SampleTank 3 Imported icon you will be shown just those instruments in the nested folders you are used to.

Have a look at page 38 of the manual (4.3 Folder View)

Hope that answers your question.

[ahodgkin]

Many thanks, that's exactly what I was after. Took me a minute to find it even with instructions - kept getting the drop-down before realising that the *folder icon* itself was the thing to use. A little disorientated for a while too before also realising that the view isn't the combined; a selection in the leftmost column is required.

While I might not think it's necessarily the most intuitive or best performing UI around, it does do the job and I'm happy that there's a choice of both category or file structure when looking for patches within the virtual instrument.

[DarkStar]

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