ST4: Piano samples don't seem present [solved]

[id251200]

Hello. I've just bought the IRig 37 key and am able to doodle with it using a Linux-based laptop with some dated old synth sounds. I've belatedly installed Sample Tank 4 on my other laptop with Windows 10, and have installed, supposedly, the acoustic piano samples. They are not showing up in Sample Tank though, and I've tried different directories. Should .wav files, specifically, be present somewhere? All I see are .pak files that seem like they haven't been uncompressed. OR are these what Sample Tank should be using?

Also, as I have access to Sample Tank 3 and 4, will the samples for ST 4 not work with ST 3?

Basically I'm not interested in sequencing and loops and so on, I just want to be able to play a bit of piano. I did try the phone app, which would have been ideal, only to learn that my cheap Nokia doesn't have OTG, so it doesn't recognise any USB devices. Maybe I'll get a different phone, but in the meantime hopefully someone here can help me get these samples loaded.

Thanks for your time.

[DarkStar]

Hello id251200 and welcome to the forum.

.pak files are those which contain the ST4 audio samples. It may be that you need to (download and) install more of the Sounds library files. Or that you have not selected the correct folder in ST4's Preference Settings. Have a look at FAQs 1235 ("Need help with installation") and 1239 ("Can't find virtual instruments") here:
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/index.php?category=11&topic=sampletank-4

ST4 instruments will not load into ST3. But ST3 instruments will load into ST4.

[id251200]

Thanks - do I need 'SE instruments installer 1.1'? It's 642 mb so that seems strange if it's a prerequisite.

[DarkStar]

Thanks - do I need 'SE instruments installer 1.1'? It's 642 mb so that seems strange if it's a prerequisite.

I doubt it - but you did not mention that version before. Exactly which SampleTank products do you have?

[id251200]

Currently I have Sample Tank 4 installed. I have removed 3.

Since installing that 642mb ST SE sound Installer 1.1 which I downloaded earlier I can now see instruments listed including some pianos, where there were none after downloading and 'installing' the 2.5gb acoustic piano file. I am away from the keyboard for a few more hours but the on-screen keyboard does not trigger any sound. (I don't know if it's meant to but I assume so.)

Given that people feel Linux is too complicated for the average user I have been able to get something happening with my Ubuntu laptop, but am making slow progress with Windows. It seems needlessly obscure, the way this all works. Hopefully the keyboard will be found to trigger the sounds later today. (I see the phrase '0 bytes' next to the piano names and picture in the right-hand pane so I'm thinking somehow the samples are still not present?)

I have successfully used much other software of various kinds without trouble and am not really a novice. It does seem odd that so far 3 or 4 gb of downloads and running several installers has not led to sounds being available. A problem with Windows 10?

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

[DarkStar]

I'm a Luddite, on Windows 7, so WIndows 10 is a "known unknown"

Anyway, if it works on UBuntu, it will work on Windows 10.

Have a look in the "Instruments" and Samples" sub-folders. Start with those "SE" instruments, the ones that do work. For each instrument you should see a .st4i file in a sub-folder in "Instruments" and a similarly-named .pak file in a sub-folder in "Samples".

I think that the installation of the ST4 software installs all the instrument files (.st4i) too. But the associated .pak files are installed separately.

You may need to turn off "Hide extensions for known file types" in Explorer / Tools / Folder Options / View.

----------------------
Ah, hold on a moment - did you download the ST4 SOunds Library files or were they on a USB drive? If the latter:

So doing a fresh ST4 Max USB install on a new computer and I haven't installed my prior copy of ST3 yet. How would I best going about doing this, what sequence should I follow from the USB version?

Register your SampleTank 4 serial number first. Then, I would recommend downloading and installing the 4.0.3 latest version from your IK User Area first followed by Instruments Installer 1.1. You can then skip the application installer on your USB stick.

Then, you can run the sound library installers from your USB stick to install all the sounds (there should be a SampleTank 4 sound library installer and a SampleTank 3 sound library installer, run each of those).

Next, download the additional pianos available in your IK User Area (these are the additional files that would not fit on the USB stick):

Additional Piano Instruments
Additional Piano Samples Part 1
Additional Piano Samples Part 2
Additional Piano Samples Part 3
Additional Piano Samples Part 4
Additional Piano Samples Part 5
Additional Piano Samples Part 6
Additional Piano Samples Part 7
Additional Piano Samples Part 8
Additional Piano Samples Part 9
Additional Piano Samples Part 10

Finally, download the latest sound updater (1.3) from your IK User Area and run that.

[DarkStar]

I did find this too:

https://cgi.ikmultimedia.com/ikforum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=20666&p=88919

[id251200]

Thanks. I'll try this when I get home.

Can you confirm that the onscreen piano keyboard should be triggering a sound, or not?

p.s. On Ubuntu Linux I am using an older-looking native Linux program with basic-ish GM type sounds, no sampled piano etc. I haven't attempted to run Sample Tank in 'Wine'.

[id251200]

After installing the acoustic piano sounds after having installed the 1.1 thing everything now works. I had assumed the acoustic piano sample files would work on their own and I don't remember seeing any instructions to the contrary - I think such an instruction needs to be more prominent.

It's great and I now have what I bought the keyboard for. Fabulous.

[DarkStar]

Good oh

I misinterpreted what you had been doing in Ubuntu.

And, yes, clicking ST4's virtual keyboard will trigger the selected instrument (and any other instruments loaded onto the same MIDI channel).

Double-check in your User Area to see if there are any other updates that you should install.