But, I have some good news. It's also been some time since Sonic Reality has released new sample libraries and I'm excited to share with you that this is about to change in a big way in 2021! Here's an overview of what to expect for what format.
SampleTank 4
SampleTank has always been a prominent platform from SR as we've done sounds for the IK Multimedia SampleTank format since version 1 (Sonik Synth, SampleTron, Miroslav Philharmonik 1, SampleMoog etc.). Now it's up to ST4 and it has an unbelievably cool and useful engine for the kind of "vintage" sounds I like. Soooo... finally for the first time all of my vintage keyboard and rare instrument archives are going to be released in this format! I've collected or hunted down instruments for 30 years (which is crazy since I'm only 35 years old... shhhh... let's pretend ok?). I've only released about 25% of the sample archives we have at SR and now the best of what we have will be available for the best sample playback/analog modeled filters & fx engine I know of, SampleTank 4! We'll also be bringing over other sounds SR is known for like drum kits, grooves and since ST4 has some great AmpliTube amps and fx inside we'll do some guitar and bass as well (just for us keyboard players to fake it once in awhile).
One last thing regarding the vintage instrument archives (I should have warned this would be a "Squids Megapost" but if you don't know me by now...
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Kontakt 5/6
While our "Infinite Player" libraries are still available only to those who have a legacy "Infinite Player" registered (there are no new serials available unfortunately), we are happy to say that we'll be making some of the original libraries and ALL NEW libraries available for straight KONTAKT format unencrypted (so it means you need to own the full Kontakt from NI to use these libraries as the new ones will not work with Kontakt Player or Infinite Player).
More Drum Masters
It hasn't been officially announced yet but the big news from SR for 2021 in Kontakt format is that we're releasing a ton of new multi-channel drum kit libraries and also bringing back some classics to Kontakt 5/6 format (such as Neil Peart Drums, EpiK DrumS and more). The NEW libraries include an incredible Hugh Padgham Drum Kit library recorded at Genesis' studio with full access to the individual mic channels as well as a Nick Mason Drum Kit library recorded by Alan Parsons for an authentic recreation of the classic Pink Floyd drum sound. That's just the tip of the iceberg though.
Apart from releasing some of the legacy Infinite Player libraries in unencrypted open Kontakt 4 format, we have no other plans to do new libraries for Kontakt for now. Just focusing on the drum kits for 2021 and there are over 10 brand new previously unreleased kits coming soon.
Reason
While all of our classic refills for Propellerheads Reason are still available on http://www.esoundz.com, we may release a few new refills that were nearly done but never released. I can tell you what they are. One is like a Reason version of SampleMoog in that it's a collection of vintage Moog samples for Reason and we made all of these fun Combinator skins too. The other is Nick Mason Drums, the drummer of Pink Floyd. The drum kits we do in Reason are stereo not multitrack but they sound great and it's all about efficiency in Reason. I'm only releasing these because they're so close to being finished. However, they'll serve as a test to see what demand there still is for new sample libraries in this format. In other words, if these two libraries are hot sellers then theoretically there could be other new refills for Reason coming at some point. As long as there's a good Reason.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Other Formats
The legacy "Workstation Sounds" such as the multi-sampled instrument "capsules" will be made available in open multi-formats like Kontakt 4, EXS24, HALion and maybe others we can add in a "here it is ported over/translated" fashion (without any custom programming in each format - it's very simple programming and more about the sample content being homogenous between the formats and you can tweak from there). Nothing will be encrypted and you can go to town with these plus, since they're all previously released "legacy titles", they will be extremely affordable for anyone new. Some of these are on eSoundz already. But, we're going to try to round them all up (especially the ones released for Infinite Player that can now work in Kontakt unencrypted). We can also try to add in any format you like if there's enough demand for it and it works with a program file referencing raw waves (so SampleTank format will probably not be included in this but others not mentioned could be like Abelton Live's Sampler and potentially others).
That's it! Here's the summary of all that:
SampleTank 4: Vintage Instrument Multi-sample archives (lots of new and the better versions of the old)
Kontakt 5/6: Unencrypted Multi-channel drum kits (including many new previously unreleased kits in Kontakt format plus the best of the legacy titles)
Reason: A few previously unreleased libraries and our Sonic Refills plus others will remain available on eSoundz.com
EXS24, Halion, Kontakt and other formats: no new libraries planned but the legacy "Capsules" and multi-sampled instrument archives will be made available in multi-format (some already are on eSoundz).
I didn't mention LOOPS/GROOVES as there are currently no plans for new construction kit type loops. There may be something with the drum loops, especially the ones from famous drummers, but at the moment the focus is on the kits themselves which you can play from any midi controller.
Whew! We're back! haha. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Let's hope things turn around in 2021-22 and get a lot better. In the meantime, we can still create. I hope these libraries will provide some inspiration. - Squids