Other standout categories are the basses, synth pads and voices, each of which is overflowing with a range of unique, mesmerising instruments. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, these sounds could easily translate to a range of modern genres, particularly the Bamboo Flute and Balophone Dark. The Ethnic category of sounds also took me by surprise due to the diversity of the included instruments. The ability to quickly switch between such an eclectic range of acoustic pianos triggers a lot of creativity, and I had a ton of fun with these sounds. The C7 Grand “Old Jazz Piano” is also spectacular with it’s soft attacks and smooth, mellow tone.

The range of acoustic piano sounds are absolutely beautiful, in particular the C7 “Grand Song Theme” and “Virtuoso”.

It goes without saying I can’t cover every sound (or even every category!) in this review, but I do want to mention some of the standout instruments I have found. There is a huge amount of character and sonic variety in each sound, and exploring this huge library of instruments is an absolute joy. The sound quality is phenomenal and each instrument gives an authentic playing experience. Like many things in life, a sharp increase in the quantity of something can often act as a detriment to it’s quality. If I’m being completely honest, when I saw the sheer volume of sounds included in SampleTank 4 Max, I was a little apprehensive about the possible sound quality of each individual instrument. Let’s load up some instruments and take a look at how this sampling workhorse actually sounds. It is immediately obvious that a lot of thought has gone into perfecting the design of SampleTank 4 so as to appeal to both beginners and SampleTank fanatics.

IK Multimedia clearly understand that first impressions count. Much like SampleTank 3, the overall workflow is logical and straight-forward, but this revamped engine feels classier, and offers a more effortless, intuitive user experience. The Instrument Browser provides a similar engine for browsing sounds, which can be filtered by library, category and other new filters such as timbre, style etc. The default “parts” screen allows you to fill the 16 instrument slots and edit top-level attributes such as pan, transpose, MIDI channel etc. The overall concept echos that of SampleTank 3. Upon opening the software, you are met with a sleek, sophisticated design with a noticeably more modern, polished appearance than previous versions.

Sampletank 3