Steven Slate Drums version 4 - questions and suggestions

[Ermz]

Hey Steven,

My issue is mostly with the authentication/service center and needing to deal with IK at all. People here seemingly had a bunch of issues getting it all up and going in the past. Aside from that, I'm a minimalist. When I buy your sample pack I do it for the actual samples, wav for wav. I like being able to blend them myself, sequence them myself, and have that level of control. If the self-contained VSTi route is where you're ultimately going then there's the request to get SSD as a SD2.0 expansion. SD2.0 is a fantastic host, with an amazingly intuitive engine for drum sampling, and combining everyone's familiarity with it with the power of the SSD samples would be an industry-toppling match. The ability to mix their cymbals with your drums or vice versa would be the ideal all-in-one solution for so many home recording guys. In fact the idea of mixing the Allaire room sounds with your dry samples is giving me some serious drooling issues.

 

[Slate]

Hi Ermz, we rarely get any support inquiries related to Service Center. Log in, hit activate. What specific problem did you have? Also, what problems do you have with it to get it up and running? As long as its installed, a simple double clicking of it (standalone) or choosing it as an insert (daw) should do the trick.

A lot of beginners use SSD with little fuss. Once you get the lingo that "instrument" means kit piece and "multi" means drumkit, everything else is kinda easy to figure out.

The Superior engine is great and I'm not opposed to doing an expansion pack, but we will always focus on our native instrument which for now at least, uses the Kontakt engine.

As for wavs, I don't see why we couldn't continue to offer wavs with TRIGGER. But the SSD virtual instrument will be exclusive to the virtual midi kits.

 

[Zack Uidl]

I agree for the most part with Ermz. Honestly, I would buy anything you put out for the studio, but I think that .wavs are very important. I use the .wavs constantly for specific effect. I would be bummed if they were not a part of what is to come.

 

[Slate]

ok. score is settled. TRIGGER will ship with all Slate samples in both native TRIGGER format and raw WAV file. I cannot say the same for 3rd party TRIGGER expansion packs.

 

[Ermz]

Thanks Steven. Way to listen to the customers

No more complaints here.

 

[ahjteam]

and a little offtopic:

Slate, can you please clean up and fix your website? For example:


FRONTPAGE > click on the "the all new ssd virtual instrument" picture, dead link
FRONTPAGE > click on the "virtual drum locker", php error

PRODUCTS > SSD EX, the header dissappears
PRODUCTS > SSD EX Expansion, the header dissappears

ORDER, the header dissappears

CONTACT > SUPPORT, the header is old and half of the links in it don't work
CONTACT > UPGRADES, even older page
CONTACT > DOWNLOADS, dead link

LINKS, old page layout

FORUM, header changes and there is no way to get back to the website

and the footer is different on the bottom of the different pages

 

[Morgan C]

ok. score is settled. TRIGGER will ship with all Slate samples in both native TRIGGER format and raw WAV file. I cannot say the same for 3rd party TRIGGER expansion packs.

What if we only own SSD EX? Do we have to upgrade to platinum to be able to get Deluxe (that'd be very annoying and disappointing)? Or can we just get the new kits and skip the ones from 3.5 we haven't bought? If so.. how would that work, TRIGGER shipping with ALL Slate samples, when I've only bought some of the 3.5 drums?

 

[-Loco-]

If I don't like the cymbals i'm just going to keep using SSD for kit and S2.0 for cymbals.

I think a totally seperate slate interface that's based on an virtual image inside one of your actual studios would be quite cool - kind of like superiors kit layout but made a bit more original with interactive control room etc. Obviously not for SSD 4.0 just maybe in the future, don't think i've communicated my idea very well.

I don't know about you guys but I don't know how to manipulate the overheads on the snare other than turning them on or off (not room mics), i'd like to adjust that to get rid of some of the ringing in the snare.

 

[darthjujuu]

and a little offtopic:

Slate, can you please clean up and fix your website? For example:


FRONTPAGE > click on the "the all new ssd virtual instrument" picture, dead link
FRONTPAGE > click on the "virtual drum locker", php error

PRODUCTS > SSD EX, the header dissappears
PRODUCTS > SSD EX Expansion, the header dissappears

ORDER, the header dissappears

CONTACT > SUPPORT, the header is old and half of the links in it don't work
CONTACT > UPGRADES, even older page
CONTACT > DOWNLOADS, dead link

LINKS, old page layout

FORUM, header changes and there is no way to get back to the website

and the footer is different on the bottom of the different pages

jeez steve, you're takin a beating today give the guy a break!!

that's awesome that you're going to include the .wav's, that level of control really sets the product apart in terms of functionality from the toontrack stuff, which has their sample library locked up and tucked away unable to be tinkered with. as long as TRIGGER is epic i don't think anyone will miss the .gog's. and TRIGGER looks like itt'l be replacing aptrigga/drumagog for alot of us.

fingers crossed! if you nail it steve, i'll be purchasing the entire new package.

 

[Ermz]

On a related note... when is Trigger actually going to come out?

 

[Rex Rocker]

Looking forward to this. I'm guessing this won't be a free upgrade like it was from 3.0 to 3.5, right?

 

[Zombietakeover]

For you people bitching about Kontakt 3.5......I think you guy's are just old and stubborn and you don't want to mess with or learn a new plug-in or something....the Kontakt player is quite easy....very easy actually....easy authentication/service center . it's not rocket science

 

[darthjujuu]

i think the reason people like the superior cymbals better aren't because of the samples themselves, i think it's just the way straight out of the gate on default settings a superior kit with it's bazillion gigs of bleed files makes a whole kit vibe by itself in a more natural way, which makes the programmed cymbals alot more appreciable. in sup2.0 every virtual mic picks up a little bit of everything, even the multi-sampled velocity layers. SSD acting purely as a sample library can't really replicate that based on principal alone.

also, there's just that one china on the allaire kit ... mmmmm. perfect.

but i think if we were to a/b the raw bleedless cymbal samples between toontrack/slate, it'd be a tough battle.

 

[Slate]

EX will also be offered an upgrade and will get new Deluxe cymbals and will get three new Deluxe Kits. The rest of the Deluxe kits become a new expansion pack.

Yeah we got to fix that website, thanks for that post. We'll get on it this week, long overdue.

 

[DeclanWhite]

you seem to be avoiding the release date questions haha

 

[jipchen]

Thanks for containing wav's with trigger
i really hope the whole package will be affordable ^^

 

[Jind]

I'm a heavy Kontakt user and I have to agree with Steve - since version 3.5 Kontakt is as stable as can be, it's ultimately configurable, tweakable, and easy to use once you understand a few, and I mean very few, concepts. The NI Service Center app for authorizing any NI product is as easy as can be. Any concerns about Kontakt have to come from old versions as they just are not presant in it's new incarnation. If you create any form of music aside from pure real instrument music, you are likely to use Kontakt based samples at some point - many of the best sample libraries are in Kontakt format (you may want to ask yourself why) because it is a powerful, yet simple application to use.

As for Steven wasting development time and money making his own interface - it's a simple answer as well - why would he when an easy solution is at hand in Kontakt. I think he is more focused on the other aspects of his companies than developing sampler engines that ultimately would have to Kompete (notice my little K joke) with what most consider the industry standard.

I'll admit - I'm not a Drumagog user so I do not have that perspective, I am however a Kontakt user and find it to be a great format to make music with.

Really looking forward to TRIGGER Steven - interesting to hear about the any upgrade paths you may come up with.

 

[LeSedna]

Sorry for my previous post about kontakt : I just see I was using an old version, so my experience of bugs does not apply to 3.5.

 

[Zombietakeover]

you seem to be avoiding the release date questions haha

He is presenting everything at NAMM and then he is going to release after......Slate prolly doesnt want to throw any dates out there because as soon as he does there are a shit load of ppl that hound him....and if it doesn't come out on the exact day he told everyone 6 months ago in some random thread.....people have a shit fit

 

[FIXXXER]

For you people bitching about Kontakt 3.5......I think you guy's are just old and stubborn and you don't want to mess with or learn a new plug-in or something....the Kontakt player is quite easy....very easy actually....easy authentication/service center . it's not rocket science

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