PG Music Home Forums User-to-User Post your own Tips and Tricks here SampleTank 3 - Volume and Pan

Users of SampleTank 3 will have discovered that (unlike its predecessor and other VST synths) it does not respond to Volume and Pan messages. Some will argue that this is a good thing as it is better to control these settings after all the tracks have been rendered to audio. I agree so long as the user intends to create and mix an audio file. However, I'm sure that some users just want to experiment with the sounds that SampleTank 3 provides in either a Band In A Box file or a MIDI file loaded into RealBand or Powertracks and be able to vary the volume and pan using the slider controls.

If you are not already aware, SampleTank 3 can be "taught" to respond to these messages using the <LEARN> button on the bottom left of the SampleTank 3 window. The settings can then be saved in what they call a "Multi" file.
I have created such a file and, if you haven't already made one yourself, and would like to use it you can obtain it from here:
(Dropbox will ask you to Sign In or Sign Up but you can click "No thanks..." and proceed to download.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7sg2pkilpnx20ls/AAVolumePan.st3m?dl=0

I apologize if the images didn't display directly. With the coming changes to Dropbox it seems that the links don't work like they did in the Public folder, which is soon to be disabled (March 2017).

It is a very small file, about 48Kb, and needs to be saved into the Multis folder in your SampleTank 3 folder. You can find the SampleTank 3 folder by:
1.Clicking the gear icon.
2.Reading the path as indicated.

[img]https://www.dropbox.com/s/6rhvsp9j3m3s7sh/Pic3.png?dl=0[/img]



The Multis folder is a sub-folder of the SampleTank 3 folder. I have the free version and there is a sub-folder inside the Multis folder called ZZ_SampleTank 3 Free and that is where the file needs to go. The final folder will undoubtedly be different if you have the full version.

[img]https://www.dropbox.com/s/nksabdevm1fzfe1/Pic2.png?dl=0[/img]



To install this Multi file into SampleTank3:

[img]https://www.dropbox.com/s/rux4ycd4myoqywb/Pic1.png?dl=0[/img]



1. Click MULTI and then the arrow below it to open the folder.
2. Click the refresh arrow to add the new file.
3. You will then see the new file added to the list. Double-Click it and the Volume and Pan controls will be added to each of the 16 channels.
4. Click CONTROL. A window will open and you can confirm that Volume and Pan have been added to the bottom of the eight inbuilt controls on all of the 16 channels.

To use this feature when you are adding a SampleTank 3 instrument to a track you need to first activate the AAVolumePan Multi by Double-Clicking on it. You can then switch to the INSTRUMENT view add the instrument to the appropriate channel - or channels if you are using Realband or Powertracks.

When you save the Band In A Box file these settings will be saved with it so the Volume and Pan sliders will still work next time you open the file. The same with RealBand/Powertracks provided you save the file as a SEQ file.

Richard -

Great stuff, but just one minor point. In this forum, use the word "image", rather than "img" to display images within your post.

Thanks John,
I just tried to change one of them to "image" and "/image" but when I clicked Submit it changed it back to "img". I must be doing something wrong but I can't figure out what it is.

Just to test my sanity I copied the files to my Public folder and used my usual method to insert them, and the images displayed as normal. Unfortunately they will disappear next March when Dropbox removes the links to the Public folder, but at least the links to the other folder will be still there.

Regards,