# Soundiron Releases Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble v2.0



## kriztofo (Oct 21, 2013)

*The Beast is Reborn!*

After many weeks of work, we here at Soundiron are proud to announce the release of Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble Version 2.0. This major upgrade completely overhauls APE to make it more playable and versatile than ever before as well as adding almost 10 GB of additional content. APE 2.0 is available now for the special introductory price of *$229*. Owners of the original version of APE should receive an e-mail soon about how to update for the low price of just *$39*; if you own APE but don't get an update e-mail, please contact us so we can get it sorted out. The prices return to $249 full/$49 upgrade after *October 31, 2013*. Click here to buy now!

Click here to listen to demos!

*What's New in 2.0*

 Added the Far mic position to over 60 articulations.
Added Gong articulations.
Added Hi-Hat articulations in a range of pedal positions.
Added suspended Ride Cymbal articulations.
Added a variety of Ting Shag articulations in a range of open and mute positions (Tibetan Finger Cymbals).
Added a variety of Ensemble Snare flam articulations.
Fully re-mixed and re-mastered all Ensemble Snare articulations.
Added a variety of Midi drum loops. 
Added flexible Midi Groove loading and playback system.
Added mic mixing options to all presets (output re-routing feature only in master presets).
And Much More!





Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble is a massive collection of aggressive scoring and concert percussion that is unmatched in terms of scope, detail, sound quality and flexibility. This mammoth all-purpose professional drum and cymbal solution has over 40 different drums and nearly 200 articulations. Now weighing in at nearly 25 GB and over 25,000 individual samples Ape features: ensemble and solo bass drums, ensemble and solo toms of varying sizes, an 8-member snare ensemble, 6 different solo snares, clicks, clacks, hi-hats, stick and mallet rides, splashes, crashes, gongs and more.

Each instrument features three independent microphone positions which can be easily mixed and enabled/disabled completely using the pop-up mixer panel. In the main Master presets, each microphone position can also be routed to different Kontakt outputs for external effects processing and complete mixing freedom. The new version of APE features a range of different presets to give users a variety of options depending on their workflow. "Standard" presets allow access to the full library in a classic percussion array layout while "Mixers" sub-group the articulation for even more sound-shaping control. The Tuned Dual-Layer presets are great for sound design as they provide users with the articulations in tuned, configurable layers. Finally, our much improved Megamixer system is now a kit-building powerhouse that allows any articulation to be loaded into any of 8-slots, each with fully independent controls, saving on both RAM and CPU while providing unprecedented flexibility. All presets feature a wide variety of control via our new custom user interface, ranging from swell, attack, offset, velocity attenuation, stereo panorama, pitch, humanization and even independent room release time control.

New to this version are the Ensemble All preset type (both standard and lite) which features all of the main articulations (including microphone positions) accessible through a single nki. Every articulation available can be custom mapped to different keys allowing for complete functionality. APE v2 ships with a number of mapping layouts designed for use with many popular virtual drum programs. Users can change these presets as they like and save off custom mappings for future use. This new mapping system was designed to be used with our new Midi playback system which can load and playback midi grooves. This midi playback system in conjunction with the custom mapping system allows for use of existing midi loops from other virtual drum libraries to be played back in APE v2.






APE ships with 400 hand-crafted midi grooves by a variety of talented composers and producers to get you started. Midi grooves can be customized during playback by switching to half-time or double-time, add swing and tighten or loosen quantization based on a configurable grid. Additionally, we included our complete FX Rack that exposes Kontakt's built-in effects via an automatable user interface and integrated 70 of our custom convolution reverb impulses.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/soundiron_docs/Soundiron_Apocalypse_Percussion_Ensemble_2_user_manual.pdf (Click here for the complete User Manual)

*Features*


Ensemble and Solo Snares
Ensemble and Solo Bass Drums
Ensemble and Solo Toms
Ensembles Doumbeks
Ensemble Riqs
Ensemble Dhols
Ensemble and Solo Frame Drum
Ensemble and Solo Cymbals
Solo Bongos
Solo deep-sampled Hi-Hat
Solo deep sampled Gong
Solo Cajon
Rolls and Crescendos for solo snares, toms and cymbals
3 Fully Independent Microphone Positions including separate mixing and routing
Midi Loop Playback and Custom Mapping System
And much more!

*Details*

25,171 Samples (standard pcm wav)
60 .nki files (unlocked Kontakt 5.1 format)
400 Midi Loops
24.8 GB installed (12.9 GB Download)
24 bit / 48khz stereo PCM wav format

*Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble requires the full version of Kontakt 5.1 or higher. The free Kontakt Player _does not_ support this library.


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## paulmatthew (Oct 21, 2013)

Already on it. I was emailing to get the upgrade , and the upgrade email came in just before i could send it out. :D :D :D :D I'm pumped for this release. o=? o=?


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## woodsdenis (Oct 21, 2013)

How cool is that for an upgrade, great stuff.


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## Ryan99 (Oct 21, 2013)

paulmatthew @ Mon Oct 21 said:


> Already on it. I was emailing to get the upgrade , and the upgrade email came in just before i could send it out. :D :D :D :D I'm pumped for this release. o=? o=?



Same thing, I sent an e-mail, and just found out after that the message from Soundiron to upgrade. Already bought!

My favorite percussion library just got better!


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## kriztofo (Oct 21, 2013)

> Does anyone know if we are supposed to just copy the new download of APE 2.0 over the version 1 files and folders??
> 
> I don't see any upgrade installation instructions , and judging by the size of the download , I would say it looks to be a fresh install. I'm a bit confused by this.



Sorry for the confusion. The size of the update and the restructuring we did for the new version (especially remastering and adding a third mic position for a lot of articulations) forced us to send out fresh install as the update. But this can also be beneficial since you can keep your legacy APE v1 installation around if for some reason you need it.

We know its a big download but a simple upgrade process wouldn't really have worked given the size and scope of this update.


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## Astronaut FX (Oct 21, 2013)

The email I received was just general information. I said for existing owners to contact them. Is that what the rest of you did...or did you get a different email than I did?

I just did purchase v1 less than 3 weeks ago. Wonder if they're considering any sort of grace period.


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## kriztofo (Oct 21, 2013)

> The email I received was just general information. I said for existing owners to contact them. Is that what the rest of you did...or did you get a different email than I did?
> 
> I just did purchase v1 less than 3 weeks ago. Wonder if they're considering any sort of grace period.



All current owners of APE should have gotten a special Upgrade e-mail with instructions. Can you tell me the name you bought it under and whether it was direct from us or one of our resellers? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] if you haven't already so we can take care of you.


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## paulmatthew (Oct 21, 2013)

It says to do a fresh install with the new version , but I am keeping the original too . This beast is up to like 25GB now!!!!! Bigger is better in Soundiron Land _-)



> The email I received was just general information. I said for existing owners to contact them. Is that what the rest of you did...or did you get a different email than I did?
> 
> I just did purchase v1 less than 3 weeks ago. Wonder if they're considering any sort of grace period.



I just got my email a little while ago. As for the grace period , I would email them and ask. Soundiron may sort you out on that but I'm not sure. Their customer service is pretty good. I've dealt with Mike Peaslee a few times in the past and he's been nothing but great.


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## Astronaut FX (Oct 21, 2013)

kriztofo @ Mon Oct 21 said:


> > The email I received was just general information. I said for existing owners to contact them. Is that what the rest of you did...or did you get a different email than I did?
> >
> > I just did purchase v1 less than 3 weeks ago. Wonder if they're considering any sort of grace period.
> 
> ...



Private message sent with the info you requested...thanks!

UPDATE: Email received...they have me all sorted out! Man, it's like Christmas today with all of the exciting announcements and surprises! Leave it to Soundiron to steal the thunder from Spitfire and CineSamples!


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## paulmatthew (Oct 21, 2013)

Tone Deaf :
Glad you got taken care of !!!!

I love my APE and I'm a big fan of Soundiron products. I'm hoping that Cinestrings and Spitfire HZ releases don't overshadow this one because APE is a friggin amazing library and it just got better. 

Soundiron has been a little quiet as of late but then they come in here and just drop the hammer. It made my day!


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 21, 2013)

Thank you Soundiron! Top notch fair upgrade price!

Was waiting for that one. Now I have to wait till 2am (Australia) tomorrow morning before I can download it. I used up 90GB out of my 100GB allowance thanks to Minimal, Shevannai, Morphestra Generations & Aeon purchases last fortnight.


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## kriztofo (Oct 21, 2013)

Thanks everyone for all the kind words. We really hope you all enjoy this update; it was a long road but we are absolutely ecstatic with the resulting product we came up with. We really did build it from the ground up. I personally spent about a month scripting the various new systems in this version. We really wanted to make APE 2.0 as flexible as possible, from being used as an epic soundtrack scoring tool to a library that can be used as a simple rock drum kit. It was really a moment of pure joy when I was able to load up the main preset, select the "Addictive Drums" mapping preset, and jam along with some metal midi loops I have, all from within a single Kontakt preset.

Enjoy o-[][]-o


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## Arbee (Oct 22, 2013)

I think of Soundiron as one of the greatest quiet achievers around here - thank you, thank you and thank you! o-[][]-o 

.


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## germancomponist (Oct 22, 2013)

Since I bought Apocalypse Percussion Ensemble I have used it in nearly any production where drum & percussion was needed. So easy to use and get best results in a minute.

This update seems to be an early Christmas present. 

Congratulations to Soundorion and me!


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## Ron Snijders (Oct 22, 2013)

Very cool! The upgrade price is a steal, actually  *Downloading*


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## Echoes in the Attic (Oct 22, 2013)

Can't wait for the new full articulation custom mapping, that's one thing I was hoping for from V1.



kriztofo @ Mon Oct 21 said:


> It was really a moment of pure joy when I was able to load up the main preset, select the "Addictive Drums" mapping preset, and jam along with some metal midi loops I have, all from within a single Kontakt preset.



Addictive Drums mapping presets? Awesome!


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## Giant_Shadow (Oct 22, 2013)

Sounds incredible. Updating this weekend.


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## Astronaut FX (Oct 22, 2013)

Hopefully Continuata does its thing while I'm at work today and I'll get my hands on it this evening. Meanwhile, I've looked over the updated user manual...this is clearly a serious update. New interfaces, killer fx rack, midi file integration...this is no face lift, this is a ground up re-engineering of what was already a really great, extremely flexible library. Kudos!


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## Ron Snijders (Oct 22, 2013)

Already got it in, and it's great! I really like the MIDI-loops, as they will be providing tons of inspiration. I'm not too great at making grooves myself, but I guess I can learn a lot by looking at these


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## Echoes in the Attic (Oct 22, 2013)

So 25gb? Is it still not compressed to NCW?

I compressed V1 and it went down to 7gb. I'd rather the developer did though because I'm always worried of losing samples if they aren't loaded in patches (Convolution etc.)


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## Ron Snijders (Oct 22, 2013)

Personally, I use the option of dragging the samples into my DAW and mangling them there. The frame drums make great buildups when they're reversed


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## Peaslee (Oct 22, 2013)

Echoes in the Attic @ Tue Oct 22 said:


> So 25gb? Is it still not compressed to NCW?
> 
> I compressed V1 and it went down to 7gb. I'd rather the developer did though because I'm always worried of losing samples if they aren't loaded in patches (Convolution etc.)



A lot of users like having the option to import the samples into any other environment and a lot of these big drum and cymbal strikes are really ideal for creating you own custom FX stingers. It's a bit of a trade off, but you can always compress it all down into ncw or even pack it into an ncw monolith if you like. 

Performance results and ram use are the same as wav, since the ncws are uncompressed during loading. NCW does save hard drive space, but it doesn't save any download time, since it's the same ration as the RAR file compression we use for the download delivery. 

I'd also mention that Batch re-saving is a good idea for this library once you've installed it, whether or not you bring it down to ncw format, just because doing that always tends to speed up Kontakt's loading time. Once Kontakt adds the file references to its database on your local machine, it has an easier time finding them quickly.


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## Echoes in the Attic (Oct 22, 2013)

Peaslee @ Tue Oct 22 said:


> Echoes in the Attic @ Tue Oct 22 said:
> 
> 
> > So 25gb? Is it still not compressed to NCW?
> ...



Understood. Makes sense to give the option of using the samples individually. And those of us who want to compress can do so. I think it's just convolution samples that aren't caught, unless any instrument samples are for some reason not included in any presets, but I doubt that's the case with APE2. As long as the convolution samples are stored in their own folder, it's easy to grab them and move them.


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## Peaslee (Oct 22, 2013)

Echoes in the Attic @ Tue Oct 22 said:


> As long as the convolution samples are stored in their own folder, it's easy to grab them and move them.



In APEv2, the convolutions are stored inside the nkr with the GUI and other scripted elements, so as long as you keep the nkr where it's supposed to be, relative to the presets and overall folder structure, the impulses and GUI images should always load up fine.


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## germancomponist (Oct 22, 2013)

Since I use no credit card on the web I have to wait for my update some days, until paypal has my money. So I have a longer anticipation than the others.


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## Echoes in the Attic (Oct 22, 2013)

Peaslee @ Tue Oct 22 said:


> Echoes in the Attic @ Tue Oct 22 said:
> 
> 
> > As long as the convolution samples are stored in their own folder, it's easy to grab them and move them.
> ...



Cool. Good system. Was wondering why i didn't see convolution samples anywhere. Cheers!


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## JeffP06 (Oct 22, 2013)

229$ instead of 249$.. I should say :"Hurry up guys, that's the deal of the year...!!!" what a discount !!!!!!


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## Ryan99 (Oct 23, 2013)

JeffP06 @ Wed Oct 23 said:


> 229$ instead of 249$.. I should say :"Hurry up guys, that's the deal of the year...!!!" what a discount !!!!!!



Well, if you're not happy about the discount, then don't buy it.....


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## mark812 (Oct 23, 2013)

Great update. o-[][]-o For v3 please consider adding timpani, gran casa, shime daikos and most importantly - Taikos!


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## JeffP06 (Oct 23, 2013)

Ryan99 @ Wed Oct 23 said:


> JeffP06 @ Wed Oct 23 said:
> 
> 
> > 229$ instead of 249$.. I should say :"Hurry up guys, that's the deal of the year...!!!" what a discount !!!!!!
> ...



oups… you wrote :"Very cool! The upgrade price is a steal, actually Smile *Downloading*"

So I understand… :D


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## paulmatthew (Oct 23, 2013)

JeffP06 @ Tue Oct 22 said:


> 229$ instead of 249$.. I should say :"Hurry up guys, that's the deal of the year...!!!" what a discount !!!!!!



This is just an introductory price break . If you were already a Soundiron APE 1.0 owner , it was a steal at a $39 upgrade considering this was a complete redesign and rebuild!!!! It's a 25GB library and the price isn't going be met by another developer for a library of this size. Soundiron is great when it comes to content and pricing.


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## Astronaut FX (Oct 23, 2013)

paulmatthew @ Wed Oct 23 said:


> JeffP06 @ Tue Oct 22 said:
> 
> 
> > 229$ instead of 249$.. I should say :"Hurry up guys, that's the deal of the year...!!!" what a discount !!!!!!
> ...



Paul is right. Given the size, sound, flexibility, and bells and whistles packed into this library, I'd consider it a steal even at the full price of $249. There is nothing else out there in that price range that can compare to the sophistication of APE 2.0.


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 24, 2013)

So far I must say its a great update. Really love the pop up mixer with the indiv. controls for close, mid and far. I don't quite understand the EZ mode in the ARP section. For example: when I load the solo snares and turn on EZ I nothing happens. According to the manual it should produce a roll. Anyone?


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## JeffP06 (Oct 24, 2013)

Tone Deaf @ Wed Oct 23 said:


> paulmatthew @ Wed Oct 23 said:
> 
> 
> > JeffP06 @ Tue Oct 22 said:
> ...



Hello... I agree with all of you.. I was just talking about this 8,91 % discount.. Forget... :wink:


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## quantum7 (Oct 25, 2013)

Just bought it! Best epic percussion produced to date IMO.


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## Peaslee (Oct 25, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Thu Oct 24 said:


> So far I must say its a great update. Really love the pop up mixer with the indiv. controls for close, mid and far. I don't quite understand the EZ mode in the ARP section. For example: when I load the solo snares and turn on EZ I nothing happens. According to the manual it should produce a roll. Anyone?



EZ Roll modechanges the ARP from cycling/alternating notes to sustaining the pattern on each one. Normally, the arpeggiator cycles between the keys you hold down (or the keys you simply press if in HOLD or HOLD +- Modes), but EZ roll mode will basically "roll" each key you hold down by repeating it for as long as it's pressed. You've just got to hold the key down and make sure that the time signature division is set relatively small to produce a good fast roll. 

The pattern and dynamic of the repeats depends on the step sequencer graph and other settings that you choose for the ARP panel controls. To simulate a fast roll, increase the Rate value by turning it to the left, to produce 32nd notes, 64th notes and so on. Using the velocity graph allows you to shape the roll pattern. And the Swing and main Humanize knob can add a bit of natural flow and variability.

Having the velocity graph flat will basically produce a solid single-stroke roll. To help simulate more of a double-stroke roll, try increasing the speed by ramping up the Rate value a notch or two. Then try applying a bit of swing ( +/- 5%), turning up the Humanize knob by about 30% and alternating slightly higher and lower velocities in the velocity graph to get that double-bounce effect.


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## Echoes in the Attic (Oct 25, 2013)

Ridiculously cool library. And great scripting for customization.

It's funny how so many devs have a big lead-up time with teasers etc. and you guys just out of the blue release such an amazing product/update.

Honestly some of the teasers that one go on so far in advance of the actual product release can be kind of annoying but also do probably garner a fair bit of anticipation and excitement so I hope your sudden bombshell announcement strategy doesn't take away from the exposure!


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 25, 2013)

Peaslee @ 26th October 2013 said:


> Guido Negraszus @ Thu Oct 24 said:
> 
> 
> > So far I must say its a great update. Really love the pop up mixer with the indiv. controls for close, mid and far. I don't quite understand the EZ mode in the ARP section. For example: when I load the solo snares and turn on EZ I nothing happens. According to the manual it should produce a roll. Anyone?
> ...



Thanks but I still don't get it. Let's say I load a solo snare, set ARP to "on". I press one key (velocity curve is ascending from low to high velocity). I will hear a snare roll fading in. Now, if I switch to EZ I will hear the same effect. So I can't hear the difference between ARP "on" and "EZ". The only difference I can make out is that if I would play 3 keys: ARP "on" will move between the keys/notes (like you said) and EZ would play all notes at the same time. Is this the way its suppose to be?


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 26, 2013)

Just ran into a strange problem: a track I was working on had the "Dhol Ensemble" from APE1 in it. I understand that the Dhol ensemble is now part of the new Ethnic Ensemble but they are not compatible in terms of mapping. I already deleted the APE1 from my HD (still have it on my backup disc though) so I thought this is not great really. I remember Soundiron stating that I can delete APE1. Is it not possible to add a sort of APE1 to APE2 articulation mapping feature in a future update? I find it very hard to figure out what drum exactly was playing. So I guess I have to re-install APE1 in order to be able to work on older songs.


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## Peaslee (Oct 26, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Sat Oct 26 said:


> Just ran into a strange problem: a track I was working on had the "Dhol Ensemble" from APE1 in it. I understand that the Dhol ensemble is now part of the new Ethnic Ensemble but they are not compatible in terms of mapping. I already deleted the APE1 from my HD (still have it on my backup disc though) so I thought this is not great really. I remember Soundiron stating that I can delete APE1. Is it not possible to add a sort of APE1 to APE2 articulation mapping feature in a future update? I find it very hard to figure out what drum exactly was playing. So I guess I have to re-install APE1 in order to be able to work on older songs.



The mapping and structure of the library had to change. You don't need to keep the old library to install the new library since it's not installed as a patch or add-on to the old installation, but you'd want to keep the library for old projects. Send us an email at [email protected] and we can set you up with legacy nkis of the specific instruments presets you need that you can drop into the new library folder.


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## Peaslee (Oct 26, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Fri Oct 25 said:


> Thanks but I still don't get it. Let's say I load a solo snare, set ARP to "on". I press one key (velocity curve is ascending from low to high velocity). I will hear a snare roll fading in. Now, if I switch to EZ I will hear the same effect. So I can't hear the difference between ARP "on" and "EZ". The only difference I can make out is that if I would play 3 keys: ARP "on" will move between the keys/notes (like you said) and EZ would play all notes at the same time. Is this the way its suppose to be?



Exactly, any normal arp mode is going to _cycle _through the notes you hold down, meaning that you could only play one key at a time if you wanted it to "roll". EZ Roll allows you to roll on any number of independent keys at the same time without forcing them to alternate. This allows you to stack instrument rolls. It can also be used to simply trigger the same table sequencer pattern with multiple instruments in unison.


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 26, 2013)

Ok, got it. Thanks.

As for loading old songs created with APE1. Are you saying that when I have those legacy nkis I can load old songs with only APE2 installed?


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## Peaslee (Oct 27, 2013)

Guido Negraszus @ Sat Oct 26 said:


> Ok, got it. Thanks.
> 
> As for loading old songs created with APE1. Are you saying that when I have those legacy nkis I can load old songs with only APE2 installed?



If we build legacy presets for you, those would install into the new version and point to the new structure (minus any of the new sample content not in the original mapping).

You could also have both the old and new version fully installed at the same time. They're fully separate installations. Either would work fine, but legacy presets would take a little longer to prepare. You should be able to download the old 1.0 version with your original personal download code.


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## Cruciform (Oct 28, 2013)

Peaslee @ Mon Oct 28 said:


> If we build legacy presets for you, those would install into the new version and point to the new structure (minus any of the new sample content not in the original mapping).
> 
> You could also have both the old and new version fully installed at the same time. They're fully separate installations. Either would work fine, but legacy presets would take a little longer to prepare. You should be able to download the old 1.0 version with your original personal download code.



Mike,

I just want to say....that's customer service!!! =o


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## Peaslee (Oct 29, 2013)

Ok, we've built a package of the old version 1.0 presets with the original key-mapping and controls that you can drop into the new version 2.0 for use with old projects you might need to use them with. Anybody that needs them can send us an email and we'll get you all set up.


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## Guido Negraszus (Oct 29, 2013)

Yes, it works very well. Thank you so much Soundiron!


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## Peaslee (Oct 31, 2013)

We're extended the intro sale on this (including the added discount on the upgrade) through November 4th to go along with our new *Sick 4* library release.


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