So IK is doing us a favor by cluttering up the preset lists and individual amp and stomp lists with stuff we don't own to make it easy to demo? But I want to work, not demo. I do agree, however, that this time around I would be less likely to upgrade for more than $50 unless I saw something really break through with ST4 and even then it would have to be more than marketing to convince me. I'm rooting for IK Multimedia to get ST4 up to snuff because I think they have shown they are capable when you look at their mastering plugins and their new Modo Bass instrument. I think it's unfair to categorize it as a worst purchase, unless someone paid full price for it, but for the $100 upgrade price I paid I think it was fair value, I just haven't really given it much of a chance yet. I have not bothered with a support ticket about this though because I have way too many Kontakt libraries and so it's just easier to move on to what is working. I also had issues with it not playing well with Kontakt and therefore have not used it since I purchased the upgrade from my old ST 2.5 since the majority of what I use is in Kontakt.

Having said that, it just doesn't have the type of developer community support and scripting that Kontakt and others have. At that price it would be a good value for a beginner as a one stop rompler. I liked the pianos in ST3 and felt like there really was a lot of content in there but only worth it at say an entry price point of $150 at full price with enticing sales and upgrade prices for other IK users.

Sampletank 4 custom shop