@Eptesicus said:

So you get people to pay for the product already promising a November release and now it is only going to be December, and even then in bits and bobs "as it becomes available"? I totally understand that you want it to be the best it can be, but suddenly changing the release date and schedule quite a bit , 3 days from the end of November is very frustrating and i'm guessing you must have known for quite some time that November was not going to happen. I wish i had waited now having bought it last week :/

I agree, it happens. However, having got essentially to the end of November with no word of a delay whilst people are still buying it expecting a November release, it is frustrating to be suddenly told it will be December and even then in just dribs and drabs with no firm dates.

This is the first time i have pre-ordered a sample library, and will now probably be the last time!

@Paul said:

As soon as the first parts of Synchron Strings I are completed, we’ll make them available to you.
This will be in December, at the earliest possible date, you will definitely be ready for a great-sounding 2018! 

Paul and your team in Vienna

Hmmm.... Does this mean that we shouldn't expect the full release of this library in Dec. , but rather some parts of it, and possibly a Jan. release of the remaining parts. i.e. Violins, and Cellos in Dec., Violas, and Basses in Jan. ? 

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. This can't be Dimension Strings all over again.

As I recall the year was 2012, September in fact.

Some of us were able to jump in right away. Others however, had an accurate need to know how long the special would last. They were told no longer than first quarter 2013. So they scrambled to find a way to make the purchase whether it was in their best financial interest or not...

The idea was that we "early birds" would enjoy a sizable discount, receive are Violins right away, and the rest of the strings as they became available. (DISASTER)

VSL did not have the servers then, they have now. Violins took 3 days to download. The second piece, Cellos, arrived (9 months later, in June 2013). Yes they were easy to download but that early bird special... Was still going on. 

Violas arrived (6 months after that, in January 2014). Sadly, the so called early bird special turned out to not be so special afterall, as it had not yet expired.

Finally the Basses came online July 2014 (7 months after Violas, 11months after Cellos, and nearly 2 years after Violins).

I am convinced we won't go through that again. But I purchased week one then and I've purchased week one now. I don't enjoy spending money before I have too.

As always, Greetings from Hollywood.

Mike B.

Paul,

Thanks for your and the team"s dilligence on the new library.  I already bought the library but am perfectly happy

to wait til it meets your standards.  Thanks for all the cutting edge things you do!

Like Dimension Strings, I'm sure that Synchron Strings will be worth every dollar and every day of waiting. Better to get it right than get it fast. Yep, bought it already, in October 👍. 

Maybe VSL could email us early purchasers some good 🍺 while we wait ...

Cheers,

Craig

@Paul said:

As soon as the first parts of Synchron Strings I are completed, we’ll make them available to you.

This will be in December, at the earliest possible date, you will definitely be ready for a great-sounding 2018! 

Could you tell us when we'll get the full product we've paid for? I was expecting it any day, but I'm now being told that some bits will come in December, and then the full product will be some time in 2018. That's very disappointing indeed. It won't be fully useable for a long time. And that leaves me wondering whether we're talking about six months or longer to get what we've already paid for.

I understand that you've not got the product up to standard yet, but maybe you should have waited until it was working before trying to sell it to us.

Personally, I consider things like this to be first world problems.  I'm not a pro composer and if I were, chances are I'd already have a nice library of tools to create my music with so it's not as if a delayed release would be holding me back from my work or my passion for music.  I'm glad they're making sure it's right before releasing it because it sucks to  be excited about a new product and then have it crash my PT sessions or lock up etc when I install it.  

All that being said, as a customer, I believe that Vienna did give us a release date which was entirely their decision and gladly accepted people's money from the early bird discount so I think it would show good customer service to do one of the following:

-Not charge people's credit cards until it's actually released

-Include some extra articulations or goodies of some sort when it is released 

-Offer some sort of additional discount for customers who paid in advance and did not recieve the product they paid for when it was advertised to be released....especially if it is going to be released in bits and pieces over x amount of time.  

I'm not upset about this news, nor do I feel it's holding me back in some way, but when a company fails to deliver a product when they've committed to do so AND happily accepted the customers' money, a good company with a strong committment to customer service should feel some burden to make things "right" with the customers who bought the product in good faith.  I can say this with great experience because I'm a UPS driver and some people get absolutely irate when they don't get their package on time.  If someone pays for next day air service and we don't get it there on time due to our mistake, it's free.  I'm not saying anyone should expect Synchron strings for free at this point, but that's just an example of a company trying to make things right when they've missed a committment.

.....here's where everyone tears me apart with their horror stories about UPS.  :)

We will all live to create music another day and I'm sure it will be a great product once it's released....whenever that is.

cheers,

Steve

@guittarzzan said:

Personally, I consider things like this to be first world problems.  

Everything we have to deal with is a first world problem. Making electronic music is a first world problem. Working as a composer and paying off your mortgage is a first world problem. We live in the first world. I don't see how pointing that out makes any difference at all.

YesYesYes

Hello,

Will the 1+1=3 offer be extended too in December ?

@guittarzzan : when we take advantage of the early bird offer, we are not naive, we accept risks (delayed release, bad product...), nobody forces us to pay. It's the game, and even if I agree with you that it's a weird/bad game, we know rules...

We are ready to blindly pay several hundred euros because :

• The early bird offer is attractive (even more with the 1+1=3)
• Promises of Synchron Strings are very exciting
• We trust you. And you just proved once again we are right to trust you, in accepting to delay the release to make it good (unlike too many software producers)

But still, even if we accept the rules of the early bird game, it’s not pleasant at all for us. I will probably pre-order in the next days if I don't have answer concerning the 1+1=3 offer in december, but I already know it will bring me more worry than joy… Trust has limits.

So, please, could you answer at least few questions of this thread, to be not so blind ? Specially concerning the expected articulations in Synchron Strings II, III… : if Synchron Strings is planned to never have harmonics, sul ponticello, or some modern articulations or effects like in Spitfire LCO, its interest is poor to my eyes (but I say that without the demos, maybe a very good legato, finally !, will worth the money).

Thanks,

Matthieu

PS : your webmaster forgot some “November”s (1+1=3 offer page, and Synchron Strings I page)

Frankly, this is unprofessional. It must have been clear for a very long time that the release date could not be reached at all. We are now talking about "parts" in december. Why should a part be usefull at all? Early bird does not justify that - but it generates revenue based on false promises. This is a kickstarter campaign with Apple attitude.

This delay must have serious reasons. Maybe something went wrong or does not work or even sound as expected. 

Just emagine the quality of the recordings of an instrument groups did not match the Vision VSL had in their imagination ... and If YOU had the chance to decide then:

a) grab the result as it is right now ... OR
b) wait for improvements until everything is perfect and the Vision is fulfilled. 

I think if we knew the reasons for the delay, we all would be OK and choose option b)

@Paul said:

As soon as the first parts of Synchron Strings I are completed, we’ll make them available to you.

This will be in December, at the earliest possible date, you will definitely be ready for a great-sounding 2018! 

Could you tell us when we'll get the full product we've paid for? I was expecting it any day, but I'm now being told that some bits will come in December, and then the full product will be some time in 2018. That's very disappointing indeed. It won't be fully useable for a long time. And that leaves me wondering whether we're talking about six months or longer to get what we've already paid for.

I understand that you've not got the product up to standard yet, but maybe you should have waited until it was working before trying to sell it to us.

This to be honest. How can a November release turn into December at some point, and even then only delivered in parts,  3 days before the end of November.

Seems like a bait and switch to me and i am regretting having bought it already. I should have waited as at this point, i don't understand what advantage anyone who has already bought it has....

@guittarzzan said:

Personally, I consider things like this to be first world problems.  

Everything we have to deal with is a first world problem. Making electronic music is a first world problem. Working as a composer and paying off your mortgage is a first world problem. We live in the first world. I don't see how pointing that out makes any difference at all.

Because right now in Syria, there is probably a woman looking for her daughter under a pile of rubble from an airstrike.  Because right now, the poorest nation in the middle east is being bombed by Saudi Arabia and the people are starving.  These are things I use to remind myself of how lucky I am and how angry/frustrated to get when things like a string library release get delayed.  It puts things in perspective.  I would also say that if the delay of this string library has put you at risk of paying your mortgage then you shouldn't have bought it to begin with.  I would put paying my mortgage way, way higher on the priority list than spending money on a latest greatest string library.  Again, this is a first world problem in my opinion.  Keeps me from getting outraged at the great many little bumps in life.

cheers,

Steve

Well, I have to articulate my extreme discontent and rage for the bad news!

I ordered in october and waited for the promised release in "november" in order to finish a current project Im working on. (As I am working on limited budget its not that easy just to say "then you should have bought other products before")

What upsets me the most is that not only:

1.) is the release now sheduled december, but

2.) as they never said on the product page or anywhere "will be released in pieces" (=UNFINISHED) 

Point 1 alone would be upsetting, but 2.) is the icing on the cake and is NOT acceptable!

There has never been a word on "will be released in pieces". Thats just customer taunting!!

I am Really pissed-off! sorry, but for these news a simple apology is not enough!

Maybe they will offer the pre-ordering-customers some kind of cheap discount for upcoming Synchron-Stage-releases - but that would also be a complete joke, as the customer shouldnt have spend even More money for getting a "we´re sorry"-bonus.

The next problem with these shitty news is that the new product has to excel and be of uber-quality otherwise people will be even more upset and VSL just even more embarrassed.

I just cant get my around the fact, that not only the release will be delayed, but that we are NOW told, that the product will Not be released as it was sold, but in parts/pieces. I am extremly enraged and frustated!

Oh my god you people. I get that it's disappointing and it's natural to be excited for a release like this, but the humans working at VSL have to edit literally maybe 100,000 samples. 

I work in tech. When only half of things go wrong it's a good day. That's just the world we live in. VSL have a great track record on this – especially compared to the other large sample company who shall remain nameless – and they're allowed miss 1 deadline by a few days once every 15 years.

Also, remember that you're talking to people, not just a company, who are doing their best to get a probably terrific product to us. Let's be patient.

Now let's all go drink some beer.

Dear VSL,

Take your time! It's what makes VSL the best. 😊

I can imagine a VSL rebranding and redesigned marketing campaign (including a release/demo schedule) that I think would probably launch VSL into space. But I'd rather buy from a company that focused more on their product than their logo.

For the record, 1) I'm using samples from VSL that were recorded nearly 2 decades ago. 2) Now I'm even rebuilding my entire template around some VSL instruments I normally never use (due to a recent discovery in how to use convolution more effectively). Both are only possible because of a ridiculously high quality standard. 

If I am to be a true Jedi (which of course, I am) then patience is in order!

-Sean

@Banquo said:

Oh my god you people. I get that it's disappointing and it's natural to be excited for a release like this, but the humans working at VSL have to edit literally maybe 100,000 samples. 

I work in tech. When only half of things go wrong it's a good day. That's just the world we live in. VSL have a great track record on this – especially compared to the other large sample company who shall remain nameless – and they're allowed miss 1 deadline by a few days once every 15 years.

Yes quite.....even more reason then to not take peoples money whilst promising a release date for the whole library that now looks seemingly quite unrealistic.

I think if you are going to start taking peoples money promising a November release, it is bad, 3 days before the end of November to delay it, potentially a whole month or more and say you will only actually now be releasing the library in parts.

So basically everyone who has paid the money and has the code sitting their accounts have been somewhat screwed over.

I , like i'm sure many others were, was expecting demos, a final release date (ie that it would be available in a few days) on Monday. Instead we got a a delay and now a staggered release of the library with still no concrete info on when we will actually get the full library.

Lets not forget only a few weeks ago a VSL rep made absolutely NO hint at a delay and said demos would be coming very soon.