I have been following this discussion, and as a new Vepro user who is a hobbyist, I must admit I'm somewhat confused. The general consensus seems to be that this VEP7 offer is not very welcome, as it seems that people will have to pay more for what they already had in VEP6, in terms of licenses. And for networkers, I can definitely see how this is a problem. For me, I just use one computer. I bought Special Edition 1 a few years back, and thought that by accepting this offer I would gain perhaps some usable new sounds in Epic Orch. 2, while also getting the upgrade from the free Vienna ensemble to Vepro. And eventually get a free upgrade to VEP7.
My experience so far is that Vepro gives me faster load times than I had with the free player. Plus, the ability to host other libraries, including EO, GPO and EWSO (I have not succeeded in getting Cinematic Strings, which uses the free Kontakt Player, to be recognized). but I ran into a problem, due to how I use reverb. I like to put Lexicon Pantheon on my synths, and turn off any native reverb in the library. I send them all to Spaces so they are all in the same space. By using Pantheon, all the different libraries have the same algo reverb, in varying amounts, before they go to Spaces. This works for me. but I have not found a way yet to do this while hosting the synth in Vepro. So I have gone back to the old way, just using Vepro for SP1, and using sonar's mixer for the others, so I can add Pantheon to them.
Thus, I am using Vepro exactly as I used the free player. I am not sure there is much benefit in this, but perhaps when VEP7 comes out there will be other benefits. As for EO, so far I am using violin and bass sounds. I also get a cornet, something I didn't have, as well as a nice oboe d'amore, which who knows someday I may use. That's pretty much it. However, having better violins and basses than I had before is a big improvement, as these instruments have always been problematic. And I get an intro to the Synchron series, so I can evaluate whether this is something I would want to explore further, or just stay with the conventional Vienna libraries.
All in all, I think I got my money's worth. I'm sure I would feel differently if I were a long time user, and especially if I networked. I'm putting this out there mostly for the sake of others like me who are thinking of getting Vepro on this introductory offer. It's probably worth it. For the rest of you folks, I can understand your problems with this offer. It reminds me of when Sonar went to a subscription model, then offered lifetime updates for a onetime fee, then went out of business. (Fortunately, Sonar was revived by a company called Bandlab, who now offer Cakewalk By Bandlab for free, which initially caused a huge up-swelling of anger from those who paid their dues all along, and now anyone can have what they paid for for free (minus the plugins, so they did get something for their money).
We have to remember that this is a business. sometimes companies are going to do things we don't like. That's just the way it is. The consumers didn't own sonar, just as Vienna's consumers don't own Vienna. That doesn't mean they have no right to express their outrage if they feel they have been taken advantage of. It's healthy to fo so, and may cause the company to change their plans.
So I think this is a very healthy discussion which hopefully will improve how VSL treats its customers. Companies need feedback like this. The only thing negative about it is the occasional ad hominum attacks. that does nobody any good.
