Last Week vs. Next Week

[edhamilton]

Scenario -

Last week a guy bought the full Pro Edition.
He felt safe that with the VIP policy his investment is safe since "you never have to pay for the same samples twice".

Next week guy #2 buys the cube standard VI (which largely equates to the pro edition in size and articultaions and contains mostly the same samples).
He pays the same $$ as guy number one.

Guy #2 gets a vastly improved product.

Problem is - there is no upgrade/sidegrade path for guy #1.
He has to pay twice for the same samples to get the improved product.

Many Early adopters really feel shafted at the moment. I certainly do.
I am sure many recent pro edition buyers REALLY feel shafted.

It seems clear that Herb and company are simply going to wait out the VIP storm.
This is a shame.

I am sure you have lovely spreadsheet projections. They led you to your current abondonement of your long time user base.

Funny thing about spread sheets though .... there is no formula in excel for "ill will" and "customer outrage".
You may be surpised when your expectations meet a harsh cold reality.

We know what feels like. It happened to us on Saturday.

[dschweitzer]

Ed,

I couldn't agree more... As someone who bought the Pro Edition 'last week' (well not quite, but not installed it yet or even bought myself the new giga pc to run it on) I do feel incredibly shafted. If I could give back my Pro Ed (the CDs are still cello-wrapped - are you listening VSL?), I would happily shell out for the Standard VI libarary instead, with the option of upgrading to the extended library at a later date. Now I don't know whether to go ahead and order a Giga PC, or, quite frankly, what to do with it.

I realise that if I definitely decide I want the whole extended library, I'm not actually paying for the same samples twice... But that's not really the point, and at this stage I can't afford to double my investment.

so Vienna guys... I write music using logic on a mac - do you recommend that I go ahead and order my new Giga PC (£1800 + £400 for giga), or would it be better to just consider that a wasted investment and wait til I can run the VI versions on a mac?

David
[:(] & [:@]

[tomhartman]

Ed,

I agree that the price is insane for those of us who have put out for the full Pro Edition. The only consolation is that you can upgrade a little at a time. Not much of consolation, but it means you don't need 5000 or whatever to get your feet wet.

I felt the same way when my I finally convinced my business partner to get into a Digi TDM system a few years back. The very next year, after investing 10000, Digi came out with HD. Oh we could upgrade of course, for what...5000 or 6000.

The only safe investments were great analog consoles and a Studer tape machine. Oh wait. They don't make Studer tape machiens anymore.

Yikes. There are no safe investments. [;)]

Tom

@edhamilton said:

Scenario -

Last week a guy bought the full Pro Edition.
He felt safe that with the VIP policy his investment is safe since "you never have to pay for the same samples twice".

Next week guy #2 buys the cube standard VI (which largely equates to the pro edition in size and articultaions and contains mostly the same samples).
He pays the same $$ as guy number one.

Guy #2 gets a vastly improved product.

Problem is - there is no upgrade/sidegrade path for guy #1.
He has to pay twice for the same samples to get the improved product.

Many Early adopters really feel shafted at the moment. I certainly do.
I am sure many recent pro edition buyers REALLY feel shafted.

It seems clear that Herb and company are simply going to wait out the VIP storm.
This is a shame.

I am sure you have lovely spreadsheet projections. They led you to your current abondonement of your long time user base.

Funny thing about spread sheets though .... there is no formula in excel for "ill will" and "customer outrage".
You may be surpised when your expectations meet a harsh cold reality.

We know what feels like. It happened to us on Saturday.

[edhamilton]

Tom,
Compairing VSL to Digi .... meanest blow yet !!! [[:|]] [:D]
But man do i know your pain.

I have this strange pain in my bumm ... it starts every two years about a month before namm.
It gets worse and worse right up until Digi announces ............. then OUCH!!!

But I don't think Digi is a good role model for any company much less a software/sample company. And if you notice, Digi has been FAR kinder of late. Although my bumm is hurting a bit this year ..... namm is two months away .. hmmmm. lol

VSL is a classier company than digi. And it in no way has the monopoly that digi has.
We have MANY choices in the sample lib world and this year there are going to be some amazing new Libs announced.

VSL worked hard to earn its hard core following. We are more than users. We were evenagelists.
I fear all that is coming undone rather quickly at the moment.

There are three basic levels of customer care shown by music product companies.
Digi/Apple - they are monopolies and the act like it. Waves with wup are in this bunch too.

Everybody else - sometimes they are good to us - sometimes not.

then there is Spectrasonics and up till now VSL. (sampletekk, post, and some others also qualify here).
Top of the class companies with fanatical user bases.

The question at hand is does VSL place any value on being in that rare air of companies who really really take care of the users. Or are they looking at a spread sheet and underestimating the ill- will being created at the moment.

[metrobot]

I agree. I wish VSL would stop innovating so that all our old investments would retain their value forever.