@hendrkf said:
Even if you can't afford the SC (I am in that group, at least for now), how lucky the music world is to have a group of people with the passion and the ability to create a product like this.
I'm sure that the VSL folks appreciate praise like that. At the end of the day, however, they're going to want to move product (hopefully, a LOT of it).
At the very least, this will be an extremely interesting test of the market. As far as the cost of high end orchestral sample packages goes, VSL is now in a very different league from any of its competitors. Certainly, they will sell some copies, but how many? You can make the same amount of profit (possibly more) by selling more copies at a lower price. Now that this software will be copy protected, I think there's a greater chance that more copies could actually be sold before piracy and "sharing" cuts into profits.
One thing I do appreciate about VSL is that they maintain the value of the product better than some of the competitors. Sure, I think we all expect sales down the line, but VSL doesn't blow things out the way other manufacturers do. If you're an early adopter, it's distressing to see big fire sales on products not all that long after you paid top dollar (or top euro). I don't expect VSL to be doing any dramatic price cuts once this product is released. If they did, it would REALLY anger the people that already spent the money. At this point, I think the price structure on these new products is locked in, so no sense in quibbling about it or demanding a change in the price structure. It is what it is.
Initially, I was pretty gung-ho about this new product and was seriously considering picking it up. At this point, I have to admit that I'm waffling a bit. No doubt about it, the new VI is brilliant. I'm concerned though, that I'd be making a big investment, and sonically not be all that far from where I'm at right now in terms of meat and potatoes things that I use every day. In other words, I'd be able to use the library much better, but it would sound essentially the same. In the past, whenever I've spent a large amount of money, I expected to be knocked out with a stunning, brand new sound.
If I do do the upgrade, I'm in for the whole thing. With the VSL content I already own, it wouldn't make sense to just stop at the basic product. So, I'm personally looking at $6,055. I've never spent that much on a high end library before, much less spent that much on an upgrade to a very expensive library that I already own.
Since we are talking about the same sonics as the previous versions, I already know that in many situations, I prefer samples from other libraries I own (I'm fortunate to have a lot of libraries). Regardless of the improvements that the new VI will make, I most likely will continue to use a lot of those other samples. It's not that there's anything wrong with the VSL content. In a lot of situations, other samples just seem to work better for me. I also feel like I'm overloaded (and I'll bet there are others in the same boat). I've got a LOT of stuff now, and I don't feel as if I've adequately used what I already have. Heck, I've got the box of disks for the new upgrade to EWQLSO Platinum sitting right here, and I haven't gotten around to installing them yet. Buying all this stuff is one thing. Getting a handle on it and really making use out of it is another.
Another drawback of the new VI, for me, would be that it would put a crimp in how I'd really like to use it. I have two modes of operation in my studio. For a lot of simpler projects, I just stick with all the stuff in my GS (with Logic as the front end of a PT HD Accel system). When requirements are greater, I'll fire up my additional four PCs. Ideally, if I did the VSL VI update, I'd like to have everything on my G5, but then also have it split between the other PCs. It doesn't seem like I'll be able to do this.
Considering all the above, I'm grappling with whether I would really get $6,000+ worth of value out of this update. Would there be other ways for me to spend that much money that would bring a more marked improvement to my end product? The early bird organ offer is nice, but not everybody needs organ all that often (I bought the Notre Dame de Budapest library some time back, and have yet to have an opportunity to use it).
The VSL SC VI would be wonderful to have, but with every passing day, I seem to be growing cooler on the idea that I really need it (especially at that price). Time will tell. I know that at least for me, enticing special offers are a big motivator to buy. Otherwise, I often drag my feet. I'll bet that's true for a lot of us.
I know that I could just acquire part of it, but that doesn't seem as appealing. I believe that a lot of the folks who were in for the original edition and the Pro version of VSL would feel the same way. Psychologically, there's something appealing about buying the whole enchilada (it's what I've always done in the past for other big libraries). It's too bad that this time, we're looking at such an expensive enchilada upgrade during a period in the history of sampling where so many other companies are bringing out some very cost-effective enchiladas (and our stomaches are already quite full). [:D]
So at the moment, I'm torn about this. I wish that the SC upgrade was a more obvious slam dunk for me.
It would have been interesting to have been a bug on the wall of the VSL boardroom when discussions were taking place on how to package and market these products. I'll be they explored and toyed with a lot of alternate possibilities.
Lee Blaske