Hi! Is anyone of you actively using this plugin? I, for example, like the fg-stress and the new custom opto. However, their business model that they force you to a subscription with many plugins that I don't ever want is just stupid.

I don't need ANA2 or some mixing courses, I also got KILOHEARTS BUNDLE already, I will never care about TH-U Amps, I just want VMR with all modules (also physical ilok or cloud with only 1 activation allowed?)


From their site:

#FACTS: Buying individual
plugins is expensive
and outdated.

Expensive
Premium plugins cost an average of $149 - $299.

Wrong – everyone buys their plugins in sale and in bundles for much cheaper


Bad Investment
Buying plugins is a bad investment because they lose their value immediately. In fact, plugins depreciate far more than automobiles!

Wrong – I sold many plugins for an excellent price because they don't ever get "used"


Pricey Plugin Updates
Even when you buy premium plugins on sale, many companies force you to pay for expensive updates.

Most companies I support offered good discounts for updates.


(Thank got our heroes saved us from this anti customer crap)


Sorry, I got a bit distracted and mad because I really like VMR and I wanted to support it, but it feels like I get actively discouraged and in a way forced to use the sister site version….

 

Everyone can process audio with other, much cheaper plugins than plugin alliance, ua, or slate very well.
There are no "premium plugins".
Waves cost 30$ for lifetime. It's ridiculous to spend >200$ per 2 years or >500$ in 5 years for something that is just different.

Only one will win here in the long run, which is the lender. And the longer it goes, the worse gets the deal.

There is of course a reason, why this kind of price model pops up everywhere. Because there is no reason anymore to make those "hardware emulations".
It is possible to create plugins where distortion goes down to <120db. So what shall they do? You simply can not make it better anymore. At least not in a senseful way. And if you like saturation, then you can use any basic free saturation plugin else as well. It's just sinus tone extension. Really nothing magical is going on here, as a lot of people claim.

They are at their end, so they simply need this price model to survive.

And Slate is of course an arrogant and narcissistic businessman in the first place.

 

I hope if they are at their end, they will release the source code to all their stuff. :D
This reminds me of the sonnox inflator which claims to be a magic tool but can be nulled with ableton stock plugins.

But I must admit that I'm a sucker for plugins that have the vintage look.

 

That's totally fine. I think everyone has it.
In this regard I can advise to see "saturation" or distortion processing as a creative effect that you can apply. Because this is what we want to get from this vintage look. A densened (or saturated) frequency spectrum.

But I really can not advise to try to self-realize in this vintage stuff.
It really only makes things more complicated and steals time.

 

My alternative to Slate's business model is the Team R2R business model.

 

Last edited: Sep 7, 2022

I wonder who pays for subscription models for plugins. I never met someone who does! What if you can't pay anymore and suddenly all of your old projects stop working?

 

You'll find enough stupid people, if it wasn't Slate would be broke and the website wouldn't exist anymore.
It is the human greed for more. When a company can no longer pay its costs, it disappears.