Hi!
Around 2010 I was using Gladiator from the Sister Site (it was v1 or v2 - I don't remember). I didn't use Gladiator for like 15 years now, but I remember that back then it sounded good.

Now that I use gems like Omnisphere3, Falcon, Pigments, Diva, Hive, Chromaphone3, most Cherry Audio synths, etc, could Gladiator 4 add anything unique to my synth arsenal?

I wonder if I now buy Gladiator 4, and I open my old FL Studio projects from 2010 (that were using the Sister Site's version of Gladiator1/2) would legit Gladiator4 replace the SisterSite Gladiator1/2 ?
And the legit Gladiator 4 would open the old preset that was saved in SisterSite Gladiator1/2 ?


PS. I remember, like 15 years ago some people were complaining that Tone2 was spying on their users somehow? or Tone2 included some adware in their VSTs? Or was it some other company?

Thanks!

 

i have used gladiator vst in the past. pretty amazing synth for trance.. yes, they have been spying on their users its true that hidden spyware is another story.. i dont know gladiator could be useful still.. i used to use their plugins like in 2011.. firebird too is and was amazing plugin.

 

If you are into Trance, Techno, Futurepop, EBM...well yes... it's a staple.

 

So if I now buy Gladiator4, and I scan the install file, it's likely to report me a spyware?
Do people who bought Tone2 vsts live with the thought of having a spyware:D

 

People use a good firewall to prevent data leaks. But these have never been "spyware". They do other stuff like deleting license keys, screw with other r2r plugins, and other stuff locally. They aren't like a RAT.

 

I also have a purchased version of Gladiator that works perfectly. Gladirator 4 is currently available for €99. It has greatly improved the instrument. If you like the sound, buy it; you don't need to worry about spyware. Gladiatorator is a very good product.

 

So the complaining about Tone2 "spyware" was only about the fact that their plugins checked if there are any non-legit keys in a computer's registry to make sure someone only uses legit versions of Tone2 vsts?

Apart from this, Tone2 has never stolen any data from its customers' computers, and never did any other sh!t?

 

Last edited: Jan 26, 2026 at 2:03 AM

Not that I am aware of. They did stuff they thought that "would protect their plugins" and "would get back at warez users". They did not install any kind of malware.

 

Tone2 is a two-person company from Germany. They make a living selling software. They were simply defending themselves against illegal piracy and intelligently extending their copy protection.

Like other companies, they are subject to German law and, of course, cannot commit crimes such as stealing your data, which they didn't do. Tone2 successfully fought against piracy for a long time but was eventually cracked by a team.

Support your local developers with cash and buy products you like. Because without cash, these companies will die, and there will be no new products or updates.

 

Yes, it is just about copy protection. Tone2 never stole user data.

Any plugins (VST, VST3, AAX, CLAP etc.) cannot steal your data as they aren't executables. It is as if they are sandboxed. A host (DAW) starts and stops them, it (dis)allows all interactions with the filesystem, memory accesses etc. But even if a host does it it is more tricky to steal your data.

Such rumours about Tone2 plugins are based on the fact that a usual plugin has no access to filesystem and OS in the same extent as Tone2 plugins do. Potentially such levels of permissions is unsafe. But nobody ever told that Tone2 steals user data.

This is info from .nfo files by R2R. Not a word about stealing.

 

I'd like to add that software piracy is a crime worldwide. Please stop badmouthing Tone2. We have record losses of billions of dollars every year due to cybercrime. So please don't glorify criminals! Just buy the Tone2 product. I know that if your groceries were free because the cash register and security system were hacked, the supermarket would be empty within 12 hours.

 

Yes, you're absolutely right, and the discussion about whether it was a criminal offense back then was entirely justified. Mr. Krause probably went a bit overboard. And yes, dear ArticStorm, I completely agree with you that he lost a lot of trust.

However, I would also point out that he acted almost in self-defense. Anyone who owns their own company knows that if profits plummet, the company and the dream of self-employment are gone. Even good, calm people can become very aggressive or resort to combative measures in such situations.

I've encountered several companies that scam their customers. The last one was LANDR with their "LANDR Audio - LANDR Synth X v1.0.0 VST3." The synth existed before under a different name; I played it and deleted it as junk—the sound was unusable. They simply renamed the synth and gave it a different GUI, and there was no demo version. €49.50, down the drain.

The criminals' allies are also terrible: blogs that advertise it and write reviews that contradict reality. In short, there's lying and cheating; probably every one of us has bought a pig in a poke at some point.

 

I own pretty much every Tone2 plugin and I’m absolutely happy with them. Never had any issues so far. Support is excellent.
Yeah, Markus did raise some eyebrows in the past with the way he handled and understood “copy protection” — that’s all pretty well documented by now.
That said, he did apologize for it back then and stated that those practices were stopped.
In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves whether they trust a developer with that kind of history and whether they want to buy their products.
I personally haven’t regretted it to this day. And let’s be honest — with other developers, you never really know what’s going on behind the scenes either.