My problems came as follows, in order.

1A. I'm a sucker for virtual instruments. Especially analog things. So, of course, I went right for that shiny Minimoog. I personally thought we would get the plugins like Minimoog for free with the software. I was pretty annoyed to quickly find out the damn thing cost 300 bucks. I hate to sound like a freeloader but at least tell us how much that stuff was going to cost. They made it sound like it came with the DAW kinda like synths come with Logic Pro, Studio One, FL Studio, and several other major DAWs. I've bought a decent amount of UAD plugins over the years. I find the quality to be great and I love the UI's and workflows. These plugins usually range from 100$ to 250$. But for the cost for that minimoog and the piano, you could buy Omnisphere and still have at least $100 leftover depending on where you shop.

1B. $300 is a little steep for a Minimoog you can't even use in your own DAW of choice. If you could use it as a regular UAD plugin, then I'd likely buy it because personally I thought it sounded pretty nice. I can use all my other UAD plugins in Logic, so I just feel that these instruments should be no different. I understand all DAWs do this, though. For instance, you can't use Logic's Retrosynth in Studio One. But we also don't have to pay extra $300 for it. Companies like Avid and Propellerheads do stuff like this and have received backlash for it. Propellerheads finally gave in and made Reason compatible as its own Rack plugin for other DAWs. I finally went ahead and bought Reason for the first time since version 6 when I found out about that. Avid is well, a different story. I don't hear much about them guys anymore and I don't see as many people using Pro Tools as I did maybe 10 years ago. People love freedom and flexibility. Luna is free so you don't have to worry about losing customers if you decided to make its plugins available universally. I'm sure they will do this over time, once they realize how many more sales of the product they'll rake in once they did. It just seems like a win-win.

2. The fact that I couldn't find a pencil tool to draw midi regions. I do this sometimes when I just have a song idea and don't feel like plugging in my keyboard or anything.

3. I generally use my Apollo Twin MKII as a DI box in Logic so I typically don't use the headphone jack for playback. I was rather bummed to find out I couldn't use my own computer's output in Luna.

I will give credit where due. And besides the 3 things I mentioned above, overall it's a pretty slick DAW. Kind of like Pro Tools but with a modernized interface. I also generally use Audio Units for plugins and don't install the VST versions of plugins to save space on my hard drive because... I use Logic for almost everything. So considering that Luna uses AU plugins, I'm relieved that I didn't have to go back and install VST versions of everything I own that I wanted to use in Luna.

I think this whole disappointment thing stems from the fact that longtime UAD users like myself tend to have high expectations for anything they release. This was obviously a pretty rushed release. I can tell they rushed the initial release because if you look at the youtube comments on their Luna videos, people were eagerly asking them when this was going to be released. And they responded to every comment saying "we're doing the best we can to get this released as fast as possible! please be patient!" They seemed like they really really wanted to release this.

On the other hand, I also must take into consideration that these guys are human too. There's a global pandemic and many of the guys on the UA team have families to take care of in these tough times just like anyone else. And despite my critiques, I'm actually quite impressed that they got as much done as they did, in the timeframe that the did, considering what the world is going through and has been going through for a good portion of LUNA's development. So even if it is rushed, they did a pretty decent job.

TL:DR,
I'd personally give it 3.5 to 4 stars. They will work on it more over time and it will get better. It's got potential and I am definitely interested to see where they go with it. But for now, it's a newly released software, and free, nonetheless. I personally wasn't expecting the next best thing right out of the gate. But I also wasn't expecting them to hype us about the extra instruments as if it were complimentary part of the software only to sell it separately. The plugins are decent but pricey considering we can't use them in our DAW of choice like other UAD plugins. They did tell us it wouldn't be compatible with other DAW's. But the rest just seems like a shoddy marketing technique.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 13, 2020

I'm sure you have another DAW. I have Logic and I will continue to use it over this. But I'm not going to spend my time bitching about something I didn't pay for. I don't see why you feel so hurt by this product.

 

They never said LUNA included everything for free.

 

yes they have to recoup their R&D. im obviously not saying wah wah this should all be a gift and companies should give shit away for free. that is clearly not the case. i am a capitalist. i get it.

luna is a way for them to give a few things away up front and then make millions on new ua customers who want access to luna through buying their hardware and future extensions. and they do give plugins away btw... when you buy a ua interface you get a plugin bundle for free.... to get you to use their interface... which gives them $$

"so if you assumed this would include all present and future content for free"......

no one assumed that or even alluded to assuming that they would be just giving everything away free forever so not really sure why you said that. kind of like kathy newman asking jordan peterson "so what your saying is...".

no thats not what im saying.

 

I can't feel hurt at all. I use Reaper, enough said. Should that prevent me from admiring the weaselly way developpers offers "free daws" today or only horses should talk about races because they are the only ones running them?

 

I think it is what you're saying. You described it as a "bait and switch" and you said that you "anxiously open luna and im greeted with a home page offering neve summing for $300. the instruments are similarly priced as well. i think "hmm, i guess they're selling these as plugs to ppl outside of LUNA maybe?". i brush by it and jump into a session. i record a quick guitar and vocal track just to see how they sound with the Neve. i go to add the Neve and i'm hit with "do you want to start the demo?". wtf

As I posted in a pic, if you had been following them in the launch lead up they clearly clarified the difference to being "built-in" and being "included"

I have also stated that if it doesn't suit you....and I will admit it doesn't suit me, then don't use it. I won't be using it. I don't particularly like it. But I'm not complaining.

 

For a Minimoog plugin I would suggest Synapses Legend. It's better than my actual Minimoog.[/QUOTE]

 

i think that summed it up well. i get the need to drive up the hype so that you get business on launch and ill still love my ua stuff and will continue using, albeit probably not luna. my only gripe was with how i felt a bit mislead by how they handled parts of the marketing. and bring attention to the fact that i wasnt the only one who thought it sounded like more of the features were integrated, included parts of luna.

 

[/QUOTE]
Yes this is my go to for Minimoog. And I wholeheartedly agree. Legend is pretty killer!

 

Honestly my big thing is I think they should make the VIs compatible universally like they do with their other plugins. If they did that, I would buy the bundle. I won't unless that happens though. It would really increase their profits if they did. Everybody wants more money, after all.

 

i did think that the neve, oxide tape, minimoog, and shape were included free inside luna. as did many others. but anything beyond those i knew would be paid add ons. as they explicitly state with like the studer tape for example. i was just let down man. thats all. and alot of other ppl were too according to ua's website. i wasnt trying to start a war over it but i thought it should be brought up. like i said at the end of the op if it was just me that was under this impression that would obviously be one thing (me totally and completely unfoundedly wrong) but when i saw the reviews and how many others were under the same impression then there is at least a reason to bring it up.

 

i will stick to my other DAW .. LUNA is not worthy, your DAW does not make a good music for you, especially when it's locked with certain hardware ...

 

"This car has air conditioning?"
"Yes sir, built in."

(2 weeks later): "There's no air conditioning! I feel ripped off!"
"Oh you want to USE the a/c! It's built into the car but we charge $1,000 to turn it on."
"You didn't tell me that!!"
"You didn't ask."

 

I love my UA stuff too. I'm not drawn in to LUNA at all. I would definitely use it for mixing stems if it had Neve summing incorporated. Or maybe not. I've seen some examples of it A/B'd dry and summed and it was not worth $300.

 

Although amusing, it's not an accurate example. UA'S Unison Technology is described as being built into their Console. But it's not included as a free product. I think this is where peoples assumptions became confused and UA didn't clarify sufficiently. They stated that Neve Summing was a "built-in feature" Which it is in the sense that it is built into LUNA, just as Unison is built into Console. But neither is free.

 

I think we have fanboy here
You won´t give up until everybody loves UAD

 

I wouldn't describe myself as an anything fanboy. I've already said I am not going to be using LUNA. I have not advocated it in any way that would suggest I urge others to try it, let alone use it. It's midi capabilities are appalling. I'm not even suggesting that anybody else uses their plugins. They are ridiculously expensive and while some of their emulations were great when released, there are many others now that are just as good. So, no. Not a fanboy.

 

UA is pretty garbage as a company. Their prices blow other than when you can buy plugins for less than 100 bucks once a year. Most of their stuff is severely dated, but the prices never change. SHARC chips are shit, so their only truly portable interface (ie, the bus-powered Arrow) can run like 2-3 plugins without maxing out. I legit only use it only to track guitars, bass, other live stuff when a session is already in progress. If I'm starting from scratch, I can just my Apogee and get similar latency with a low buffer.

I own a good amount of their stuff. Can't even sell it without attaching an interface or satellite to the sale. Can't just sell some stuff, has to be all. They have terrible policies and act smug about it.

LUNA is a joke. It's Garageband with a nicer interface. All a gimmick to push Luna-only shit that would force you to use the premature and 10-years-behind DAW that they call a recording system. Right now I can buy a Console 1, get 2 channels strips AND the new zener for c1 (formerly a UA exclusive) for less than 2 luna plugs lol. I'm done with them until they show some loyalty or business sense. Kinda hoping this bites them hard - they earned it in this case.

 

Are you speaking about the company that manufactures the 1176, the 610 and the LA-2. The compressors, preamps and dynamics controllers that are probably in use in every major studio in the world?

 

In 2020, and in regards to the topic at hand, yes. Like I said, I own a lot of their stuff. I've used their hardware for pretty extended periods of time. Jordan was a god on the Bulls. Luna is Jordan on the Wizards missing a dunk in the all-star game. Did you read the rest of the many issues I mentioned? You like any of those aspects of UA?