Seeing the XLN update kindly reported by @thantrax got me thinking that I have bought Addictive Drums (with some of its add-ons). I also own Addictive Keys as a gift from the Focusrite Plugin Collective. However, I don't use those plugins at all now. The same has happened with Slate VMR and U-He Satin. Slate's VMR has been replaced altogether by Acqua Amethist 3, which gives me the warm I need, using other plugins to supplement its tone. Satn has been put to pasture by UAD Ampex and Studer.

What's your take on this?

Peace to you all, always.

 

I bought Prominy V-Metal Kontakt lib. Very expensive but the best for me back at the time. But Prominy barely updates bugs.
In terms of usability and resource-hungryness was totally surpassed by Impact Soundworks Shreddage II which I bought later. With the lesson learned, Shreddage libs are frequently improved.

I use the pirate versions just for simplicity.

 

I guess I've gotten pretty lucky in this regard as the sister site lets me fully test what I'd like to use very thoroughly. I've purchased Nebula and a few Acqua's, and have serious doubts that anything other than actual hardware would replace them. Which is lucky considering that they haven't, and likely never will, appear next door. So money well spent in my opinion.
I remember anxiously awaiting Slate VMR to hit the sister site because, well, the hype. I almost jumped on it once or twice when they ran their specials. I'm glad I didn't though at this point. It doesn't make it's way into my mixes at all now and Aqua's and Nebula have solidly trumped it as a tool for warmth, tone, and punch.

 

In fact, besides the biggest advantage of trying the stuff before buying, sometimes checking out the comments here and in AZ is enough to convince me or not to try it.

 

i have bought all Spectrasonics libraries since day one,the first was symphony of voices and atmosphere...to keyscape & never regret it.
Speaking of warmth,i 've recently fallen in love with some old but really nice PSPaudioware plugins,like the nobleQ,psp oldtimer &vintage warmer

 

Right. There are a lot of things that I've tried and never made it to the buying phase. If there's a good point in piracy, it is to keep the audio business in check. The market is flooded with bull and hyped marketing, be it software, hardware, or life outside the studio. It's so easy for a developer to half-ass it in R&D, push a half-baked product to the market and then use their user base as lab rats, ironing out the bugs for them. The biggest companies will update their software quickly. Others never get around to it. And then there's the concept of planned obsolence: a certain upgrade that won't be backwards compatible because it targets the newer computers, forcing long-time customers to own it and spend again. This is in part what prompted me to post this poll.

On the other hand, I don't have tons of cash and I don't make it as a recorder or mixer to continuously move up the software ladder. When I make a purchase, I want it to last, and there are basically basically two reasons behind a buy for me: (1) its revenue, which is why I bought Pro Tools 11 when I saw its goodies for me. However, I use PT10 cracked, even though I own a license to it. It's just less cumbersome. (2) heartfelt support for the developer. That's why I'm a customer of Disto, U-He, Airwindows, and HorNet, for instance.

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2017