PavlovsCat

Yeah, but that doesn't stop my kids from mocking me. Haha! I don't mind.

Thanks for the recommendation and catching the typo in my username! Cakewalk keeps changing my name back to my registered name -- which I changed to my pseudonym from back in the day -- and when I mistyped PavlovsCat today when I went to change it back. While I am a rocker, I actually love a lot of different genres, including jazz, funk, prog rock, R&B, reggae, world music, Latin music... I even surprise my (teenage) kids by liking music they don't expect people my age to like. The surprise? Rihanna. That's right forum friends. The first rock album I purchased was Zeppelin III at age 5. My mother, a classically trained (music college) pianist was horrified that her son liked "acid rock." At 18, when my band covered "Good Times, Bad Times," she seemed to respect the band more. So yeah, I know I'm going to get crap for admiting I dig some of Rhianna's songs!

Interesting. I vaguely recall this service, but definitely need to check it out again. Thanks for the insights @abacab and @Starship Krupa. I really would like to find a good outlet to find new music. Back in the day, my town (Chicago) had a great radio station that was very good at playing off the beaten path rock bands and also had shows devoted to jazz and blues, but over the years, they stayed with the same music and artists, and while I've aged too, I still love hearing a new great band or song.

From the linked landing page: What’s new in version 2.0? New Sounds Wretched Risers (from Symphobia 4: Pandora) Organ Mystique (from our various church organ recordings) New Features Powered by a completely new engine Fresh and spacious design All-in-One instrument and browser In-browser audio previews New and inspiring Multis by ProjectSAM 10 slot mixer to arrange and design your own Multis Adaptive Sync for a selection of instruments Shift and trim mapping of individual articulations Customize articulation switching and dynamic control On-screen tool tips Improved Features Smoother envelopes, filters and curves for all instruments Better release trail response for slow sustains Various mapping bug fixes

Hahaha! Just to be clear that isn't a reference to my posts. I inadvertently overshared, but I was well intentioned. There were two posts by two users that were outright malicious that I saw that were deleted hours later. But, like everyone else, I am wondering why the thread was locked -- maybe someone complained it doesn't belong in the deals forum? I was looking forward to Larry seeing it upon his return (he still hasn't opened my Facebook message -- we're not connected, so it's easy to miss messages like that, so I'm not taking it personally, Larry and I always got along very well and regularly had very encouraging PMs on this forum, and hopefully will again in the near future). I think I understand why Larry went away and I hope he's just taking a break from the forum for a bit and will return, regardless if he still posts deals like he once did. He invested a lot of time and energy here and I don't think it's surprising that he got a bit burnt out and could use a break.

I just wanted to point out how much I respect the way you talk about your competitors, Jason. I loved that response and wanted to say something, because I think that's how it should be.

I have some libraries in the HALion Sonic format and I kinda like the sampler. I'm more familiar, and more comfortable, with KONTAKT, but HALion Sonic is decent. I'm not sure how it compares with Zampler.

No, that is incorrect. My point is that IF PreSonus-- or any other software developer-- cannot continue to grow market share, they're likely not going to have a bright future as a DAW software developer. The premise of this thread was a knee jerk misinterpretation of an interview with the CEO not based in what the CEO said but founded in misunderstanding and unfounded assumptions. Abacab stating "that could be the bottom line" is affirming the statement I made that PreSonus needs to keep growing its customer base if it's going to remain in the DAW software market and that means it must pursue younger DAW users and it's critical to get the entry level products right. That, of course, is a very different point than the original post.

Yep. The good news is that the DAW market is healthy and growing. Here's a summary of a study, if anyone is interested. Of course, PreSonus's CEO's remarks that inspired this thread were focused on new, entry level users, and this research is much more broad, but the summary might be of interest to anyone following this stuff. https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/digital-audio-workstation-market-266138785.html

Thanks. I do know the very basics of EQ, but not really how to functionally execute EQing on my mixing. As far as strategy insights (my background is a digital marketing director and Fortune 500 business strategist with a specialty in technology; I've advised probably two dozen music software companies over the years; done a lot of writing and public speaking). The shortest way to put it is that you use data as a vital input in decision making. The data will include hard numbers such as sales data, product usage, support data and also research study data -- and their perception of survey data is what I suspect that is what some of the folks here are thinking about and ripping on. So in this case, the CEO has likely seen data on sales on adoption and usage of the DAW category. His comments are focused on growth, which, of course, a lot of this forum users, demographically are older, more experienced users with more disposable income than say, most of the Gen Z segment they're targeting. The largely Boomer demographic operates very differently in terms of tech and just about everything else when it comes to DAW software. Of course, a 50+ year old DAW user is going to have very different wants and needs. That user likely prefers hardware metaphors in the DAW design that mean nothing to Gen Zers. Like a lot of people here, years ago, I was a semi professional musician and did some recording studio work and had lots of recording and effects hardware. Most of the folks PreSonus needs to win over have no experience with any of that stuff. Their entry point is often software like GarageBand (my kids used that at their elementary school). That is their understanding of recording gear, whereas people here often had gear like ADAT, I used my older brother's multitrack reel-to-reel recorder and bought a Fostex 4 track cassette recorder as my entry way. So, the big challenge is getting those folks in the pipeline. It's not a threat to us experienced DAW users. In fact, if PreSonus doesn't succeed on winning over these entry level users, they're a lot more likely to bail on DAW software.

I've been using Cakewalk since the earliest version and I still don't understand EQ like you. I mostly just record and adjust volume like you described. Sad, but true. To the CEOs point, to truly master this area would likely take a formal education. While it sounded like typical exaggeration business people make, there actually is substance in what he said. A lot of older generation users have a hard time understanding how a new user thinks and having spent my career focused on using data to understand how people do things and how they think, the irony here is that people are ripping on the CEO when anyone experienced in the tech industry software or hardware management can tell you that what he said are very basic truths about complex software and hardware. I could give tons of examples first hand and second hand. But I don't think the critics are going to listen. Their real takeaway should be that a VP has since stated that the CEO was not talking about removing features or functionality from the flagship product but addressing making the entry level product easier to use.

I know this one. Hayes played keyboards. He also wrote songs beyond the ones he performed, like the Sam & Dave classic, 'Soul Man," which he co-wrote.

Exactly! Spot on, @antler. Well said.

For you guys who know your stuff (regarding mixing), how would you rate this compressor? As someone who's not savvy about mixing and own Izotope's compressor, I'm just looking for advice from more experienced mixers the kind of situations where I should give this a try.

@Bapu, I've listened to your music over the years and been very impressed. I'm pretty certain that you're a bassist, right? I know Larry's a guitarist. Did Larry sing this or is it you or someone else?

Data doesn't make assumptions. Data shows facts of what occured IN THE PAST. Good strategy uses data to guide in decisions regarding the future. In the case of the interview that inspired this thread, the CEO was saying that the company's entry level product should be simpler. I completely agree. One of the company's execs has since made a clarification statement that the CEO wasn't referring to their top of the line product. A lot of the folks here are old timers who've used these products for decades and very tech savvy (before anyone takes that the wrong way and goes off, that group includes me). Consider that DAW makers want/need to see growth and that means selling to younger, often less affluent, buyers that may not be as comfortable with complex software. The CEO is saying this product category, and their own entry level product, is too complex. If they make it easier to use, they can gain a lot more market share. Now, I'm a former strategist that advised Fortune 500 c level execs and no, they almost always won't know these products or be as tech savvy as just about everyone who has made a post in this thread. But I think the CEO's statements in the interview were pretty basic, strategy 101 statements and if his company can execute what he wants to do, and execute effective publicity and promotional strategies, it would very likely allow them to gain market share, which would be very good news for those who own the flagship product. As the whole reason for the entry level product is to put customers in the pipeline, which leads up to costly/costlier paid products -- ideally to the flagship product. Nerd talk over.

@ZokZTM After my sharing my thoughts a little too openly about contacting Larry via Facebook, I did contact him. I told him about this thread -- even how I unintentionally derailed the happy vibe for a little bit by oversharing (we've discussed each other's worldviews in the past) -- but that he should visit to see the outpouring of appreciation for him, that he will smile. I also let him know that I wasn't asking him to come here because I have the motive of wanting him to keep pumping out deal threads. Yes, I'm very grateful for Larry tirelessly doing that. But I don't think expecting him to come back here only to pump out threads for us is really an act of friendship. At least, that's my perspective. I told him that I think it would be great if he just sees peoples' posts about how important he is to this community and how much people care about him. If he wants to stick around, he shouldn't feel the need to constantly create deal threads like he had in the past. Just chill and enjoy making comments like the rest of us. He's earned Hall of Fame status and a lifetime of goodwill from the community. Larry said to me that a group of us here is like family. Well, you know, you can still care about family even when you don't agree on certain things. In fact it's pretty common.

Larry mixed this track. I absolutely love it. It's sooo good. I'm one of those 4 likes (from months ago when Larry told me about the track). But this song deserves A LOT MORE than 4 likes. Give it a listen. For all Larry does for this forum, you can at least do that. And if you like it, give it a like.

We're all here buying stuff, but I wish we shared more of the music we make. I've tried to encourage Larry to share his music, like in a signature file, as he's shared it with me in PMs. He's a talented rock guitarist. I have never seen Larry sharing this anywhere in the forum. But this is really good and deserves more than 6 likes, come on people, get on it. Maybe Larry will check his SoundCloud account. We're only buying stuff here to make music.

This one relates to a very nice conversation (PM) Larry and I once had. We acknowledged that we have very different worldviews, but we still like each other, have a shared love for music and have sent numerous encouraging PMs to one another. Larry wrote that he saw me and others here as family. So this is a special dedication to @cclarry.

@abacabI'll take your Ozzy and raise you a John, Paul, George and Ringo.

I actually love this old song, Get Back Home by the late John Martyn with Phil Collins on drums.