Brian Walton

I'd suggest getting the Soft Tones Highlighted Buttons theme from here: It has a modernist look and also gets rid of some of the unnecessary text in the console view. That being said, this theme is one of the best looking out of all the DAWs on the market. Ableton has a flat modern look, and frankly it looks dreadful, IMO.

If you are looking for Free instruments (such as piano + guitar VSTis) check this thread. There are a few that are excellent, some of which are better than ones I paid for.

T-bone rules and doesn't require ilok like softtube does. Have it installed on each of my computers. Have been shocked at how frequently I use it.

With the company saying the plugin is ready...and Plugin Boutique putting a release date out. Outside of another major covid market change, I think we can safely count on this one. All prevoius announcments seems to have some unknowns with PB 's expectations.

During the virtually only time they ran it on sale? They made comments suggeting buying it during that time vs. waiting for the actual release would not be more expensive. Everything I read suggested it woudl be a paid upgrade, but not more expensive as a total purchase price if purchased during the sale. If you bought it at full retail, well that is unfortunate.

I'm curious as well. Have been beta testing it for a while now myself and look forward to the actual release (honestly wish it was sooner, since my understanding it is ready...they are just trying to time the release) I believe they said the upgrade cost shoudl be "reasonable" will have to see if they have the same definition I do. ?

A the retail price they want, it is fairly surprising they don't offer the "non-all buttons" smahsed option. Got it last time, but honeslty will get super limited use.

Guitar center cables are a rip off. If you are getting cables of any decent quality...even ebay would be a better alternative at this point. If you are buying junk with plastic molded ends then yes, GC provides that quick fix for not much more than the cost of shipping.

...it isn't just GC that is impacted. , that warehouse system they have is one of the top disto centers in the country.

Agreed, and also G.A.S might now be listed in the DSM-5 (not sure, as I didn't persue a PHD in Psyhology). If pharmacies are considered an essential business...those that provide other "cures" should follow under the same umbrella.

Depends on how it is handled. It can actually be very easy to move. I can think of lots of examples where they can be moved effectivly just the same. A server can hold 2-3 liscences for a user. A challenge reponse takes one away, it can then be deactivated in the same way and made available again. I can think of one product that I have 3 seats for. Two are always loaded on a machine and the 3rd, I activate and deactivate a few times a week for use on the ancilary machienes I work on (3rd and 4th laptop, work computer, etc) Only thing ilok would provide in such a scenario is if it is autorized to the dongle itself it could be moved without an internet connection or the call and response. The comes at the expense of an expensive proprietary usb stick, an extra usb port used, and less availabe seats.

Not going to lie, it is difficult to use if you have an exact drum idea in mind - and getting it to tame/match that does take some work and you may never get that result. If you are open to having a drummer that has a bit of a mind of its own, then the results can be very impressive. I literally used to just have the Jamstix brain installed (none of the samples) to drive other drum programs, it wasn't until I got Jamcussion - which requires you to install ALL samples to really use it properly that I loaded Jamstix's files on there. The sounds are better than I expected generally speaking. Would be nice to have an all in one solution, but realistically I don't want the "brain" tied down to a single application . A translation/mapper is needed but having a program that can run another program in this area is quite useful and means I'm not tied to the drum kits or sounds of any one VST. The price of GA, MD, and Jamstix points to how valuable such tools are these days. Jamstix runs periodic 50% off sales.

There are lots of ways to protect the IP. I don't follow the black market these days, but it seemed like every expensive program (ilok enabled included) would get cracked, so it was only a deterrant for the first few weeks on the market. I've seen lots of different authorization methods, ilok is the only one that comes to mind that invovles a 3rd party (additional app, potential expensive dongle, seperate account) to use a product someone else developed. Related to this thread, the issue is ramped up when only one single seat is granted for a given product. At least 2 seats means you can avoid downtime on your own without having to get in contact with multiple manufactures to get back up and running. My experience is most of these companies are not getting back to me in an hour or two. I've gone days without an update from WAVES for example, that isn't pretty in the real world. The itunes compareson is a fair one, as it also provides unnecesary bloat to the whole process. On an android or windows machine a player just plays the file, no import process or cataloing or trying to sell you something. The fact that you deal with that bs means you have a fairly high tollerene for pain and invasiveness as a paying customer. ilok likely won't bother you a bit. ilok is a 3rd party that just charges the customer for using some other company's products. If you are asking the manufacutre , not ilok to reset licences, you have to see the point that they could have done the same thing directly without ilok in the process. I've done this with izotope for example, ran out of installs and told them I've been upgrading hardware and had a couple HD's swapped out as I don't want to wait until the thing dies. Not a problem, they just gave me another authorization. In your scenario or if a HD fails, or the dongle tied to it fails you are without pluigns until you get a response and resoltuion across the board. The problem isn't as much about the protection of the software as it is another 3rd party getting in the way, costing the consumer extra money in the process, and generally not providing any real added value.

I wouldn't really know. In my mind/experience everything other than Jamstix is effectivly static loops with some minor buttons to create variation. Unless they are going to do a drastic overhaul in that department and create something world class and next level. I don't see the value. Give the free JamStix version a test run (never used the free one myself), but once you hear what it does, I'm just not sure how you go back to accepting static midi files again. The midi files AD or any other program/package offers would only be things I'd end up loading into JamStix to create a groove. And I disagree with your premise. A drum VST can be used just like a dumb synth...you have to play it, mainipulate it, etc to create the sound you want. A vst piano doesnt' play itself and if I can't play keyboards but still want to use it, there are tools like Sclaer or EZ Keys that can assist with the process. Drum VST is no different. Those MIDI loops it comes with are going to get used up and old real quick. I agree that MIDI files, Track Building, Groove Creation is in fact the weak part of the software, however - I'm not convinced a company like XLN is going to invest in the AI tech to bring that up to Jamstix level or beyond.

I thinking they haven't had enough of these "new products" over the years to know how they will handle a new version. If they don't charge for AD3 for AD2 users then great, I'm all for it. I will say they do need an upgrade. However, it relates to the authorization process which is horrific. Every Windows update the program seems to think you just got a new computer it is the only program I have out of over 100 that seems to have this problem.

They really don't need to. More kits could be added to the existing AD2 engine, it has nothing to do with needing a different engine/version. My vintage guitars also still play and sound just as good as they used to. Billboard hits have been made with AD2. Sorry, I don't think we need something that "sounds better" getting quality sound out of the program is on the person sitting in the chair. If top 40 hits with mega studios and budgets can use AD for a drum sound, I think we know where the bar is. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qnxHbvferhyRDdOD4Loom No, they are not my favorite kits (frankly Drum Core has that, and the samples they used are likely even older than AD2) , but this has more to do with the kits sampled than the actual sound. AD 2 is capable of playing back drum recordings/samples. Garbage in Garbage out. As long as they put a good sounding recording into the AD2 interface it is good enough. SD3 is just absurd. I don't need over 230 gigs of drum samples. I just Jamstix to run AD. If I didn't have that my argument against all the programs is we need something that isn't just statically using midi files. That is where the tech needs to head, not improved sound quality. Take off all the effects in the program and use your own. If you cant' get a usable sound out of that, the time to move to a different hobby/profession. My .02

Most aftermarket plugins at one time were not really attainable for the hobbyist. $200 for a compressor emulation, etc. It was crazy. Melodyne I have to kind of respect doing that, both unique and a tool that does a lot of potential damage in non-pro hands. ? I got Studio after a couple upgrades since the "free" version , which I don't consider free as Cakewalk Producer was not exactly cheap. But even with the discount has been a waste of money. The polyphonic audio to midi was a let down, and I've had major issues with the tempo mapping ARA integration with Sonar. I basically don't pitch shift vocals, so the features I wanted it for didn't live up to expection. On the vocal side, there are not many options that really do what Melodyne does at a pro level. Compressors, EQs, etc that is where I don't understand the idea of a $150+ plugin when other cheap options exist. The average person can't even blind test between two of them with the accuracy you would expect for the premium price.

What I quoted was someone hoping for AD3....which undoubtely would be a paid upgrade, and AD2 would then inevitably no longer be supported.

Not sure about a switch to subs (as I just don't agree with the notion) But I think we can all generally agree the field has changed regarding the cost of plugins and the percieved value in them. At one point WAVES was built on a model that cost an absurd amount of money per plugin. Now, top shelf plugins are $10-30 year round across the specturm. Companies that charge $150+ for an effect (outside of something like Melodyne), no clue how they even stay in business.

no thanks. I'd prefer AD2 to continue support instead of a money grab on a upgrade I don't need. AD Still sounds just fine, and if you just need more grooves, there are plenty of other option on the market to add to it/map and translate to, etc.

People that are going to avoid paying for legit software at all costs are not going to rent software at $120 a year. Especially when the bundle doesn't offer much of value that you could get for the same price and own outright for less. Take 2 years of rental for example. I could buy more VST effects than I'll use in a lifetime for less than $240 with Larry's help. Just look at the soundspot model. 2 months worth of payments here and you could basically own everything they have made.

I say no to subs. You want to try something out? Many options on the market with fairly long trial periods. You want to add something to the tool box? Tons of cheaper or almost free options. $5 or less for Computer Music Magazine and that would give months worth of testing alone (and keepers). Melda Free bundle, these free or Cheap Izotope offers (Neutron Elements, Ozone Elements, and PhonexVerb - right there gives a rather insane amount of control at some of the highest quality available). Most in the bundle I'd call "filler" where you can get a free option that is just as good, and limited use. (ex: tube screamer plugin, I don't even want to use the real thing, let alone a digital simulation of one)

I went through the process then decided not to bother installing it. With Izotope giving away Neutron Elements (and already have presets for things like Waves Omni-Channel), I'm doubtful I'd use it much.

Ahh...the last "free" one on a bunch of stuff didn't see Computer music , though I nabbed some random other things. Must have missed the CM one.