fitzroy

True, Amplitube is complex enough that you can evaluate the added value in many ways. I'm curious about the new cab section, but I would have been more excited if there was a new take on preamp modeling as well. To my ears, that's where the likes of S-Gear and the Neural DSP plugins stand out. After all, we have solid options nowadays to tweak the sound 'downstream', with good/inexpensive IR's. And I like the concept of the Custom Shop. I don't like having to browse through stuff I don't own though, or the annoying preset warnings. That must have been the idea of the same genius that decided it's awesome to have all TRackS installed, no matter how many you own. As I was writing above, their business model hasn't affected me much, and I hope it stays the same. But they sure have a messy way of dealing with things, and I understand where the frustration is coming from, especially from people who are a lot more invested into their product line.

How much of the hardware that's being sold today is upgraded that way? 0.0001%? Capacitors? If you're a hobbyist (and I am), sure. Beyond that, welcome to the age of integrated circuits; anything goes wrong with/on the main board of a modern appliance, the service center of the manufacturer will just change it, they won't even bother looking at it: not cost effective, until the fault rate exceeds set limits and a pattern emerges. As for the software part, I don't see the point. No one was talking about not supporting the company, but about paying for actual added value. I think this is the key, and what separates IK's customers. If you're like me, and you pick and choose from IK's offerings whenever something feels like great value, while staying away the rest of the time, their business practices don't matter that much; with all the sales and no pressure, whatever deal I get will be good enough for me not to feel cheated. But I completely understand where Larry is coming from, and his frustration: he feels a lot more connected to the brand, has invested a lot more money in it, and is questioning the value he's getting in return. It's all relative and personal in the end.

Apples and oranges. You have fixed costs related to hardware that are significant, no matter how small an upgrade is. That's why the lifecycle of hardware is and will always be different. With software, you can port the algorithms from a previous version, upgrade the UI, add-on features as needed, and charge only/mostly for the actual extra development work involved, hence the viability of a crossgrade/upgrade path. Well, based on what's been said here, definitely don't get that bundle unless it is the bundle with AT 5 Max. And it's still not clear to me if that will qualify for future upgrades/crossgrades, even though you ARE in fact, paying extra to get it, compared to the price of the hardware alone.

Daaamn, I didn't know that. MAYBE I'd understand for a promotional freebie, but why on earth would they do that for something that is clearly perceived by the buyer as a bundle purchase ("I buy hardware x if/because you throw in software y")? And what the hell is a 'paid' version anyway? The current Axe I/O + AT5 Max bundle costs more than the Axe I/O alone. So you are paying something for it, doesn't that make it a paid version?

What do you mean? That you wouldn't be able to upgrade from your AT5 Max to, say, AT6 Max in the future? ? Why would that be? It's a bundle, not a freebie. I'm thinking the same should apply for reselling. Just in case the interface is ok but the AT5 is cr*p. Or vice versa ?

You gotta' love these discounts ? I hear Waves V13 will allow you to resize the plugins without the UI going fuzzy, which will push them into uber-premium realm, at $10,000 per plugin. But then they'll just give them away, for a symbolic donation of 0.2999% of retail price.

I'm considering that option as well to replace my Motu interface, which is superior in several areas to the Axe I/O, but is not guitar centered and, most importantly, is Firewire, which kills portability/flexibility. I'm no fan of IK in general, or their occasional tendencies to screw over their customer base, but come on, what issues are you thinking of? I think it's highly unlikely there'll be any. I mean, imagine getting the Axe I/O + AT5 bundle, finding out they don't work well together, contacting support and being pointed to a paragraph in the small print that basically says... just because we sell them as a bundle doesn't mean they're supposed to work together.

I hope you're wrong, too. It's only going to push things forward for everyone else if they got it right, so it's a win-win, whether one likes Amplitube or not. I completely agree on S-Gear and Neural DSP. As for Amplitube 5, it will be interesting to see what the new cab section brings to the table. I'm using the Fender collections with Ownhammer IR's, and to my ears the result is significantly better than going through Amplitube 4 cabs. So there's considerable room for improvement there. Let's hope your $80 will go a long way.

I bet they'll have a nice sale for the 3-pack EZX, like last year, and hopefully it will include the newly released ones as well.

I wonder if they every really recovered their database after that big crash. Only my more recent orders show up, the SQL query fails if I want to see all my orders.

I think it’s no secret that I don’t like IK as a company, nor much of their business model, nor their reps. I wouldn’t comment on this topic, but I do because it’s you, and well, you ARE the king and I need you to be happy; heck, BF is around the corner ? I'm not sure I get why you're so upset. Let’s see: Amplitube 5 isn’t even out yet Amplitube 4 is a decent product, in an ever more crowded market of decent amp sims; most people who like it (and I like some of it) think it’s up there with other good choices, nothing more, nothing less IK’s product line comes up for sale often enough at heavily discounted prices, as you know better than anyone here IK’s business model (somewhat similar to other larger companies) heavily favors bringing in new customers over rewarding loyalty; this is reflected in often mediocre upgrade/crossgrade offers compared to buying into the system (or picking up only the stuff you like during sales); this is even more evident when you consider what second-hand licenses routinely go for, despite the license transfer fee. Add up the above and, if the current offer offends you, it seems an easy choice to just wait. Wait until it’s released, try it out, see if it’s worth the hype, decide what you like and what you don’t like about it, figure out what it’s worth to you, buy, pass, or wait for a sale.

Dirk (PA), coming across your post while browsing the forums and reading about people willing to pay $$$ for the new Amplitube before it's even released.

The Focusrite SC might be what you're looking for - it's quite transparent and 'clean'. The new(er) SSL 9000 J messes with the highs less than the 4000 SSLs, but you might still prefer the Focusrite.

If you buy two 'used' licenses, you can then use your monthly $25 voucher to register them for a total of $7 + tax, so about $4 per plugin.

Check out KVR's buy and sell section, too, if you're after the UA (or, in general, PA) stuff. As it happens, I bought Triad and Lion there cheap (as cheap or cheaper than you could buy them from PA during a sale AND a voucher on top).

The one that sounds best to you, no doubt. But if the question relates strictly to Neural DSP, demo Nolly, it's got quite a wide tonal range in that area.

Same here. If the 20% loyalty voucher would work on top of the discount code, I would buy it just for the wah. For 75 EUR, I should probably just work out my foot on my 535Q. I wonder if they're going to sell effects/modules separately in the future.

That wah is sweet (as opposed to the gimmicky shimmerverb). I've activated my trial extension (nice of them to do that for 14 days), and demo-ed this again, thinking I'd buy it. Now I'm not sure I will. It just doesn't add that much to Plini, and there's overlap in tones. But that wah... damn. It's like 75% of its appeal. Might alone be worth the price of admission.

Is that based on previous purchases from them?

Some of these site templates are so similar. Unless they're best buddies with 8Dio.

Anyone have this AND Eventide's Undulator? Similar? Completely different? Dumb question?

There are some nice ongoing Beatskillz deals. I bought Maharaja 1 & 2 for something like $15 (total) on JRR.

Absolutely. It's been sitting in my NowTheseYou'reDefinitelySupposedToBeUsing folder ever since I demo-ed it, liked it, and bought it.

You could just get another license. You'd have no problem selling it on kvr once the sale is over for $20.02. At decimal points no one could accuse you of profiteering, but you'd tilt the balance one penny on the side of happy.

I wonder how this compares with the Rebelle bundle they had on sale a while ago. I bought that one for my girlfriend who keeps saying she likes/wants to draw but never does. If this is an even better deal, it might be worth getting just to push her further down that guilt trip. Heck, this might even get me Falcon for my upcoming birthday, if I play my cards right.