Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dan Phillips
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Wow! I'm sorry to hear that response. My take is utterly different.
There is some overlap between hardware-based and software-based musicians. There are simple, practical benefits to having a hardware instrument you can just pick up and play, just like there are simple, practical benefits of being able to have multiple instances of a plug-in inside a DAW. Many people, myself included, use hardware and software instruments together because of these different, complementary advantages. For these customers, we've made it easy (to the tune of $49) to pick up the plug-in to accompany their hardware, and get the best of both worlds.
However, there are also many musicians who are firmly in one camp or the other. A lot of the customers I talk to need the visceral, hands-on experience of tweaking knobs, and some of them strongly prefer to keep computers out of their music-making altogether. The hardware products are for these people.
Meanwhile, many of my pro musician friends - people who make their entire living from music - are now completely ITB, and have no interest in hardware synths at any price. The plug-ins are for them.
With the release of wavestate native alongside the hardware wavestate, the instrument can fit into both hardware- and software-based workflows. The instrument is the technology and the sound that it makes; a plug-in is just another form-factor for that instrument.
Offering wavestate as a plug-in, specifically, shows that we value the wavestate as an instrument for professional use.
Dan I have to admit my intial reaction is a little the same as OnceTwiceMelody. I currently own an Opsix and with the VST being available I'm beginning to wonder if I might not be better off using one of my MIDI controllers with the much nicer keybed, aftertouch etc and selling my Opsix. In the current market here in Australia I'd be $500 in front that I could stick into something else. As a customer I'm in two minds about whether the sliders on the UI are worth the $500 difference between the hardware Opsix and the software one. Especially if the sliders are addressable via CCs or Sysex as I'd be able to map them to knobs on one of my controllers.
Your strategy may end up cannabilising sales of the Opsix and the Wavestate. Especially if the $49 crossgrade price isn't permanently linked to having the hardware. ie I could buy the VST for $49, then sell my Opsix. Would the person who buys it be able to do the same thing? Or is it once per serial or identifying code on the hardware?
Potentially you've knocked the resale value of hardware Opsixs as well, pretty early in the life of the product.
Edit: In the interests of doing some research on the point about selling the hardware in favour of the VST - on our local second hand site, two Wavestates have been listed in the last 24hrs. I guess it could a coincidence, but I don't see them that often. I suspect I'm not the only one who's gone through the same thought process.