[Market Research] Just Wondering...Does Anyone Read the Product Reviews in the eZine?

If it's something that interests me or seems relevant to me I'll read it. Otherwise I won't, though if it becomes relevant to me later (e.g. I find myself in the market looking to buy a whatever-it-was) I'll probably read it then.

Knowing a device is definitely Sonar compatible without the risk involved in buying it then finding it doesn't work so well is certainly useful.

To be honest I often treat reviews with quite a bit of scepticism, especially if they look like a rehash of the manufacturer's sales literature or the reviewer doesn't seem to inderstand the thing they are reviewing. Over time you get a feel for who (or which source) to trust for product reviews in exactly the same way you do for reviews of lots of things.

I also tend to prefer in-depth reviews to ones that just skim the surface.

I do read them ... and I appreciate if it's real world hands-on experience and not (as mentioned above) a rehash of marketing material ... I even appreciate a bit of personal bias/opinion in the review, especially if it comes from a very reliable source like you, Craig.
 
BTW, I picked up a MIDI MATE about a year ago by coincidence and first didn't want to buy it because it looked so cheap and was so inexpensive ... but it's done me a great service whenever I needed really quick and easy MIDI access from a PC ...

tlw
To be honest I often treat reviews with quite a bit of scepticism, especially if they look like a rehash of the manufacturer's sales literature or the reviewer doesn't seem to inderstand the thing they are reviewing. Over time you get a feel for who (or which source) to trust for product reviews in exactly the same way you do for reviews of lots of things.

Yes indeed...writing reviews is a job, and some people do a good job...some don't. I must say, though, that magazines sort of have themselves to blame. They pay little for reviews, insist on low word counts, and have the mistaken idea that it's more important to please advertisers than readers. Sound on Sound and Keyboard are, IMHO, two publications that are much more careful than average in terms of vetting authors and their expertise.
 
BTW interesting fallout from the CME review: I said it was really too bad you couldn't save presets of the custom assignments, other than having them live in the onboard flash RAM. CME is now working on a software update that addresses this, which I think would multiple the utility by 1000%. 
 
Thanks for the comments. Any insights on which products are particularly useful to review would be appreciated. I agree that one element of value is how well something works with or benefits SONAR.

I appreciate the effort that goes into reviews and I read the entire e-zine. Having said that, I feel I'm deluged by adverts and reviews on a daily basis. I get guitar magazines a few times a week and they're 60% advertising. I wouldn't pay for them but since they're free I give them a scan.
 
I would prefer that the e-zine only dealt with current Cakewalk products and if there's a need to advertise something it should perhaps be sneak previews of what the bakers are cooking up for future releases.

ampfixer
I appreciate the effort that goes into reviews and I read the entire e-zine. Having said that, I feel I'm deluged by adverts and reviews on a daily basis. I get guitar magazines a few times a week and they're 60% advertising. I wouldn't pay for them but since they're free I give them a scan.
 
I would prefer that the e-zine only dealt with current Cakewalk products and if there's a need to advertise something it should perhaps be sneak previews of what the bakers are cooking up for future releases.

I choose the review items based on what I think readers would find helpful. There's no mechanism set up for advertising...however I must admit if I was an SSD manufacturer, I'd ask if it was possible to advertise. Talk about a targeted demographic!!

I like the e-zine, and the "short format" makes it easy to burn through pretty quickly.
 
The extra content you refer to - "essential" 3rd party plugs, controllers, guitar-to-midi solutions, et al - those would be a welcome addition.
Somewhere between a teaser and a full blown review would be a good format. If it piques my interest, I'll check the manuf/review sites for more info.

Every time! Usually a couple of times...

What eZine are you guys talking about? I keep seeing mentions of it, but not links etc..

I do read the reviews. I read the entire doc every time. 

Thanks everyone, very helpful. My takeaway is...

• Yes, it's worth doing reviews.
• Make sure they relate to working with SONAR.
• I think this is good advice: "Somewhere between a teaser and a full blown review would be a good format. If it piques my interest, I'll check the manuf/review sites for more info."

As an FYI, my philosophy about reviews is it's not important whether I like something or not, the goal is to summarize what the product does and doesn't do with sufficient accuracy that the readers can decide whether it indeed piques their interest.

charlyg
Well, that was quick... THIS noob just found himself telling another fellow on here to read the e-zine.
 
Assimilation is quick here

If this is what you were referring to, perhaps you may wish to revise your method of 'telling' other users . . . or not
 
/rant and no offense intended just strong advice
 

I left nothing out, it is all there, both quotes, (link and original) are there in their entirety

Stuff you have been asked to review is OK. But my preference is you describe things and programs and utilities that you actually use.
 
 

charlyg
The "offending quote" is a link, it should have been the whole thing or nuttin. Oh never mind. It's not like I haven't talked to that fellow(meaning not a complete stranger) before. I absolutely love his tune over in the Songs forum.
 
You are just in a "neener neener, look what I can do" mode I guess. Hope it made your day.
 
I still maintain it was not offensive, and you had to forum swap to get to the quote. 

The link takes you to the entire quote, no need to re write it all, as to the rest "neener neener" etc, I think speaks for itself, so no need to go there. As for making my day (rolls eyes) not even a ripple, but I do hope your 'telling' to read the eZine made yours
 
[Edit] Appologies to the thread and creator . . . over and out

It may be my suspicious nature, but while I have read them, I have assumed that they are a product placement ploy and are not at all unbiased reviews.   Forgive me if this is wrong!   They do, after all, come from "THE *BEST* BEST BEST SOFTWARE * ON * THE PLANET*  for PRO users.    I wish cakewalk would reduce the hyperbole all around.