ORIGINAL: droddey

These studios probably don't know that there are cheaper alternatives to waves

But that's the thing, there really isn't. There are alternatives for individual plugs certainly. But if you want to have a single package from a single company that covers the whole gamut, where else can you go?

I agree with Droddey and will add this....
I believe these studios know what is out there as alternatives - it is their business to know - You know don't you?

God bless

Just on a little off topic, my mate who is a pro audio dealer has told me not to buy anymore Waves plug-ins (even though I would buy them from his company) since "there long term support is looking very shaky".
I don't own any waves stuff but was interested in the SSL bundle until then, but if WUP and support stopped I would be stuck if something went wrong.
Anyone else know anything about this, I've asked on other boards but no one knows.
studiopl

Sure will.
I got the impression when I spoke to him last about the SSL bundle that Waves was struggling and the support and updates could be a problem in the future, he suggested holding off buying anything from Waves for the moment so that I didn't get stuck. He didn't try to sell me anything instead so hopefully he is just being cautious. It was only when I started looking in the forums that I realised that some thing maybe going on with Waves.
Hopefully it is just a worry, I would still love to buy the SSL bundle.
Just incase, how would no support effect the plugins?
Many thanks
studiopl

good point.
I'll hold off for the moment, and keep my fingers crossed.

They are financially sound.

But, are they sonically sound?

Actually, I think that they changed the WUP pricing scheme, so that even on the highest end packages it was limited to a couple hundred bucks a year, and scales down from there. That's my understanding anyway.

ORIGINAL: droddey

Actually, I think that they changed the WUP pricing scheme, so that even on the highest end packages it was limited to a couple hundred bucks a year, and scales down from there. That's my understanding anyway.

Woo-hoo!

I bailed on them after they raped me for the WUP on products I had paid good money for years earlier. Nice to hear they're using lubricant these days.

Great plugins, awful company. They were once the only game in town but those days are long gone. I thought I would miss them a lot more than I did. Only hard part of dropping waves was dealing with the inconvenience of all my pre-existing projects that had their plugins.

Cheers.

ORIGINAL: droddey

For a professional outfit that paid $7500 for the full smash system, $200 a year wouldn't even be worth noting. It's obviously not the same for individuals. As long as they keep adding plugs to the packages in return for the WUP, I'm not going to stress about it.

I respectfully disagree. For a professional outfit to be jerked around the way that waves jerked me around is an insult.

If waves had required an annual subscription when I bought it then I probably would have paid, because at the time they were the only real option for comprehensive, versatile, top-quality effects. But to come back after the deal is done and say they've changed their mind and now I have to pay more to use a product I already bought free and clear and had been using for years is profoundly unprofessional IMVHO.

i'm sure there's some roundabout explanation that makes it legal and references all the fine print that I willingly clicked "agree" to, but as a businessman I will not do business with cheap hustlers who pull stuff like that, if I can help it. The message it sent loud and clear was that they did not value my business, loyalty, or any of it, and they saw me solely as a cash cow to be bled dry.

If other people value the extras that waves offers in return for the WUP then great. I did not. I didn't want or seek extra plugins or customer service or enhanced support, I just wanted to use the plugins that I had already paid for.

If cakewalk came back to me and announced that they were going to cripple my copy of Sonar unless I paid them more money I'd feel the same way. It would be outrageous if anyone did it.

It's not about the dollar amount (although I believe it was considerably more than $200), that's just salt in the wound. If they'd demanded $10/year I'd feel the same way. Whatever the legalese in the license said, I paid a big chuck of change to them for product and the spirit and the intent of the transaction was clear at the time, and waves clearly changed the rules.

The notion that it shouldn't matter to a business is a little insulting, frankly. A small businessperson's paycheck is very often whatever is left over after all the bills are paid. Wherever the $200 shows up on the books it's ultimately money that's not in my pocket.

And please understand, I am not complaining about people who have purchased waves *with* the WUP-- they made the evaluation and decided it was worth it. I'm talking about those of us who bought waves before the WUP and then had our license agreements changed after the fact.

Cheers.

q

q

Yes, I meant the URS EQ, sorry. The Everything EQ bundle costs as much as the whole Gold bundle. Just not worth it for me. I sent them a request to do a bundle with the 5 band N and 6 band S together. That's the combination I want, and I'd go for that at $250 (which the S bundle currently sells for.) Otherwise, there's now way to get just those two, which are the ones I want.

(search WUP for the gruesome details on their turgid history with the new licensing scheme)

just did and it is scary!
studiopl