Why must Digidesign's plug-ins be dead ends?

[Lee Blaske]

I recently got notice that reasonably priced upgrades are available for Antares AutoTune and Audio Ease AltiVerb. The new products offer improvements and enhancements.

This got me thinking about a very dramatic difference between Digidesign's plug-ins and those offered by other companies. As nice as they are, Digidesign seems to have a policy of releasing plug-in products that are dead ends. They do do upgrades to keep them usable on new hardware, but the plug-ins themselves do not evolve and improve over time with new versions available for a modest upgrade fee. Things like FocusRite plug-ins, Amp Farm, etc. remain static, and have not added features as time goes on.

When improvements are made, the software is released as a totally new product with a full retail price. So, instead of an improved Reverb One (for, say, a $99 upgrade fee), we get a full-priced ReVibe for about $1k.

Obviously, Digidesign is free to construct their business model however they desire. It's too bad, however, that current products can't simply evolve into better products rather than be supplanted. Over time, these non-evolving products that need to be replaced if you want to stay on a cutting edge make it significantly more expensive to use a Digidesign system. It's quite different from the way a lot of the industry operates. Even hardware based products like Lexicon and TC Electronics reverbs get software updates that add capabilities.

Lee Blaske

[thestudio]

Bingo!!!!

Use outboard.........

[Dutchmuzik]

Couldn't have said it better, completely agree. That's what I love about McDSP, always something new.How about a Reverb One to Revibe crossgrade

[Jeff D.]

I would really like to see an upgrade from Reverb One to ReVibe. When Reverb One came out it was aiming to be the best 'verb plug-in, just like ReVibe is now. Why not make it an upgrade (Virus to Indigo is a good example of how to do it).

Or bundle ReVibe with an Accel card and I might go for that.

Jeff D.

[steins]

There is another side to this: How would your reaction be if, after updating a plugin, it sounds different than it used to do?

I agree on the "more features"-thing, but I do not want to update my plugins only to discover that they sound different (or "improved" as the software engineer might call it) than the previous version. I appreciate a better Autotune, but I want my Massenburg EQ and Reverb One to sound like I'm used to.

I like what N.I. did when they released the Pro-53 instead of making it an update to Pro-52. New version, new product. And you can upgrade cheap if you want.

I'm not arguing, just giving a different point of view....

Stein Tore

[ashdot]

Ideally, we could try the Revibe demo and if we prefer it over RevOne, have the option to upgrade from RevOne to Revibe for a reasonable price.

Digi, respect your loyal customers. Nothing is for granted.

Izhar

[Andre Knecht]

[...] Obviously, Digidesign is free to construct their business model however they desire. It's too bad, however, that current products can't simply evolve into better products rather than be supplanted. Over time, these non-evolving products that need to be replaced if you want to stay on a cutting edge make it significantly more expensive to use a Digidesign system. It's quite different from the way a lot of the industry operates. Even hardware based products like Lexicon and TC Electronics reverbs get software updates that add capabilities.[...]

Hi Lee!

Not unlike Apple(*), Digidesign is [must be!] walking a very fine line between offering complete "do-it-all" systems while at the same time providing a platform that third party developers still find commercially viable for their own products.

New products AND the lack thereof will tilt the balance one way or the other, but clearly Digi is careful not to suck up all the oxygen available around itself. It's easier to sell hardware if it comes with a semi-complete set of utilitarian plug-ins that pose little or no threat to the makers of products meant for the (eventually) more discerning ProTools user/customer.

(*) Yes, there are now Apple product lines that contradict what I just wrote, but they are "limited" to the worlds of music and video production - because of Steve Job's overt Hollywood-bound ambitions. In other words, those products should be viewed as the classic eception that prove the rule. To wit: There are no Apple branded applications for word processing, spredsheet, page layout, web development, etc. Apple's free apps (email client, calendar, backup - among others) can be viewed as the equivalent to Digidesign's free Digirack offerings. They help to attract hardware buyers - not much more.

[Lee Blaske]

New products AND the lack thereof will tilt the balance one way or the other, but clearly Digi is careful not to suck up all the oxygen available around itself. It's easier to sell hardware if it comes with a semi-complete set of utilitarian plug-ins that pose little or no threat to the makers of products meant for the (eventually) more discerning ProTools user/customer.

I see your point, but some of the recently released plug-ins, IMO, are positioned as high-end (like Impact and ReVibe). I don't think Digidesign is particularly concerned about being a threat. I also think that a number of other high-end products not specifically under the Digidesign brand are, in fact, collaborations.

To wit: There are no Apple branded applications for word processing, spredsheet, page layout,

What's this thing called Appleworks that I've been using for years?

Lee Blaske

[Duardo]

They did offer an upgrade from DINR to the Sonic No Noise plugin, didn't they? I guess that's just one...

-Duardo

[Dog BBQ]

Lee you always hit the nail on the head!!!

Instead of Massive Pack it should be called Dead End Pack