PT 10 It's all about choice

[andymae]

I haven't posted on this forum much. However, I now feel the need.

I am a HD2 user. I am currently running PT8 and like many others have invested heavily not only in my system but also everything ancillary to the system [i.e. my studio, hardware, plugs, mics etc]. I am not a professional engineer and my studio which has cost me well over 6 figures is for my personal use. I am PT addict and if engineering paid anything near my day job I would change careers straight away.

So where am I heading with this?

I love PT8 and did not make the jump to 9 as realistically I saw nothing in 9 which would have changed my life. I see the benefits of 10 but cannot justify the expense of the jump.

As with most things in life we all, some consciously and others subconsciously, balance “need” and “want” with budget.

For me personally I ask “ Do I need PT 10?”- no, I am 100% happy with PT8.

“Do I want PT10?”- of course, I would be mad not to want it. It looks great and the reports on it already are favourable.

“Can I afford it?”- yes I can, however to me the “need/want” considerations are more central.

For the professional working engineer, need may very well outweigh want and the budget has to be found.

For the hobbyist such as myself, want may very well outweigh need. However, I quote the great (or not so great- depending on your view) Mick Jagger “You can’t always get what you want” and common sense does need to prevail.

When buying technology of any kind we all know that it has a limited shelf life and that upgrades will materialize (hey that’s what we all want) and that upgrades are not usually free- the manufacturers need to make money, that’s the fundamental of business. We all know that eventually the technology we are currently proud to own will become obsolete and we will look back and wonder why we thought it was so great (remember Windows 3.1?, remember our AKAI hard disc recorders and our Tascam 4 tracks- I still have mine by the way).

I do understand the outcry from the community concerning the amount of the upgrade. I was disturbed when I saw the $$$$ figure and I think that it would not be wrong to say most people were of the same view, even those who have paid for the upgrade.

If I had been involved in the pricing of the PT10 upgrade, and assuming that the upgrade price had to be written in stone at $999.00 I would have made that more accessible to users by offering funding options (i.e. payment over a period of time), a free trial period, a slightly longer amnesty period (say 3 months) for those who upgraded to 9, a discounted “buy now purchase period”. So that’s where I am at a loss as to the pricing as I suspect that a combination of the above may have satisfied the users and it is not too late to implement the above, save for the confusing issue of some type of refund scheme to those who have already made the jump.

My biggest concern about the next jump is not the issue of trading up to HDX, it’s what is it going to cost me to upgrade all of my plugs? But that is another issue and hopefully the manufacturers will find a way of making the change to AAX financially palatable.

Eventually I will upgrade as at some stage I may look at my current system (with which I am currently 100% happy) and decide that it’s time to become current again but until that time arrives I am going to continue to love, cherish and use what I have now. However, if there is a price drop or some type of incentive scheme for the upgrade to PT10 I can imagine making that jump sooner rather than later.

To upgrade or not is down to need/want/budget for everyone. It is as simple as that.

The best times to by technology are yesterday and tomorrow. If you bought it yesterday, you’re using it today, if you buy it tomorrow you have the latest thing.