Not paying full price for a synth

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The majority of my plugins were bought on sale or second hand, and the few that I bought full price were not expensive anyway.

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Almost every VST I've bought in the last decade has been on sale, group buy, or secondhand. And I've STILL spent a shitload of money. :hihi:

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wildzeke wrote:Is anyone else like me? Almost all the synths I have bought were at some discount price.
I have this rule with all purchases, not just music related: If it's under $100 and I think I might have a use for it, I just buy it now.

If it's over $100 and I think I might have a use for it some time in the future, I add it to my "stuff to get" worksheet and keep an eye out for discounts. I only make exceptions if I am in the middle of a project and think the tool in question will help me out right away.

This happened with SoundToys Decapacitator a couple weeks ago. It had been on my wishlist for a few months, but I actually really needed its sound for a song I was trying to complete, so I didn't have a problem paying retail. That's the exception though.

Some bundles are a really good bargain even at MSRP (Komplete, Korg Legacy Collection), though, and I go for those occasionally- but only if I think there's an immediate use.

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Depends on my sanity. While i was on "crazy meds", i became a crazy spender and bought almost anything, ESPECIALLY if someone posted a notice here on KVR about DEALS and SALE (thanks, guys :-D).

Prior to meds, i had an income and a calm and sensible sense of spending and i bought what i needed with few extravagant purchases. Today... i'm back to my normal self mostly, so no impulse control problems and wild spending... but i have no credit and no income either. i rarely buy anything at all except groceries. Sales don't even matter any more.

i have the same Alchemy discount option waiting for me, myself, and it's very attractive... but i'm dirt poor, their file browser doesn't refresh dynamically (i like to load samples, fiddle with them in an editor and reload them, but their browser doesn't really work out for that kind of workflow)... and i have too much existing software going out of date already... as well as hardware that's threatening to rot on me (already lost my Fireworx unit to a suicided PSU).

Once i have a proper computer that i can rely on (which will mean software upgrades and the inability to update things via cost or non-existent support, so i will probably lose a lot of soft synths)... i will be focusing on USING what i've already acquired and continue not putting much of any attention into looking at "what's next to buy"... Sales be damned!
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UltimateOutsider wrote:
wildzeke wrote:Is anyone else like me? Almost all the synths I have bought were at some discount price.
I have this rule with all purchases, not just music related: If it's under $100 and I think I might have a use for it, I just buy it now.

If it's over $100 and I think I might have a use for it some time in the future, I add it to my "stuff to get" worksheet and keep an eye out for discounts. I only make exceptions if I am in the middle of a project and think the tool in question will help me out right away.
Glad to find people thinks the same way I do :-)

It is exactly what I do/believe. I really believe also that developers should make two prices, one for hobbyists and one for professionals. Like say "Hobbyist Edition" or "Pro Edition" written under the name of the plugin! So, the professionals can't feel right with the "Hobbyist" word :hihi:

Now, if I'm a pro, this would be a different matter! I would just buy what I need to make money. For example, MS Office, is different how I look at it! I didn't bought it for home use, but when I needed it professionally, I bought it in the same day without considering what is the best! I bought it because the clients use it and they expect the same format exactly in the translations, so I don't want to take a risk with another software. I think it is similar for people who make living from music.

I haven't bought Diva, Zebra and Alchemy for this reason. They are over $100. I could find good alternatives that cover their sounds (and maybe more than that). Mostly I bought them on Sale or with a discount except for Korg synths (Mono/Poly and Wavestation) which already have a very good price. I might purchase Retrologue and Padshop for the same reason (I don't need to wait a sale!).

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Professionals should be claiming their purchases as a business expense, claiming depreciation on hardware and reducing the amount of payable tax.
I wonder what the depreciation rate of software is?
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.

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Always get mine on sale if possible.

Just got total studio 3 and EZ drummer for around $110 for both and I am paying for it over 3 payments at Sweetwater.

Sonar was on sale when I got it and it came with their synths when I got it. I will upgrade at some point to x3 and get other things included that I will find useful as well.

VI one was on sale and so was synthmaster.

There really is no need for me to get anything now. I have the tools I need to record all the music in my head and if I am ever funded much better I can always go back and redo them with better synths and FX just like reamping with guitars using amp sims.

If the notes are right then the sound won't be as critical. Listen to the great music of the past and realize they made that music without all these cool toys we have today. You could probably make really great music without having to use anything much more than what you can obtain free online.

The synths I want most are fairly inexpensive anyway because they are part of bundles that I want or low cost. The most expensive synth I want is G Forces Minimonsta at $150 and I will see if I can get it used when I am ready to make the happen. NI Komplete has so many synths and FX in it that when you look at the per VST/ VSTI cost it is really a bargain even if you won't use a lot of what they give you. AAS modeling collection and Arturias V Collection are also great bundle offers. OPX player $40 VB3 $50 Korg legacy collection is FREEEEEEE with their 61 key micro controller.

If I can snag all that then I am super happy and at that point I will really not need anything else, except maybe EAST WEST complete composers collection and some libraries for kontakt and then of course sample robot and a live host that does what forte or cantible does. Then of course my guitar habit also provides another even more expensive problem.

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I *really* like synth companies that do 'site raid' style bundles, like NI, Arturia, AAS, etc.

My general rule of thumb is that if a soft synth dev has a Site Raid bundle on offer, I'll hold off purchasing from them until that bundle goes on sale.

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I don't buy much so when I do, I don't particularly care if it is on sale...

Or put another way, if a sale can convince me to purchase, then it is not something I need in the first place so I just save my money altogether.

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I don't think Omnisphere ever went on sale officially. The retailers sometimes offer like 15% off and such.
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For me I think it was due to how I bought video games on Steam; I would always wait for a big sale with big discounts. Same applies for the software I buy on here.

For example, I've wanted Alchemy for a good 2 years now, and finally after patiently waiting, it went on sale for 50% off.

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HydrogenHuman wrote:
For example, I've wanted Alchemy for a good 2 years now, and finally after patiently waiting, it went on sale for 50% off.
That is 2 years of use making music missed out on just to save a few dollars...

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I've bought all my software on sale. synths, DAW's, Traktor...the lot. If you wait long enough something will come along that you need. Now I have everything I need so I just wait for a sale that interests me and get something new. I recently bought BigSeq2 on the audiodamage sale. Now I'm eyeing some NI stuff...mmmm..
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I just buy intruments when I need them. If they are on sale, its good, else, I dont care. I try to get info on new releases so that I can benefit of intro prices also mostly. I most often know when I need a new instrument when its released. Sometimes I change my mind later, but well, its my fault so ... :shrug:

Note that if everybody would only buy instruments second hand : 1/ Companies will go bankrupt sooner or later ( probably sooner ) 2/ This however supposes that some people do support companies and buy it in the first place.

All this is common sense but well ...

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wildzeke wrote:Is anyone else like me? Almost all the synths I have bought were at some discount price. Either through a sale or upgrade option. The only two synths I can remember paying full price are Combosister and Retrologue. My latest acquisition was Camel Audio's Alchemy. I got it for 60% off (upgrade from Cameleon 5000 which I also got from a sale) and I had a $15 credit. If I wait long enough, the next synth I want will be on sale.

Wildzeke
I'm with you my friend! But I rarely pay full price for anything! EVER!

My big winners have been Reaktor for $100. Then this crossgrade to Komplete for $200. SampleTank group buy where I got all three packages for $40. Also, Amplitube Orange for $40 (not a synth I know). Cakewalk Dimension & Rapture for $20 ea.

I probably have more than I need but when composing sometimes I don't know what sound I want for a part or the sound I thought I'd use wasn't right. I like being able to have a variety of sounds to scroll through when that happens.

After Komplete though, I'm pretty set. The only thing I see myself getting is full Ableton if I ever outgrow Lite/Intro...

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