Which Companies Score a 10/10? - In Instruments [with List Updates]

[Jafo]

I'm a Native Instruments fanboy. I'm still too endlessly entranced with the few from U-he to have tried a good sized sample of the total, but I'm sure I'll add them to the list once I have. Mostly, I'm looking forward to Bootsy experimenting in synthesis so that I can add Variety of Sound. (Maybe we could all ask nicely?)

[samsam]

None?

[EnGee]

- Waves

[If there were a skeptical emoji on here this is where it would be.]

I added this...but last year I went to one of their online "giveaways" and 6 hours into it I felt like the multiverse had opened up and hoards of vampiric demons were attempting to suck the money out of my wallet through my veins.

I really don't know what exactly you mean! Sorry! For me, I once had a free gift from them, I think it was either "TrueVerb" or "Super Tap", I don't remember, and it took me few minutes to have it! I even donated it later in the charity without any problem!

Anyway, what is interesting to me about this thread, is the discussion and reading other people's experiences. I don't really care about the scores (because maybe I already know the winner ). However, the great product doesn't cut it for me without a great support and respect from the company.

[atya]

10/10? None.
I would have liked to mention AAS ... but the Tassman situation has cost them some points in my book.
Waves? They can't be serious about Waves Central and WUP and won't see any of my money until they ditch that BS.

[AnX]

I cant think of a single company that deserves a 10/10

Most have poor/average products and support, or arrogant devs.

A couple would maybe get an 8 purely for making a good usable synth.

[woodsdenis]

Certainly as far as sport goes in recent times I would say Synapse and Uhe

[DJErmac]

Vengeance.
I'm very, very satisfied with this synth. They deserve to be on this list.
Personnaly never encountered a crash, performances are flawless on my machine.

[10bd01]

I really don't know what exactly you mean! Sorry! For me, I once had a free gift from them, I think it was either "TrueVerb" or "Super Tap", I don't remember, and it took me few minutes to have it! I even donated it later in the charity without any problem!

I'm sure for some people they're just fine. I did get a few of their plugs (and intend on picking up a few more) that to me sounded good, and haven't had to deal with support myself, but yeah, imo their marketing team needs to take some chill pills - at some point when marketing becomes too much it starts to work against itself. There are so many "today only" sales on a product that I'm always sure I can pick it up in the future at the same or even a lower price than their "lowest price today only" sales, which in the end just deteriorates any trust I may have had in their word having an actual meaning, because the words "Today Only" literally carry zero actual meaning with Waves, or maybe the meaning is "We want to coerce you into buying right now!". I haven't run into the WUP issue yet that atya mentioned, but I did read about it, and it almost made me want to sell the plugs I already have.

[10bd01]

Ok, I started to include "None"'s in this, so if you really feel no company makes the 10 I will tally it up.

I almost went there myself, and my own U-he and Modartt votes are even a tad on edge. I haven't dealt that much with U-he yet, but the very little I have has been good. I've dealt with Modartt and they were great, but I do have minor complaints about their attention to detail. I can understand GUI complaints with them, too, but I don't share themZaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (sorry, that "Zaaa" was my cat).

I'm glad we do have a list going of companies that are 10's for some people, though - I'm definitely keeping this list and will be favoring these companies in the future. I ultimately think if the sound and the interface are complete failures most of the other criteria don't even matter in the first place, but I tend to look at companies in wholistic terms - meaning, do they care enough about what they're making and sharing to make the entire experience of making it and sharing it a pleasure for everyone involved? Or are they so idealistic about their algorithms that they think the entire company can fall apart around them and their algorithms will somehow pull the company from the grave and save the day, while all of their customers are pissed off because the interface is busted. Or, on the other hand, are they such incompetent engineers that they need to flood your inbox with $1 deals for a billion 808 samples and blow smoke up your arse all day long.

I prefer the professional merchant business plan aesthetic - know wtf you're doing, make it good in the first place, make it widely available and communicate its available but don't push it in peoples face, be inclusive (offer occasional discounts for people who can't afford the full ticket - something which I am not sure U-he even does(?)), communicate your value clearly, let people hear and test things out, don't rip them off, don't make nightmares in their life they don't need, etc. The simple stuff born of common courtesy. But who has all their s*** together? That's what I'd like to see this thread be about.

[Bansaw]

Spitfire Audio ++

I have Albion One. Love it.

And +1 for VPS Avenger.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Spectrasonics-solid, great sounding products. Fast, helpful and courteous tech support.

[e@rs]

Sonic Charge (yeah, I'm a fanboi and I promote them everywhere ).

All the others are 9 at best.

[polarsky]

Madrona Labs
Psychic Modulation
Unfiltered Audio - Michael Hetrick for Euro Reakt
Xils +1
Uhe +1
Gforce +1

Softube (Modular) would be in there if they stopped doing the hard sell on Gobbler

[10bd01]

Updated! I've never even heard of some of those companies, polarsky, thanks for sharing!

[yellowmix]

u-He
Native Instruments
FXpansion
AAS
Orange Tree Samples
Ilya Efimov
Versilian Studios