Available now: Tone2 Icarus2.5 - Wavetable Workstation

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS
Icarus3

Post

Echoes in the Attic wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:10 pm MPE please! Would love to use this with my linnstrument!
+1

I've become so used to playing techniques that require MPE that when I try a non-MPE synth I am disappointed by how much it cannot do. MPE support is my most desired improvement to Icarus.

Post

Hello Tristan,

please note that i have mentioned earlier that we still did not decide about the price of Icarus2. So calculations about the pricing of the upgrade vs the new price do not make sense at the current stage of development. I also can not remember an official sale of Icarus for $100 from Tone2. If a 3rd party trader in the internet decides to offer it below the regular retail price we can't do anything against it.
Compared to other companies our prices are pretty stable. Sometimes we have to do corrections because of the exchange-rates.

Please do also note that building a big upgrade like Icarus2 is a complete year of work for a programmer. The graphics and artwork, the website etc also has to be done. We also have to pay many artists and sound-designers for their work.
We all got a families to feed, have to pay taxes and have to cover the costs to run the company.

We have drastically improved our update-policy completely since two years.
We released a large number of free updates and even free upgrades (Gladiator3) with a massive number of new features. You can validate this for yourself if you visit this website and click on 'what's new'.
https://www.tone2.com/download.html

We offer soundsets and expansions in a price range from €29 to €59. All of them were built by professional designers, contain only hand-picked patches and come with an installer. Please note that most of them contain more patches than conventional sets (100 up to 324 sounds, mostly 200).
Since we offer an open patch format you can also find many 3rd party soundsets which are cheaper or available for free in the web.

This month we sent out a newsletter that offered a 50% discount for one of our synths. This discount is exclusively available to our customers.

If you should feel disadvantaged please contact me at markus[ at]tone2[dot].com and we will look for a solution that makes everyone happy.

Best Regards,
Markus

Post

I think people got spoiled by the recent Hive updates - first we got 1.2 which added wavetable oscillators for free, and then 2.0 for just €20 with a completely revamped GUI and tons of new features. I bought Hive v1 ages ago, so it feels like I almost got an entirely new synth for just €20.

That's not really the norm though. The Dune 2->3 upgrade was $79, for example. This seems like a pretty typical price for a major update. Personally I really like Icarus and will probably get the update. The lower the cost, the more likely I'll be to buy it, of course. At €20, it's a no-brainer. At €79, It has to offer enough improvements and features to justify the cost.

Post

AdvancedFollower wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:27 pm I think people got spoiled by the recent Hive updates - first we got 1.2 which added wavetable oscillators for free, and then 2.0 for just €20 with a completely revamped GUI and tons of new features. I bought Hive v1 ages ago, so it feels like I almost got an entirely new synth for just €20.

That's not really the norm though. The Dune 2->3 upgrade was $79, for example. This seems like a pretty typical price for a major update. Personally I really like Icarus and will probably get the update. The lower the cost, the more likely I'll be to buy it, of course. At €20, it's a no-brainer. At €79, It has to offer enough improvements and features to justify the cost.
I agree. Ofcourse we all want a cheap update, because we bought the first version. However, usually upgrades/updates to newer versions are more expensive then 20 euro's and i believe this 1.5x to 2.0 upgrade is worth it.

Now, Hive 1 to Hive 2 was worth way more then 20 euro's indeed. But all companys have their own way of keeping customers satisfied and keep them coming back for more. I think, considering the already very good list of new and improved features, an upgrade for ~50 to ~70 euro's isn't that bad

Post

AdvancedFollower wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:27 pm I think people got spoiled by the recent Hive updates - first we got 1.2 which added wavetable oscillators for free, and then 2.0 for just €20 with a completely revamped GUI and tons of new features. I bought Hive v1 ages ago, so it feels like I almost got an entirely new synth for just €20.

That's not really the norm though. The Dune 2->3 upgrade was $79, for example. This seems like a pretty typical price for a major update. Personally I really like Icarus and will probably get the update. The lower the cost, the more likely I'll be to buy it, of course. At €20, it's a no-brainer. At €79, It has to offer enough improvements and features to justify the cost.
This.
rsp
sound sculptist

Post

exmatproton wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:47 pm Now, Hive 1 to Hive 2 was worth way more then 20 euro's indeed.
Depends on the view point. If your view point is that the plugins have been pretty expensive in the first place, to fund future development, which is the case with most plugins, then it may relativize itself.

But, yeah, judging by how much development the u-he plugins get, it's a pretty good deal (even though Diva hasn't seen updates for quite a while now...). And, yeah, i also agree that 50 to 70 € upgrade price for Icarus 2 is a rather bad deal, especially when you can get version 1 now for 139 € (at Thomann), and then get version 2 for free.

Post

chk071 wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:56 pm(even though Diva hasn't seen updates for quite a while now...)
There's a beta update available in the u-he forum for Diva with some important fixes

Post

chk071 wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:56 pm
exmatproton wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:47 pm Now, Hive 1 to Hive 2 was worth way more then 20 euro's indeed.
Depends on the view point. If your view point is that the plugins have been pretty expensive in the first place, to fund future development, which is the case with most plugins, then it may relativize itself.

But, yeah, judging by how much development the u-he plugins get, it's a pretty good deal (even though Diva hasn't seen updates for quite a while now...). And, yeah, i also agree that 50 to 70 € upgrade price for Icarus 2 is a rather bad deal, especially when you can get version 1 now for 139 € (at Thomann), and then get version 2 for free.
I bought icarus years ago. I don't think 50 to 70 is a rather bad deal at all. But that depends on the feature list as well ofcourse. So far, i am pretty happy.

What they sell and how for both synths isn't relevant to me, because i bought icarus years ago and used it almost daily. That's the way i look at it anyway.

Post

@pdxindy: Good to know. :tu:

@exmatproton: Sure, if it's a good deal for you, then there's not much to argue. Just saying that you can get Icarus 2 now, for 150 €, while for people who bought it in April, it will be 270 € in a few months.

Anyway, it's all up to Markus.

Post

pdxindy wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:59 pm
Echoes in the Attic wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:10 pm MPE please! Would love to use this with my linnstrument!
+1

I've become so used to playing techniques that require MPE that when I try a non-MPE synth I am disappointed by how much it cannot do. MPE support is my most desired improvement to Icarus.
Yeah, +1 for MPE from me, too. I already play it with my Linnstrument, but being able to do it polyphonically would be much cooler ^^
Some music with visuals and mixed tutorials related to game dev and sound design: https://www.youtube.com/@MetasideOfficial

Post

Add microtonal playback with "tun" or "scl" files or some kind of custom options (I am not talking about adaptive tuning which is already implemented, but real retuning to alternative scale like in u-he/AAS synths).
It is funny how developers add countless relatively useless features, but forget to add tuning options (it is something that can make more difference in final sound/composition than more envelopes or whatever features that already are unlimited in any DAW as automations).

Post

anomandaris1 wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 3:24 pm Add microtonal playback with "tun" or "scl" files or some kind of custom options (I am not talking about adaptive tuning which is already implemented, but real retuning to alternative scale like in u-he/AAS synths).
It is funny how developers add countless relatively useless features, but forget to add tuning options (it is something that can make more difference in final sound/composition than more envelopes or whatever features that already are unlimited in any DAW as automations).
of course, we don't all see the same things as 'useful' or 'useless'. for example, i don't need any microtonal tunings, but am looking forward to the the listed things coming to icarus.

one thing we also can consider is... the use we've gotten out of a plugin over the time we've been using that. so paying for an update/upgrade is not unreasonable.

anyway, keeping an eye on this.

Post

metaside wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 3:21 pm
pdxindy wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:59 pm
Echoes in the Attic wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:10 pm MPE please! Would love to use this with my linnstrument!
+1

I've become so used to playing techniques that require MPE that when I try a non-MPE synth I am disappointed by how much it cannot do. MPE support is my most desired improvement to Icarus.
Yeah, +1 for MPE from me, too. I already play it with my Linnstrument, but being able to do it polyphonically would be much cooler ^^
The MPE is needed even to play monophonically with pitch slides...

Post

pdxindy wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:00 pm The MPE is needed even to play monophonically with pitch slides...
Nope. I'm playing it right now lol.
Some music with visuals and mixed tutorials related to game dev and sound design: https://www.youtube.com/@MetasideOfficial

Post

metaside wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:07 pm
pdxindy wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:00 pm The MPE is needed even to play monophonically with pitch slides...
Nope. I'm playing it right now lol.
If I slide up a 5th... then play another note... that notes starts up a 5th and then immediately jumps down to the actual note.

Post Reply

Return to “Instruments”