AmpliTube Metal - Released THIS month!!!

[redshift factor]

Honestly, I do think X-GEAR should be free. It's totally useless to anyone who doesn't own at least one Amplitube powered plugin, and it merely provides the functionality that should have already been built in, whether it's integrating multiple AT products, or just getting basic MIDI control for one.

This is not a product that IKMM can generate new customers from. All they can do is use it as a hidden cost to existing customers. This is one of those opportunities for IKMM to either build goodwill with their customers, or damage it. I know you've worked hard at getting IKMM to start making the right decisions, Squids. It's a shame they're poised to reverse all of it.

[Squids]

So, does Stomp I/O work as a MIDI controller as well, should you plan to use other software alongside AT?

Well, Sascha, I am guessing yes. So if you plug an expression pedal into it, it will forward it through it's own midi port.

Good guess. You are correct.

Hey do I win a StompIO now?!

.

You deserve some sort of KVR award for controversial AmpliTube threads that last forever.

[Squids]

Honestly, I do think X-GEAR should be free. It's totally useless to anyone who doesn't own at least one Amplitube powered plugin, and it merely provides the functionality that should have already been built in, whether it's integrating multiple AT products, or just getting basic MIDI control for one.

This is not a product that IKMM can generate new customers from. All they can do is use it as a hidden cost to existing customers. This is one of those opportunities for IKMM to either build goodwill with their customers, or damage it. I know you've worked hard at getting IKMM to start making the right decisions, Squids. It's a shame they're poised to reverse all of it.

Well hopefully there is good will for the fact that it IS Free if you own AmpliTube 2 or buy AmpliTube 2. The limited time thing is open-ended anyway and it's good that people take advantage of these things when they are offered.

[Sickle]

eh? Free? I hadn't heard that.

'scuse me..

*poof*

[Sascha Franck]

Well, Sascha, I am guessing yes. So if you plug an expression pedal into it, it will forward it through it's own midi port.

Good guess. You are correct. It can midi control other things too.

Is that true for the rest of the onboard controls as well?

[Squids]

You know if the CEO of IK asked me if it was worth it to give away things like X-Gear, the ST2.5 update for free, UB and Vista support for all IK apps I would normally say YES because of the supposed "good will" you'd get from it. But with all the complaining I see on the forum ANYWAY I have to wonder if it even makes a difference! As a company you take a loss if you don't charge for things you spend money developing. It's WORTH the loss if your customers are LOVING it and buying more as a result plus spreading the word (in a positive way) so other people appreciate these things too (because not every company does it and it is my philosophy to be the exception). But if you still get complaints? Hmmmm. What was the point?

I know that around here my team has incredible good will. You rarely see anyone say a bad word about Sonic Reality or eSoundz (apart from a few vaporware early announcements I've also been guilty of and have been working on improving over the years). I guess I got a false sense of confidence that if you do things like this (free updates and added value) that it can only be a good thing. It's a customer satisfaction approach that really does reflect my influence over the years. I've suggested this stuff saying "Oh, they're going to love this trust me!" When I DON'T see people excited about it I instantly lose all credibility on my philosophy.

All I can say is that it sure makes it hard for the next time this comes up and I have my 2 cents to offer. Either I won't bother to rally for things I see people wanting or I'll suggest things like "give that for free" and it won't be taken seriously because I can't say "remember how everyone loved the last time you did that?".

If only people were more glass half full around here you COULD do something and have people focusing on the positive aspects and getting excited. But it seems the forum really is mostly for venting frustration (even admitted personal frustration from some) and that takes the wind out of some people's sails. It really does. I am genuinely excited about this stuff and I LIKE to be helpful because I am a diplomat at heart. But as busy as I am I find it hard to find time to walk up escalators that are going in the opposite direction... or spinning my wheels. I like to be productive with whatever I do. In other words, I am ALMOST giving up on you guys with this stuff. ALMOST!!!

[Squids]

My dream rig was AT", VG-99 and Stomp I\O to control both. I guess the FC-300 is going to get the punishment instead

But I think you CAN use Stomp IO for this.

[Squids]

If anyone appreciates my effort on here and wants to give a little back to esoundz, you can pre-order it here: http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=1770

Hey, in the relentless spirit of giving you get either $100 in epointz or RAW Universal Groove Kit ($199 value groove library in Rex, Apple Loops and Wave format- 5,000 loops) for FREE in addition to AmpliTube Metal from IK. That's an exclusive offer from esoundz. Plus it is only $899. so... start subtracting the added value and I think you'll find it to be a fantastic deal. The only problem is that we have to have all of our pre-orders in time to reserve units beyond what I already have (only 25 because I don't know how many to get otherwise). It's not a big deal if you're patient because we can always wait for the second production run but it isn't like getting discs pressed. It can be months in between production runs and this first lot is going to be difficult to get. Plus, thanks for your support.

[Hink]

You know if the CEO of IK asked me if it was worth it to give away things like X-Gear, the ST2.5 update for free, UB and Vista support for all IK apps I would normally say YES because of the supposed "good will" you'd get from it. But with all the complaining I see on the forum ANYWAY I have to wonder if it even makes a difference! As a company you take a loss if you don't charge for things you spend money developing. It's WORTH the loss if your customers are LOVING it and buying more as a result plus spreading the word (in a positive way) so other people appreciate these things too (because not every company does it and it is my philosophy to be the exception). But if you still get complaints? Hmmmm. What was the point?

I know that around here my team has incredible good will. You rarely see anyone say a bad word about Sonic Reality or eSoundz (apart from a few vaporware early announcements I've also been guilty of and have been working on improving over the years). I guess I got a false sense of confidence that if you do things like this (free updates and added value) that it can only be a good thing. It's a customer satisfaction approach that really does reflect my influence over the years. I've suggested this stuff saying "Oh, they're going to love this trust me!" When I DON'T see people excited about it I instantly lose all credibility on my philosophy.

All I can say is that it sure makes it hard for the next time this comes up and I have my 2 cents to offer. Either I won't bother to rally for things I see people wanting or I'll suggest things like "give that for free" and it won't be taken seriously because I can't say "remember how everyone loved the last time you did that?".

If only people were more glass half full around here you COULD do something and have people focusing on the positive aspects and getting excited. But it seems the forum really is mostly for venting frustration (even admitted personal frustration from some) and that takes the wind out of some people's sails. It really does. I am genuinely excited about this stuff and I LIKE to be helpful because I am a diplomat at heart. But as busy as I am I find it hard to find time to walk up escalators that are going in the opposite direction... or spinning my wheels. I like to be productive with whatever I do. In other words, I am ALMOST giving up on you guys with this stuff.

for Squids....really I understand how you feel but you gotta stop looking out to the horizon and make way over each wave. The negative ones may seem to be the majority, but you can take comfort in the supporters. Opinionated, outspoken, pigheaded are all terms that describe us all, hell we're all musicians and/or artists...tis the nature of the beast. But don't take it personally and dont give up.

You do a lot for what you believe in, you do it well. But alas my friend you're not going to please everyone, so don't look at it as half full or half empty...look at it as getting fuller (sorry greg, can feel your cringe ) all the time, even if it's one drop at a time...




or...don't get mad...get glad

[redshift factor]

It's WORTH the loss if your customers are LOVING it and buying more as a result plus spreading the word (in a positive way) so other people appreciate these things too (because not every company does it and it is my philosophy to be the exception). But if you still get complaints? Hmmmm. What was the point?

You're exactly right on why something like X-GEAR should be free: because it works as an incentive for people to buy Amplitube powered software. It is a feature that helps sell the entire product line. It keeps customers coming back for new editions (and new additions). But once IK starts charging people for X-GEAR, then it becomes a disincentive for new customers who suddenly are faced with hidden costs to unlock full functionality. Instead, every customer who purchases any supported Amplitube powered product should be entitled to download X-GEAR for free.

I don't understand why it would only be free with Amplitube2 (or is that Amplitube2 + a 2nd AT powered product?) Do people who only own ATJH not deserve MIDI control too? What about bassists who only need AmpegSVX? Do people who buy just ATJH and ATMetal not deserve to integrate them? Why should these people lose the IKMM lottery just because they bought the "wrong" Amplitube product?

As far as complaints, of course there are always people who will complain no matter what you do. That's just life. Come on now, this is KvR. What else would people do here if not bitch about how everything sucks and is too expensive?

Most people are just here for the freeware SynthEdit plugins, anyways.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

As a freebie (for me anyway) it's a great product. Still though, there might be some who only want AT2 Metal and ATJHE and I still think they should be able to mix and match as well.

Anyway, I think IKMM just needs to rethink how scary their press releases initially make things sound. If I were IK I'd focus more on the "suggested street price" (or whatever you retailers call it) than the manafacturer's price. I'd also include any bundle plans within the releases themselves.

[dohearn]

Great news!

I contacted IK Multimedia about the pricing of X-GEAR, essentially expressing my disappointment at charging for something that I feel should have been incorporated into the Amplitube line of products anyway (see messages below).

I am very happy to report that IK seems to have anticipated my response -- registered users of two or more "powered by Amplitube" products will receive X-GEAR for no additional charge.
This is, to be sure, not indicated on their web site as of yet, but I have been assured this will be recified soon.

Kudos to IK !!!

Regards,

dohearn

--- messages below (email addresses X'd out for privacy)

From: XXXXXX XXXXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXX@ikmultimedia.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 6:09 PM
To: dohearn@XXXXX.XXX
Subject: Re: CONTACT IK

David,

Thanks for your feedback on AmpliTube X-GEAR! I certainly understand your point, and our original intention was to make the functions X-GEAR provides a part of AmpliTube 2.5. However, we realized that this would have two negative consequences: one, it would force customers to purchase AmpliTube 2 even if they didn't need or want access to those models, and two, it would create the impression that Ampeg SVX, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, AmpliTube Metal and any future releases were merely "expansion sets" for AmpliTube 2, which of course is not the case.

So we decided to make AmpliTube X-GEAR a stand-alone product, and as with all stand-alone products we had to assign a value to it. We feel quite strongly that the unique functionality provided by X-GEAR is worth $99, but you'll notice we never mentioned charging $99. AmpliTube X-GEAR will be provided free of charge to any registered user of two or more "powered by AmpliTube" products. So as an AmpliTube 2 Live user, you would automatically receive X-GEAR upon registering any other AT product.

We feel this strategy has two benefits. One, it doesn't force the user to buy AmpliTube 2 to receive the functionality of X-GEAR, and two, it adds value to all of our products instead of just one. Our marketing team is preparing the press release for this policy as we speak, but we wanted to make the official release at AES, so we announced X-GEAR a bit ahead of the promotion. I know that this has created some confusion, and I apologize. Please stay tuned for the complete details.

Best regards,

XXXXX XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX@ikmultimedia.com


[my response to IK's reply below]

Thank you for your prompt response to my message re: Amplitube X-Gear.

I am very much encouraged by your reply, insofar as it appears IK may have anticipated my response (and the response of many others) in this regard - specifically, that X-GEAR will be provided free of charge to registered users of two or more Amplitube products.

It is regrettable that the desire to announce the product at AES was not accompanied by a marketing announcement that would have clarified this matter and precluded any misunderstanding regarding the licensing of X-GEAR.

However, it is also encouraging to see that IK appears to have given a great deal of thought as how to proceed with X-GEAR (re: your comment about not requiring Amplitube Live users to upgrade to Amplitube2 in order to reap the benefits of X-GEAR). For this, I applaud IK's foresight.

I am very pleased that what I had deemed to be an obstacle has, in fact, been eradicated - this news makes Amplitube (and any future Amplitube-based products) far more usable.


Regards and thanks,

David O'Hearn

dohearn@XXXXX.XXX

[Squids]

Good point. Well, you never know. Maybe it will be offered for free to users of Ampeg SVX for those reasons. Maybe if it is something that is appreciated it will continue to be a free extra but at least you know it does have a value and it shouldn't be something just taken for granted. It's easy to get spoiled with this stuff. That's for sure.

EDIT: After reading the above post I guess there you have it! It is for anyone who buys more than one powered by AT product (since you'd have to in order to make use of it anyway). Plus it is free for all AT2 users for the midi control. Sounds good to me.

Anyway it's nice to see excitement on the forums for things I think are rather cool like this. Well, I think that will happen when people have it in their hands because... I mean it's DELUXE to open up all of the effects and amps inside ONE plug-in! Come on now! It's possibly the coolest effect plug-in EVER in fact! Seriously... when I think about it there's no question about it. So you can't drag and drop? You can't modulate the modulator with the modulation? Who the #$@) cares? You've got mix and matching between accurate models of how many cool pieces of gear???? Let's get real here. This is freakin' incredible!

[redshift factor]

Yeah, that policy is starting to look a lot better.
However, it still leaves owners of just one Amplitube product who want MIDI control out in the cold.

I must say that IKMM's logic that X-GEAR is a "new product" is faulty though. By their own admission it is just functionality that was going to be included in a future update, and they cannot sell X-GEAR as a standalone product. It is of absolutely no use to anyone who doesn't own at least one supported Amplitube product already, and then all it does is provides them with the MIDI capabilities that should have been there to start with.

[hibidy]

@squids

since it's on my mind, there is one thing that has always bugged me about all of my AT stuff........the metronome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there any way you could put me in touch, or relay, or anything that this piercing "uber brain damage" click can be changed......or and option to replace.......etc?

just wondering