New IK Product Version 3!!!!!

[lotus2035]

I guess I can think of my previous version of T-RackS as a virtual paper-weight once I end up with T-RackS 3 Deluxe.!

I'm just wondering if T-Racks deluxe will show up in the IK user area as a separate product with a separate serial from the old version? If so you could always sell off that serial and make something back from it..

[Squids]

Yeah actually Squids I think having a crossgrade price on the standard version would be a good thing..
Although personally I'm gonna go for the deluxe version which will cost me REALLY GOOD dollars from you guys..
Considering I was thinking about saving up for a UAD2 DUO which would have set me back about 900 euros, I think that my price in dollars is a great price for this new T-Racks package even if I do own the old T-Racks Plug in...

Its nice to know the standard version have been improved but I wouldn't be able to sit still knowing those new plugs were in my reach at that price..

Yeah, I know. It's like two different things and one kind of overshadows the other. It's like "Cool" and WAYYYY COOL! So... that's probably why IK figured they'd just make a crossgrade to the one everyone would really want. The standard has a nice affordable price though for anyone else and I am sure it's pretty darn good! But... the Deluxe. That's the one.

[BERFAB]

Whoa...tough crowd tonight.

The fan base is caught a bit off guard, I think, because this up/crossgrade model is a split from the past. Hard to judge, of course, before a demo is available, but agreed that the X-grade price is certainly higher than past products.

Squids has certainly been kept on his toes, answering everyone's questions (several times over), but give it a rest, folks. Wait for the product.

When CSR came out, I remember having a bit of a dialog with Squids about why I need to spend a few hundy on a dedicated reverb. Especially when I already had half a dozen other 'verbs (free or bundled with hosts). He told me to give it a try and that the quality would be well worth it.

Well, he was right. In fact, if you go on a "per use" calculation, CSR is probably the cheapest plug in my studio.

YMMV of course, but Squids and Co. have earned the benefit of the doubt from me, and quite a few others.

So, wait. And then check it out. If it's not for you, then save your pennies for ST3.

Cheers, all.
-B

[Squids]

Funkbot, it still AMAZES me that you think the crossgrade for all is actually CRAPPY to anyone! It actually rewards ALL loyal IK customers that's all. But you too benefit from it when you want to get ACROSS to another product instead just straight upgrading. What's the difference anyway? You wouldn't get it for less if it was ONLY available to you as an upgrade. It's just that someone else might be able to get that upgrade too. What does that take away from you though? Not when you TOO can get the product they have the other way around for the crossgrade discount.

It's this kind of closed-mindedness that I think prevents cool progressive systems like this from going anywhere. If you don't appreciate the crossgrade then I am sure it can go away. If that's what the customers really want. I'll convey it. But if that was the case I think it is a bloody SHAME it isn't appreciated because it is so beneficial to everyone and doesn't actually take AWAY from anyone. Maybe just makes some people less special or something but... I'd say "get over it" personally.

Let me put it this way (in a way that an evil twin of Funkybot would understand). Oh Funky one. If you were to buy a real AC30 1964 with Top Boost for say... $700. would you feel CRAPPY if I told you I bought one for $500? Wouldn't yours STILL be a good deal? So what does it matter what the next guy got really? Especially if the next time around YOU were the one who got it for $500 and I got it for $700. It gets spread around as long as you are an avid plug-in buying kind of guy (and I know you are).

By the way, I like the UAD too. It's just that it is one rig and stays there and I like to take things around with me on laptops and stuff so I end up using T-Racks a lot of the time anyway when what I REALLY want is a nice Fairchild and Pultec (well, among other things... I quite like my Abbey Road plug-ins as well).

[Squids]

Whoa...tough crowd tonight.

The fan base is caught a bit off guard, I think, because this up/crossgrade model is a split from the past.
-B

I think you hit the nail on the head. Woops. But maybe something can be done to fix that which I will suggest (like a crossgrade to the standard which would be cheap and probably more what people are expecting... apart from being spoiled by what they see in the deluxe.... you can't win! haha).

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Whoa...tough crowd tonight.

The fan base is caught a bit off guard, I think, because this up/crossgrade model is a split from the past.
-B

I think you hit the nail on the head. Woops. But maybe something can be done to fix that which I will suggest (like a crossgrade to the standard which would be cheap and probably more what people are expecting... apart from being spoiled by what they see in the deluxe.... you can't win! haha).

The solution is simple, add $50 to the crossgrade price and keep calling it a crossgrade, then make the current crossgrade an upgrade for existing T-Racks owners. This will create further incentive for people to purchase more IK products. It's positive reinforcement and basic marketing.

If IK wants to really be cool and increase sales (and customer satisfaction), they can take the current crossgrade prices and subtract $50 from the cost for existing T-Racks owners. And other major audio software companies offer both crossgrade and upgrade pricing, so it's not like this would be unprecedented.

Between the two threads on this subject today, only one person in all of KVR has come out in favor of the crossgrade. I doubt all the existing owners of T-Racks are suddenly opposed to paying a fair price for plugins.

[Kim Lajoie]

I think we're all forgetting something here... THIS THING DOES PARALLEL FARICHILD COMPRESSION. IN MID/SIDE MODE. I mean, come on, there are three vintage compressors in this, and you can do simultaneous parallel and serial compression with it. With the EQ you can set up pre-emphasis->compress->de-emphasis chains. With the limiters you can really overdrive one chain and subtly mix it in with the rest of the signal.

I'm sure it'll rock for mastering, BUT IS THIS THE MOST AWESOME THING FOR DRUM GROUPS EVER OR WHAT???

Now imagine the vocal chains you could pull off with this. And guitars. And bass. And keyboards...

-Kim.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I think we're all forgetting something here... THIS THING DOES PARALLEL FARICHILD COMPRESSION. IN MID/SIDE MODE. I mean, come on, there are three vintage compressors in this, and you can do simultaneous parallel and serial compression with it. With the EQ you can set up pre-emphasis->compress->de-emphasis chains. With the limiters you can really overdrive one chain and subtly mix it in with the rest of the signal.

I'm not forgetting that, but I can certainly do that in my host with my UA plugins with some creative routing.

[calex]

I'd be a lot happy tonight if version 3 Deluxe of T-RackS had been in the last Mastering GB, but since it wasn't, it would be nice to have some way to get a decent savings to upgrade to 3 Deluxe from that Mastering GB. $129 would be probably worth it to me to upgrade to 3 Deluxe on top of what I've already spent just in the past 6 months on the previous version. Unfortunately, the cross-grade is tossing in yet another hundred beyond that.

I know I'm going to want 3 Deluxe though. So here's the question, if the price going to go up for us on the cross-grade after the pre-order period? Maybe this has already been asked.

[PointOfDeparture]

Personally, I love the crossgrade deals, but if it were $50 cheaper, I'd have already pre-ordered. If it had twice as many models added (don't really need the eye candy meters), I'd have pre-ordered already as well. While I understand that these models are probably more complicated than a stomp or amp, I think the bang-for-your-buck value compared to the Amplitube series is not quite at the same level. As it stands, I'll probably wait to purchase when IK decides to run another buy 1, get 1 free deal and hope that I can get Philharmonik with it (I have everything else except ARC).

[Spin Boyz]

I think I will
on TR3...

[K-Slash]

Squids ?

Do you know if with the new SCC technology they are going to model new hardwares like tape machines, preamps, and so on, to create new plugins and sell them as expansion for T-RackS 3 ?

For example :

T-RackS 3 - Vintage Saturators Collection
T-RackS 3 - Vintage Equalizers Collection
T-RackS 3 - Vintage Compressors Collection

That would be AWESOME !

[Compyfox]

Waves Platinum is also a swiss army knife bag of tricks too! Just costs more money but not a bad thing to have too.

Sorry to say that, but I'm dissapointed in Waves due to several reasons. First of all, the plugins don't sound supperior than any other budget solutions (Kjaerhus, Voxengo, PSP) out there, second of all, they usually cost three times as much. I don't disregard the popularity, or the tools they created. I'm only saying that you "pay for the name" and we have to take it granted.

Most engineers I know would easily justify having both and more because in the virtual world it just costs so so so much less than it does in the hardware world where $2,000 gets you one mono channel of really good tube EQ if you're lucky.

Those engineers probably get like 10grand a month, while I as "greenhorn engineer" are happy to get even 600bucks a month.

So, imagine this for a second PLEASE. Imagine that T-RackS the plug-in had a new version called T-RackS 3 Standard. Let's say, for sake of argument, that there was an upgrade offered to the new version for around a hundred bucks. It gave you new features and improvements. Some would get it, some might not. Is it incredibly expensive? Not really. I mean it's not free but it's a new version and it's likely going to cost something to get it if you want it so there you go.

Thing is, the crossgrade to the "normal version" with a new meter and a rack system that I don't need, and a new skinjob is 199USD, and not just 100USD. Furthermore there is nothing known where the real improvements lie other than "hey, it's new". So it's even more unajusted to say "this is a great deal". I said it before - it's wrongly advertised.

But, wait, there's something else too? There's a Deluxe version. Something on TOP of the T-RackS 3 Standard. There's something with more products within a product. Something that is not a direct lineage but something that has ADDITIONAL products included with it. What does THAT cost? What???? Only $299 (or less) to get a Fairchild plug-in, a Pultec Plug-in, a Brick Wall Limiter plug-in, another precision oriented Parametric EQ, an Opto Compressor? REALLY????? JUST $299 for 5 ADDITIONAL REALLY COOL PLUG-INS? Damn.... that's good! It's REALLY good.

For precision I have ElectriQ (which is way more precise than anything I've ever used before) and can get the ddmf EQs, for Brickwall Limiting I also have the Kjaerhus MPL-1 and (believe it or not, but this thing beats most other software limiters in terms of transparency) TbT TLs Maximizer. For Opto Compression I can use am|pulse from Magix (bundled with the BEAT Magazine) or Digital Fishphones Blockfish (which are the "core versions" of the am|suite from Magix). Everything else? Okay, a Fairchild Emulation (that is possible to pull off with the 1975 compressor from URS) and a Pultec Emulation (Pushtec Anyone? Or one of the many ElectriQ characteristics) - another one among many - these are the only additions I'd consider interesting.

But this still doesn't adjust that I have to pay as much if I just want to "upgrade" (take my example from other firms again). Not even the price that you offer on your page (you edited it out in a post from a user, but not in your quote btw).

Anyway, at the end of the day you either look at those additional models and want them bad enough to pay for them like everyone else or you skip it. Sure, I can say it's your loss but that doesn't mean you can't make up for that loss with getting something else. By all means, everyone gets whatever they feel like! It's your money.

Indeed it is, this is why I'm so picky.

But, when a product comes out that has a reasonable or even GREAT price and yet offers some of the best sounding models of expensive hardware... well to ME that is a NO-BRAINER. But that's to me... and to a lot of pros I know that occasionally will mix inside the box (or in some cases all the time with label budgets these days).

Sorry but the price isn't reasonable to me. No matter what features it has.


I'll sit this one out. Maybe there will fly a better deal around the corner someday.

EOD for me.

[tronholic]

Hi,

I had several reasons to guess this right,but I did not won and I did not vote here either.

Now I'm seriously excited about the Fairchild model in the T-RackS 3.
If IK Multimedia has truly captured the harmonic generating behaviour without sounding papery thin,2D,grainy and harsh,it will be the winner!

Bring the seriously thick sounding lower mids and phenomenal presence,bring the FUNK!

I can't justify adding another UAD card into the system and upgrading
PSU (smelly and expensive bastards).And all the grief and sleepless nights
UAD plugs have caused in Samplitude system.Redemption,hallelujah(plays some gospel on organ)!

See ya!

[Reverend Rhythm]

I'm with BERFAB: Tuff Crowd!

I'll bet squids is exausted!

My view is that "we'll see." When the demo is out, when some people have tried it, when we get some reviews, then we'll have a better picture of how good this is and how much it is worth to us. I'm guessing that the reactions will be pretty good.

And I'll say that squids has never steered me wrong. I don't always do as he suggests (sorry squids ), but he has never given be bad advice.

So why don't we wait and see.