Sale on the now CPU-friendlier DIVA..?

[eBlue]

The main reason that I had to pass on DIVA during the intro sale was that the CPU usage was simply too high...and I have a i7 quad core CPU. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only person that had to make that call. At the time we had no way of knowing if the performance of the synth could be improved as much as it appears to have been since the intro sale expired.

Is there any possibility of another sale on the now multi-core, CPU-optimized version?

-e.B

[Urs]

I can totally understand you, but we did the introduction offer back then because everyone was merely a "Version One Beta Tester". It was our way to say "thank you all for helping us do this", and quite honestly, it took till V 1.0.1 to make Diva stable enough for actual production work.

All I can say is, that new update is going to be free and it makes a competitively priced product even more attractive. On top of that we have more updates in the pipeline. Those will also be free, even though we might contemplate to adjust the price a bit.

See, IMHO there's two philosophies in the pricing game:

- make people buy cheap with frequent sales and milk them with update costs
- do not do sales but keep follow on costs low

We opted for the second model. Which also means that the resale value of our software is pretty good, even after a year or two

Cheers,

Urs

[Echoes in the Attic]

The main reason that I had to pass on DIVA during the intro sale was that the CPU usage was simply too high...and I have a i7 quad core CPU. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only person that had to make that call. At the time we had no way of knowing if the performance of the synth could be improved as much as it appears to have been since the intro sale expired.

Is there any possibility of another sale on the now multi-core, CPU-optimized version?

-e.B

You know, in DIVA you get 5 or 6 very accurately emulated synths for about half the price of some other companies who have emulated just one of them. It's one of the best deals out there, the regular price is a steal.

[SLiC]

That is an incredibly honest and fair reason for the initial sale price. Diva is worth more than it is currently priced at, If any of the 'bigger' plays had release it you would be paying E279 or more....

I have missed very few 'sale' items that I have later bought (normally when I buy 'because' something is on sale I never use it and it is money wasted not saved), I can honestly say Diva is something I would buy at the current price without hesitation (but OK, I admit it, I bought at the dale price so for once I got it right!!! )

[3ee]

I agree that Diva is a great deal for what it offers.. but some people still can't afford it even so (can really understand that) ... for those in that situation, Diva occasionally (rarely ) pops up @ the market place, so good luck!

[pdxindy]

The main reason that I had to pass on DIVA during the intro sale was that the CPU usage was simply too high...and I have a i7 quad core CPU. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only person that had to make that call. At the time we had no way of knowing if the performance of the synth could be improved as much as it appears to have been since the intro sale expired.

Is there any possibility of another sale on the now multi-core, CPU-optimized version?

-e.B

That was the point of the cheaper intro price... there was some risk that discussed features like multi-threading would not pan out... Now there is no risk and Diva has an unrivaled sound quality and it is so worth the price as is. Now that there is no risk, there is no reason to offer a cheaper price.

And you did not have to pass during the intro sale. Neither did anyone else. That was a choice, which maybe you regret now, but you had the option at the intro price just like everyone else.

cheers

[eBlue]

I can totally understand you, but we did the introduction offer back then because everyone was merely a "Version One Beta Tester". It was our way to say "thank you all for helping us do this", and quite honestly, it took till V 1.0.1 to make Diva stable enough for actual production work.

All I can say is, that new update is going to be free and it makes a competitively priced product even more attractive. On top of that we have more updates in the pipeline. Those will also be free, even though we might contemplate to adjust the price a bit.

See, IMHO there's two philosophies in the pricing game:

- make people buy cheap with frequent sales and milk them with update costs
- do not do sales but keep follow on costs low

We opted for the second model. Which also means that the resale value of our software is pretty good, even after a year or two

Cheers,

Urs

Thanks for the reply Urs. I already own a few of your other products (Uhbik, ACE & Zebra). In the case of testing out Diva, most of the patches were maxing out my CPU to the extent that I wouldn't have been able to do much more than run Diva. I've learned from previous experiences that you don't buy something today based of what might happen with it tomorrow.

There's no denying that Diva sounds great. However, in my case I had to weigh buying something that I could potentially only use very sparingly vs. getting a great price. In the end I decided that it doesn't really matter how great it sounds or cheap it is, if I can't use it without changing my workflow. I try to be careful about what I spend my money on so that I don't make purchases that I regret later on. Consequently, resale value has very little appeal to me, as I never intend on reselling any of my software.

I think a third philosophy in the pricing game might be:

- avoid holding sales until a product is stable enough to give buyers a realistic representation of its final performance

Thanks anyway for hearing me out.

-e.B

[MickGael]

I think a third philosophy in the pricing game might be:

- avoid holding sales until a product is stable enough to give buyers a realistic representation of its final performance

-e.B

I'm with you on this one, ebluemedia. I have a pretty powerful multi-thread PC and I would choke out on some patches with one note. That is the only reason I passed.

[Bronto Scorpio]

Well, Diva was on sale exactly for that reason! Because it was still a beta version
It doesn't make sense to make beta sales only when the product is finished already
That's some pretty paradox sh*t

Cheers
Dennis

[djanthonyw]

Early adopters / beta testers should be the ones getting the discount... which they did. So thank you Urs for offering public betas as well as a discount during that time.

[mcnoone]

I just can't understand how people with quad core pc's can complain about the cpu usage. I have a coreduo2 mbp, and I didn't find the memory usage that much of a problem.
I only use it in Divine/best mode too.
a 2.88ghz, w/t 4gb ram...and it's laptop, which gives me most patches, that I've done running like any other Zebra patch, so long as it's in mono, legato, duo, and poly2 mode...with 1 voice stack.
There are ways to reduce cpu usage a lot, and I don't think these cpu usage complaint's are from people who know what those options are.
I mean, if your doing 4 voice stacks and 16 poly voices with long release times, in poly mode, then of course your cpu won't handle it.
But there are a whole lot more leads, basses, and basic mono/legato patches that sound great with just average cpu usage.
I've seen this just in the free presets for Diva recently.
16 poly voices, 2 voice stacks and and endlessly long release time in poly mode...maxed my system. But hey, reduce the settings and it doesn't.
If you need that kind of patch then use something else...but there's a whole lot of more sounds that can be made/used where the cpu won't get above what any other synth would.
IMO...those complaining about cpu usage, really need to consider better, how to use the economical cpu saving options that are within Diva, before complaining about something that isn't really a problem, that has no worker around.

[3ee]

Will you guys just stop it already?

Some ppl offer discount sales (beta or not) .. others don't, simple as that!
The guy asked and he got a good answer from Urs.

I for example, really enjoyed getting the no-brainers and deals I've picked up so far... so I understand that he tried his luck! ..so how do you guys would feel if you're interested in a group buy or something and a bunch of other ppl just add to a negative feed?

+some people really can't afford it .. so even a minor discount would have made the difference my guesses.

@mcnoone ... I have an Intel Quad Core @2.6 GHz and I am complaining!
I really am!

[Urs]

Well, wealth unfortunately is unfairly distributed in this world. Not everyone can afford Diva, let alone a 'puter to run her.

I otoh can't afford to sell her cheaper. I'd need more sales to pay for employees, rent, advertisement, insurances and whatever else is needed to run u-he. Berlin is infamous for its "cheapness", but it ain't free either. More sales would be okay per se, but we've reached a state where the little we have in support is already at the cost of about 1 employee. But to afford yet another employee would require even more sales. It's frightening.

So among factors like popularity, return of investment, business cost, social and business security, I think we chose a pretty good price. Ace would be a worse example because it hasn't contributed to much to growth, despite good sales. We have high hopes though that the upgrade to Berlin Modular will do the trick.

Nevertheless, we do hope to reach the people who can't afford our stuff with TyrellN6, Zebralette, 3C and magware.

[risome]

Nice one Urs

[Doug1978]

1) Diva is brilliant - in buying it, you'll honestly save yourself money spent on at least 2 or 3 other products which don't make you anywhere near as happy.

2) I was one of the lucky fellas who got it during the initial beta sale - so hurrah!

3) Mcnoone makes a very good point - there are plenty of cunning stunts to reduce the CPU load on Diva. I find Diva one of the easiest and most enjoyable synths to learn how to reverse great preset patches and also how to build from scratch.

4) If there is to be a magware / lite version of Diva, I propose that it's called 'Phat Lady'.
(This is unlikely, as Urs surely has better taste?).

5) I love lists with numbers.