Synthmaster for $10

[PatchAdamz]

Super deal, I would buy it if I dint already own it...

[chk071]

People complaining about $10 for SynthMaster?

Not at all. It's great that they make it available for so many people. Even though it pretty much devalues the software, with so many sales, and now, this no-brainer sale. But that shouldn't be my problem. Obviously, they have a different strategy than u-he, and think, a low entry price, and a lot of sales, to get more customers, is the right way.

[wagtunes]

People complaining about $10 for SynthMaster?

Not at all. It's great that they make it available for so many people. Even though it pretty much devalues the software, with so many sales, and now, this no-brainer sale. But that shouldn't be my problem. Obviously, they have a different strategy than u-he, and think, a low entry price, and a lot of sales, to get more customers, is the right way.

Their aim is to get you to buy the expansions, which are very good. Even I got them when I bought Synthmaster a few years back.

[Numanoid]

Prices of VST's have come down over the years, hopefully they will come down even more.

VST's are still some of the most expensive software out there.

I would like to see max prices the same as new computer/console games, in the region $40-$50

[chk071]

People complaining about $10 for SynthMaster?

Not at all. It's great that they make it available for so many people. Even though it pretty much devalues the software, with so many sales, and now, this no-brainer sale. But that shouldn't be my problem. Obviously, they have a different strategy than u-he, and think, a low entry price, and a lot of sales, to get more customers, is the right way.

Their aim is to get you to buy the expansions, which are very good. Even I got them when I bought Synthmaster a few years back.

Good point, i saw they're offered already when you buy Synthmaster, and you can choose from different packages.

@ Numanoid: I'd be grateful about prices like $99 for well featured synths. $150 - $200 for a single synth is pretty tough.

[BlackWinny]

... $150 - $200 for a single synth is pretty tough.

Hmm... it depends the synth.

When it needs a lot of time in R&D like Zebra or Xils-4 or Tera or things like that, I think that it is their right price.

But yes, there are today many synths which are now really overpriced.

And not to mention the worse of all... Yooz Electric Force

[ghettosynth]

This is very tempting but I think I will pass since:

1. I don't like the synth's monochrome, busy UI.
2. Support in the KV331 forum seems consistently bad.
3. There will be a cost to upgrade to 3.0 soon. kv331 wrote "SM 2.8 -> 3.0 upgrade : $29"

I will reconsider when it hits 3.0. They are not shy about having sales.

Which totally explains the $10 blowout price. It's a cash grab before the update release. Still, depending on what's in the update, I'd pay $39 for this synth now that I've had it. I still wouldn't pay $80 for it though.

No?? 80 bucks seem cheap for the "amount of synth" one gets...Or is it just not your cup of tea?

There are simply not very many synths that I feel are worth more than $50, or even $50. There is nothing in Synthmaster that I can't do in Reaktor. The value of Synthmaster, as I mentioned, is just speed and convenience of U/I. I wouldn't pay $50 for FM8 either.

Fixed architecture synths and effects have to bring something interesting to the table for me. A good, and rare, example for me is Revival which I paid $50 for on sale over the holidays. It's a synth built around organ models for oscillators. Urs always brings significant technical effort to the table. I appreciate Waves plugins that are built around models of hardware for which there is limited access, e.g., vinyl. I like the Zynaptic and Ircam stuff which is derived from significant research.

Basically, to me, every plugin starts at an assumption of about $20 in value. From there it can go up if there is significant technical achievement or difficult to duplicate content, e.g., samples of interesting and hard to acquire gear. It can also go down if it's just a repeat of what I already have or it has only minor improvements over other tools.

Consistently, if I break my own rules, and I have, I end up regretting the purchase.

[exmatproton]

There are simply not very many synths that I feel are worth more than $50, or even $50. There is nothing in Synthmaster that I can't do in Reaktor. The value of Synthmaster, as I mentioned, is just speed and convenience of U/I. I wouldn't pay $50 for FM8 either.

Fixed architecture synths and effects have to bring something interesting to the table for me. A good, and rare, example for me is Revival which I paid $50 for on sale over the holidays. It's a synth built around organ models for oscillators. Urs always brings significant technical effort to the table. I appreciate Waves plugins that are built around models of hardware for which there is limited access, e.g., vinyl. I like the Zynaptic and Ircam stuff which is derived from significant research.

Basically, to me, every plugin starts at an assumption of about $20 in value. From there it can go up if there is significant technical achievement or difficult to duplicate content, e.g., samples of interesting and hard to acquire gear. It can also go down if it's just a repeat of what I already have or it has only minor improvements over other tools.

Consistently, if I break my own rules, and I have, I end up regretting the purchase.

hmmm. I get your approach (i disagree, but i get it).
I think the starting price is a wee bit low. Sure, there are enough synths out there, that aren't 'special' or bring nothing new. But, and SM is no exception, there are amazing synths that blow 20 to 50 dollar synth (and free ones) away. So i guess it is not your cup of tea, in that regard.

Do you mean with 'fixed architecture' not (semi-)modular?

[Numanoid]

Buying into a synth, and spending a bit of money on it, it is important for me that I see that the dev is not a flash in the pan, and that the dev provides upgrades.

Synths I have spent the most on like u-he, Xils, Arturia, Native Instruments, I know that they will be around in the future, and that they provide regular updates when needed.

I took for granted the same when I bought Alchemy But that is at least rock solid on Win 10 as of now

[Slaapstadseun]

I've been waiting 12 hrs for the download link email....

[trusampler]

same here..no downloads yet, I'm in US so I don't think it matters.

[JoeCat]

same here..no downloads yet, I'm in US so I don't think it matters.

Same here.

It looks like 2.8 comes with the awesome satYatunes skin? That's a major enhancement.

I'm sure this overlaps virtually everything I have, but different synths = different workflow. Sometimes it's just inspiring mix it up. Especially for the price of a few beers

Assuming, of course, I receive valid license...

[ghettosynth]

There are simply not very many synths that I feel are worth more than $50, or even $50. There is nothing in Synthmaster that I can't do in Reaktor. The value of Synthmaster, as I mentioned, is just speed and convenience of U/I. I wouldn't pay $50 for FM8 either.

Fixed architecture synths and effects have to bring something interesting to the table for me. A good, and rare, example for me is Revival which I paid $50 for on sale over the holidays. It's a synth built around organ models for oscillators. Urs always brings significant technical effort to the table. I appreciate Waves plugins that are built around models of hardware for which there is limited access, e.g., vinyl. I like the Zynaptic and Ircam stuff which is derived from significant research.

Basically, to me, every plugin starts at an assumption of about $20 in value. From there it can go up if there is significant technical achievement or difficult to duplicate content, e.g., samples of interesting and hard to acquire gear. It can also go down if it's just a repeat of what I already have or it has only minor improvements over other tools.

Consistently, if I break my own rules, and I have, I end up regretting the purchase.

hmmm. I get your approach (i disagree, but i get it).
I think the starting price is a wee bit low. Sure, there are enough synths out there, that aren't 'special' or bring nothing new. But, and SM is no exception, there are amazing synths that blow 20 to 50 dollar synth (and free ones) away. So i guess it is not your cup of tea, in that regard.

Do you mean with 'fixed architecture' not (semi-)modular?

To me, semi-modular is much more specific than "has a modulation matrix." ACE is semi-modular, SynthMaster is a fixed architecture with a lot of modulation options and some flexibility within fixed choices, e.g., filter routing.

[robotmonkey]

Prices of VST's have come down over the years, hopefully they will come down even more.

VST's are still some of the most expensive software out there.

I would like to see max prices the same as new computer/console games, in the region $40-$50

You gotta be kidding, right? VST synths are not expensive at all. Compared to hardware, or some of the first VST synths, for example. Just to think about it that Emulator X3 was in the range of 800$ or Neutron VS cost 900$ once.

It's not that I have anything against low prices but I think that if people are becoming really cheapskates, then developers will have to cut corners. Or come up with different revenue models. For example I would like to see a subscription model based on notes played. But I digress. There's obviously certain expenses that a synth has to brake even and that in conjunction with the market situation will determine the price. The market situation is probably not very favorable at all for developers. Strong competition and over-saturation will make it increasingly difficult to ask a price that brakes development even.

I see no problem with occasional heavy discounts and I do not think that it undervalues software at all. It actually makes a lot of sense to discount Synthmaster if it's in its end of life. A lot of people, like me for example, who would have not even considered it at 40$ (or probably even at 15-20$) got it. And those people might upgrade eventually.

[exmatproton]

There are simply not very many synths that I feel are worth more than $50, or even $50. There is nothing in Synthmaster that I can't do in Reaktor. The value of Synthmaster, as I mentioned, is just speed and convenience of U/I. I wouldn't pay $50 for FM8 either.

Fixed architecture synths and effects have to bring something interesting to the table for me. A good, and rare, example for me is Revival which I paid $50 for on sale over the holidays. It's a synth built around organ models for oscillators. Urs always brings significant technical effort to the table. I appreciate Waves plugins that are built around models of hardware for which there is limited access, e.g., vinyl. I like the Zynaptic and Ircam stuff which is derived from significant research.

Basically, to me, every plugin starts at an assumption of about $20 in value. From there it can go up if there is significant technical achievement or difficult to duplicate content, e.g., samples of interesting and hard to acquire gear. It can also go down if it's just a repeat of what I already have or it has only minor improvements over other tools.

Consistently, if I break my own rules, and I have, I end up regretting the purchase.

hmmm. I get your approach (i disagree, but i get it).
I think the starting price is a wee bit low. Sure, there are enough synths out there, that aren't 'special' or bring nothing new. But, and SM is no exception, there are amazing synths that blow 20 to 50 dollar synth (and free ones) away. So i guess it is not your cup of tea, in that regard.

Do you mean with 'fixed architecture' not (semi-)modular?

To me, semi-modular is much more specific than "has a modulation matrix." ACE is semi-modular, SynthMaster is a fixed architecture with a lot of modulation options and some flexibility within fixed choices, e.g., filter routing.

Technically, Synthmaster is semi-modular. You may experience this differently, but it is a semi-modular architecture. And i use it as such, just like A.C.E.
--
I like SM and i'm wondering when they will release the update with the bigger UI.