KVR Audio

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:24 pm

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:56 pm

egbert101 wrote:$240 for a roland plugin. Facepalm.

If you use the new yearly subscription it is 215.40 $ per year (and 17.95 $ per month), you could then keep one plugin forever and during that time can currently use 24 products (and more should come).

With the old montly subscription due to what is posted in the Roland Cloud FAQ also the free trial month seems to count so actually you have to pay 11 months.

Here in Germany so far they just used the current USD to Euro conversion rate without VAT and additional fees (recently this was almost exactly 17 Euros per month).

I was subscribed since June 2017 now and they just added the JV-1080 plugin without any additional cost for me and other Roland Cloud customers. That is one big advantage of this subscription model which often is ignored with those countless rants about the subscriptiion.

Hanz Meyzer · Post by **Hanz Meyzer** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:58 pm

egbert101 wrote:$240 for a roland plugin. Facepalm.

Yep, absolutely no go. Won't buy until Roland offers a single time full purchase, for a fair, competitive price.

beely · Post by **beely** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:59 pm

egbert101 wrote:$240 for a roland plugin. Facepalm.

The service is $240 for a year subscription which let you use all of Roland's synth plugins, and some various other services like the massive guitar/pianos etc), *and* as a bonus you also get a permanent license to a plugin of your choice, per year.

So it's not simply $240 for a plugin, it's $240 for a yearly service, of which *one part* is a plugin "permanent license". They are not selling plugins, they are selling the subscription service.

So maybe you should write:

egbert101 wrote:$240 for a yearly roland cloud subscription. Facepalm.

Which is fair enough...

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:02 pm

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:05 pm

Hey, that's still cheaper than many hardware synths... and you get 10 plugins for free, and access to all of the Roland plugins there is. Actually not a bad deal, if you think about it. BUT, best of all, you don't even have to subscribe.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:07 pm

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:09 pm

Well, maybe you can name a hardware which is cheaper than 10 years of Roland subscription, emulates 10 different synths, and gives you access to all devices available in the Roland cloud, for 10 years. I doubt it, though.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:19 pm

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:22 pm

beely wrote: So my perception was that the Cloud platform/service/website, and the Anthology plugins, were built by and provided by the Virtual Sonics Company, with Roland supplying their plugin catalog and branding.

(Again, I'm not asserting this to be true with blanket statements, I'm just expressing my thoughts and the reasoning why.)

So I'm still confident that Roland are the plugin developers, and are accessing their old code, chip designs, sample and sound content to make the plugins as authentic as they are...

You may be right, but I doubt it. Roland did some plug-ins in the past, but intermitently, and usually abandoned quickly. If they really had a developemt team in house they would probably be more consistent in their work.

And although I don't know for sure if they are using outsourcing, I don't know how why you say they are not. We are in the dark here. What's for sure is that, by now, there is a joint-venture company that took over this part of the business. I don't see how would Roland still take care of developing the plug-ins (which, IMO, are the main part of the job) and then give them to the other company for profiting, especially when there is an whole system (site, sginature handling, subscription protection, even the Roland Cloud Manager application which manages all the stuff) which is clearly done by this company and where they have to be integrated. And I see more resources for doing the job in this new company than I ever saw in Roland. But we simply can't know for sure.

EDIT. The company now has 19 people listed in LinkedIn, from which eitht are engineers and/or audio software developers. I'd say this is a quite respectable team of development. https://www.linkedin.com/search/results ... 6465%22%5D

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:22 pm

egbert101 wrote:
chk071 wrote: "emulates 10 different synths, and gives you access to all devices available in the Roland cloud, for 10 years. I doubt it, though.
That part is a ridiculous argument.

Why? You get exactly that with 10 years of Roland Cloud subscription.

About your "That is easy." part: You ripped my requirements in two parts. I never asked for a hardware which is cheaper than 10 years of Roland subscription. I asked for a hardware which is cheaper, and gives you exactly the content you get with 10 years of Roland subscription. It is YOU who is not thinking straight. Or rationally.

SLiC · Post by **SLiC** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:26 pm

egbert101 wrote:
chk071 wrote:Well, maybe you can name a hardware which is cheaper than 10 years of Roland subscription"
That is easy.

chk071 wrote: "emulates 10 different synths, and gives you access to all devices available in the Roland cloud, for 10 years. I doubt it, though.
That part is a ridiculous argument.

Or you could fill your socks with good software plugins that are near or equivalent to Roland stuff. Also, in a few years time, there may be far better deals on offer and you would have wasted money having no products after cancelling your subscription.

But you're not thinking straight, or rationally.

I am still not convinced that I want to subscribe (system 1 user, they make me an offer I cant refuse ;0)) but I dont think anyone is wasting their money if you enjoy your time with the instruments and make music with them (which will exist for ever) - thats the point isntg it, to make music? Whats the differenrce with renting hardware to make an album? Also, if they add 2-3 instruments a year then assuming you want them its probably cheaper than buying....but there are great and much cheaper alternatices (V collection 6 takes some beating....) so you would have top realy LOVE that retro Roland stuff top find value.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:49 pm

T-CM11 · Post by **T-CM11** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:01 pm

SLiC wrote:Whats the differenrce with renting hardware to make an album?

No difference... for those who do that sort of thing.
Big difference... that same hardware for rent can also be bought.

cfanyc · Post by **cfanyc** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 6:14 pm

so i recently bought 3 synths/bundles:

a. u-he repro1 + pepro5 = $99
b. korg arp odyssey = $69
c. uvi ob legacy (6 instruments) = $150

Total cost = $320 for 9 instruments that are absolutely top notch

If you want 9 roland cloud instruments, you need 9 years of
subscriptions and 9 years of waiting at a cost of $ 220 x 9 = $1980

Conclusion: My condolences to the roland cloud subscribers.