[Fixed in 4.4] Weird bug: latest "Spectral Suite" update not included in upgrade plan

[FakeNatty]

As a newcomer to bitwig i've sent them my thoughts. When i upgraded from 8 track to the full version i believed i was getting a years worth of upgrades too. These "addons" allow them to arbitrarily decide what is and isn't an upgrade. Very bad move.

exactly. And now, they can just put all the good stuff into add ons, and force you to pay for update plan first before you buy the add ons.

so effective today,

bitwig upgrade plan just became $169+79/ year at the MINIMUM, depending on how many add ons they want to sell.

[seipster]

i am happy now
but i cant told you why
maybe you will lucky too

Hmmmmmm speak up

write a good email to them
maybe christmas comes earlier for you

Auch.... I do not want free stuff. I want a happy growing user base and a good community. And I am willing to pay for that, but it has to be done the right way.

[musikarldererste]

later today you will be happy or not
but its okay , they have change their marketing strategy i can understand this
i sorted my feelings now i have two daws

overall lucky day, you must write cleary to them if you want christmas earlier

[WasteLand]

something i wrote at the Bitwig page and i extend it here:

so you make you difference; core and premium

like artist or pro

you make 2 different DAW's now (not counting 16 track or 8 track).

like Ableton Standard or Suite
like Cubase Arist or Pro
etc.

what is the difference with Steinberg and Ableton?

you know the prices, and what to expect.

with Bitwig; now you don't. at this moment. better communication.
much better communication. is necessary.

but you can't say anymore there is Bitwig 8 track, 16 track and Bitwig Studio.

because there is now "Bitwig Studio Suite" or "Bitwig Studio Premium", also, but with an unknown pricing model.

4.3.9 is only made for these Spectral Suite, see the release notes.

Bitwig states that there is now a core daw, so there must be also a Premium DAW...

it is an integral part of Bitwig, the Spectral Suite, again, see the release notes for 4.3.9.

so the biggest problem:

an unknown strategy.

to quote what is stated on the Bitwig site:

"Core features of Bitwig Studio will continuously be developed as part of the 12-month upgrade plan. Highly specialized features, like devices or additional content such as presets and sound libraries, will occasionally be developed as add-ons. This way, we can keep the upgrade plan affordable while giving you the choice to purchase specific add-on features that enhance your workflow."

aha, in another forum, i did not state that Bitwig used the word "money", affordable is the keyword here..

so in a way, they say it outloud, we need to ask money for it...

but the uncertainty.

and the strange phrasing of highly specialized features, is the Poly Grid not a highly specialized feature, etc?

so, admit, that there will be a Premium and Core (Studio) DAW.

this wasn't announced, there is no real communication about, beside, the quote.

bad strategy.

Bitwig is a great DAW, for sure. (and other DAW's are great too... with many spectral capabilities...)

and i am glad that they finally discovered.... spectral.....

but in this way, you don't anymore what is the value of the upgrade plan.

(i have an inactive, unused upgrade plan/license, for clarity... i don't know at this moment what to do... i am still on 4.0.8, which is enough for me, at this moment. although i miss some new features, and the, o yes, the Spectral Suite, that i can't buy, without ----- activating my upgrade plan......)

[musikarldererste]

i really like the freq split you can do things like soothe
wow im really impressed, but i feel bad for the others here

[pdxindy]

As a newcomer to bitwig i've sent them my thoughts. When i upgraded from 8 track to the full version i believed i was getting a years worth of upgrades too. These "addons" allow them to arbitrarily decide what is and isn't an upgrade. Very bad move.

exactly. And now, they can just put all the good stuff into add ons, and force you to pay for update plan first before you buy the add ons.

so effective today,

bitwig upgrade plan just became $169+79/ year at the MINIMUM, depending on how many add ons they want to sell.

Yup... I can accept a price increase... that takes effect after my current plan expires... but it is unethical to make a price increase in the middle of my current active plan.

[Phil B]

i am happy now
but i cant told you why
maybe you will lucky too

If they are playing favorites, that would be unforgivable to me. Be careful what you post here and how it can be interpreted (unless you're trying to sabotage the company)

i told you nothing
i give you a good advice
i work for a news magazine as a trainee called gearnews
mabye therfore , they like me more

I did write them to complain. If they were to give me the add-ons for free but not do it for all customers, I would not consider that a good thing at all. And if they did it for some, but not for me it would be even worse!!

Whether that's what you meant they did for you or not, that's how it came across to me, at least

[pdxindy]

And the most insulting thing is that each time I launch 4.3.9 I receive a notification that there are packages to be updated but I cannot update them without paying.

[astartes]

I tried the demo, loved what I heard, bought it, and I'm glad to have it.

If you look at it like any regular plugin purchase, it's totally worth the price, better than the competition and less than most companies charge for lesser tools.

I really don't think Bitwig is being greedy or dishonest. I think they could have communicated a little better, but I also think part of the burden falls on the community to be a little less eager to explode with rage at everything.

Ironically, if they had made up a new company name and then "partnered with _________ to bring you this add-on for Bitwig Studio", that would have been less honest and yet people probably would have received it better.

I somewhat agree with the above.
Communication could (should!!) have been better. The Explanation on what was planned with Add Ons and the Upgrade Plans should have been released before the Add ons ( letś say 2 Weeks or so), not after several 100 Complaints about them.
On the Other Hand: 79,- Euros (99,- Euros later) for Plugins that do similar things than Physion /Physion II (179,- Euro), Unfiltered Audio Spec Ops (99,- Euro) and many Meldaproduction Multiband Devices (starting from 49,- Euros per Plugin if on Sale, normally 99,- per Plugin) and are fully integrated in the BWS workflow (a thing that specially with the Meldaproduction Plug ins, as much as i love them, is hard to realize)..... for people who are looking for such Plug Ins AND (!!! verry Important) BWS is theyr Main DAW the Price should be a no Brainer.

If you´ve allready spend 300+ Euros for Physion etc (or pay 49 Euros a Month for the Melda Subscription) you have what these Add Ons can do (and more regarding Meldaprod) an can easily Scip these Add ons and stic to the "normal 169 Euro Upgrade Plan.

[musikarldererste]

sorry i cant speak about it im not allowed
they warned me clearly , even this is to much

write to them with kind words and maybe you are happy to

[Phil B]

i really like the freq split you can do things like soothe
wow im really impressed, but i feel bad for the others here

Gearnews should reconsider you. I think you'd be better suited at Twitter

[foosnark]

The upgrade plan is and has always been a contentious issue...

I agree.

The upgrade plan is, IMHO, better than a "real" subscription where you can't use the product at all if you let it elapse.

Is it also better than having to pay for every single upgrade? That's... questionable. It depends on the specific numbers, I guess, and what's in the upgrades.

The problem is it's irregular and kind of confusing. And renewing it kind of feels like gambling because you don't know what they're going to deliver in the next 12 months. And that puts people on edge.

Bitwig's dev roadmap comms were non-optimal this time.

I agree with this too. I feel like they could have been more clear about things.

Ironically if they'd made up a new company name, like Zorak, and then "partnered with Zorak to bring you Zorak Spectral Suite for Bitwig Studio" that would have been less honest, and yet people would have been more likely to accept it.

...

The main thing I don't agree with in this thread is that this move was dishonest or greedy, or that the company as a whole is dishonest or greedy. (But then, I'm a software developer and I also appreciate getting paychecks. If I didn't, I wouldn't be making software.)

[klingt.net]

i really like the freq split you can do things like soothe
wow im really impressed, but i feel bad for the others here

Gearnews should reconsider you. I think you'd be better suited at Twitter

I just wanted to write the same, he's neither doing gearnews nor Bitwig a favor here.

[skwrl]

Reaper came for me.

[musikarldererste]

i really like the freq split you can do things like soothe
wow im really impressed, but i feel bad for the others here

Gearnews should reconsider you. I think you'd be better suited at Twitter

i worked for free lol
it was a bad move from bitwig , but for now its okay , they respond iam happy
and i feel bad at the same time

but enjoy the option , you must not pay the addons skip them
and make great music