Plugin Alliance - still ok? i see lots of sales?

[revvy]

In fact, there are only four or five really stupid people in this forum.

Yes, but everybody has a different 4 or 5. Add them all up, and it equals everyone on KVR.

So a composite KVR member comprising all the members of KVR would find everyone else stupid. That’s deep. Not really.

[elxsound]

Their older catalog like Waves and Universal Audio have been superseded by their competitors. They could thin the herd but that would hurt their subscription model. I always look at the competition and I always download the demo. Some of their plugins are not stable on the older Mac I have here but are rock solid on my Ryzen 5950x.

The demos are unrestricted to 14 days so there is no need for buyer's remorse. PA isn't perfect but I do like their licensing system. I can disable a computer from my master account, temporarily work on someone's machine and then disable that computer and get my authorizations back. It is very efficient that way. They need a better universal installer to select what you own and then update what may need to be updated. Speaking of updates, they are very slow to appear. That is why the demo is so important.

There are some nice plugins in their library and if you don't mind the gamesmanship with the ridiculous pricing schemes that change from day to day you can get a good deal. I usually don't pay more than $25 for a plugin and earlier on I was getting some with vouchers for damn near free. People with more modern sensibilities may not like the skeaumorphic GUIs of the in house coded plugins but I am an older guy so that works for me in general.

I can understand why some people hate their marketing strategy. I play along and convince myself that it works to my advantage. A shortlist of my most used 20 plugins would include 4 or 5 PA plugins. I have been using BX (Dirk owned) coded plugins since the early days of DSP audio with Creamware audio cards and with the BX coded plugins on the UAD-1 and UAD-2 platforms. They've been around for awhile if that is worth anything in 2023.

Disagree with that. PA have some excellent plugins that either have no equal or are among the best in the price bracket: Black Box, Townhouse, Oberhausen, Thorn, Knifonium, MetricAB, Triad, some of the Unfiltered stuff. They do have an awful lot of plugins that are just 'okay' without being anything special, but I wouldn't tell someone not to buy anything from PA as they'll miss out on some good stuff.

I know I was one of the people against their subscription model, but I can’t complain.

I’m actually happy that they figured out a way to make money from both subscribers and those that will never subscribe.

They had some weird ads for the subs by basically calling everyone who doesn’t subscribe old, but so far the pricing, gamified or not, I think is fair.

Same. I never paid over $25 and most were lower or free.

[elassi]

"Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 23 Member States, Norway and Iceland (CPC Network), released the results of a screening (“sweep”) of retail websites. This check covered 399 online shops of retail traders selling products ranging from textiles to electronic goods.

Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said: “Our screening shows that nearly 40% of the online shopping websites rely on manipulative practices to exploit consumers' vulnerabilities or trick them. This behavior is clearly wrong and against consumer protection. Today we already have binding tools to help tackle such issues and I call on national authorities to make use of their enforcement capacities to take relevant action and fight these practices. In parallel, the Commission is reviewing all consumer legislation to ensure it is fit for the digital age, including to assess whether dark patterns are adequately covered.”

- 42 websites used fake countdown timers with deadlines to purchase specific products;
- 54 websites directed consumers towards certain choices - from subscriptions to more expensive products or delivery options - either through their visual design or choice of language;
- 70 websites were found to be hiding important information or making it less visible for consumers. For example, this included information related to delivery costs, the composition of products, or on the availability of a cheaper option. 23 websites were hiding information with the aim of manipulating consumers into entering into a subscription;
- The sweep also included the apps of 102 of the websites screened, 27 of which also deployed at least one of the three catagories of dark patterns."

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pressco ... /ip_23_418

[Leo1999]

Some replies reflect the pain one feels when someone doesn't agree with one's opinion, when someone shares his experience that might be different from yours. How can some dare to see something not the same way I do? . That's pain! And the animal inside of us starts snarling. Pain ? Pain, I know this kind of pain, I can't even describe in words how much I like Waves plugins and KVR is a place where you can find bad comments on Waves! Pain! But you can fight the pain. If someone posts he doesn't like Waves, I load lots of Waves plugins and start communicating with the plugins. Waves Abbey Road Plates on a guitar track, I say You sound so good my dear plate! or H-Delay on vocals, how great you make the vocals sound, beautiful delay! . Then I feel better and the pain is gone.
The title of this thread even implies that something might be wrong with pa, so I am not surprised to not be the only one disliking pa, I had a 1 year subscription, but sold my pa plugins and never bought and wore a T-shirt with the face of former ceo, his popularity was unmatched, wasn't it?
You can fight the pain, it's not that hard!

[jamcat]

I've just about hit my 5 on this thread alone.

[El°HYM]

@Leroy999

[God-Song Studio]

OP. I'm just about to leave my PIA {pun intended} [PA] sub behind. I went to cancel after almost a year and my sub should remain active. Agreed?

But NO! Paid $250 (minus a cent) for a whole year and have a little over 1-1/2 mo. to go... notice:

"If you quit your sub now, you will lose access to all the plugins related to your subscription... would you like to proceed?" (quoted from memory)

I thought {you suckheads} that's not right! I paid for a year, I should get a year! EVEN IF I UNSUB NOW!
Games... arrggg. Probably hoping I forget to cancel before they charge my renewal.

Well, good luck PA 'cause I bought using PP and I killed my lame business PP account. But, for those who didn't -- don't let PA catch you with your pants down. They have a no-refund policy.

Anyway (not into legalities) but most CC's have a 3-day window, ymmv.

However, another BIG negative imo. I bought a plugin that should have been updated. 1st plugin had no M/S or TMT. Later those were added to the release, but as a totally different plugin.

HA! Foul! It's the same plugin, only upgraded! No credit or upgrade path?

Last sale I bought 6 plugins $90 for $36. And I closed out my coupon for 10 plugins - total on-sale price for $700 minus the penny.

So, for $250 -1cent I had a full subscription to everything for a year-ish (tbc ends Apr) and got $700 worth of (10) plugins (total sale-price at the time of the sale).

Why am I quitting my sub? Because I don't believe that what I have will be surpassed by that which is coming out at future sale prices.

OP: This is my recommendation as follows:

Add up what you want from PI using their free trials at sale prices, and try everything! Once your threshold goes above the yearly sub, then make your purchase for a whole year subscription, BUT then wait until toward the end of your sub to use your coupon.

This makes the most sense to me, imo. Don't screw this up and you should be happy in the long run.

Why buy a whole year upfront? There's a 2 month discount AND you won't be tempted to kill your monthly subscription and lose access to your plugins certificate.

Buy a yearly subscription and you will have your certificate for plugins immediately, but wait to use it. You now have access to everything PI offers.

And don't buy too cheap a subscription. You will have to balance this out in your own mind. Each MEGA pack has a different: cost, # of concurrent active PCs, and number of plugins per pack-coupon.

PIA not so bad once you get past the idea of having to put up with some of the stupidity. But, I think that goes to say with most everything! unfortunately.

[El°HYM]

The most funny thing about this thread is that OP named himself after a PA coupon:

LION1999

[vurt]

The most funny thing about this thread is that OP named himself after a PA coupon:

LION1999

hes not the op.


but, there have been so many pa coupon codes, we are all named after one

[thecontrolcentre]

Probably hoping I forget to cancel before they charge my renewal.

Doesn't EVERY company do that stuff? I just cancelled an Amazon PRIME trial and they asked me at least 4 times if I was sure before they cancelled my sub. Then I got a confirmation email I had to reply to (just to be sure)

[El°HYM]

The most funny thing about this thread is that OP named himself after a PA coupon:

LION1999

hes not the op.


but, there have been so many pa coupon codes, we are all named after one

True. Leroy was just bashing PA the most so far; still named after a famous PA Synth Coupon.

[elxsound]

Probably hoping I forget to cancel before they charge my renewal.

Doesn't EVERY company do that stuff? I just cancelled an Amazon PRIME trial and they asked me at least 4 times if I was sure before they cancelled my sub. Then I got a confirmation email I had to reply to (just to be sure)

The thing that got me… and please someone correct me, am I reading right that when you cancel, you immediately lose access to everything instead of keeping access for the duration you already paid?


Likewise, they wouldn’t be the only company to do that, but that’s the worst possible way that do business unless you’re going to provide a refund for the remainder of the time lost.

[God-Song Studio]

When you canceled Prime, I believe you still have the rest of the trial time to watch videos, etc.

Not so with PA... 1 sec. I will start to cancel and copy/paste the response... be right back to finish this post...

as follows: "Are you sure that you want to cancel this Subscription? You will not be able to continue using your licenses and you will have to start over making payments if you want a Subscription in the future."

Now mind you, I DO have a yearly subscription... we're not just talking month-to-month here! But, that is the exact copied message I get when I click cancel.

Also, my yearly subscription is NOT up until 3 weeks into April (next month), so over 1-1/2 months left on my subscription (at least) as of the date of this post.

Yes, I am being told I lose access to EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY (I'm pretty sure I'm reading that right) that I haven't purchased a license for... and do you know what? I'm not crazy enough to try and call their bluff, because I believe they just might follow through and I'm not playing chicken.

Is it right (what they are doing).. no! Can I wait and cancel a day or two before they charge me? I believe I can.

..."You will not be able to continue using your licenses"...

Now if they had my CC info and decided to charge me early for an unwanted renewal, then there would definitely be trouble.

I'm not saying that they'll try to do that, just saying I'd be highly opposed to such actions on their part.

Will I lose the licenses that I have purchased that aren't part of the subscription? I don't think so. I believe what they are trying to say is I will lose all access to those plugins licensed solely through my subscription that I haven't bought licenses for.

Anyway, I have had a happy year with them, and so far as I can see, we will be parting as friends (kind of like that).

I will still have my account with them, the licenses I purchased (minus a few normal upgrade paths), the ability to trial new plugins, and pray they decide to release permanent (no phone-home licenses) should they ever decide to go under.

[ROTMetro]

From the PA website:

Can I cancel my MEGA subscription at any time?
Yes, of course. Just visit your user account at plugin-alliance.com and cancel the MEGA bundle. You will be able to use yourMEGA plugins and apps until the very last day of the period you already paid for, so if you cancel an annual plan after a few days, you will still be able to use all our products for the whole year, of course. The same goes for monthly plans that are being terminated early.

[God-Song Studio]

From the PA website:

Can I cancel my MEGA subscription at any time?
Yes, of course. Just visit your user account at plugin-alliance.com and cancel the MEGA bundle. You will be able to use yourMEGA plugins and apps until the very last day of the period you already paid for, so if you cancel an annual plan after a few days, you will still be able to use all our products for the whole year, of course. The same goes for monthly plans that are being terminated early.

Exactly the way things should be. Surely doesn't even sound like the same company.

I'm still going to wait to cancel. I don't want to trigger any glitches and have to re-license everything.

I can (am going to) wait... thanks.