KVR Audio

mholloway · Post by **mholloway** » Sun Mar 08, 2026 10:21 pm

beely wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2026 10:02 pm Sales proposition:-
"Hey, you can buy this much less good, non-editable preset-only version of other people's stuff you can already get full-featured for free!"

This isn't accurate, though. TUS products are not "free" -- they simply make it very easy to create "pirate software" versions of hardware you don't own. The argument is more complicated than you're pretending here, calling it "free."

beely · Post by **beely** » Sun Mar 08, 2026 10:27 pm

TUS's emulators are every bit as free as George's free versions. And every "piracy" argument you can make applies equally to both versions.

So I'm not sure what you mean by the "more complicated" stuff? How is my (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) statement not accurate?

tumface · Post by **tumface** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 1:35 am

mholloway wrote: Sun Mar 08, 2026 10:21 pm This isn't accurate, though. TUS products are not "free" -- they simply make it very easy to create "pirate software" versions of hardware you don't own. The argument is more complicated than you're pretending here, calling it "free."

Gatekeeping dead and obsolete 90s digital synthesizer emulators on incorrect legal grounds is a weird hobby.

There is nothing illegal about The Usual Suspects' emulation software.

digitalboytn · Post by **digitalboytn** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 3:08 am

This thread is heading for some serious explosions

agharta · Post by **agharta** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 4:45 am

The term 'Disco Sucks' from the late 70s, appears to be the company's motto!

mholloway · Post by **mholloway** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 5:11 am

tumface wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 1:35 am
There is nothing illegal about The Usual Suspects' emulation software.

Correct. But grabbing the ROMS that are required to use their software, otoh... But you know this, you're just playing dumb.

tumface · Post by **tumface** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 6:01 am

mholloway wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2026 5:11 am Correct. But grabbing the ROMS that are required to use their software, otoh... But you know this, you're just playing dumb.

The ROMs aren't bundled with TUS software. Dunno what you're implying the problem is?

jwfeniello · Post by **jwfeniello** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 6:05 am

LOL he just blocked me on Facebook from the discoDSP page.

I said "If you are going to HEAVILY HEAVILY lift stuff from something else, you need to be putting your source easily on the product page, the original author even asked you to do that here"

Touch The Universe · Post by **Touch The Universe** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 6:05 am

I thought they kept them separate because it is illegal to add them in their software. If they can't, why can this dude?

tumface · Post by **tumface** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 6:36 am

The discoDSP website implies that the ROMs are not bundled:

"Load the ROM firmware from your own hardware, place it in the designated folder, and Retromulator takes care of the rest."

Touch The Universe · Post by **Touch The Universe** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 6:57 am

What in the world are you paying for then?

tumface · Post by **tumface** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 7:23 am

Unawareness of the real project, I guess.

Touch The Universe · Post by **Touch The Universe** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 7:29 am

Lol, wow

RobGee · Post by **RobGee** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 11:06 am

Disco DSP trying desperately to stay relevant

Cyforce · Post by **Cyforce** » Mon Mar 09, 2026 11:07 am

It's legally okay, thanks to the GPL license, but morally very problematic.

Open source or not - someone takes someone else's project, repackages it, and offers it for free, but right next to it is a "buy" button...

Furthermore, what about people who didn't know anything about the DSP56300 team/project? They're led to believe it's from discoDSP—at least the product page looks the same, except for a brief mention of the original developers.

I find this problematic...

Next to the "download it for free" or "pay 30 bucks for it" - that as well confuses many users.

discoDSP Retromulator: the Usual Suspects code repackaged