IK and Gavin Lurssen set to unveil revolutionary mastering product at NAMM 2016

[djscorb]

Yep hehe!

It's very much like a freemium game approach, IK Marketing. Even having one credit or alternative currency system to reality for audio software is stoopid to me.

Having 2? Full retard!

Cheers

Scorb

[jensa]

@djscorb

Thanks for the thorough and we'll written post. I'm with you 100%. I've stopped using their products. Stopped upgrading any that I've bought. Stopped buying new from them. Stopped commenting about anything IK related. (Except this time.) It's simply not worth any of my time. Just, now and then, checking new IK related threads, for the fun of the discussions and meta-discussions.

[bronxsound]

@djscorb

Thanks for the thorough and we'll written post. I'm with you 100%. I've stopped using their products. Stopped upgrading any that I've bought. Stopped buying new from them. Stopped commenting about anything IK related. (Except this time.) It's simply not worth any of my time. Just, now and then, checking new IK related threads, for the fun of the discussions and meta-discussions.

same here

[bmanic]

It's strange but IK do seem to make people a bit hot under the collar. They are pretty much the only vendor that annoy the living crap out of me and it's because of the marketing BS, CS BS, jam points, credits etc. It's just a big mess of shite to learn that gets in the way of what should be an incredibly simple process; demo, like, buy and use.

Out of all my tools I have largely abandoned using any of my IK stuph. The constant sales and group buys always seem to make a few people feel as if they have lost out, the nfr status of CS purchases combined with their plugs having almost zero resale value due to said sales isn't great either.

With other vendors, I demo, buy in real currency and just make music without ever thinking about it again.

Having to jump through hoops with CS, bloated and aggressive installers, or worry whether I should have bought some jam points, credits, Quatloos etc. to get a better deal and whether that has rendered my purchase nfr etc. is not useful or something worth wasting energy and time navigating for me. Who has time for any of that crap? There are more important and interesting things to dedicate time to in my world than second guessing a system that feels like a marketing student with ADHD was given free reign to show off every little gimmick and tactic in the book.

Imagine if every vendor had systems like this? It would be near impossible to know if you were being ripped off or not and you would waste countless hours trawling through faqs and contacting support etc trying to suss it out or get straight answers.

Well, almost no other music software vendor does this kind of crap which demonstrates to most intelligent people that it's not a concept people like or want. At least not in this sector. Musicians and audio geeks tend to be a bit more left of centre and anti establishment than other consumers and the fact that IK don't seem to get this is something that really bugs me. Insult my intelligence and you won't squeeze a penny from me!

When you put all this stuff together, for me at least, it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

So, when I see an IK Multimedia announcement, I check to see it's not an API2500 (as has been asked for by countless users for years now, myself included) and then my next step is to utter a very loud "MEH" and move on!

I guess it comes down to being a lover of irreducible complexity and elegance. IK's approach is bloated, confusing, a hassle and is hated by many. Probably the same types as me, who appreciate elegance and don't have time for marketing BS and all the IK nonsense that gets in the way of demoing, installing, purchasing and using the damn product.

Plus I think their graphic design and GUIs suck, but that's purely a taste thing!

Unless a plugin does something unique and fantastic for me I will always tend to gravitate to the more indie smaller devs who are experts in their fields; Valhalla, u-he, DMG, Cytomic, Exponential audio etc.

This release won't change any games. Mastering is about experience, taste and great monitoring. These things tend not to come in VST/AU format

Cheers and sorry for the long post.

Scorb

This. This is what I wanted to say but don't have the mental capacity to put down on virtual ink properly.

It pains me even more that IK marketing and product purchase/handling is such a nuisance as I actually really like their products! I think they are of really high quality and sound fantastic but the "extras" leave such a bad taste that I too find myself not using the plugins all that much. Heck, I just realized that I've not updated CS in a long long time on the studio computer.

[db3]

Peter comes across as a decent chap, but totally agree on many points above. I stopped using IK because of all the nonsense surrounding the products, not because of the quality of them.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

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[ObsoleteAcc99]

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[dwozzle]

The idea is that if the music is listened through a very accurate sound system in a near-perfect environment, then someone with the proper skills will be able to detect the problems and be able to correct them....but it only works if the person knows what to listen for and how to fix it and these are highly specialized skills that take years to develop.

I do not think that this is something that be achieved at home and trying is a waste of time and money.

Agree, but I think the idea is that some of the tools and approaches used in mastering can improve mixdown too.

Man there's too much negative vibe floating around.

It's simply an announcement,take it or leave it. It's just informing us of an up and coming product in a relevant space no need to get all narky about it. It's not like the guy is pedalling some kind of pyramid scheme.

I, for one, appreciate this kind of information.

^ This.

[do_androids_dream]

Poor Peter. This entire thread has been about what's wrong with IK. All he did was announce an upcoming product.

I'll buy it if it's useful to my workflow, and won't if it's not. That simple.

Funny how i'm considered the number one dev "complainer" here, as in, air grievances - yet there isn't a single one i wouldn't buy a product of just because i don't like them. Imagine, even if it's a small chance, that this product comes out, you demo it, and you can GENUINELY get something out of it that you love and can help you in your mastering.. you'd seriously NOT buy it just because IK released it? I am finding that a bit hard to believe, sorry.

I'd even buy bitwig, if it was the daw that suited my workflow.. (the devs might not WANT to have me on board, but that's another story )

I'm not sure anyone's not going to buy the product because of the marketing (I used T-Racks for a while but found it too buggy on my system in Reaper - shame because I like the concept of the rack). We're just taking the mickey out of a cheesy ad - it would be nice to be talked to in a more serious way about new products. When companies keep using terms like 'revolutionary' it does involuntarily generate rolling of eyes for me.. it actually sets the expectation even higher when it's presented like this - more chance of being disappointed.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

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[do_androids_dream]

I only said that cause a couple people did say no way they will buy it because it's IK

I must have missed that - I didn't read back through the thread.

[Compyfox]

Peter comes across as a decent chap, but totally agree on many points above. I stopped using IK because of all the nonsense surrounding the products, not because of the quality of them.

Funny that you mention it. Not only do I agree with everything djscorb said, but I haven't touched any IKM product other than ARC (which is basically - set up once, never touch it again) in weeks - if not months even. I mean, I've got the most recent updates of AT4 and T-Racks 4, I took a closer look at the one or another module. But in general - personally I'm not the least interested anymore. Because I basically have everything I need on my HDD already.

Additional to that, the marked is flooded with so many great tools, it's sometimes not even funny. So my assumption is, whoever does the most ridiculous marketing these days, will stand out from the crowd and will win users. And let's be honest here - it works, no?



Not only do we talk about it, actually rave/rage about it, it's now branded into our memory and we're curious, we want to know what this bollocks is all about. This is the best outcome for IKM as company! Actually, also for companies that did some shady hit&run tactics in recent years (one Australian company with a capital C comes to mind).

So it's a win-win situation.

[VitaminD]

Further, every comment to this thread moves this thread to the top of the list, thus promoting the initial post and thus getting the news out.

It is well done marketing -- say something with over the top hype, get people to respond to this in conversation/debate/argument, which then means forum community is performing the advertising work. Peter plants the seed and we are watering the plant.

[4damind]

Peter comes across as a decent chap, but totally agree on many points above. I stopped using IK because of all the nonsense surrounding the products, not because of the quality of them.

I have also stopped using IK products and would never buy again something from IK. I don't like the marketing lies, this custom shop thing but sometimes also the mediocre quality of their products. This "revolutionary new mastering product" remembers me again why so many users don't like IK and why it was the right decision to uninstall IK from my computer. My interest to support such companies is very limited...

Yes, it would be the best to ignore this thread and don't push it again and again to give IK more publicity...
I'm out.