SpinnerLE - almost-a-rant ....

[eduardo_b]

Good points - I should think about revising the donation trigger points. FWIW, there is a ton of stuff going on in the Spinner sound engine and the original marketing concept was to support NuBiLE by donating and then get a Leslie sim as a bonus. That model is slightly (well mostly) screwed up by me releasing a free sim with basically the same engine as Spinner. I am currently working on finishing the NuBi/Spinner "Plus Package".

Okay, I might be confused about your original plan, but as I understand it, Spinner and Spinner LE are essentially the same VST with minor differences, with the "full" version being an inducement to donate for NuBiLE. And, now that I think about it, the "leslie" effect is meant to go with the organ VSTi. Totally missed that. I didn't get that part, but I see your logic.

And the "plus package" is?

You might have two donation levels -- one for either plug-in and another for both. Perhaps a third one for the as yet unreleased package. The thing is, I wouldn't want to pay for a VSTi I had no interest in, but a modest donation for the one I could potentially use would be reasonable. I don't doubt the quality of your coding -- just noting that perceived value from your perspective and from the 2000 people who downloaded might be different.

[Lunch Money]

We've been around for 2 YEARS now, with only 2 donations... we might have gotten our 3rd recently... I don't remember.

Bug reports, a few.

Positive comments, more than a few, so I can't complain in that regard!

In fact, I can't complain at all. We're all still a pretty happy bunch of BetaBugs. I've personally donated to more devs (4 with cash donations, 2 with "labour") than our entire product line has received, but no biggie. If a few people are spending their small amounts of cash on say, TweakBench, GVST, SmartElectronics, or whoever-- I don't begrudge those developers that amount, either.

Greg

[blortblort]

PJ- regardless the response or donations you've received, know this: you have set the benchmark for a true nice warm B3. Period.

Lunch- you guys, and the many other small dev's like PJ, JD, ohm, Jorgen, ephonic, redshift audio, Fuzzpilz, arc dev, Simple-Media, WNA, GVST....too many more to mention in one sitting--- make life much more difficult. Ya see, these days- my vst folder gives me choice paralysis especially recently- there's been much good stuff ...and in my case, not enough time. Never enough time. But all'n all- that's not such a bad problem ...these day's it's nice to have more choices than when I first "fell down the VST rabbit hole" and neon was cutting edge stuff
All that is to say- I'm sure there are many grateful folks out there, but a. we've been spoiled by you guys b. we're too caught up in our own little worlds to think for a minute about how much time and effort went into creating the great tools we've become accustomed to c. we are not generous often enough with our donations. whether that donation is a kind word of praise to the dev or a tune or a Jackson, when it's available
we DO appreciate you guys.

[M'Snah]

There's sooo much going on in VST-land. I like NubiLe and Spinner, donated, and actually used it in a song... With most plugins I only play (for hours). And Spinner made me finally understand and experiment with the leslie, even though I already have other organs that also provide one. In that way Spinner is responsible for an important breakthrough in my musical life .
As some others, I downloaded the new version, but didn't take the time to play with it. Actually, I'm happy with Spinner and I'm usually not a gadget or new-feature addict . Although I seem to buy a new VST synth or effect almost every week
Remember the recent HG Fortune thread? Where he also put some new groundbreaking stuff in one of his VST's, and got almost no response?

[pekadan]

I recently contributed and received the standard Spinner plugin. I thought it would be really cool to have a good Leslie effect for those semi-boring sampled organs I occasionally use in my songs. (Sampled organ!? Eh, you know what I mean...). I'm totally crazy about Spinner now and I use it more than I even though I would and for a lot of different kind of instruments too! (Haven't actually used it with an organ yet, come to think of it...). I love the sound of it, the functionality, stability AND the gui! Wow! It's one of those plugins that make you feel good somehow when you bring it up. (Maybe I'm just weird). Anyway, thanks pj! Keep up the great work!

[TotcProductions]

Ok, who are you and what have you done with the sickle I came to know? I've been wondering.

Actually, your not applying full thought to the matter. Now that I'm a donated persona, I can now punish him by being an obnoxious asshole about any bugs or feature requests I can think of while picking the lint from my navel..

There he is!

Thanx for that, I feel better now. For a minute there, my whole world was turned upside down.

Peace

[mistertoast]

You people who say you don't like organ sounds--I have to wonder about that. The organ lives all throughout blues, pop, and rock. It's even in some hard rock songs sitting there where you're not aware of it. I'd bet it's in at least 40% of anyone's list of the top 100 classic rock songs.

Even if you don't like it as a lead instrument, think of it as the ultimate "pad." It's been around forever, and it'll be around after all the current pad instruments are gone.

[pj geerlings]

...And the "plus package" is?

The original post was here but since then things changed a little. Actually a lot. I will post more about that later but the bottom line is I am still working on them and something will be released to all contributors within the next week.

You might have two donation levels -- one for either plug-in and another for both. Perhaps a third one for the as yet unreleased package. The thing is, I wouldn't want to pay for a VSTi I had no interest in, but a modest donation for the one I could potentially use would be reasonable.

I will give this thought - It may turn out that two donation levels are just the thing, but ...

I don't doubt the quality of your coding -- just noting that perceived value from your perspective and from the 2000 people who downloaded might be different.

Perception is very important - one of my friends told me he would never consider buying a plug priced less than $100 because he wasn't really sure it was of any value. I have already noted earlier that donations actually increased for the original NuBi after I increased the donation price. As I mentioned in the thread linked above, the final donation trigger price for the Plus Package will be $38 - contrast this with prices from $50 to over $200 for commercial tonewheel organ clones and it is still a pretty darn good deal

regards,
pj

[pj geerlings]

PJ- regardless the response or donations you've received, know this: you have set the benchmark for a true nice warm B3. Period.

Thanks!

[ravasb]

I am fairly new to the VST world, but the concept of a donation to a developer for a product seems odd. Are they tax deductible? Am I entitled to upgrade or discounts in the future? The nature of the relationship seems awkward at best. Saying something is available for donation, but then setting a price also seems odd,

I would be more comfortable if the developers set a price that they seemed reasonable and maybe released no limit, cut down versions for free as an incentive to upgrade. This is something HG Fortune does. I wind up buying everything he makes.

Otherwise, a developer could just be clear that he is offering his or her work as a benefit to the community, with no expectation of financial support. People would feel less guilty, and perhaps more likely to use the instruments.

[pj geerlings]

There's sooo much going on in VST-land. I like NubiLe and Spinner, donated, and actually used it in a song... With most plugins I only play (for hours). And Spinner made me finally understand and experiment with the leslie, even though I already have other organs that also provide one. In that way Spinner is responsible for an important breakthrough in my musical life ...

I am extremely honored to be part of your breakthrough - I am really glad you are taking the time to experiment with Spinner!

peace,
pj

[Sickle]

Otherwise, a developer could just be clear that he is offering his or her work as a benefit to the community, with no expectation of financial support. People would feel less guilty, and perhaps more likely to use the instruments.

Unfortunately, when things are done this way, it's usually taken for granted.

That said, people that rely on free instruments/fx are usually so knackered down with the vast selection available it's occassionally difficult to stay focused long enough to remember to give someone props. This is why I always try to give a salutation on a release whether I use it or not in case I get distracted later..

[pj geerlings]

I recently contributed and received the standard Spinner plugin. I thought it would be really cool to have a good Leslie effect for those semi-boring sampled organs I occasionally use in my songs. (Sampled organ!? Eh, you know what I mean...). I'm totally crazy about Spinner now and I use it more than I even though I would and for a lot of different kind of instruments too! (Haven't actually used it with an organ yet, come to think of it...). I love the sound of it, the functionality, stability AND the gui! Wow! It's one of those plugins that make you feel good somehow when you bring it up. (Maybe I'm just weird). Anyway, thanks pj! Keep up the great work!

You are welcome, pekadan. It is kind'a fun to hear you are using it for other instruments. Do you have any sound examples you could post?

On the subject of the GUI - amoebe's work is second to none in my opinion. I hope he can do a few more for me in the near future!

[pj geerlings]

You people who say you don't like organ sounds--I have to wonder about that. The organ lives all throughout blues, pop, and rock. It's even in some hard rock songs sitting there where you're not aware of it. I'd bet it's in at least 40% of anyone's list of the top 100 classic rock songs.

AMEN!

Even if you don't like it as a lead instrument, think of it is the ultimate "pad." It's been around forever, and it'll be around after all the current pad instruments are gone.

My favorite pad sound is a mix of tonewheel and pipe organ - it is huge!

[eduardo_b]

Perception is very important - one of my friends told me he would never consider buying a plug priced less than $100 because he wasn't really sure it was of any value. I have already noted earlier that donations actually increased for the original NuBi after I increased the donation price. As I mentioned in the thread linked above, the final donation trigger price for the Plus Package will be $38 - contrast this with prices from $50 to over $200 for commercial tonewheel organ clones and it is still a pretty darn good deal

I hope you come up with a way to offer Spinner on its own. I would be very interested in it, whereas I have no need for NuBi.

It's nice that you think about your customers as well as yourself. You are a very nice person who deserves success.