Kjaerhus Synth coming up

[AdmiralQuality]

Personally, I don't think "better" C/P will necessarily give you more sales.

The boxed version point is quite another thing worth thinking about. It seems that a lot of (comparable) boxed products are indeed selling better than their "internet only" contenders.

Agree.

And good point about the box thing. Having your stuff on the shelf at the local music store does a lot for your image. And for some reason I'll never understand, people trust a big company with all their overhead and bloat more than some Mom & Pop shop who do it for the love of it, and offer just-as-good product at a discount!

The flip side is, if you're not manufacturing and shipping boxes, that's a lot of salaries you don't have to pay.

Yep, you could speculate and lay this all out on spreadsheets till the proverbial cows come home, but you're right, you can *never* really calculate the damage (or help?) that cracks are doing.

[Sascha Franck]

Thank you for your comment and you are quite right, lets discuss Spectra instead.

True - but Torben, you should really think about boxed versions.
When looking at the software department at the local music store, what you will find is each and every Steinberg and NI products. And on occasion they may also have some FXpansion and Linplug stuff.
And it seems as if quite some people would still buy their stuff from there (at least over here in germany).

Of course, these things get tough to handle, you'd have to do contracts with your retailers and stuff...

[egbert]

When looking at the software department at the local music store, what you will find is each and every Steinberg and NI products. And on occasion they may also have some FXpansion and Linplug stuff.
And it seems as if quite some people would still buy their stuff from there (at least over here in germany).

While this might be good for developers sales it is probably bad for the people on this forum because we are mostly computer/internet literate people who can take advantage of the low distribution costs etc of the internet sales model.

The vendors who sell in shrinkwrap boxes pay a lot to wholesalers and retailers and have to maintain high price points to preserve their earnings. Look at BFD and its expansion packs and Toontrack's DFHS. These are sold shrinkwrapped for 250-300 US$. Much more than Spectra or any of the other internet only based products - this is no comment on their respective worth or development costs but I would bet Fxpansion don't get any more out of a sale than Torben will. Instead a bunch of other dudes who never spent hours trimming samples or designing audio engines or answering support emails will get a big share of the punters hardearned dollar.

Also - these developers do not have the flexibility to run a group buy or a sale - because they have to protect their distributors. Be careful what you wish for - you might get it.

[twolegstoneworks]

Check out these 2 new demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

[Torben]

Sascha, we have discussed packages with a couple of distributors before and it is clear that we would have to charge a lot more for the products then, also on the web site. We are not more damaged by warez than many others and we can make a living, I just don’t like when people think we are all greedy rich men; I know several developers in this business and not one seem to be rich.

OK, back the the topic: Spectra

Torben

[pw]

Check out these 2 new - unofficial - demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

very very cool. I think that 'spheres' is a really great track, and the best demo of I have for Spectra yet.

[twolegstoneworks]

Thanks Paul! I'm glad you like it!

[egbert]

Check out these 2 new - unofficial - demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

very very cool. I think that 'spheres' is a really great track, and the best demo of I have for Spectra yet.

Hmm - two Torbens in tandem

Yes indeedy - very nice piece - love the string pad and the sequencing of the higher pitched tones. Reminds me a little of some of the demos that were done by Wizoo for some of the early soft synths.

[pw]

Check out these 2 new - unofficial - demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

very very cool. I think that 'spheres' is a really great track, and the best demo of I have for Spectra yet.

Hmm - two Torbens in tandem

Yes indeedy - very nice piece - love the string pad and the sequencing of the higher pitched tones. Reminds me a little of some of the demos that were done by Wizoo for some of the early soft synths.

Yeah, that string pad is really nice. It is great to hear the mp3 demo's so far that have come out for Spectra. I really think they show that Spectra is versatile in creating a range of sounds with great sound quality. I am particularly impressed with the clean, crisp tones that Spectra creates at high frequencies.

[fritzman]

And 2) more metaphysically, how would you describe the difference in sound/texture etc. between additive and subtractive? For instance, if you had a blind-fold on would you be able to tell (or at least suspect) an additive sound? What would be the indicia?

Hi Mayan,

If you mean analog with saw, square, tri, etc when you say "substractive" the the difference to additive is that upper harmonics can be as loud as any other harmonic and therefor additive sounds with filtering can be much brighter to say it in general. Basically additive is having oscillators that can have ANY waveform so that anything that isn't possible with analog synths can be done with additive synths waveformwise.


All the best, FRitz

[fritzman]

Check out these 2 new - unofficial - demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

Hey metal-Torben,

cool track, cool sounds! Very tasty.


All the best, FRitz

[funkychickendance]

Oh dear, all this arguing about prices, cost-versus-value, etc...I hope I didn't start this row...

My comments were only intended to say: "I, personally, don't have all that much spare cash right now."

Everything I've heard about Spectra is impressive...it'll probably get bought. Either soon, at $158, or later in the spring, at $198.

Conditional, of course, on it outperforming (for me) something of similar price. So, in my head, it's competing with Octopus, Cameleon, Zebra 2 and MiniMonsta. Out of that group of 5 (inc. Spectra), I'll probably buy 2 or 3 of them, over the course of the year.

Compared to the pricing of some of the 'boxed' products mentioned, they're all a helluva deal...

/fcd
(no it doesn't stand for 'effing cheap date')

[TotcProductions]

You people are funny. Thanx for the morning laugh.

As a "developer" in this industry, I know how cracked software can effect sales to a point. It's a topic that brings up mixed emotions and is subject to alot of "mythology" and mis-information. In this day and age, there is no such thing as an efficient CopyProtection device. Except for hardware of course. All forms, from serials, to challenge-response, to dongles, to pace-ilok, etc..etc..etc..have all been cracked. In my opinion, copyprotection really only effects the user and gives companies a way to keep track of who is using their software. That is all. So, let's keep off the warez issue shall we? I just try to chalk it up to Free Advertising and let it roll off my shoulder.

As for those of you pushing for boxed versions in major stores and whatnot....it's not the easiest thing to do. It's not like you just make a box and put the cd in and it's ready to go. There is a lot of real BUSINESS that goes along with it. First you need to design your boxed product, figure out what it will look like, what it will include. Then there is the hassle of developing printed manuals and cd's with artwork, etc...Then you need to make a deal with a manufacturer to produce all these boxes, cd's, and manuals...then you need to make a deal with a distributor to get your boxed product in stores, catalogs, etc...Finally, you need to raise your price on the boxed version to offset the cost, as distribution, manufacturing, and materials are not free. It's not something that happens in a day, week, or even months. Takes time, patience, contracts, and plenty of other things. So how bout we leave torben to decide how he markets his products.

With all that said, I vote we get back to the topic at hand...SPECTRA!

To give a different answer to mayan's question about the difference in sound between additive synthesis and subtractive synthesis...Yes, there is a huge differece. They are two completely different types of synthesis with very different results. Additive synthesis, traditionally, has a metallic, gritty sound. You see, with subtractive, your starting with a static oscillator, that is either rich or not-so rich in frequencies (saw wave vs. Sine wave) then using filters and envelopes to control the frequencies and volume levels heard by the listener. Additive is a different ball game, you're using partials for each frequency band. Hm...how could i explain this....ok, imagine an unlimited band graphic equalizer....your seeing all the bands on the spectrum, from 0hz to 20khz. Now, in spectra's case, we have 250 "bands" (i'm using bands figureatively...partials is the correct term). Each "Band" is made up of a sine wave, tuned to that specific frequency. So, you're going to start with a sine wave at the lowest "Band" on the spectrum, and continue with another 249 for each subsequent frequency. Now, what the hell does this achieve? A sound is made of several frequencies changing over time...additive synthesis lets you literally build the sound at the frequency level...giving you independent control over each frequencie's volume, tune, etc...You can often use an envelope to control how the "frequencies" change over time in relation to their volume and pitch. So, there is no need for filters like in subtractive synthesis, as you are litterally bulding the original sound source from scratch. Get it? lol. christ that was a terrible explanation. oh well, best i could do an hour after waking up. Anyway, spectra combines both additive synthesis and subtractive synthesis...giving you filters and modulation envelopes to further shape and control your sounds. This will result in spectra not having that typical additive "Gritty" sound, as the filters can be used to rid the sound of the problem frequencies.

alright, been typing this too long. lol. Discuss amongst yourselves children.

peace
Frank.

[emdot_ambient]

Check out these 2 new - unofficial - demotracks for Spectra:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1593581

Cool! It's really interesting to hear what others have done with this synth. I programmed 128 presets but never really ventured into the bass or drum realm. After two intensive weeks programming Spectra I'm convinced I barely touch the surface of its potential.

Hmm. Now I really do need to do my own track with and show off its more esoteric capabilities.

[funkychickendance]

Get it? lol. christ that was a terrible explanation. oh well, best i could do an hour after waking up. Anyway, spectra combines both additive synthesis and subtractive synthesis...giving you filters and modulation envelopes to further shape and control your sounds. This will result in spectra not having that typical additive "Gritty" sound, as the filters can be used to rid the sound of the problem frequencies.

alright, been typing this too long. lol. Discuss amongst yourselves children.

peace
Frank.

Good explanation, for me.

Now I have an actual technical/engineering/sound quality reason to want to buy it... as opposed to simple "shiny things!" "it's NEW!" and "package lust" thinking...

'Less gritty' is an attractive selling point, except when I want 'more gritty,' but I ain't short of ways of producing that latter result!


/fcd
"gimme the real nitty-gritty, omitting the 'gritty' in this particular instance"