Linplug discontinued :( Back your stuff up.

[chk071]

I think that is the point for Linplug, not being able to "make a buck". Thing is, if you have a good product, you can. Look at Spire. It's a totally sh** normal VA synth, without any surprises (ok, it has SOME special stuff, which other synths don't have, but, not many), and it obviously sells like hot cakes.

Are you saying that, if Linplug's plugins don't "sell like hot cakes" (anymore?) that they're not "good products"?

Well, at least i was never really that impressed by the sound quality, whenever i demo'd their synth (i demo'd Alpha, MorphoX, and i also had the magware version of Element P, and FreeAlpha). I wouldn't say they're no good products though (looks like, as usual, it's either black and white, whenever there's a point of criticism, eh?). Obviously, though, they're not the number 1 of people's choice, otherwise, they would continue doing business (and they probably also wouldn't have squandered their discontinued products either).

[Ingonator]

really sad i love albino3.... there is a 64bit version?! is it somewhere downloadable? i got a legal license!
sadly (of course cause it's old) the handling is cumbersome....

Albino v3.2.1 is available here at the "Legacy" downloads page:
http://www.linplug.com/download/fullversion.html

Those aren't free.

What do you mean with "those are not free"?

If you got a Albino 3 license it should work with that download of v3.2.1.

Of course this are not freeware yet. Without a license you could only use Albino 3 in demo mode and it is not possible to purchase a new license for Albino 3.

[Musical Gym]

It's an archive meant for license owners.
Would be nice if they set Albino free.

[layzer]

It's an archive meant for license owners.

Those thinking that linplug section is free synths, i recommend online synth training

[zerocrossing]

This is sad, but like has been said, you really can't release a software synth in modern times, unless it's a 1:1 emulation and not expect your customers to want updates. I still think Octopus was one of the best FM synths out there. I was I really like Spectral. It's an awesome synth. I'll go through phases though, where I'll be super into something like that, and then into something else. In fact, I just noticed that I never installed a 64 bit version when I changed over. I think developers think it's going to be like a hardware synth, where the demand just goes on and on for a long time (maybe forever). You've got to constantly stir that pot. Even if that means releasing free soundpacks, adding an additional feature from time to time, tutorial videos, etc. "What's the hot new sound? Here's a tutorial showing you how to get that sound in _______!"

But, I know what that's like. One of the things I hate about doing freelance is that a lot of my effort seems to be be getting work rather than doing work. Still, I can't help but think if they played a bigger part here on KVR and other sites, their name would still be on the forefront of people's thoughts, instead of someone like me who realizes he doesn't even have the software he bought installed. Maybe I'll pick up Morphox anyway. That always seemed like a cool synth. The problem is, I do have a lot of cool synths.

[wagtunes]

Here's the problem.

I own CRX4, Morphox and Spectral. If those were the only synths in creation, I could still listen to them and say "Wow, what really cool sounds these things make."

But they're not. They're just several in a virtual sea of VSTi's. And the competition is off the charts amazing as far as sound quality and features. So 3 synths that, 40 years ago would have had people drooling like babies, hardly make a whisper now. Spectral is my 37th best selling library out of 45 libraries. I don't even bother making sets for the other 2. I know they won't sell.

It is what it is. I love all 3 synths but, I hardly use them because I have so many damn choices. Too many. I'm beyond saturation point. Some days I go to do a tune, go to pull up a synth, and just can't decide where to even begin and end up putting everything away and playing some golf or No Man's Sky.

We are spoiled beyond any description of the word. Imagine if we had these choices 40 years ago at these prices instead of having to shell out $7,000 for a Yamaha CS 80 that was the thinnest sounding piece of crap on the planet. I'm sorry but that piece of garbage, next to what we can do today, is NOT worth $7,000. And everything was stupid expensive. A lousy 2 osc Moog Sonic Six was $600.

I'll stop there because if I go on any further I'll remember all the thousands of dollars I tossed out the window back then.

[plexuss]

This is sad, but like has been said, you really can't release a software synth in modern times, unless it's a 1:1 emulation and not expect your customers to want updates.

I agree with you. I am very picky about what products I buy. I do have a lot software but that makes it easier for me to be picky. Not only do I try the demo (and reject most products that do not have a demo) I also read forums and reviews. If a product get a lot of complaints, I take that into consideration.

Many of the "main" companies have enough of a track record now that it's pretty easy to understand what you might be getting into. If there are a lot of complaints about lack of updates, poor communication/support, bugs, licensing/transfer, etc. I take it all into consideration. If a product is something I really want and is unique (I don't like redundancy in my tools) I may accept more negatives than positives. But I do make purchase decisions based on these kinds of tracks records. and I look for them too - it's not a good feeling to have shelled out $100's on something to find out there was some catch you didn't know about.

[plexuss]

[snip...]
We are spoiled beyond any description of the word. Imagine if we had these choices 40 years ago at these prices instead of having to shell out $7,000 for a Yamaha CS 80 that was the thinnest sounding piece of crap on the planet. I'm sorry but that piece of garbage, next to what we can do today, is NOT worth $7,000. And everything was stupid expensive. A lousy 2 osc Moog Sonic Six was $600. I'll stop there because if I go on any further I'll remember all the thousands of dollars I tossed out the window back then.

Interesting story, wag. I thought I would tell you my story because it's interesting that it's the inverse of yours. I started with synths back in 1978. I wont give you my history, but I have used and owned almost all the main vintage synths etc. Also tape. However I never was able to get into high end audio processors, I always used pro-sumer stuff due to price and availability. But synths were plentiful on usenet, which is what I used to have a constantly changing selection of instruments in my studio through the years.

In around 2002, a friend of mine switch to using a DAW and plugins (instead of tape and hardware processors). I had been using a DAW since 1983 (Steinberg Pro 24 on Atari), but the idea of software audio processing was still even not quite there in 2002. At that time I was using whatever variation of Logic was out on a Mac. The point then was synths that sounded analogue. I tried a recommended minimoog plugin and was not impressed and immediately went to my two real minis and jammed with myself. There just wasn't enough processing power or sound quality compared to my hardware studio. So for 15 years I worked happily with hardware and Logic for midi.

Then in 2014 a friend who had been working in audio suggested I "check out iZotope" when I told him about some mastering I was doing. Well, that led to where I am now only 3 years later with $10,000's in plugin purchases and about 100 songs written, recorded and mastered on soundcloud all using software.

My hardware studio sits unused.

I feel like I got in at the right time. The processing power and audio quality is now "there". When I share my work with pros, they often say "that does not sound ITB". I have to agree. I can still hear a gap in quality but really, for that analogue sound, its actually kinda "there" now. especially at 96k.

There is definitely room for improvement and that total analogue sound is not what I am after all the time as well. But just in terms of pleasing audio quality, it seems like that it wasn't until around 2012-13 that this degree of high quality audio software was available. I feel lucky.

[layzer]

Here's the problem.

I own CRX4, Morphox and Spectral. If those were the only synths in creation, I could still listen to them and say "Wow, what really cool sounds these things make."

But they're not. They're just several in a virtual sea of VSTi's. And the competition is off the charts amazing as far as sound quality and features. So 3 synths that, 40 years ago would have had people drooling like babies, hardly make a whisper now. Spectral is my 37th best selling library out of 45 libraries. I don't even bother making sets for the other 2. I know they won't sell.

It is what it is. I love all 3 synths but, I hardly use them because I have so many damn choices. Too many. I'm beyond saturation point. Some days I go to do a tune, go to pull up a synth, and just can't decide where to even begin and end up putting everything away and playing some golf or No Man's Sky.

We are spoiled beyond any description of the word. Imagine if we had these choices 40 years ago at these prices instead of having to shell out $7,000 for a Yamaha CS 80 that was the thinnest sounding piece of crap on the planet. I'm sorry but that piece of garbage, next to what we can do today, is NOT worth $7,000. And everything was stupid expensive. A lousy 2 osc Moog Sonic Six was $600.

I'll stop there because if I go on any further I'll remember all the thousands of dollars I tossed out the window back then.

another problem is the only thing modern soft synths have over older ones is weirder sounds.
and weirder sounds are not better sounds, they are just weirder sounds. so no matter how
many new synths you buy, you start to realize the best sounds come from the synths that
make the good old normal sounds, which are.... you guessed it, the old soft synths.

therefore, i expect to see more music software companies shutting down.....
yup, the cow has been milked dry.

[ganym3d]

Note To Self: don't buy plugins from small developers anymore. I may consider dumping my plugins and getting Komplete -- stable market presence, longevity of product life, covers all the bases...

Not really? The words: Don't buy plugins from small developers anymore, being written in bold or not, are like a slap in the face for ALL these (so called) small developers. NI is for me like Steinberg, once they got your money, this was it... I bought Traktor, Absynth and Battery from NI, and I've had problems over problems with them... Cubase, on the other hand, is really unstable on my system, it doesn't matter which version... I really, REALLY like small developers!

I'm driving a very little, little Theater here in Berlin (i am feeling like a "small developer"), and your words are sounding in my head like: Don't go to small theaters, because the big ones have stable market presence, longevity of program life, and they cover all the bases of culture...

You see, i don't agree with you...

Best,

Stephan

[hesnotthemessiah]

Many thanks to Pavol and Peter at LinPlug for giving me the chance to use fantastic, innovative and beautifully designed software that has given me many hours of enjoyment and will continue to do so for a good few years to come. Just typing this before I hit the sack....now I want to load up RMV....I must resist........THANKYOU

[chk071]

Note To Self: don't buy plugins from small developers anymore. I may consider dumping my plugins and getting Komplete -- stable market presence, longevity of product life, covers all the bases...

Not really? The words: Don't buy plugins from small developers anymore, being written in bold or not, is like a slap in the face for ALL these (so called) small developers. NI is for me like Steinberg, once they got your money, this was it... I bought Traktor, Absynth and Battery from NI, and I've had problems over problems with them... Cubase, on the other hand, is really unstable on my system, it doesn't matter which version...

NI and Steinberg are for me two of the spearheads of the industry. Especially NI. Great products, great support, great copy protection. There's really nothing i can really criticize about them. I made the experience with smaller businesses on the other hand that some of those don't even bother to reply to support requests. Se,, if you run a one man business, and you have to maintain your software, and handle support requests from who knows how many customers, it can get pretty tight on manpower. One of the glorious exceptions is Dmitry Sches. He's literally respoding 10 minutes after you wrote your mail, and he is also a great person to deal with (i did some translation work for him). But, frankly, they're by far not all like that, actually rather the opposite in many cases. At the very least, i surely wouldn't prefer small businesses.

[Teksonik]

another problem is the only thing modern soft synths have over older ones is weirder sounds.
and weirder sounds are not better sounds, they are just weirder sounds. so no matter how
many new synths you buy, you start to realize the best sounds come from the synths that
make the good old normal sounds, which are.... you guessed it, the old soft synths.

Wrong....but please continue living in the past. You seem to be at home there.

[robotmonkey]

Can't say I'm particularly sad to see them fold up. They have been out of the picture already for so long anyway and so many synths have appeared.

They did have some nice synths for it's time. Albino, Saxlab and RM were the best. Only the latter one has aged well though as it's still as useful as it ever was.

[layzer]

another problem is the only thing modern soft synths have over older ones is weirder sounds.
and weirder sounds are not better sounds, they are just weirder sounds. so no matter how
many new synths you buy, you start to realize the best sounds come from the synths that
make the good old normal sounds, which are.... you guessed it, the old soft synths.

Wrong....but please continue living in the past. You seem to be at home there.

no, i'm right. piano, violin, guitar.....all from the past. wayyyyyyyy past. still the most
widely used sounds. so F off.