End of development: There will be no new Tone2 products

[Teksonik]

Right......

Let's not forget that Markus has dealt out his fair share of attitude over the last two decades so whoever is without sin cast the first stone. As a football coach once told me "there is no sympathy for self inflicted wounds".

There was a time when Tone 2 was on my no-buy list because of Markus' abrasive attitude but in recent years he's changed his stance so I gave him and his company another chance and attempted to put the past behind. I recently purchased Icarus and it's become one of my favorite synths. Warlock has also been a joy to own and Gladiator is on my to-buy list.

The bottom line is running a business is hard....very hard....and that's whether you're online or brick and mortar. Some people just don't have the stomach for the drama that will inevitably come when running a business. When you start a business you should know going in that it won't be all rainbows and puppy dogs. There is a good chance the next customer that walks in the door will be an arsehole but you can't let it get to you if you want paying customers to keep walking through that door.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is a bit of a mixed message:

Summary:
- We can guarantee that all products will continue to work also in the future

finally made decide to quit today.

So I don't think you can "quit" and still continue developing so I think what we're seeing in Markus' post is someone who is severely burned out.

Everything I've written up to this point was from the perspective of a consumer reacting to the owner of a business but now I'll say this as one human being to another:

Markus, you're obviously a brilliant coder and synth designer so don't let anyone (especially on the internet) take that away from you.

Take some time and get your mental and physical health in order. Spend time with the kids, recharge the batteries.

But don't throw away two decades of hard work building your business because you're feeling burned out and stressed right now. Step away, take a deep breath, and take all the time you need before making a life changing decision.

I sincerely hope you can heal mentally and physically but don't punish yourself because of the words of others. Think it through, if not for yourself then for the future of your children.

[MJACau]

This is very unfortunate but not surprising. What Markus was doing is probably too big a job to be done as a one-man band. The job requires (but is not limited to):

- specialized DSP/audio/synthesizer knowledge
- multi-platform development
- UI development
- keeping the existing product line compatible with current Apple/Windows updates
- customer support
- website development
- creating marketing materials including videos
- creating presets / expansion packs
- developing copy protection

Trying to do all of this single-handedly is a recipe for burnout. The more products you have, the harder the job becomes. This is more manageable with a team but given that profit margins are so thin, hiring and paying a talented team is no easy trick. It’s no wonder that many companies are being bought by VCs, larger players, or closing shop.

This.
Markus the OG developer veteran, thanks for making Icarus.

[h66]

Alles Gute und vielen Dank für die tolle Zeit und die tollen Plugins und die tollen fachlichen Beiträge.
(Trotzdem wünsche ich mir (egoistischerweise) dass du irgendwann mal einen Beratervertrag von imageline bekommst und deine Expertise einbringst;o)

[Samiver]

Not a lot to say other than as a owner of a few of your synths I like and respect your work but agree totally with you doing what is best for you.

Wishing you good health moving forward.

[egbert101]

I don't own any Tone2 products, but wish the developer well.

[Charlie Firpo]

I would like to say thank you Markus for all these years and your synths. You've always been helpful, and i understand you taking a step back. I wish you and your kids all the best.

[nusound mind]

Markus just remember all the amazing music made from talented producers with your synths. Nothing can take that away from you. Some days I think Gladiator might be my favorite synth.

For everyone else; what are people's opinions of the recent updates of Electra, Nemesis and Gladiator? All 3 if I recall are paid updates and i want to prioritize and am leaning towards Gladiator, but for those who've updated all 3 soundwise which is your fave update?

I think these days less time online is prob. a good thing generally speaking. Myself I feel healthier minimizing my doom scrolling etc. on social media. I think it's detrimental in excess. Plus it's a waste of time after a certain point. I wish you and yours ( and Troels) the best and hope one day you return. I always appreciate developer presence here to gain insight into their creations and functionality etc. and there's probably a reason why you see so few of them on forums.

[zvenx]

I updated all, however my reasons are probably not the reasons most would update.

1) I need easier gui size handling.
2) wanted to show support for markus and his work.
rsp

[nusound mind]

And how do the sonic improvements compare b/t the 3 of them?

[DCrown]

All the best

[djmino02]

Probably not a bad idea to just focus on existing products. Not saying they need fixing but everything can be better. Nothing is perfect.

Inspiration will come for something new .

I honestly use tone2 products all the time. Especially Electra, Gladiator, and Nemesis. In no particular order. They're not my go-to for starting a track, normally I try using just basic stuff for that, but when I'm needing to add something a little extra especially once I build the foundation I use tone2.

[martinjuenke]

Probably not a bad idea to just focus on existing products.

U-He is following this strategy for their synths as well.
Can't be wrong.

[twal]

Markus, if you're reading this, congrats for all of your hard work making synthesizers! A very successful creation for music and fantastic tools for artists. Glad you'll still be around for making updates and I wish the best for you and good luck with your well-being you deserve to be more happy- gracias!

[mevla]

For everyone else; what are people's opinions of the recent updates of Electra, Nemesis and Gladiator? All 3 if I recall are paid updates and i want to prioritize and am leaning towards Gladiator, but for those who've updated all 3 soundwise which is your fave update?

As a Linux Bitwig user, the recent updates for Nemesis and Gladiator made them work in Xubuntu 22.04/yabridge. Previously they didn't / had significant problems. However I ran Electra, RayBlaster and Icarus 1.6 fine since several years. Icarus 2 does not run, so if there's an Icarus 3 update I'll certainly try the demo. Icarus 1.6 is fine meanwhile - that synth can do quite a lot as is.

[mevla]

And how do the sonic improvements compare b/t the 3 of them?

I find that the Electra update has more depth and warmth in the sounds. That's the only Tone2 synth I've updated so far. I'm looking forward for the RayBlaster update. I'm running Linux Bitwig and the Icarus2 update does not run well so I can't compare. It could very well be that an Icarus3 update will run fine, if the trend continues with the nature of the updates. I'm saying this because recently the Nemesis3 update and Gladiator4 updates are now running fine in Linux, which they weren't before.