PreSonus Studio One 7 apparently imminent

[dellboy]

What constitutes a loyal customer?

The entirety of all past customers. Future potential customers are an unknown.

[jamcat]

What would be the standout features for anyone still on version 4.6 Pro, not just those included in version 7? It might help those who have been out of the loop and busy with other stuff over the years.

[concealed identity]

What constitutes a loyal customer? Maybe some of these users aren't so "loyal". Did you upgrade every opportunity? If you didn't, maybe you're not loyal. And if you paid more for an older version than what the price is now, why complain? Didn't you get to use it the time you owned it? Was that not worth it? You paid $400 and now it's $200. So you "lost" $200, is that how you look at it? Is that a lot to lose out on? Can you be happy that someone new has a cheaper price? Seems like complaining about the new model (subscription) but yet upset it's cheaper for others at the same time is gratuitous. And to think that someone who has upgraded is so inclined to sulk about a change they don't like so much is baffling to me. Or "this new update is trash", even though it probably helped out a ton of people...

When people talk about being a "loyal customer" or "supporting a company" with expectations of something additional in return, it's always a big red flag. I can understand people being disappointed by prices, or upset about the new payment model. And heck, even complaining about changes is fine in my opinion. But once the line of argument veers into talk of deserving things and being "slapped in the face" because you paid the asking price for something in the past, it just sounds like entitlement.

[Resonant- Serpent]

I've bought every single version so far but I've also skipped the latest update. Maybe it's time to show Presonus that it's time to accommodate loyal customers. There are even videos that mention this, and rightly so.

I hesitated on v6 but eventually upgraded when they added something I found useful. Will probably do the same on v7. No reason to upgrade at the moment - there's literally nothing in v7 that makes my life any better.

The only reason I bought 7 is because of the Best Service sale, and because it’s not like I’m going to switch DAWs so I might as well condition myself to the new Arranger look, and that may take a while.

So far I’ve only found something I hate even more than the rounded corners: the thick white outline around selected parts.

It’s like the UI update was designed for the blind.

This. S1 went from having a close to being perfect interface to a clown show with the white outline and other channel color issues. It's so stupid that I can't even believe they did it.

[Serhii Kot]

I like new UI. Looks somewhat refreshing to me.

[dellboy]

When people talk about being a "loyal customer" or "supporting a company" with expectations of something additional in return, it's always a big red flag. I can understand people being disappointed by prices, or upset about the new payment model. And heck, even complaining about changes is fine in my opinion. But once the line of argument veers into talk of entitlement and betrayal because you paid the asking price for something in the past, it just sounds like entitlement.

I think the point that is being made is that there is little sense in buying an upgrade if you already own a version of Studio One Pro. Do a a google search for "Studio One 7 Crossgrade" and it will give the option of buying it for the exact same price as the upgrade. I may well be looking at this incorrectly, but what is the point of upgrading when you can buy a second copy for the same price?

[concealed identity]

Yeah I feel you, pricing models like that are such a bummer. Similar stuff from Steinberg, from Arturia, from iZotope, etc. I guess companies start going down that path when they realize that they probably get a similar rate of upgrades at higher prices, but more new customers at lower prices. It seems like the current state of audio software from big companies is low buy-in and high prices if you want the latest and greatest.

[gentleclockdivider]

What constitutes a loyal customer? Maybe some of these users aren't so "loyal". Did you upgrade every opportunity? If you didn't, maybe you're not loyal. And if you paid more for an older version than what the price is now, why complain? Didn't you get to use it the time you owned it? Was that not worth it? You paid $400 and now it's $200. So you "lost" $200, is that how you look at it? Is that a lot to lose out on? Can you be happy that someone new has a cheaper price? Seems like complaining about the new model (subscription) but yet upset it's cheaper for others at the same time is gratuitous. And to think that someone who has upgraded is so inclined to sulk about a change they don't like so much is baffling to me. Or "this new update is trash", even though it probably helped out a ton of people...

People that supported presonus from the early days , it's a slap in the face compared to subscription owners who obviously get more benefits .
Don't you think it' ridiculous there isn't even a demo after 2 months ?
Oh , and one of the standout feaures of 6.0 : direct side chain input to vst3 instruments , and the fx bus can be used as a recording source ( previously only a regular bus was available )

[Crossinger]

People that supported presonus from the early days , it's a slap in the face compared to subscription owners who obviously get more benefits.

Let's face it: Perpetual license owners are no longer welcomed nowadays - and that's true across the entire software business. Golden days are over, business times are tough.

[gentleclockdivider]

Are business times tough or is it just a small percentage of people ( stack holders , ventures capitalists ) that are getting more greedy ?

[Crossinger]

Are business times tough or is it just a small percentage of people ( stack holders , ventures capitalists ) that are getting more greedy ?

The company I’m working for was bought by a private equity firm earlier this year. I can tell you by the end of 2025.

[BKSchatzki]

People that supported presonus from the early days , it's a slap in the face compared to subscription owners who obviously get more benefits.

Let's face it: Perpetual license owners are no longer welcomed nowadays - and that's true across the entire software business. Golden days are over, business times are tough.

Question to everyone about software services:

Were we updating software this much back in the day? You bought a physical copy of the software, put in the serial key, then you just had that. If there was a patch you could go download it, but the software wasn't nagging you to do it. People would sit on unpatched versions of software that worked for years. I even remember having to patch sequentially to catch up if I was a couple of versions behind because the patches had a "from" and a "to" on them. But that was kind of it. Loyalty programs and update prices were really clunky and I can't remember ever using them back then.

It kind of feels like we had a Goldilocks moment of enjoying the increasing progression of software development while still holding on to old pricing models. I don't like it, but software that is continuously being updated is very logically something that is a service and should be charged as such.

There are definitely a few companies I'd point the finger at, but that's the world we live in now. More software development, more cost. I actually would imagine that the companies have it even worse, keeping up with the demands of constant updates.

Studio One 7 is an amazing example of this. What else did the program need, exactly? Sure you can keep finding things to add, but for me 6 was pretty much there, save a couple of bugs.

Are business times tough or is it just a small percentage of people ( stack holders , ventures capitalists ) that are getting more greedy ?

Yeah, can't excuse the companies that use the zeitgeist as camouflage for their real agenda. Reminds me of greedflation of groceries and other products. If it's gonna automatically be 5% more, we can charge 15% more and no one will look twice at us for the 10% we're plundering.

But it's kind of hard to know this with something like software, whose value is so abstract. These companies decide on the price. Studio One 7 is actually really reasonable in the grand scheme of DAW software. If you crunch the numbers, the value is immense.

But I also know that the pricing is part of business strategy. Naturally, the messaging will be one of accessibility and value, but it's not a seamless launch by any means.

Take something like Cubase, for example. "We're expensive. The upgrades are expensive. Yeah. It's a good product. We're charging this." Take FL Studio, "Lifetime patch updates officially, but we're giving everyone lifetime feature updates de facto for now, and here's our cloud service you can completely ignore."

Studio One, "$199 for a perpetual license and a year of updates, or $179 for a perpetual license, plus a year of extra goodies that hiding inside the features that come with the perpetual license that you're probably gonna be really annoyed at having to untangle when the year is up. We're eating that $20 as a gamble that you're going to like the extras enough to stay on the plan. Don't pay any attention to the fact that you might have no idea what you get to keep and what you lose if you stop paying."

It rubs me wrong. I still think it's an immense DAW.

[twal]

I appreciate everyone's opinion. With Studio One I find that the current model isn't so bad either and also agree that the subscription tangle feels like the most insidious aspect of it all. I'm still considering it. I tried out Luna recently and really enjoy it, BUT the ilok necessity- especially the cloud variant feels quite intrusive; and is very annoying. Super-sigh, the thread "it's hard to find a daw" I found over emotional but can see how this can really be so for some. Humorously for myself I put it this way- I just have used Reaper. So, never got entangled in this ever-entrancing DAW web. Saying that, I still want some variance in my production, just not sure where to look. It also doesn't help that my computer is so low in the system requirements area; but, Luna Pro deal is enticing...

[BKSchatzki]

I appreciate everyone's opinion. With Studio One I find that the current model isn't so bad either and also agree that the subscription tangle feels like the most insidious aspect of it all. I'm still considering it. I tried out Luna recently and really enjoy it, BUT the ilok necessity- especially the cloud variant feels quite intrusive; and is very annoying. Super-sigh, the thread "it's hard to find a daw" I found over emotional but can see how this can really be so for some. Humorously for myself I put it this way- I just have used Reaper. So, never got entangled in this ever-entrancing DAW web. Saying that, I still want some variance in my production, just not sure where to look. It also doesn't help that my computer is so low in the system requirements area; but, Luna Pro deal is enticing...

Honestly, if you can manage with REAPER, keep using REAPER. Don't jump in this pool, friend. My gripes with REAPER are actually architectural, but it's also very subjective. There's only so much Lua I can write to get around the issues I have with REAPER's views (using the software definition of 'views').

[J Veronica]

Whenever I open Reaper I'm up past midnight customising my theme and actions. No music ever gets made, lol.

In a way I'm glad Studio One can't be endlessly customised. I need limitations to focus otherwise I go mad.