Goodbye Roland Cloud

[vurt]

What is the "Lifetime Key" in Roland? Does that mean I still need to use the RolandCloud or does the Lifetime Key mean I will get some sort of serial key to open the synth I purchase (so no need for online/cloud)?

it means you are able to regret for a whole lifetime.

[abernathy]

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but after being forced to log in to Roland Cloud for the SECOND TIME THIS MORNING, I just can't believe I bought into this utter crap. The very least Roland could do is to NEVER require logging in more than once a month. Still would be annoying, but an improvement. What got me this morning was thinking, "what if all my plugins had this horrible system? I would be logging in all day long - never making music..."

[SLiC]

Yeh, I did the first year to get my 2 'lifetime' licences as there were only a coupe of Roland Plugs I wanted so it seemed like a fir deal for $200 (a years access to all and then the 2 plugs I wanted)

The problem is you need to run Roland Could manager in the background (it checks every 7 days) or close it then remember to run it (oh look, wait for update) before you fire up the VST, so the reality is I just don't use them!

[abernathy]

After Roland Cloud asked me to log in for the FIFTH time this morning to tell me there was an update that wouldn't progress past 1%, I have now uninstalled the whole disaster. What a relief. I'll focus on the many wonderful synths I have from customer-friendly companies.

[moyno85]

Oh my god, don't even get me started on how much I hate Roland Cloud.

After going through hell trying to activate the stupid thing I ended up opening a support ticket with Roland only to be met with confused replies from tech support which were basically blaming me for the issue (it wasn't anything on my end).

For my efforts I get treated to DAILY irritating notifications on my Mac telling me Roland either can't connect to the server or needs updating. It can't even update itself in the background like every other f*cking program, you have to manually go into the program and search for the update button.

On top of all this, it's made Pro Tools a nightmare to work with if I'm using any Roland Cloud plugins - Pro Tools now randomly freezes while Roland is looking to authenticate some such thing or another.

I don't think I've ever hated a piece of software so much and now, by extension, Roland.

Greedy bastards.

[Benutzername]

I got my first pro year as a gift when I registered my Jupiter XM a few weeks ago and I decided to give it a try. As it stands now I'll definitely not renew this subscription next year. The experience with the authorization and copy protection was just extremely bad so far.

When I first installed the cloud manger I got the D-50, Zenology, 808 and SH-2. The latter one was a surprise and it was really nice to play with as I never met a real SH-2 in the wild. The plugin was marked as licensed when I installed it but all of a sudden the license expired. Plugin gone. I'm glad that I didn't use it in a current song. Last week the 808 got an update but since then it can't be loaded into any of my hosts anymore because the scan procedure will never end. Reinstall didn't help. Plugin gone. I'm glad that I didn't use it in a current song.

The only plugins left are Zenology and the D50. I really like them but I'll never use them for some serious work. The risk is just way to high that a song with these plugins can't be opened again next time. I'm not even speaking for some time in the future. I just can not trust them. Of course I could bounce all tracks after each session but before I do that I'll just use a product from a different vendor that I can trust and that trusts me (e.g. by sending me a serial number).

Please Roland: If your paranoia demands that you have to control the installation of your software then please look at Arturia or Native Instruments and learn from them how to do it right. Your current system is just broken and a huge PITA for users who are dumb enough to actually spend money for your products. And the worst thing about it is that it's only a PITA for legal users. Users of cracked versions don't have any of these problems so they get a much better product without paying anything at all.

[abernathy]

To their credit, the latest update has worked better on my Mac. But it is a lousy annoying system, and I won’t be surprised if problems pop often when there’s a new Mac or Windows OS upgrade. I think they created a monster. I don’t like Cherry Audio’s system either... gives me pause every time I launch a plug-in and it says “syncing with server”.

[Tj Shredder]

Everybody should report the Roland cloud manager to all anti-virus vendors as PUA (potentially unwanted application). Especially if Microsoft would uninstall it immediately as verified malware, it could help Roland to become reasonable eventually. This system is feeding crackers... Alone for that, Roland should be banned from KVR...

[WatchTheGuitar]

I got my first pro year as a gift when I registered my Jupiter XM a few weeks ago and I decided to give it a try. As it stands now I'll definitely not renew this subscription next year. The experience with the authorization and copy protection was just extremely bad so far.

When I first installed the cloud manger I got the D-50, Zenology, 808 and SH-2. The latter one was a surprise and it was really nice to play with as I never met a real SH-2 in the wild. The plugin was marked as licensed when I installed it but all of a sudden the license expired. Plugin gone. I'm glad that I didn't use it in a current song. Last week the 808 got an update but since then it can't be loaded into any of my hosts anymore because the scan procedure will never end. Reinstall didn't help. Plugin gone. I'm glad that I didn't use it in a current song.

When you get a Pro subscription, or any paid Roland Cloud sub for any length of time, initially you get one month of Ultimate level subscription - so you'd have access to everything - after a month you'd drop down to the Pro level which gives you licences only for Zenology Pro, D50 and TR-808.

That explains what happened with the SH-2, but not the 808. Maybe post about your issue in the official thread here...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=475542#
...there's a Roland guy on there who will respond to you eventually.

[Tj Shredder]

...there's a Roland guy on there who will respond to you eventually.

Hardest job in the industry I guess, they must pay her a fortune...

[Benutzername]

When you get a Pro subscription, or any paid Roland Cloud sub for any length of time, initially you get one month of Ultimate level subscription - so you'd have access to everything - after a month you'd drop down to the Pro level which gives you licences only for Zenology Pro, D50 and TR-808.

Actually no. The SH-2 was the only plugin that I could authorize except the ones you mention. With an Ultimate trial I would have been able to test all plugins, not just one. Maybe I didn't get the trial because I got the Pro year as bonus for my hardware purchase(?).

That explains what happened with the SH-2, but not the 808. Maybe post about your issue in the official thread here...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=475542#
...there's a Roland guy on there who will respond to you eventually.

I posted a problem with the D-50 factory presets and the only helpful posts came from other users. But I still appreciate Brian's effort in that thread. It's really a tough job to officially represent this kind of software on KVR.

The problem is that I actually don't care enough anymore to go through Roland's support procedure. If I want a classic Roland analog synth sound then I just load Diva or something from the V-Collection. If I want Zencore or D-50 sound then I have real hardware for this. The XV5080 on the Jupiter XM sounds authentic enough to me and finding 808 sounds shouldn't be difficult either. So I have more than enough Rolandesque sound sources to cover all grounds so there is no need for me to fight this paranoid subscription crap. I'll play around with the cloud as long as the subscription lasts or as long as it works (whatever comes first). After that I'll just remove it and never look back.

[Spitfire31]

I quickly scrapped this on-line garbage after trying the 'free' version for a month or two.

Then I went down to the basement and brought out my hibernated 1080 with four extension cards (I haven't found the remaining two cards yet).

Case solved, happy customer here!

[abi]

Through the years I subscribed for 6 months all in all. Every time I feel ripped off so I uninstall everything and cancel the subscription.

[Echoes in the Attic]

If they would just offer an alternative to the cloud with a normall challenge/response type system like other plugins, they would sell a lot more licenses. Having to use the cloud for permanent licenses are hot garbage.

[trusampler]

I recently resubscribed to Ultimate and within one day it's back off my cpu,uninstalled, cancelled the subscription. I was getting crashes in Cubase 13, which never crashes, just by loading the plugins. I finally got Galaxias running, did a few tests, and couldn't get the plugin to load after I saved it in a project, so recalling the plugin wouldn't even work.

I am of the opinion now, Roland hardware's decent, although they don't have the same talent as the old days of analog. Yet the software division of Roland has alot of issues in developing solid stable software.It's sad to see what was once such a great company, be taken over by corporate greed, and lackluster developers.