Studio One (S1) thread: where did the folks go after PreSonus shut down forums?

[ardgedee]

Unfortunately software as a service is a thing and we can only vote with our wallets.

I've got complicated feelings about SAAS, not least because it paid my salary for a number of years. It's not necessarily bad to expect customers to make ongoing payments when they're regularly incurring costs from the software company, whether in the form of support or dynamic hosting arrangements or customizations or etc. Some categories of software simply can't exist in an install-once, run-forever space.

On the other hand, most contracts for consumer and prosumer SAAS software (in audio, graphics, financial, etc.) that I've seen boil down to "you install our software and pay us monthly, then we'll occasionally patch it for you and nothing more unless you *also* pay an additional fee*", and that's not a great deal, especially when bundled with proprietary file formats or other lock-ins.

*(...or often they'll offer unmetered tech support but the software is too uncomplicated (or the userbase is too familiar with it) for that to actually be much of an incentive.)

 

[meisi]

I've got complicated feelings about SAAS, not least because it paid my salary for a number of years. It's not necessarily bad to expect customers to make ongoing payments when they're regularly incurring costs from the software company, whether in the form of support or dynamic hosting arrangements or customizations or etc. Some categories of software simply can't exist in an install-once, run-forever space.

On the other hand, most contracts for consumer and prosumer SAAS software (in audio, graphics, financial, etc.) that I've seen boil down to "you install our software and pay us monthly, then we'll occasionally patch it for you and nothing more unless you *also* pay an additional fee*", and that's not a great deal, especially when bundled with proprietary file formats or other lock-ins.

*(...or often they'll offer unmetered tech support but the software is too uncomplicated (or the userbase is too familiar with it) for that to actually be much of an incentive.)

TLDR; I agree.

In my day job I use some of the fancy engineering softwares you reference. I’m about $15k into annual licenses for just myself.

imo, the value is from things not changing and ability to export into a variety of formats compatible with vendors. I get access to latest versions but often will not until I “have” to for external reasons. We even virtualize old windows to keep the gravy train flowing, as mention - when it makes sense.

Change in business can be massively expensive so the software is priced accordingly.

while open source options exist they often have a pitfall of one or more of the above. In the space of home recoding DAWs, the pitfalls may or may not apply (thus why so many are happy with garage band or audacity).

 

[Patrice B]

When I got my Quantum 2626, it came with S1 Artist. I liked the workflow so I jumped to 5 Pro. Last year, it was 6 Pro but now, version 7 won’t work on my Mojave machine (Hackintosh)… and I’ve discovered that S1 isn’t as efficient and CPU friendly as Reaper so, for now on, next projects will be recorded with Reaper.

I just hope Fender won’t do the same thing with Studio One like Gibson did to Cakewalk Sonar…

Honestly, I don’t think Justin Frankel (Reaper CEO, already full of cash with the Winamp sale) will sell his soul to a big company… but never say never! It’s by far the most down-to-earth one-to-one DAW company I’ve dealt with in recent years. I can stand the little quirks of Reaper with their positive attitude toward customers.

Sorry if it sounds like a diatribe against Fender/Studio One … and reading myself, IT IS

 

[MonetBass]

There is a S1 page on Facebook, which I recently joined. What I found is that most people on there ask questions that have already been answered on the Presonus Support pages.

I'm still using S1 Prime 5 but am looking at S1 7 Pro as I'd like more options for VSTs.

 

[Lowbrow]

Forum or no forum, I can usually find out what I want to know about S1 thru web search. Plenty of non-official discussions and insights/instructions/advice.

 

[brianrost]

Fender has delusions of grandeur if they truly believe it's possible to squeeze a recurring stream of cash from hobby users (which are the majority of their customer base). Good Enough = Good Enough.

The reason so many applications have turned to the subscription model is simple. Not all users will buy upgrades.

I bought Reason 2.5 for $199 and never upgraded it. Eventually I sold my license when it wouldn’t run on my new Mac. At that time Reason was at v10! That’s 8 potential upgrades that I never paid for. At the time the upgrades were $129, so that was potentially over $1000 that Propellerheads never got from me.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

The reason so many applications have turned to the subscription model is simple. Not all users will buy upgrades.

I bought Reason 2.5 for $199 and never upgraded it. Eventually I sold my license when it wouldn’t run on my new Mac. At that time Reason was at v10! That’s 8 potential upgrades that I never paid for. At the time the upgrades were $129, so that was potentially over $1000 that Propellerheads never got from me.

If upgrades are not compelling enough for casual users to pony up the cash, paying for a never-ending stream of monthly or annual subscriptions will not be compelling either. Forcing the latter is even worse because the exponential increase in cash outlay will be even more obvious. If subscriptions are the only option, we'll probably see several DAWs bite the dust as casual users resist vendor demand for perpetual cashflow. Subscription madness must eventually end and will die of its own bloated demand model.

 

[brianrost]

Subscription madness must eventually end and will die of its own bloated demand model.

For hobbyists. maybe, but for businesses subscriptions do make sense because you are always up to date with the latest and greatest.