# Today I unfollowed Spectrasonics



## Guy Rowland (Sep 23, 2014)

(mods of course feel free to move if you think this subject is better handled elsewhere)

GASP!

Social media and business is usually tricksy. I don't tweet but follow a few devs on Twitter. Today I shocked myself by, yes, unfollowing Spectrasonics, one of my absolute favourite developers, and for whom I usually have only the highest praise. I don't know what's happened there, but all actual news seems to have dried up completely - even tutorials etc - and their Twitter feed is an endless series of retweets from giddy 16 year olds about how Omnisphere is "da bomb, man". I mean, I think it is da bomb man and all, but I don't want it relentlessly self-promoted like that. It just seems a little desperate and today I couldn't takes no more.

So what, you may well ask, and it's a fair point. Well, truth told, I think it's hurting their brand a little, especially combined with the blackout on any actual news. And I don't want their brand hurt. I know why they're doing it - to supposedly raise the profile during a quiet time while they are presumably working on those long-promised new products. Surely there are less desperate ways of doing that though? Why not get some of their many, many collaborators to do little 5 minute "how to create a XXXX type patch" or micro tips and tricks videos? Then link those?

(Sorry for a ranty thread)


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## olajideparis (Sep 23, 2014)

I love Spectrasonics and Omnisphere to death but they could stand to learn some basics on general marketing as they are not doing very well in that area at all. They have not released a new product in a very long time and they really need to develop some way of keeping their loyal users in the know of their goings on.


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## zvenx (Sep 23, 2014)

I somewhat agree with you.
I actually joined twitter initially because it was the only way to get notice of spectrasonics updates. But lately it does seem like retweets of people now discovering omnisphere for the first time....Is this really retweet worthy?
sigh
rsp


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## mverta (Sep 23, 2014)

Both of you guys' feelings seem predicated on the idea that there needs to be this constant diarrhea of media coming out of corporations and/or individuals at all times. This is why the Facebook algorithm has to filter out 95% of it, lest the entire thing collapse under the weight of its own narcissistic banality.

What's wrong with just shutting-the-f-u until you have something to say? You know, like people did for all of prior human history, before this era of mass connectivity, which you'll notice has left people less connected than ever, and a lot of them depressed.

It's not "the world we live in," it's the world we make it. I don't have a favorite developer, any more than I have a favorite Multinational Consumer Electronics Corporation (unlike a lot of people in line at Apple stores this week), but I'm absolutely, 100% sure that in the fields I'm interested in, I will know when useful products come out. I couldn't avoid it if I tried. The mere fact that Guy had to unfollow the useless stream says to me not that their stream needs to be better, it's that it doesn't need to be a stream at all. If the only thing that had come out of the stream was the announcement of the very product he was looking to buy, then he wouldn't have needed to shut off the droning irrelevancy.

Developers and other corporations posting "updates" under the guise of, "Hey, we just want to keep you guys in the loop; you know, informed!" is a thinly-veiled repackaging of the truth: "We don't want you to buy other, possibly more available products from competitors, so we'll just keep you watching the pot, which is going to boil any minute. Probably." It's a trend we'd be better not to support. 

I remember a saying: "A man in music, as one in love, either does it or talks about it; seldom both."


_Mike


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## Whatisvalis (Sep 23, 2014)

Their RTing has been a little odd of late.


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## rpaillot (Sep 23, 2014)

Quality is better than quantity.

Yes , no new library every week like all those developers who try to make a living by making the same library over and over and advertising it as new
"Hey look at our new library with our new patented ground breaking legato technique !"(that still sounds like a fake instrument ...  ) 

Yeah, no update every 2 days. Just one product every 10 years . 

Still using Omnisphere since its release and still having a tremendous amount of patches I discover every day. and new sounds I design, possibilities are infinite.


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 23, 2014)

Yeah. I'd be very happy - delighted - with only rare tweets with something to say. But hey, business is business and I understand the rationale that says "we gotta keep a profile". Omni is still in another league for me, so I have no problem with Spectrasonics taking their time with content and products but at the same time not wanting to be drowned under the hype of competitors.

To a point, anyway. I just don't think communication can be as empty as it has been of late. I'll happily take infrequent posts; I'll happily take tutorials, tips and tidbits. But please, Spectrum if you're still out there in VI-C land - don't damage your carefully cultivated and well earned brand loyalty with user-hype.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Sep 23, 2014)

Plus Twitter is unusually inane.

I used to follow a few political reporters/columnists/etc. just to see the articles they linked, but it got way too stupid. The format invites twits.


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## Greg (Sep 23, 2014)

I almost see it as a good thing. Who really cares about social media? Hire someone to do it for you and forget about it so you can work on more kickass products, seems like the approach they took.


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## StatKsn (Sep 23, 2014)

I am a fairly long-time Twitter user since around 2008 so I am no allergic to social media, but I recognize overly done self-promotions (especially RTs) like that as a spam.


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## stonzthro (Sep 23, 2014)

I agree with Guy - I'd sure like to see an update to Stylus - maybe in this decade even. it has been surpassed in many ways by several other pieces of software that actually do get updated regularly.

Think of ProjectSAM and Spitfire who are constantly reworking their content to make it more usable.

The social media comment aside, I rarely open Stylus these days for this very reason and would advise anyone considering a purchase to look elsewhere.


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## Whatisvalis (Sep 23, 2014)

Omnisphere has been around for years, used in countless projects etc. - yet you can go into it and pull something original and inspiring out.

I cannot wait to see what they come-up with next. For now I'll probably just mute the word Omnipshere in my feed.


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## dpasdernick (Sep 23, 2014)

Dear Spectrasonics,

I just don't think this is working between us anymore. You came on so strong and made me feel really special but now... well, you just ignore me. You don't communicate at all. I loved your Style(us) and I loved how I made it to all the basses with you in a Trillan different ways. You blew me away when you gave me the world with over 40 gigabytes of pure love in a shiny blue package.

But now you changed and I feel... well I feel used. You don't write, you don't call. I have no idea where you go at night... You're so different. You used to be so happy. Smiling all the time. Now I can barely remember what you look like.

Don't worry. I'll be Ok. That East West whore is winking at me again and I have money that I had been saving for you but, oh well... I guess we can still be friends right? It's not you... it's me... I just need some time to think about us. Just don't think that you can release some new stuff and think I'll come running back. 'cause I won't. Even if you updated your Style(us) and went from Omni to Mega I won't sit here anymore and wait to hear from you. You're a tease. You're a big meanie pants and you've broken my heart...

Goodbye my love... we'll always have Musikmesse 2009.


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## dinerdog (Sep 23, 2014)

Agreed, we are no owed ANY info at all, but a friendly text once in a while would be nice.


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## Guido Negraszus (Sep 23, 2014)

I guess Guy has a fear (deep down) that something else is going on. I am in the same boat. Omnisphere and Stylus RMX are in my daily work environment. What is really going on with Spectrasonics? Nobody can tell me that this is normal. In today's (music producers) computer world 6 years since the last release is a lifetime. 

I can only think of 3 reasons why it's so quiet: they are having financial problems (doubt it), they are trying to sell their business to a big company (God help us all) or (my guess) they were caught out by competitors. Let's not forget that Eric announced (well sort of) in recent years new and big products. The last we heard was in 2013 were Eric actually promised new products by the end of the year (2013). I don't think he was lying. I think its quite possible that they were indeed planning new products but other developers beat them to it and released something similar. There was a famous line by Gorbatschow during the end of the cold war: "...who comes too late will be punished by life (or reality)....!" Just para-phrasing from German.


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## clonewar (Sep 23, 2014)

dpasdernick @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> Dear Spectrasonics...



Classic!


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## The Darris (Sep 23, 2014)

mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> You know, like people did for all of prior human history, before this era of mass connectivity, which you'll notice has left people less connected than ever, and a lot of them depressed.



Isn't it ironic how it is called "social media" yet it is causing us to evolve and push out the trait (so to speak) of how to personally communicate with people in the real world? People are more social disconnected with reality than ever before. Sure, there are pros to these websites which for me is being able to stay in touch and connect with people across the globe easily. However, I don't glue myself to it everyday in order to feel complete. It is so f**king annoying to sit in my classes and watch students swiping back and forth on their smart phone, chatting with their friends, or playing a stupid game. Once upon a time, teacher's didn't allow phones in class. And back before then, phones didn't exist in our hands/pockets to take on the go. I don't own a smart phone as I only need a phone to do one thing, call someone. I am apart of the generation that has accepted this technology as a norm and yet, I feel do disconnected from them as I never bought into it. 

Sorry for my rant.

-Chris


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## clonewar (Sep 23, 2014)

This makes me think back to the time when Atmosphere hadn't been updated to Universal Binary for Intel Macs. Everything else I had had been updated for a long time but no word from Spectrasonics.....then BOOM! Omni dropped like a nuke in the VI field.

They don't churn out a lot of products, but their releases are always worth the wait.


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## jleckie (Sep 23, 2014)

Now THAT was very clever Depas. 

Spectra?? Who?


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## NYC Composer (Sep 23, 2014)

I've said this before but I'm repetitive (see age):

I think Eric's on to the Next Thing. I don't know what it is, curing cancer, ending hunger, global initiative for world peace, something. The gap is too long for as productive a person as he's been to = " creating a groundbreaking new library". It's gotta be more.

This is said with a touch of humor, but mostly with love and admiration for an unbelievably talented guy whose work was and still is inspirational to me during the course of my career.


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## TomcatToo (Sep 23, 2014)

I certainly hope not, but it is always possible that Eric ran into total burn out similar to what Dr. T (Emile Tobenfeld) did in the early 90's with Omega II for the Atari, where he simply walked off from all commercial programing because he had had it.

Time will tell.

Tom


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## Stephen Rees (Sep 24, 2014)

I'm going to see how often I can use the term 'meanie pants' this week.


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## Guido Negraszus (Sep 24, 2014)

But surely, Spectrasonics is a company or not? They have x amount of employees. How long can you pay wages WITHOUT anything new? Can a company survive on Omnisphere alone for that long?


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## Christof (Sep 24, 2014)

Guido Negraszus @ Wed 24 Sep said:


> But surely, Spectrasonics is a company or not? They have x amount of employees. How long can you pay wages WITHOUT anything new? Can a company survive on Omnisphere alone for that long?


Actually I don't know one single composer/producer/songwriter who does not own Omnisphere or/and Stylus or Trilian, so I guess sales are going quite good so they don't have to worry too much about no income


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## Casiquire (Sep 24, 2014)

Christof @ Wed 24 Sep said:


> Guido Negraszus @ Wed 24 Sep said:
> 
> 
> > But surely, Spectrasonics is a company or not? They have x amount of employees. How long can you pay wages WITHOUT anything new? Can a company survive on Omnisphere alone for that long?
> ...



...until now! Lol.


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## Ozymandias (Sep 24, 2014)

Wow, there's three of us? I thought it was just me and C. Henson.


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 24, 2014)

Guido Negraszus @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> But surely, Spectrasonics is a company or not? They have x amount of employees. How long can you pay wages WITHOUT anything new? Can a company survive on Omnisphere alone for that long?



I think that's what's behind the inane retweets, but it's a poor strategy. Actually it's the 3rd party devs that are keeping Omnisphere legitimately in the public consciousness. Significantly, the last update to Omni was to better integrate 3rd party libs into the browser. Retrospectively, it almost looks like a handing over of the baton for a couple of years at least anyway.

I don't think they're off onto other things, I've little doubt that we'll all be woken up with another seismic shock one day, who knows when. My theory is that Eric got embarrassed about having no news and only hinting in the vaguest sense that they're still working on stuff. Seems to me that one thing that unites practically every developer is that stuff takes longer than they think it will. Some release products in a not-ready-to-go state, others bide their time. Some tease and end up with vapourware, others (AudioBro is another) decide to basically keep quiet about any specifics and end up with years of nothing to say, which some take to mean that they're off curing cancer or inventing hoverboards I guess.

And yes, Eric promised stuff "for sure" in 2013, and (I think) the same at the beginning of this year. What else can he say now without something concrete to back it up? Again - interestingly - I remember another of Eric's comments before they dried up completely was that they'd figured out a way not to have such long periods of silence in the future, which seems particularly ironic....


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## JC_ (Sep 24, 2014)

IMO, Spectrasonics is on a very short list of developers that has OG status. They could be silent for another 5 years and most of us would still be excited about the possibility of them releasing something new.

In the meantime, there's a lot of cool stuff being released by other companies that might need our follows/likes so they can continue to grow.


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## Walid F. (Sep 24, 2014)

mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> Both of you guys' feelings seem predicated on the idea that there needs to be this constant diarrhea of media coming out of corporations and/or individuals at all times. This is why the Facebook algorithm has to filter out 95% of it, lest the entire thing collapse under the weight of its own narcissistic banality.
> 
> What's wrong with just shutting-the-f-u until you have something to say? You know, like people did for all of prior human history, before this era of mass connectivity, which you'll notice has left people less connected than ever, and a lot of them depressed.
> 
> ...



Oh dude, write a fucking book. This is gold!

W.


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## G.R. Baumann (Sep 24, 2014)

Ah well, they are ready when they're ready. :lol: 

Did Omnisphere loose color like a polaroid would six years later?

Not!

Remember, something was announced to come down the pipe that was what.... *12 years* in the making I recall.


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## Blackster (Sep 24, 2014)

You don't have to follow Spectrasonics in order to know when something new is coming from them ... there are (and will be) plenty of guys who make noise when it is about time! Believe me! :D


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## wqaxsz (Sep 24, 2014)

mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> I remember a saying: "A man in music, as one in love, either does it or talks about it; seldom both."
> 
> _Mike



Are you saying it, or talking about it or seldoming both ? 

I remember a time when dinosaurs had no sayin' (fortunately), 
and even if they had, they could not remember it (especially one like that,
although its brightness has shone throughout generations of monomonks to reach nowadays' repeating mouths)
but, i am just saying... and 

Lolitosaurus


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## Markus S (Sep 24, 2014)

Rarely chiming in to defend a developer, but c'mon, Spectrasonics? They don't need to release a product every year, because their stuff is so great and useable that you can use it for decades and still get something new and great out of it. Their pricing and update policy is so generous it's actually hard to believe. Who needs the marketing blabla when you get great products, great support, friendly user terms and support, great upgrade prices and free updates (like the 64 bis version of their plug ins).


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 24, 2014)

Markus S @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Rarely chiming in to defend a developer, but c'mon, Spectrasonics? They don't need to release a product every year, because their stuff is so great and useable that you can use it for decades and still get something new and great out of it. Their pricing and update policy is so generous it's actually hard to believe. Who needs the marketing blabla when you get great products, great support, friendly user terms and support, great upgrade prices and free updates (like the 64 bis version of their plug ins).



I agree with all that. Who needs the marketing blabla indeed - that's the point of this thread. They never used to blabla with endless praise retweets, but they do now.

(tangent - Mr Rctec must be one of those rare souls then who can both talk about and do the job rather well....)


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## marclawsonmusic (Sep 24, 2014)

Today I unfollowed this thread


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## jcs88 (Sep 24, 2014)

mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> Both of you guys' feelings seem predicated on the idea that there needs to be this constant diarrhea of media coming out of corporations and/or individuals at all times. This is why the Facebook algorithm has to filter out 95% of it, lest the entire thing collapse under the weight of its own narcissistic banality.
> 
> What's wrong with just shutting-the-f-u until you have something to say? You know, like people did for all of prior human history, before this era of mass connectivity, which you'll notice has left people less connected than ever, and a lot of them depressed.
> 
> ...



Couldn't have said it better myself. I shut down my facebook page for this reason - I'm nowhere near having a fanbase and my some of my counterparts in similar career stages fill the time with banal "Composing today!" and a picture of a keyboard. It's a horrible effect of the internet and smartphones and being constantly told and pushed to "share". Nobody can have a cup of coffee without showing and telling everyone.


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## dpasdernick (Sep 24, 2014)

jcs88 @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Both of you guys' feelings seem predicated on the idea that there needs to be this constant diarrhea of media coming out of corporations and/or individuals at all times. This is why the Facebook algorithm has to filter out 95% of it, lest the entire thing collapse under the weight of its own narcissistic banality.
> ...



Drinking some ice team from Le Madeline... just thought I'd let you all know. Like me on Face book for this and other very interesting comments...


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## R. Soul (Sep 24, 2014)

dpasdernick @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Dear Spectrasonics,
> 
> I just don't think this is working between us anymore. You came on so strong and made me feel really special but now... well, you just ignore me. You don't communicate at all. I loved your Style(us) and I loved how I made it to all the basses with you in a Trillan different ways. You blew me away when you gave me the world with over 40 gigabytes of pure love in a shiny blue package.
> 
> ...


Post of the year 8)


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## NYC Composer (Sep 24, 2014)

jcs88 @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Couldn't have said it better myself. I shut down my facebook page for this reason - I'm nowhere near having a fanbase and my some of my counterparts in similar career stages fill the time with banal "Composing today!" and a picture of a keyboard. It's a horrible effect of the internet and smartphones and being constantly told and pushed to "share". Nobody can have a cup of coffee without showing and telling everyone.



At least you had a Facebook page! I have a stealth name on Facebook that I never use, and until they change it to a "roar" instead of a "tweet", I will never use Twitter.

I do see the point business-wise though, at least for some things. Someone recently tracked me down and forced me to license them a piece of my music for a healhy sum...I prolly oughta make it easier. 

Wait.....naaaah. :wink:


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## rgames (Sep 24, 2014)

Can you put the blame on Spectrasonics, though? I don't follow them so I'm not sure if they're to blame or not.

People want to be seen and heard and the sad truth is that most of them don't have anything worthwhile to say, so they attach themselves to others who attract attention. In this case it's Gear Porn and is the reason that you can get 50,000 views on YouTube unboxing a camera while nobody gives a crap about your photography.

Same thing in the music production world. You can't deny that self-promotion works but yes, it can be annoying. But if it's other people promoting your product, well, I think that's just something you have to put up with.

rgames


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## Mike Connelly (Sep 24, 2014)

rgames @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Can you put the blame on Spectrasonics, though?



If it's their real twitter account, yes.

Other people are going to mention them in posts and there's nothing wrong with that. The annoying bit is when they are retweeting a bunch of those mentions.

Companies don't need to post a lot. Demos, tutorials, and real announcements are great, and there's nothing wrong with not posting anything at all in between the posts of actual content.


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 24, 2014)

Mike Connelly @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Companies don't need to post a lot. Demos, tutorials, and real announcements are great, and there's nothing wrong with not posting anything at all in between the posts of actual content.



Yeah, that's basic sound advice I think.

I feel like half-heartedly sticking up for FB and Twitter in general. Despite immense frustrations with both - especially the former - on balance I like 'em. FB is 95% for friends, many of whom surprisingly exist in real life and I like seeing hearing what they're up to (this is a best case scenario, of course, but not entirely untrue). Twitter has two functions for me - 1, I follow a lot of very interesting people who I really do like seeing what they say, and they often link interesting stuff. 2, it's very good for any local dramas. Apparently it's also good for Middle Eastern uprisings, though that's tailed off a bit it seems.

I guess I'm fairly typical. The problem for companies is that most people just want friends on there. Twitter gets tiresome if there's a plague of posts from someone when there's no legitimate content, it just clutters up the news feed and you end up unfollowing and feeling grumpy about someone or something you previously liked (hence this thread).

Is it necessary for a developer to be on TwitBook? Of course not, unless Spectrasonics actually announced anything, whereupon VI Control would instantly melt under the volume of excited people like me swamping the servers. Then it might be a useful 140 character backup.


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## MichaelL (Sep 24, 2014)

mverta @ Tue Sep 23 said:


> What's wrong with just shutting-the-f-u until you have something to say? You know, like people did for all of prior human history, before this era of mass connectivity, which you'll notice has left people less connected than ever, and a lot of them depressed.
> 
> _Mike




+1


The real danger in taking so long between product releases is the possibility that whatever comes out of Spectrasonics, if anything ever comes from them again, is that it will not live up to the expectations developed during their absence. Incremental updates might have been better...like ProjectSAM. 

Of course, in contrast, there are developers, who seem intent on releasing something every two weeks. The same goes for developers who are intent upon releasing new sample libraries of sounds for which already have an abundant supply. Why? What new are they bringing to the table?
I have simply begun to tune them out. Instead, I'm committed to working with what I already have. 

Maybe that's the beauty of Spectrasonics products. There's already so much potential, that we may barely touch. Why come out with a new product, for which most users scratch the surface?

And, on that note, I am very grateful to Matt Bowdler for keeping Omni fresh and alive.


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## bwherry (Sep 24, 2014)

"Turn off Retweets" is my new favorite Twitter feature. Previously I unfollowed those folks that seemed to just search Twitter for mentions of themselves or their projects/products and retweet all of them, filling up my entire feed. Now I can turn off retweets for those offenders and still see their original tweets. 

HTH!

Brian


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 24, 2014)

bwherry @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> "Turn off Retweets" is my new favorite Twitter feature. Previously I unfollowed those folks that seemed to just search Twitter for mentions of themselves or their projects/products and retweet all of them, filling up my entire feed. Now I can turn off retweets for those offenders and still see their original tweets.
> 
> HTH!
> 
> Brian



Thanks - I had no idea such things were possible. Entering a trial re-following period with retweets turned off.


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## Guido Negraszus (Sep 24, 2014)

Just saw on FB that Eric is celebrating "20 years Spectrasonics". You would think that would have been a great date to release at least ONE of all those super products they have been working on.


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## muziksculp (Sep 24, 2014)

Will unfollowing spectrasonics help in speeding up the announcement of their next big release ? :lol:

I don't think so.


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## Udo (Sep 25, 2014)

As I've said before, Spectrasonics' behaviour, including the stretching of its product (version) life cycles, is an indication of disrespect for its customers.


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## uselessmind (Sep 25, 2014)

Udo @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> As I've said before, Spectrasonics' behaviour, including the stretching of its product (version) life cycles, is an indication of disrespect for its customers.



How so ?
I would think everything is fine as long as the stuff they have already sold still works.


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## dpasdernick (Sep 25, 2014)

I wonder what the math is on Spectrasonics business-wise. Yamaha sold over 100,000 DX7's back in the day. How many Omnisphere's were sold? 50,000? At $400 bucks a pop that's $20,000,000.00 not including Stylus and Trillian and the CD libs. Spectrasonics is not a large company. They probably only have a handful of full time employees. That much money is cause for retirement. 

Spectrasonics should be hailed as one of the greatest business models ever. 3 products in the past what.. 10 years? minimal updates and I doubt they're worrying about cash to this day.

I can't think of any other software company on the planet that has gone so long in between releases and not a) gone out of business or b) been obliterated by the competition. Genius.


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## Christof (Sep 25, 2014)

This whole thread is ridiculous in my very personal opinion.
Their instruments (RMX, Omni and Trilian) are so massive and loaded with such an incredible amount of patches and possibilities that it takes years to cover all capabilities in our projects.
Spectrasonics did huge updates and delivered additional sound modules.


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## guitarman1960 (Sep 25, 2014)

Well for my money Stylus is STILL the best software ever designed for making drum beats and customizing loops. Everything done since by other companies pales in comparison for usability, effects racks and making the loops your own. Nothing else has even come close to that functionality.
Definately time for some new sound sets from Spectrasonics though!!!!


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## Mike Connelly (Sep 25, 2014)

dpasdernick @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> minimal updates



Strongly STRONGLY disagree. Omnisphere has had a ton of updates with lots of new functionality, all for free. The only paid updates they have done were atmosphere/omnisphere and trilogy/trillian, and mac users who moved to intel macs even got those for free. The amount of improvements they've given free would have been at least two or three paid upgrades had it been a NI product.

At this point it's hard for me to think of any other features I'd want in Omnisphere or Trillian, other than making it easier for third party developers to integrate their patches into the sorting and searching system.

RMX on the other hand, I'm not sure why it has fallen so far behind the other two. Just adding searching, sorting, ratings would be huge. And for a major upgrade I'd love to see some means of better support for pitched loops (keyswitched pitch shifting?).


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## Christof (Sep 25, 2014)

Anyway, this is What EP wrote on Facebook today:

-Taking a break from our hard work to celebrate our milestone of 20 years of the company today. —

I don't think they are lazy


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 25, 2014)

dpasdernick @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> I wonder what the math is on Spectrasonics business-wise. Yamaha sold over 100,000 DX7's back in the day. How many Omnisphere's were sold? 50,000? At $400 bucks a pop that's $20,000,000.00 not including Stylus and Trillian and the CD libs. Spectrasonics is not a large company. They probably only have a handful of full time employees. That much money is cause for retirement.
> 
> Spectrasonics should be hailed as one of the greatest business models ever. 3 products in the past what.. 10 years? minimal updates and I doubt they're worrying about cash to this day.
> 
> I can't think of any other software company on the planet that has gone so long in between releases and not a) gone out of business or b) been obliterated by the competition. Genius.



Good lord. I'll be charitable and suggest you haven't entirely though this one through.

These fabulous products that are business genius don't form fully formed on the Spectrasonics tree in their back yard, plucked once every 8 years to provide bounty on a sunkissed Orange County evening and bringing untold riches for Eric's family. In fact, they take - it seems - about 8 years to create. In fact, Eric has said one product, yet to be released, is 13 years and counting.

Omni may not have been updated much in the past couple of years (save for 64 bit AAX and 3rd party browser tweak) but there had been many, many updates in the product's first few years. So you have, say, 8 years development pre-release and 5 years active development afterwards. That's 12 years.

I've no idea how many people were involved in that. Let's be conservative and say on average 5. That's 5 salaries x 12 years = 60 people. Let's say that they actually pulled that 20 million dollars and it was PURE PROFIT, no rent, no bills to pay, no computers, nothing. That's a salary of each of those of $33k.

I don't see anyone retiring on that.

Yes, they have three products, but yes in the real world they do have bills to pay and gear to buy. And other products to develop that don't work out in a hurry.

As the idiot who started this thread, I just want to make it absolutely, abundantly clear that I LOVE and ADORE Spectrasonics. I love their products, their service, their way of doing business. Omnisphere is probably my single best music purchase ever. Although Stylus' library shows its age, it still has no equal to me for working with loops. My only quibble is that their Twitter feed ain't all it could be and fallen below their usual super-high standards, but in the grand scheme of things it is small beer. Especially now I've discovered the magic HOW TO TURN OFF RETWEETS from lovely Brian.


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## AC986 (Sep 26, 2014)

marclawsonmusic @ Wed Sep 24 said:


> Today I unfollowed this thread



:D 

Why does anyone bother about things like Twitter or Facebook.

More than half the females in the western world are addicted to mobile phones. It's an addiction. Ask them to stop if you don't believe it. All these companies like Apple, Vodaphone ect have realised they can make more money than selling drugs with these things. It's insane and it seems to have genetically attached itself to females mores than males. You see these poor bitches wandering the street with these things attached to them like a fucking growth.

I mean, really. [walks away shaking head]


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## zvenx (Sep 26, 2014)

You dont think your use of the 'b' word above highly inappropriate?
Rsp


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## G.R. Baumann (Sep 26, 2014)

Guy Rowland @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> I love their products, their service, their way of doing business.



Big thumbs up on service Guy! Just yesterday, I had a support case that was solved within a few hours. Absolutely spot on! 

Oh, btw. I guess the cost of doing business includes the genetleman who solved my case as well, I do not think he works there only because Eric is such a nice chap and the office chair is comfy. :lol:


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## gbar (Sep 26, 2014)

Guy Rowland @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> dpasdernick @ Thu Sep 25 said:
> 
> 
> > My only quibble is that their Twitter feed ain't all it could be and fallen below their usual super-high standards, but in the grand scheme of things it is small beer. Especially now I've discovered the magic HOW TO TURN OFF RETWEETS from lovely Brian.



FWIW, I feel the same way about following threads at gearslutz: I almost always walk away feeling dumber for having read something there  Best not to follow the threads.


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## AC986 (Sep 26, 2014)

zvenx @ Fri Sep 26 said:


> You dont think your use of the 'b' word above highly inappropriate?
> Rsp



Why do I find your question winging it's way from Jamaica highly amusing?


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## lee (Sep 26, 2014)

All I´m waiting for is for the man himself to chime in here, and watch the reactions.


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## Mike Greene (Sep 26, 2014)

My guess is that they've been working the last five years on a vocal library, but when they saw how well Realitone nailed it, they figured they needed to go back to the drawing board and do something else. Yep, that's gotta be it. :mrgreen: 

On a more serious note, I don't think I'm the only developer who is a little worried about what Spectrasonics might have up its sleeve. _(Please don't let it be vocals, please don't let it be vocals, please don't let it be vocals . . . ) _ Whatever they do, they do very, very well.


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## JonFairhurst (Sep 26, 2014)

I suggest three steps for those who would like Spectrasonics to change their business approach:

1) Raise some cash.
2) Buy the company. If they refuse, repeat step 1.
3) Run the company how ever you would like.

Oh, and step 4 is to deal with others telling you how to run your business.


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## germancomponist (Sep 26, 2014)

Mike Greene @ Fri Sep 26 said:


> My guess is that they've been working the last five years on a vocal library, but when they saw how well Realitone nailed it, they figured they needed to go back to the drawing board and do something else. Yep, that's gotta be it. :mrgreen:
> 
> On a more serious note, I don't think I'm the only developer who is a little worried about what Spectrasonics might have up its sleeve. _(Please don't let it be vocals, please don't let it be vocals, please don't let it be vocals . . . ) _ Whatever they do, they do very, very well.



I'm sure they will surprise us and the whole world! (with no vocal library)


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## zvenx (Sep 26, 2014)

adriancook @ Fri Sep 26 said:


> zvenx @ Fri Sep 26 said:
> 
> 
> > You dont think your use of the 'b' word above highly inappropriate?
> ...



I have no idea.
Rsp


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 26, 2014)

I'll assuredly flip out at whatever is coming, whenever it is. What I long for more than anything, that would change everything? 
Spectrasonics hardware...


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## germancomponist (Sep 26, 2014)

Guy Rowland @ Fri Sep 26 said:


> I'll assuredly flip out at whatever is coming, whenever it is. What I long for more than anything, that would change everything?
> Spectrasonics hardware...



!!!

or should I post my well known +1?


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## TheUnfinished (Sep 26, 2014)

Wow, I picked a good day to give VI Control another a whirl.

An interesting thread about Spectrasonics' Twitter account appears to have had lazy misogyny AND possible lazy racism unnecessarily thrust into it? How? Why? Is growing up too difficult for some people?

It's not 'banter' or 'just a joke', it's just being quite shit.


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## germancomponist (Sep 26, 2014)

TheUnfinished @ Fri Sep 26 said:


> It's not 'banter' or 'just a joke', it's just being quite [email protected]#t.



:-D


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## Guy Rowland (Sep 26, 2014)

Actually, when I say Spectrasonics hardware, I don't mean just hardware. Of course not, no. I actually mean the missing link that is the hardware / software bridge, much like Native Instruments haven't just done with their Kontrol keyboards.

(pssst Matt - I'm road-testing a just-power-on-through-drawing-attention-only-encourages-them approach)


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## dpasdernick (Sep 26, 2014)

Spectrasonics will release an entire new Stylus like product based on the Steam engine. the old Stylus will be phased out but a generous crossgrade path will be offered to existing owners. Eric is out sampling things of the moon right now to finish up the last chunk of the Lunar Hits. There will also be a massive update to Omni that will include 2 maybe 3 new types of synthesis including wavetables, and granular but done very Spectrasonically. He'll also throw in all of the remaining CD libs like Heart of Africa, etc. It's taking so long because he is enjoying the fruits of his labor, has been busy dreaming up and working on this new stuff and wants to remain the king of all software synths so he's putting mucho icing on the cake.

There's also a chance that he is teaming up with some Hollywood legends like he did on the Moog tribute pack as expansion packs to Omni or working a deal with Roland to bring back some of his amazing patches for synths like the D-50 and JD Series.

It will be released before Christmas this year.


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## NYC Composer (Sep 26, 2014)

Bold claims!


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## G.R. Baumann (Sep 27, 2014)

dpasdernick @ Sat Sep 27 said:


> Spectrasonics will release an entire new .....



Trilian, Omnisphere, Stylus... 

TROLUS will be the one go to shop for all, the all in one engine approach with sample import function. But the real kicker is this: There are direct neurotransplants involved in a bunch of sound designers from Simon Stockhausen over Diego Stocco to Eric Persing and too many more to list here. 

How that works?

There is *one knob, one button and only one slider.*

The knob scrolls through the list of available sound designers in TROLUS, once you found the one you like to work for you press the button, and the neurotransmitterimplant in the designer of your choice is activated immediately. 

OK. I can hear your questions..... "But there will be many people wanting Eric to program for them and making this choice, who gets the fish?"

Solved easily by our new concept of working in the cloud exclusively, TROLUS is a cloud product and you have to be logged in to work with it, yes Internet is required, and now it all happensa on a first comes first serve basis. Simpleton.

Eric and his sound designers are all conserved in a liquid and will be able to function way beyond their natural time as a human on earth. In fact right now they all are in stasis already, 471 sound deisgners were chosen and signed up for the project. They are stored in a secret location, and ready to operate 24x7 on your push of the button. 

Now besides the knob and the button, the last thing you have to do is to move the slider. As you can see from the screenshot, this is linked to complexity of the sound, ranging from a simple saw tooth modulation to entire compositions lasting well over 80 minutes. The other slider parameter you can see is $ of course. The more complex sound design you choose, the higher the payment rate will be of course.

Al the cash generated will go to the Eric Persing endowment for universal peace and sound design.


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