I'm not disagreeing with you on your whole post at all, but this section seems weird to me. There are people who're just getting started and would maybe like to buy the original Adagio. There are hobbyist with a certain budget, and maybe they considered but haven't taken the plunge yet, telling themselves: "This year around Christmas, I'm definitely getting Adagio!" Not everyone was in the market for sample libraries for as long as Adagio has existed, not everyone had the means to buy it.
I'm not saying this is a major faux-pas or that 8dio are doing the wrong thing here. Still, the "It was available long enough, your fault if you didn't pick it up" argument (hyperbole; you didn't say it like that) doesn't really fly with me.
I totally acknowledge the possibility that people maybe just didn't know until now, or maybe they were waiting for the next sale. I only got Adagio last year, and on sale for some of them. I actually only bought Adagio Violins because it was the last thing I didn't have, it hadn't gone on sale, and I figured I should just complete the set, because "who knows?"
I dont get the necessity or even incentive for the developer to wait for people who only buy on sale. I get that the costs are high, and some people just are waiting for that right opportunity, but thats not a guaranteed condition. If you get it on sale, you're lucky! If you had to buy it full price, thats the way it goes. If while you were waiting for the next sale, the product is discontinued, thats an unfortunate result of the gamble taken. There are many libraries I missed out on that were discontinued before I ever got a shot at them, but thats not a failure of the developer. Its just bad timing. I dont think 8DIO would have done themselves any favors by keeping such an outdated and cumbersome (from current perspective) library in their product line. If its the one thing you bought, and the first thing you bought from 8DIO, how much faith would you have in their brand, if you compared their old Adagio interface to CSS? or any other brand that uses smarter legato? They could potentially turn off just as many new customers by keeping outdated stuff up. for example, the only reason I even stay with East West is because of the composer cloud, but their engine is so old and obnoxious that they're often the last library I ever want to pull up and I'm constantly considering ending my subscription.
I appreciate the insight into your workflow, and why you appreciate this.
And its great that the literal truth ('update', 'best of') the marketing happens to coincide with the way you use the library..
But the workflow you describe is that opposite of mine. Adagio has always been the library I like for slower lines, and some of the slow legatos are very beautiful and comprise what of which I most value about Adagio - especially in the violas, which tuning issues aside, can be quite gorgeous in Adagio in a way that is now completely lost in Adagio 2.0.
So reducing Adagio to the single Legato II for use as a fast legato (not even keeping the legatos of Adagietto) ... well, again, its great that this constitutes the 'best of' Adagio in your workflow. But it's the exact opposite of mine, and the opposite of how 8dio has always marketed Adagio. And even contradicts the implied meaning of the word 'Adagio'
And while I take your point of the subjectivity of 'best of', but I'd suggest that with the observation that the workflow that you describe is the exception rather that the rule.
Anyway, I think we've both made our points adequately. Glad your enjoying Adagio 2.0.
Really this whole thing reminds me of Orchestral Tools Woodwinds Revive.
https://vi-control.net/community/threads/confused-with-ot-woodwinds-revive.66749/
When I picked up OT Woodwinds, I ended up with a main collection 3.0 and a Legacy 2.2 version in the package. I guess they rerecorded some instruments with more mics, but not all, so they just threw everything in. So now, as a new user coming into this i have BWW Revive: 90 GB compressed, and BWW Legacy: 67 GB compressed on my drive, and I rarely go into the legacy folder because the mic setups are different and I havent really needed it, but eliminating that 67GBs of data is complicated because the samples appear to be grouped all in together. I accept that. For whatever reason, they felt it was necessary to keep both versions, and make the woodwinds set more expensive for new adopters. I dont agree with it, it doesn't work for my workflow, and I'd like 67 GBs back, but it is how the product is, so I just have to accept it. I don't feel like OT is a lesser company for doing what they did, its just how they approached a similar issue. We agree to disagree on workflows and what's important, and I'm sure we're not the only ones.
OT's marketing around this library:
Berlin Woodwinds is the industry standard when it comes to sampled woodwind collections.
The product that started our journey at the Teldex Scoring Stage in 2012, now received a huge update called Berlin Woodwinds Revive.
Most instruments have been newly recorded and, best of all, the whole original Berlin Woodwinds from 2012 with additional tweaks is included. This gives you as a composer double the number of instruments for ultimate flexibility and possibilities for doubling.
The purchase of Berlin Woodwinds consists of two separate collections that are available together as one big collection: Berlin Woodwinds Revive, containing all-new instruments, as well as Berlin Woodwinds Legacy, featuring the classic Berlin Woodwinds Instruments from 2012.
(My personal note:
"
This gives you as a composer double the number of instruments for ultimate flexibility and possibilities for doubling."
Not really sure how this works with two versions of completely different mic positions, but thats marketing)