VSL Symphonic Cube 50% off

[Guy Rowland]

Another first for VSL - 50% off all version of Symphonic Cube inc updates at JRR Shop. Still not up on the VSL site, I'm guessing that will follow.

https://www.jrrshop.com/vienna-symphoni ... _from_date

Product page - https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Symphonic_Cube/Product_Info

My radar may be way off (wouldn't be the first time) but I think VSL might be in cashflow trouble. Lots of uncharacteristic deals, offering a freebie with VE Pro 7 for limited time before they've even announced what is in VE Pro 7.

[cadenzajon]

Yeah, pretty substantial discount on the Cube, certainly never seen it this cheap before.

I actually have an extra $500 voucher for buying VSL products from JRRShop which I got during a promo last year. If anyone is interested in picking up Cube at a further discount, I can make it available for $375, just shoot me a PM. That would bring the price of the standard edition to just under $1k. (It would also work on any of the Synchron libraries currently on sale too.)

[Lawrence]

Either in cah flow trouble or going big with Synchron and planning to do a lot more recording, tweaking and marketing there.

[Tanuj Tiku]

Well, VSL seems to be going in weird directions recently. It appears from their marketing and offerings that the company is not sure which direction it is going in?

I am sure they have made enough cash in the last 15 years and now they have a successful studio business. Diversification - It was clear to me then.

What is bothersome is that they were very adamant on their dry stage, then came up with a product to help with that process called MIR and pushed it a lot. Then they decided to go ambient and now it is confusing.

In short, the Cube has 15 years old recordings. They keep charging for the same samples with scripting and/or production revisions which at this point in time is pointless. There is so much out there! And a lot of it is better (I have previously been a long time hard core VSL user and took years to jump ship).

Synchronized samples? And then selling the old Cube for 50% off? They should ideally just discontinue that product and only sell Synchronized versions. Who would buy the cube today?

[Lawrence]

New generations are always coming along and VSL has the best reputation of any company for quality control and pristine sampling. Old or not, I don’t think that’s changed.

They need to change that loss, breakage or theft policy for software licenses though. Crazy.

[Guy Rowland]

Hmm, not sure I'd agree with all that Tanuj. The recordings may be 15 years old, but in some respects, in some areas, I'm not at all sure they've been bettered. That comes with a lot of caveats of course, but I think their old collection absolutely still has worth.

But I agree about the confusing message. It is a bit like "you know everything we said for the past 15 years? Well forget that". And more to the point, many of those old recordings sound better. They were experts at the silent stage way of doing things, with Synchron they're just like everybody else only their specs are more demanding. Doesn't make for better libraries though, and I think they're out of their area of expertise. With crippling overheads.

I can't think why they haven't appointed me CEO, but if they did I'd have shut down the entire Syncrhon thing. I'd have ploughed tons of resources into better modelling. Not just spatialisation, but I'm convinced that there is a way to emulate the way a room excites. If you fed a machine-learning computer a bunch of close mic samples and compared with tree mics, there might well be a way to figure out the processing of how to turn one into the other.

As I say, I can't for the life of me understand why they never put me in charge. A real puzzler.

Larry - yeah that protection racket is another example of trying to get more cash through the door by any means possible.

[Linos]

Never mind.

[Tanuj Tiku]

Hmm, not sure I'd agree with all that Tanuj. The recordings may be 15 years old, but in some respects, in some areas, I'm not at all sure they've been bettered. That comes with a lot of caveats of course, but I think their old collection absolutely still has worth.

Guy, sorry what I meant was that the samples are not much better than 15 years ago today (they are after all the same samples). So, I am a little surprised how they keep charging for the same samples with revisions.

Anyway, I love VSL for their quality control, as Larry mentioned. It is one of the big reasons I had trouble moving to other libraries. My first library was VSL and I just assumed everything else will have similar QC. Back in 2004, I don't remember members on forums saying - 'Oh well, this is just the first version' - there will be updates so they will fix it. Product released was 'The' product. With very minor updates of course. Their software and VI player is amazing of course. But those samples just don't always work anymore. Specially, strings. I am just working on a cue where I have used a VSL trumpet and there are some things to like about it but setting up an entire orchestra from VSL with reverbs. And to think that at one point we spent so much time just setting that up.

Unfortunately.....the new strings ultimately not sounding that great to me. I do have some hope with the Brass and woodwinds though.

Anyway....sorry I may be rambling on...you see my next film releases on the 29th (THE FILM GOT PREPONED!) and we are still working on the last Reel. I haven't left the studio in 48 hours. Time to go home soon though...

[Guy Rowland]

Ha - go home! Preponed is new to me and I like it.

[FriFlo]

But I think Tanuj is right with his basic observation, that something is weird with the late VSL ... the Synchron percussion was the only thing decent they came up with in the last half decade, and that is questionable IMO considering they own a fantastic sounding recording venue! Who else has that kind of potential to make something truly great (next gen ... lol!)?!
Apart from that and the failure that Synchron Strings was, they kept cashing with all those spin off products. And by doing that, they tip-toed around a promise they used to give you, the "you will never pay again for the same sample content" ... really? What else would you call the synchronized series, then? Luckily, I have heard not a single demo, that made me wanna have them vs the original libraries! But sadly, the belong to the Synchron Series, so I would have to buy them to get savings for a full collection ...
I have been saying for more than a year now, that I fear they may be in financial trouble. It is something that sometimes happens with successful companies. They get used to being successful and at some point just lack innovation.
As I used to beta test, I can see in the forum section what the new features of VEpro are ... and I can tell you, it looks not like a new version - at least not the features they listed for the beta release! It looks like - just as I imagined - them telling people ... "ok, we haven't got a lot new to offer, but we need some cash from you! ... Oh, and from now on we will break another promise and you will have to update each license individually ... but ... hey! here are some samples from our unsuccessful new Synchron libraries ... yeah, some people call that a freebie test pack ... but we all it epic orchestra and it is therefore a big feature for this otherwise meaningless release ...!"
Sorry for the sarcasm, but I am very sad, that VSL as gone these ways ... they used to be my favorite developer as well ...

[Guy Rowland]

Yeah... I remember the moment Synchron was announced, I said "really?" it just seemed such as massive resource-intensive thing, not based on their core expertese in a crowded marketplace.

These sales are logical enough in a sense (Time and Space also have 30% off the Special Editions btw), they're now pushing the next gen, why not sell off the last, a time honoured strategy. It's the VE Pro thing that really alarms me. I wasn't bothered when it was just a pre-release with a discount that kept going until we knew the features. But that extra freebie really alarmed me - just for one week, to buy an unseen product with no features announced and with no release date. That was the moment when I thought.... oh boy. What is going on? Now these sales just look like part of the pattern.

VE Pro itself is such a staple, such a great product. Most of us have some VSL instruments I guess, and they've been workhorses. I'd hate to see them in trouble, I really would.

[Tanuj Tiku]

and now...35% off on all Synchron libraries through 31st March!

[Guy Rowland]

Oh boy. Putting a sale on the new series which isn’t yet finished. That’s pretty alarming.