Some recent forum observations...

The Moog Forum Little Phatty & Slim Phatty Forum
1

OK, time for a rant. I have sat here as a lurker for quiet some time and am amazed at the attitudes lately. I am failing to understand why there is so much bashing going on about SoundTower/Moog. First there are the arguments of whether this software should be free or not, what it’s true value is (versus the $69 asking price), how Moog should give us everything for free because, hey, we are thier loyal customers who deserve it and now we are going to bash SoundTower for warning people that they are not responsible for stolen/hacked copies of their software. What is next?

I guess I am truly amazed at some people today. Some people feel that somehow because they purchased product A (synthsizer), they are entitled to product B (software). Hey, I love to get stuff free too, but aren’t we getting a little carried away? Now, we are expecting a vendor to be responsible for unauthorized “accessories” (in this case the software).

Compare this thinking with other products. Just because I bought a sports car doesn’t entitle me to a free premium stereo or the spoiler/ground effects package because, hey, I just spent $75 or $100 thousand dollars on
the car. Maybe I should expect them to pay my insurance premium. After all, I can’t drive/operate the car without that. How about the fuel? God knows I need that.

Likewise, if I purchase stolen rims, put them on that same car, and they fail causing me to crash my car, do I expect the manufacturer to be responsible for that? Hell no. Of course, I can alway try to sue them or get them to pay, but it still does not change the fact that legally or morally, they are not responsible for those actions nor are you owed or entitled to something just because you are a customer.

To me, all of this thought is crazy. Where does this sense of entitlement come from? And before anyone jumps on me, no, I am not affiliated with SoundTower nor Moog. No, I am not a rich millionaire that has no regard for
money and just pours it into every accessory. I am just another person who enjoys playing synths like everyone else on here. I also had to save up to buy my Voyager and it’s purchase did cut into my cashflow for a while afterwords. I don’t feel that I am “owed” or “entitled to” something. I simply got what I paid for.

Hey, I have an idea. I think the next time that I go to the grocery store, I am going to demand that because I am purchasing some deli meat - the bread, mayo and cheese should be free seeing as I have already spent so much on the meat (the expensive part). I am sure that they will completely agree with me…

Am I alone on this?

Back to knob turning…
Michael.

2

Michael,

I agree with you completely.

While I don’t think that Moog should charge for OS updates until all of the bugs are removed (and they don’t), I don’t feel that they owe us free software and updates for the rest of our lives. So far since I have owned my LP Tribute, I have received two software updates and a new manual at no charge. I am totally happy with their customer service–I thought that the manual might have been a bit over the top. Maybe next time supply owners manuals that are ring binders so that you can download the page and insert it instead of sending a complete new manual. Wouldn’t that have been cheaper??

This seems to be the general feeling of the more technically oriented population right now.

Nobody buys CD’s any more, they download music, some legal but lots of it illegal. I have a buddy that has a huge music store. He does lots of community stuff–free instore concerts, donations, advertising. He had to close one store because they just don’t have the sales anymore.

All this free stuff hurts the entire industry–musicians, music stores… but that is what people expect now days.

3

Noone is entitled anything for free.
Maybe that attitude comes from the fact that some companies actually do offer free software similar to that library program. For instance “Line6 Edit” for PODs.
But just because Line6 decided to give it away for free, it does not mean that any other company has to do the same.

My concern about this library program is that the demo version seem very unstable and malfunctional. Is it the same with the licensed version? How do I know before I buy it?
If it’s at beta version you shouldn’t have to pay for it.

4

I have a lot of things in my life to complain about, but my Little Phatty, and by extension, any ancillary products, are a bright, shining spot in my life. I wouldn’t care if I had to crank start it every morning. I just can’t complain when I’m around it, or thinking about it. I guess I need medication. Btw, I did buy the LP editor, and love it.




http://hometown.aol.com/acmesoundlab/myhomepage/index.html

5

I don’t expect anything for free besides that measly sticker they sent & the updates of course. They are a small company that deserves to survive, yet like all others set pricing to what the market will bear.

Besides the “free” support that some Moog employees hand out on this forum, isn’t there ANYTHING, anything at all that they CAN reward repeat & loyal customers? One shouldn’t expect service like from the '50s where you pull into a gas station & 6 attendants run out to service each tire, fill-up, & check under the hood.

Sure, a 3rd party developed a great software addition for Moog & I think their relationship with Moog should absolutely reflect their consolidated committment to us. But I think people are simply making comparisons, right or wrong, to other companies that provide such software capabilities free with their products. Its human nature to expect loyalty to be rewarded with tangible offers.. at LEAST perhaps a sliding scale adjusted to perhaps how long a particular customer has been purchasing Moog products or even how much of our hard-earned money they’ve lined their pockets with.

I am proud to say I own Moog products, & as a matter of fact, they indeed have accomodated me to some extent when called upon to do so. However, even if they’ve had an unfortunate turnover in personnel & failed to satiate the masses by providing value added content after they stood up MoogSpace & charged some people for the service, I think they should have eaten their investment in the site & provided it free to registered users that have purchased a major product from them. In todays highly competitive marketplace, I think they need to stand out by bending over backwards for us. We are why they exist & I’m sure the consumers & Moog itself wishes continued success. I want them to be even more responsive to our needs by increasing their interaction with us & being receptively humble toward providing us with product lines we’d like to see in the future.

Thus far, I am fairly happy with my purchases, my (limited) dealings with them, their web presence, & support. R&D does take a while I admit. I do wish however that they had a better dialog in place than just this forum as feedback in the ever changing world of analog music.

6

it is a “given” that using cracked software has inherent risks so best not to use that sort of stuff. sorry for the panic :wink:

7

HOLY WHOA, Batman! I was considering purchasing this software but cannot in good faith as an ex-programmer condone such ruthless behavior. If this is indeed true, it made an easy decision even easier. I think I’ll keep my money, & my synthesizer intact! :imp:

What the hell is Moog’s official position on this unfortunate discovery?

8

I think you guys might not have understood that disclaimer.

This is not “ruthless” behavior - that disclaimer just says that if a hacker doesn’t know what they are doing when they CRACK soundTower’s software, that poor cracking attempts can mess up the program. A messed-up synth editor program could send invalid sysEx data to your synth, and invalid sysEx data sent to a synth (say, a corrupt operating system update) can make the synth stop working – hopefully only until it can be reprogrammed by a technician.

Anyway, this is just a fact about updating a synth via MIDI, and Soundtower is saying that you can’t hold him responsible if you break your synth because you were using a third-party hack that messed up his software, that you didn’t pay for!

So, saying you’ll keep your money, AND your synth intact is missing the point - the disclaimer refers to something that might only happen if you kept your money and STOLE his software by using a crack for it. Does this make sense?

9

yes amos thank you for clearing that up…makes perfect sense in that using cracked software can be a risky business. sure threw a scare into me though , im VERY protective of my LP :wink: guess the wording was a little misleading. my apologies for starting a panic and to make it up i will purchase the package :slight_smile:

10

Yeah, tks Amos. Admittedly, I haven’t read the disclaimer & might be sorry I jumped the gun. I’m not much for hacks anyway.. & would be deathly afraid of screwing my Phatty. cheers all.