4.1 will be great!

[richhickey]

Where is it ?
( starting a new project )
Best
Klaus

In your mail. On Monday.
Subscribers get it a bit earlier

Having dropped $380 on Mixbus/MB32C updates since February, with a mind to dedicate this weekend to working with it, I find this differentiation quite frustrating.

Either Mixbus is a subscription product or it isn't. Please stop jerking around your customers. I own Logic, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One, Digital Performer et al and none of them do this kind of thing.

[Tassy]

Do not get offended by this Harrison custom, the above listed DAW producers never sent you their new development to pre-test.

Also subscribers can give previous feedback of issues that can be corrected till the official release.
Some members sometimes even get more chance or asked for to "beta test" and feedback before the official update. It is Harrison's choice who.

Such members should not spread their privileged test and opinion to the world before the official release. It is just massing up things.
I understand that in their sudden happiness to see a new release they might forget not to share it before the proper time
Tassy

---

The feature/improve/fix list is impressive!
Installing later today, great work Harrison!

MMM

Understand your happiness, but next time you might address your joy to Harrison itself by e-mail not to confuse non-subscribers' feelings
Tassy

[madmaxmiller]

Yeah sorry. In my understanding all subscribers got it today and I just meant to tickle the forum a bit. I can also remember that someone demanded subscribers should get updates 2 weeks earlier than others. 2 days are not much of a wait.
Believe me, I never reveal anything when asked to test a thing, but this here is an official release which is made available to subscribers 2 days before the regular download. No point to freak out about.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[richhickey]

Do not get offended by this Harrison custom, the above listed DAW producers never sent you their new development to pre-test.

Also subscribers can give previous feedback of issues that can be corrected till the official release.
Some members sometimes even get more chance or asked for to "beta test" and feedback before the official update. It is Harrison's choice who.

Such members should not spread their privileged test and opinion to the world before the official release. It is just massing up things.
I understand that in their sudden happiness to see a new release they might forget not to share it before the proper time
Tassy

I'm in the software business and understand quite well beta testing etc. And, in fact, I am in the beta program for Ableton and can get pre-releases under development. But that process is quite transparent, is open to all qualified, and does not cost me or any of the other participants $9 a month or whatever.

The plugged-in subscription appeared to me to be a straight value proposition - $9/mo for 50% discount on plugins. I didn't opt for it. But tying new release access to this program (if that's what the OP meant by 'subscribers') only makes second class citizens out of paid-upgrade customers and engenders confusion about what model Harrison is actually following. It looks otherwise like the ordinary buy product for $X, upgrade for $Y, with some interim updates at no charge, i.e. very much like every other DAW (those I listed) except e.g. ProTools subscription. This sets expectations. If 'subscribers' have the release version early this is not in keeping with industry practice.

Harrison is of course free to do whatever they want. But the effect of this is that what could be a positive social media moment around the update instead leaves a sour taste for those users left out. It's not good marketing for a small product that needs it, IMO.

[madmaxmiller]

only makes second class citizens out of paid-upgrade customers

You *almost* nailed it here. Just not *second class citizens* but *normal customers*, like in an airplane.
Those who pay a bit more for business class get better seats and more service. End of story.

Cheaper plugins alone can be purchased by everyone over time, there are enough specials during a year. Getting a minor release 2 days earlier is fun for those who made a commitment earlier.

So now let's live in peace. If the moderators decide to delete this stupid thread, I wouldn't mind in this case. I stirred the wrong people, mea culpa.

MMM

---

with a mind to dedicate this weekend to working with it

What stops you from doing that? It's a minor update, not a game changer. The current version is not rendered useless by this.

MMM

[richhickey]

only makes second class citizens out of paid-upgrade customers

You *almost* nailed it here. Just not *second class citizens* but *normal customers*, like in an airplane.

Except buying DAWs is not ordinarily like buying airline tickets, and no one expects it to be so. Other DAWs may have tiered versions based upon features (like MB vs 32c), but they don't have 'classes' of users.

So now let's live in peace.

Yes, it's not my intention to start an argument, just to express the perspective of a non-member, paid-update customer (who owns many DAWs). From your perspective, you got it early, from mine, I'm getting it late.

Because of that difference, I do think Harrison should reconsider their approach. Every other DAW makes an event of their release days, when all of their user base rushes to download, and shares their experiences on e.g. gearslutz, KVR etc. When your use base is as small as
Mixbus', it's not wise to stratify and dilute that.

If Harrison wants Mixbus to be a 'club' then they should be clearer about that. There's no mention of membership on any of the product pages, only in the plugins section of the online store. So it's reasonable to expect the "plugged-in" membership to be about plugins, and that one would otherwise be treated identically as regards the main product updates.

I'll leave it at that, as this is a matter of differing perspectives, not absolutes.

[knutzn]

You can see it as a little "Thank you" for those who support this great piece of software monthly.
I think it's not a two class system.

[jonetsu]

You pay a bit more per month and you get discounts on plugins as well as Mixbus previews. I once opted out, then got back to the monthly subscription.

Other DAWs might very well have their circle of beta testers that not many people know about. When a release is out and everyone's enthralled, it might very well been through this circle a few times.

BTW, what's looming on the plugin horizon ?

[Dingo]

Subscribers are not sudo beta testers. Beta testing occurs well prior to any release.
What the early release does expose is any quirks in the install process. Three platforms multiple flavours.
An early update to subscribers is just one way to thank those people who continue to fork out a monthly fee.
It's only a matter of days so chill out, listen to some good music and like me..... wait.

[Matt]

Another thing I think needs to be mentioned is the plugged-in membership used to be called something else. I don't remember exactly. But it was basically a subscription. You got any new mixbus versions for free, and a discount on plug-ins.

When v3 arrived they changed it to the plugged in membership. Now instead of free updates, you get reduced cost updates, and occasionally an update a day or two early. But getting access to it early isn't a given. And I'm not even sure the reduced cost upgrades is guaranteed.

My perspective is this. I once was a pro tools user. It's expensive to keep up to date with them. So at first the membership was a great deal. I quickly picked up most of their plug-ins. There's still a few I don't have. And then thought I should drop my membership. It wasn't going to save me much going forward, as I had the plug-ins of theirs I wanted most. So I did. But got to looking at other daws pricing. And realized I believe in what Harrison is trying to do. $9 a month is worth supporting them alone.

I also donate directly to ardour on a monthly basis. And only rarely install it. Mostly to see some new feature before it gets to mixbus. Like PT session import. But then delete it and go back to mixbus.

You add what I pay to both companies, and it's still less than keeping pro tools up to date. And imo Harrison is a much more customer oriented company. So I will continue to support them as long as I can. I'm sure I'll eventually catch up on their plug-ins. And they'll release more I'll want. And it may not save me a dime. That's not what I do it for. I do it to help mixbus become the industry standard. As I believe it can be.

Fwiw I still have my PT license. I also have reaper and studio one. I've demoed most of the others. There's nothing quite like mixbus. And it gets better every release.


And one last thought. Harrison is a small company. Not sure how they host the downloads. But maybe it saves them some hassle/bandwidth to release mixbus to subscribers a day or two early. Keeps their servers from being slammed as hard on the "official" release day. Because one thing I'm pretty sure about is, Harrison isn't trying to make anyone feel like a second class citizen.