I'm not sure you are getting my point, Bill. The IDEA of an open arranger is just fine. But the execution of the parts takes far more skill and patience than most manufacturers AND their customers are willing to find.
It's all well and good to have a software style player, but that is almost the easiest part. The really hard part is the sounds, and the styles that optimize the use of the sounds.
I am sure that simply articulating these issues isn't putting roadblocks in Dan's way unless his business model relies on uninformed customers buying into it unaware of the potential pitfalls!
And, while it may be nice that bringing a ten year old Abacus up to modern specs may only be a thousand or so (presumably what T4 to T5 guys are losing) it still doesn't acknowledge the ten grand or so it cost in the first place! That will pay for a LOT of model upgrades if you trade in one closed arranger for the next one out... Way I figure it, if you went from every Tyros to the next and lost a grand in the process, you'd still have another five more model changes to go through (Tyros10, anyone?!) before you broke even with the TCO of the Abacus. Not to mention the extra thousands you will have needed to get some of the best VSTi's made (not much point buying the world's most expensive arranger, and then putting cheap freeware VSTi's in it, is there? LOL).
NI Complete, $500. ILIO Ocean Way Drums, $1800. BFD2 $300. Spectrasonics Omnisphere $499, Trilian, $279. It's all too easy to blow a huge wad of cash putting the best in these things... and what's the point of them if you DON'T load them with the best?!
I remember when Dom was here, touting the MS, and you were enthusiastic about the idea. I put up the same arguments, and they panned out exactly as I predicted. Maybe I was the 'roadblock' to his success, but TBH, reality vs. optimism was.
Dan will make it or fail despite anything I say here. But reality vs. optimism waits, lurks in the wings for him too.
I hope he succeeds where others have failed, but I'm not betting the farm on it!
Diki, picking prices out of the sky to try and emphasize a point is always doomed to failure.
Looking back the average price of the TOTL keyboards Tyros, PA1x, G70 and SD1 the Abacus was approximately £1100 more than the average £2500 of the others, so not a great big price gap as you try and make out. (Wersi upgrades have also not been as expensive as you make out)
VSTs do not enter into the equation as they are 3rd party options which anybody can purchase and use. (The Wersi just allows you to use them on-board)
If you just want to moan when the big boys don’t give you what you want, that’s fine, others however take a more pro-active approach which is also fine, however with your experience it could move Dan’s project forward at a faster rate and after all, helping each other is what the forum is about.
Bill
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