Sonic Charge added features to Echobode and released as a VST/AU!!!

[joeyluck]

Yeah, I think there is actually great benefit to the Rack Extension version with Echobode becoming a VST/AU. It's more exposure. And some Reason users often rely on the approval of the outside world to know the value of what they've got in front of them... 

[Yonatan]

Well, they may overlap each other, no problem for me, but honestly, if a company has the same product on different plattforms, there would be logical for us customers to demand that if we own the license on VST or on RE, the general rule would be to also being able to own a copy of the other side for a fair deal when buying. That would be a game changer. In some cases it could even be "free" crossplatform (same price as a selling point), and in other occasions it could be a fair extra fee like "upgrade" or "expand" to VST or from VST to RE. This would open up things. I doubt that many ppl who have plenty of VST plugins would consider going for the Reason RE platform no matter how tempting Reason will get. Why should they pay full price for the same effect? And why should I buy a VST plugin for the same price if I already have paid so much for a RE? Dont make sense. These worlds are now separated, but does it have to be so? No!
When having a lot of REs, we kind of feel stuck with Reason. Today we all want more flexibility between the DAWS. PH and the developers must sooner or later think this over. If they are afraid of this openness, then they better think twice, because I think this makes sense, and common ppl love common sense. The market would open up and expand which would benefit all IMO. I mean, Softube, If I buy a VST bundle, would not it be crazy if I have to buy full price for the same device inside of Reason? Tubetech...no way we would dare as a hobbyist to buy that for full price, when we later might want to use another DAW for a project where other ppl use Logic or Cubase or ProTools. We might go to a course where they only use some of those DAWs. Many potential new Reason users are locked, not even considering Reason just because the rigid wall separating the REs from the VSTs.

[joeyluck]

Sonic Charge is offering a discount for the VST/AU to those who own the Echobode RE. 

From their Facebook page:

[*]
Kanji Sorn: If i already own the RE version, does that count as a sonic charge user?







[/*]

•  Sonic Charge: Yes. Send us a message here http://soniccharge.com/email and let us know the email you used for purchasing the RE and we'll send you the discount code.
  

[ebop]

That's a nice touch

[Jordan Miller]

It sounds awesome! Why haven't I bought Echobode already!? Don't think I will be able to resist much longer...

[muffins4all]

there will be no update to the RE. for shure !

Yeah, I don't see it happening, either.  He starts off the response with "No promise", knowing full well that it probably isn't going to happen.  Then he goes on to outline some of the (relatively major) hurdles he would encounter in upgrading the re version, and he's already on record saying that Sonic Charge rack extension sales have been extremely disappointing.

I think he's playing nice while the VST/AU is launched, as he doesn't want any potential static from disappointed Reason users mucking up the works.

That was very cool of him to offer a discount to owners of the rack extension owners, though.  If you're reading this, I really wish you'd follow suit, Urs!  I own every freakin' Uhbik rack extension, and I can't get a break on the VST version?  BOO!!!

[devilfish]

I got the discount Code today

VST VST VST VST VST !!!!

[popp]

I got the discount Code today VST VST VST VST VST !!!!

How much is the discounted sale price?

[dhruan]

Well aren't some of you guys a bunch of negative nellies... I prefer to stay cautiously optimistic

The current incarnation of the Echobode RE is nice as it is but yeah, I would actually plonk some of my hard earned cash for a paid upgrade (2.0 or somesuch) as the features do add to the inherent capability for weirdness that I love the original one for.

As far as breaking backwards compatibility... sometimes the train needs to move on. I would rather pay for the ticket to future goodies.

The people who do not see the upgrade being worthwhile could stay and continue use the old version, it is not like it would be broken as a result. The only problem I see here is the propshop, will it be updated to handle situations like this (multiple versions of a RE)?

[muffins4all]

Well aren't some of you guys a bunch of negative nellies... I prefer to stay cautiously optimistic

I think even an optimist would have to agree that a "here now" beats a "future maybe" any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.........especially a "here now" with a discount

That was a beautiful touch.  Well played, Magnus!

The beauty of it is, it's so reasonably priced, and assuming the paid upgrade couldn't cost more than the actual rack extension itself, that if it ever does get updated, I'll buy that, too! 

With prices this low, it's not either/or; it's win/win.

How's that for optimism?

[EnochLight]

I tend to be realistically optimistic.  The statement "an upgrade to the RE is something that we are going to look into asap" sounds like he/they have a genuine interest in at least trying to update the RE.  That said - I won't wait - this bad boy works great in Studio One!  

[joeyluck]

As far as breaking backwards compatibility... sometimes the train needs to move on. I would rather pay for the ticket to future goodies.

The people who do not see the upgrade being worthwhile could stay and continue use the old version, it is not like it would be broken as a result. The only problem I see here is the propshop, will it be updated to handle situations like this (multiple versions of a RE)?

I completely agree. Replace the old Echobode or make a new Echobode (and hide the old Echobode from the shop front).
But don't waste time trying to get the new functions contained in new code to work with the old code. Complete backwards compatibility is not that important to me...

[stratatonic]

From Home page:
Echobode released as VST and Audio Unit
April 27, 2015
Today we are happy to announce the first VST and Audio Unit version of Echobode. Originally released in 2012 as a Rack Extension for Reason only, it instantly became a favorite effect within the Reason community.

 ---

Uh...I thought they said it didn't sell well...or is this just marketing-speak?...

Could be both? Maybe it didn't sell well AND was a favorite of those who did buy it...

Maybe it wasn't marketed well...(the VST/AU video is WAY better than the RE promo - in terms of showcasing the sounds of Echobode)...maybe there will be more interest in the RE now that the VST is out there. Although the RE is now not as fully featured as the VST...

I don't need the fancy LFO meter thingy (probably cripple Reason anyway ), but I seriously doubt adding the different LFO waveforms and the MIDI input would mess with backwards compatibility. Smear - I'm not sure about - but judging by the flow chart in the PDF, I would say that backwards compatibility is not a problem there either.
The only thing I see messing things up would be the one filter vs two pass filters and additional "target" in the LFO section. Not a deal breaker...

FWIW, I love the thing!

Yeah, me too! Even without the new features.
(Though I would like to see them in an update...)

(And not a paid update either. I think the additional features will generate more first sales for SonicCharge).

[joeyluck]

From Home page:
Echobode released as VST and Audio Unit
April 27, 2015
Today we are happy to announce the first VST and Audio Unit version of Echobode. Originally released in 2012 as a Rack Extension for Reason only, it instantly became a favorite effect within the Reason community.

 ---

Uh...I thought they said it didn't sell well...or is this just marketing-speak?...

Could be both? Maybe it didn't sell well AND was a favorite of those who did buy it...

Maybe it wasn't marketed well...(the VST/AU video is WAY better than the RE promo - in terms of showcasing the sounds of Echobode)...maybe there will be more interest in the RE now that the VST is out there. Although the RE is now not as fully featured as the VST... I don't need the fancy LFO meter thingy (probably cripple Reason anyway ), but I seriously doubt adding the different LFO waveforms and the MIDI input would mess with backwards compatibility. Smear - I'm not sure about - but judging by the flow chart in the PDF, I would say that backwards compatibility is not a problem there either. The only thing I see messing things up would be the one filter vs two pass filters and additional "target" in the LFO section. Not a deal breaker...

FWIW, I love the thing!

Yeah, me too! Even without the new features. (Though I would like to see them in an update...) (And not a paid update either. I think the additional features will generate more first sales for SonicCharge).

It sounds like the issue lies in the main code; in which improvements were made. More than just features added to it...

[stratatonic]

It sounds like the issue lies in the main code; in which improvements were made. More than just features added to it...

Maybe for the filter section.
Many of the Delay and Modulation VST/AU patches are exactly the same as the RE patches.
I suppose a null test would show for sure...

[Juan Rosa]

Permut 8 RE when?

[devilfish]

I got the discount Code today VST VST VST VST VST !!!!

How much is the discounted sale price?

25% off

[muffins4all]

Permut 8 RE when?

some time between "don't hold your breath" and "never"

The following quotes are from Magnus Lidström, the head honcho at Sonic Charge:

"in the case of RE's, a couple of lacking technologies have withheld us from realizing Permut8 and Microtonic, and from what I've seen of SDK 2 this still holds true.  The main thing that I miss is support for true indirect "meta-parameters". (Something which I have requested many times since the inception of RE.) We could possibly solve the Permut8 GUI with a workaround using the new custom displays. But these displays are limited to a few drawing primitives and there is no chance we could make them look as nice as the VST."

"Rack Extensions didn't exactly turn out to be cash cows. I don't know, perhaps we just don't know how to play the RE market right, but the two RE's we have together has brought in a fraction of what for instance Bitspeek VST/AU has done alone."

"The brutal reality is that if RE had been a better financial investment for us (and the graphics a bit easier to design) we might have put out a number of RE only products by now. I am not sure why our RE's are not selling better. I blame the mysterious ways of the markets. I know of developers who are perfectly happy with their RE sales."

Brutal, indeed.

[Marco Raaphorst]

It's no longer promoted as RE: http://soniccharge.com/echobode

Wondering how much larger the VST/AU market is. 5 times as big? 10 times as big? Maybe even more?

[EnochLight]

The source for muffins post:

http://soniccharge.com/forum/topic/457- ... -extension

[mrj1nx]

Man, this gives me a bad feeling... I did jump ship a few years ago, switched to logic... never really got productive in it, too much fuzz to get stuff done... went back to reason and totally love it! But... the RE market... I just wish props would allow vst's in a fully supported way... And they should drastically improve the RE format to allow more VST's to easily convert to RE.

[Ocean of Waves]

I got the discount Code today VST VST VST VST VST !!!!

How much is the discounted sale price?

25% off

That's a very nice deal! But I still want the Smear in my Reason Echobode! 

[Ostermilk]

Good, now I can ditch Reason. :s0221:

Well I thought this was funny even if nobody else did...

[EnochLight]

Man, this gives me a bad feeling... I did jump ship a few years ago, switched to logic... never really got productive in it, too much fuzz to get stuff done... went back to reason and totally love it! But... the RE market... I just wish props would allow vst's in a fully supported way... And they should drastically improve the RE format to allow more VST's to easily convert to RE.

What gives you a bad feeling?  Echobode has been out for Reason (and was first to Reason) for years.  Or do you mean Sonic Charge's inability to port Permut8?

I can guarantee you one thing: the RE format will continue to improve, there's no doubt about it.  But I can also guarantee you that VST will never be supported.  But... I digress..

Echobode FTW!!!

[mrj1nx]

Man, this gives me a bad feeling... I did jump ship a few years ago, switched to logic... never really got productive in it, too much fuzz to get stuff done... went back to reason and totally love it! But... the RE market... I just wish props would allow vst's in a fully supported way... And they should drastically improve the RE format to allow more VST's to easily convert to RE.

What gives you a bad feeling?  Echobode has been out for Reason (and was first to Reason) for years.  Or do you mean Sonic Charge's inability to port Permut8?

I can guarantee you one thing: the RE format

will

continue to improve, there's no doubt about it.  But I can also guarantee you that VST will never be supported.  But... I digress..

Echobode FTW!!!

Mainly the fact that we get a small subset of all possible plugins available to users of 99% of other DAW's, and that the RE format however awesome and cool it is that we finally got it, still lacks many possibilities of a real VST. Like how many VST synths like RP's blue 2 is just to complext to be possible within as a RE. Just makes me feel that bitter feeling that maybe I should have kept at it with Logic instead and not be limited in the same way. Still love reason, but...