ReasonTalk.com

Just spotted this on the shop in the deals. Reduced massively until March 1st. Despite the shortcomings of the RE version, this looks like a total bargain to me.

Thought I'd share incase anyone missed it!

I brought this way back when it was first released and ended up buying the vst version a year or so later.

If I remember correctly it was before we could use VST's so it was the only option as we kept getting told we would never see vst support.

Apparently I could have gotten a discount on the vst version with proof of purchase of the RE version but I didn't bother.

For the price I would say if you want it grab it, but the VST version is way better and easier to use, comes with a license file for all your machines gets updated etc..

It's no longer patch compatible with the latest versions of the VST. The patch converter no longer works since they recently updated the browser and changed the patch format.

miscend wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

It's no longer patch compatible with the latest versions of the VST. The patch converter no longer works since they recently updated the browser and changed the patch format.

I was wondering that myself but as I generally use the vst version it's not so much of a problem for me.

On the flip side a lot of the patches are still on the old version, I've not seen too many with a requirement for the latest, maybe a hand full

ReSpire is abandonware - I'd totally go for the VST over the RE. Reveal Sound has shown zero interest in keeping parity between the two and have pretty much stopped updating the RE.

EnochLight wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

abandonware

“Abandonware. Dead products. “
Lost souls and corpses.
You’ve been listening to Coil again haven’t you?

MrFigg wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

“Abandonware. Dead products. “
Lost souls and corpses.
You’ve been listening to Coil again haven’t you?

Horse Rotorvator is still one of the greatest experimental albums to come out of the mid-80's!

I wouldnt buy it now and wouldnt support the company in any way. Just my 2 cents.

Loque wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

I wouldnt buy it now and wouldnt support the company in any way. Just my 2 cents.

What company?

Billy+ wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Loque wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

I wouldnt buy it now and wouldnt support the company in any way. Just my 2 cents.

What company?

Is this question serious? Reveal?

It was serious, sorry if that somehow offended you. I wasn't sure if you meant Reason Studios or Reveal.

I quite like Spire VST and Reveal, I purchased Spire many years ago and have enjoyed many updates for free with support almost instantly provided along with the ability to install their products on ANY machines I own, given the current climate I would recommend them to anyone, and I can't say that about many companies.

Loque wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

I wouldnt buy it now and wouldnt support the company in any way. Just my 2 cents.

What is wrong with Reveal Sound?

SynthRatings wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Loque wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

I wouldnt buy it now and wouldnt support the company in any way. Just my 2 cents.

What is wrong with Reveal Sound?

They made a lot of promises when they released their half finished RE and there are still a lot of unrealized promises.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Billy+ wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

I brought this way back when it was first released and ended up buying the vst version a year or so later.

If I remember correctly it was before we could use VST's so it was the only option as we kept getting told we would never see vst support.

ReSpire was released on the very same day that VST support in Reason 9.5 was publicly announced.
I remember it vividly because it was also the day that I released Resonans.
But I think ReSpire was removed from the shop within a couple of hours due to critical bugs, and then it took them a week or so to get it back up.

Man then you got a much better memory than me, all I know is I brought RE version then after sometime I brought the VST version. But dam if you can remember that far back....

Billy+ wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Man then you got a much better memory than me, all I know is I brought RE version then after sometime I brought the VST version. But dam if you can remember that far back....

As I said, I had a pretty important product launch on that very same day, you tend to remember those.
It was on May 5th, 2017, by the way.

I remember ReSpire's launch very clearly - it was a bug ridden mess that (allegedly) was beta tested, but was in no shape to be released to the general public. It took weeks for them to finally fix all of the critical bugs, and then a lot of empty promises were made that they had no intention of keeping. Reveal Sound is a small group of programmers (like 2-3 guys) based out of Russia, but their RE plans were squashed once Reason got VST support. They have literally zero reason to pursue RE development of ReSpire since their VST pretty much sustains the company (along with their sound packs).

£64 reduced from £189 - that's still close to $89 USD, and far overpriced for ReSpire IMHO. Not when you can get the actually fully featured and much better Spire VST frequently on sale - it's $129 USD right now. So for just $40 USD more, you get a fully featured and fully supported/actively developed Spire that you can use in Reason.

Well you could always buy it and think of it as a discount code for the VST.

Billy+ wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Well you could always buy it and think of it as a discount code for the VST.

Waste of money when you can just put that $89 USD towards the VST anyway, IMHO. Or will they give you the RE price paid in full as a credit towards the purchase of the VST?

Well to their defense, they did release several point updates, up to two years after its release (originally released 2017-05-05 and last update being 2019-04-16).

Update 1.0.7

• All Osc Pitch modulation target
• All LFO Rate modulation target
• Fixed Osc4 targets

Update 1.0.6

• LFO/Stepper rate modulation in SYNC mode
• Osc wave selection modulation
• Glide parameter modulation
• New modulation source: Random unipolar, Constant 10% and 50%
• New presets
• Fixed LFO desync problem

Update 1.0.5

• J8 Chorus Mode
• Vowel Oscillator
• New "Shaper" filter type with 2 modes: Saturate and Foldback
• Click Removal option is added.
• New presets by Reveal Sound Team, Driftmoon (DM), Serhiy Klimenkov (SK)

Update 1.0.4

• Several CPU performance improvements
• Fixed error on project opening
• Fixed error for 'Hard FM' OSC
• Fix for controls behaviour on Delay and Reverb screens

I think the first few updates not listed were performance and bug related.

They were definitely rushed to push it to market with the announcement of VST support. I'm sure they wanted it to succeed, but it's understandably difficult when people are looking to just buy the VST version. I guess at some point they have to figure if developing it further is worth it (while also trying to update the VST, with more things that the RE format can't do well or at all).

It would be great if they could at least add CV connectivity. I think that's really the only thing left that was talked about. Adding that IMO would at least get it to where it needs to be for it to have a something more to offer than the VST.

joeyluck wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Well to their defense, they did release several point updates, up to two years after its release (originally released 2017-05-05 and last update being 2019-04-16)....

It would be great if they could at least add CV connectivity. I think that's really the only thing left that was talked about. Adding that IMO would at least get it to where it needs to be for it to have a something more to offer than the VST.

It needs far more than CV - it needs to be updated to the latest SDK (something they resisted because they didn't want to make people have to upgrade Reason). As such, the panel design and arrangement is a mess compared to the VST (this could all be addressed with Custom Displays and switchable panels, or at least addressed better than it is). It also lost parity with the VST, and you can't buy their soundpacks and use them in the RE anymore (not easily anyway, and all of the new content just flat out won't work).

Anyway, we're approaching 2 years without any ReSpire update, so I'd say it's safe to label it as being "no longer developed" for the most part. I still think users would be better suited putting their money towards the VST on sale.

EnochLight wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

joeyluck wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Well to their defense, they did release several point updates, up to two years after its release (originally released 2017-05-05 and last update being 2019-04-16)....

It would be great if they could at least add CV connectivity. I think that's really the only thing left that was talked about. Adding that IMO would at least get it to where it needs to be for it to have a something more to offer than the VST.

It needs far more than CV - it needs to be updated to the latest SDK (something they resisted because they didn't want to make people have to upgrade Reason). As such, the panel design and arrangement is a mess compared to the VST (this could all be addressed with Custom Displays and switchable panels, or at least addressed better than it is). It also lost parity with the VST, and you can't buy their soundpacks and use them in the RE anymore (not easily anyway, and all of the new content just flat out won't work).

Anyway, we're approaching 2 years without any ReSpire update, so I'd say it's safe to label it as being "no longer developed" for the most part. I still think users would be better suited putting their money towards the VST on sale.

Yeah for sure. I think they might've been better off making a Spire Player RE ("player" as in a preset player). I don't know if it would have been easier for them just maintaining the engine in the background and making it so it can load presets (and not having to worry about much GUI stuff). Maybe just a few macros.

It seems many people are more about the presets than they are about creating their own sounds with Spire anyways. Regardless, I think any feature rich RE that has a VST counterpart that continues to be developed and grow becomes very tough. Even if they were off to a great start with things being more or less the same, it would eventually meander with the products becoming different and it would be difficult to justify putting in the resources...and technically difficult as well in some cases.

I think also if it was "Spire 2" or "Spire 3" in VST format (as it gets new features), people might be more accepting and forget that it has to be the same. Even though it is called "ReSpire" in the RE format. Just the same as we have Predator, but never got Predator 2. We don't look at Predator RE and ask why it doesn't have the features of Predator 2...

joeyluck wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

We don't look at Predator RE and ask why it doesn't have the features of Predator 2...

* Enoch starts furiously typing an email to Jon and Rob demanding answers *

Before you pay 89 for Spire, pay 99 for Phase Plant, Rapid or Avenger - way better deals!

Loque wrote: ↑

16 Feb 2021

Before you pay 89 for Spire, pay 99 for Phase Plant, Rapid or Avenger - way better deals!

I gotta' say, while Spire is a great synth, VPS Avenger blows it out of the water as far as features are concerned, and the dev releases fairly regular updates and adds features much more frequently. I have to agree that VPS Avenger is a great alternative to Spire, albeit not nearly as focused.