At this point I don’t understand why all these new libraries for Halion are getting pricier by the minute.
There is so much there, that I don’t get why they don’t get included in Absolute.
A tier based Absolute maybe could be a nice idea, or a subscription based collection - maybe Absolute (paid) and Absolute Collection (subscribed).
I feel like small composers and musicians who cannot afford to pay for all of those instruments are getting cut off from the ecosystem.
On the contrary, having everything under the same family will make things a lot easier.
I don’t really understand what you are saying here. I don’t “PERSONALLY” think the libraries are THAT expensive. I mean compared to other libraries from other manufactures…they seem reasonable?
Maybe the path forward for you is to make your own libraries from the instruments you already own?
So ,what if , you create a track with a sample library in the first month , and then cancel the subscription , you no longer have the rights to release the track due to not being licenced , Sample packs on a subscription are very hard to deal with , if you pay for a licence you need to be able to keep that licence but if your on subscription ,then you have no rites for any releases once the subs have ended
Pardon my bad wording.
What I’m trying to say it’s that vst releases are getting more frequent, but updates to the Absolute roaster are not.
I come from Absolute 3, updating everytime and almost using it exclusively in my productions, so I don’t understand why I have to use the same HSO or synth when new ones get released.
I have no option to upgrade my Absolute collection to the next level and, instead, I get stuck with old libraries.
I don’t want Iconica, but a major update to the existing libraries would be appreciated, or, as I stated before, having a tier-list upgrade option would be nice too.
I’d like to invest in Absolute, because I think it can easily match other companies and I really love the Halion platform - but other companies update their product more frequently.
Maybe, just like you said, I should drop it and try to get the most out of what I have - or change manufacturer.
You got a point right, but existing subscription-based vsts get major updates every year, so, in that, you find a reason to stay.
I moved to Kilohearts subscription for sound designing tools and, for the 120 euros I spend each year, I get at least €50 in new products, constant updates and €100 in cashback to buy my favourite plugins.
So, in the end, I keep renewing my licenses, because I find worth paying for everything I get back - plus, the entire catalogue is as expensive as 4 years of subscription.
It’s a matter of how you set all the subscription system up - even Eastwest releases new stuff every year, so you keep staying, while NI keeps €1700 on the Komplete Ultimate (worth 8 years on Eastwest, but without continuous upgrades and updates, which you’ll have to pay).
I personally don’t have thousands to spend on vsts, so I choose carefully what to buy - but I’d like to have the choice of investing in what I already own and upgrade it with new instruments and features.
Thanks for the clarification AP. Yes…we are all waiting for an update to the instruments. Hopefully they will drop soon. I literally check the Steinberg Site every day to see if anything has happened. Lots of crashes on Mac M1 because of no updates.
Many of the HALion instruments are sold by Steinberg on behalf of third-parties. Steinberg’s ability to include these instruments in Absolute depends on the contractual arrangements between Steinberg and the instrument author.
Undoubtedly so, but NI in many cases has third-party vsts included (from Sonuscore for instance) in the bundles.
I think that a work-around could be found, or else it would be better to just remove them from the site altogether, because if you put vsts under instrument website section it looks like you sell it as your own.
Steinberg instruments should only include the ones from Absolute, while others should be sold as third-party - probably better on their proprietary websites.
Then again, I hope they will include them in the near future, because it makes no sense to promote all these new cool instruments but to neglect the ones you can make your own money out of (Absolute).
Yeah, I’m surprised they don’t offer the 3rd party instruments in the bundle. I it would make it a LOT more appealing than having to buy every single expansion all the time.
That’s one of the main issues.
Years old libraries make the whole buying Absolute a very bad investment.
Now Absolute 6 adds Halion 7 (FM lab and Tales being part of its update) with no other addition.
It makes really no sense at all.
I’m going to update just to go dongle-free.
You’ve paid nothing extra for the Absolute update , you have only paid for Halion 7 update and get 'Absolute 'thrown in FREE , makes perfect sense to me .
I’ve updated Absolute, not Halion, so I got nothing free.
In fact I had to do the opposite: I’ve paid the halion update like it was an Absolute update.
There was really no difference at all.
When they added GA5 to absolute, they threw in more than just it - a couple additions to Halion content and expansions if I recall correctly - in Absolute.
I kind of agree here. I was thinking about dropping Absolute and just buying Halion outright and starting over, because Halion is really the only thing I use from it.
The only thing stopping me is that it would cost less for me to update Absolute than it would to buy Halion.
OTOH, the last Halion update was 6 years ago, and Absolute has been getting updates every two years, which of course, are paid updates.
So - I’ve still got some number juggling and thinking to do before I act.
Keep paying for stuff I don’t use, or start over with just Halion.
Interesting. It is a bit more than I thought it would be in terms of content. I think those bundles make more sense to newer users to the eco system than to people who bought the individual instruments the old way. Still wish it had more content in it. It needs to have ALL the expansion just like Native Instruments does Komplete.
Well…Komplete has 4 different versions - Select, Standard, Ultimate, and Collectors Edition.
Each version has different stuff included.
I’ve got the standard version, and even that one is stuffed full of stuff I probably won’t use.
Oh - and I decided to stick with Absolute. I updated to 6.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind different tiers as, at this point, I believe the HALion ecosystem has got less content than NI but one that is more relevant - especially for synthesizers and experimental stuff (see the hybrid instruments created lately).
Having Iconica, Hybrid Bundle, Scoring Percussions and all expansions would mean that composers and producers could do everything from within the Steinberg ecosystem.
I honestly don’t see myself buying Komplete because there’s too much I would drown in content, but if keep using Arturia’s Augmented Strings as my to-go string library is because Absolute does not have a relevant orchestral library - HSO is ancient, and Studio Strings does not qualify either.
Only one other company I think would be worth paying and that is UVI, which adds at least 2/3 new libraries a year for €240/y and has very good and modern sounding content - Falcon looks like a very good hybrid instrument to me too.
I’ve been waiting for Absolute for years, but I believe that it might be time to move on.
