I see now that Dorico 2 is not free for existing Dorico owners. Steinberg is charging US $99.99.
However, I purchased Dorico 1 recently, and I think that I should receive Dorico 2 at no additional cost.
Steinberg, what is your policy on this?
Our policy is that if you first activated Dorico 1 on or after 2 May 2018, then you are eligible for a free grace period update. If you first activated Dorico 1 prior to that date, then you will have to buy the update if you want the new features.
If you’re on the fence about whether or not the features are worth the $99 we’re asking for them, then please wait for the trial version to become available in a few weeks so you can try it out for yourself.
So if a person bought Dorico four weeks ago, they now owe US $99.99 more.
I predict that this will not be a popular policy.
When I bought Dorico 1.1 in December 2017 I installed it and started using it. I soon decided that for my needs, and comparing its capabilities to what I was used to doing in Sibelius and Finale, Dorico 1.1 was so buggy and incomplete in features that I was unable to use it and it was not worth my time trying to use. I decided to be patient and wait until further updates were released that added functionality and addressed shortcomings. Version 1.2 came out, but after a little testing I decided again that that version was still so incomplete that I did not wish to use it, and I should wait yet longer.
Yet Steinberg has decided to call this latest update “Dorico Pro 2” and charge more money for it.
Well, the English-language expression is “You have me over a barrel”. Up until now I have not even been able to use Dorico in any practical sense, according to my decisions about my needs in a notation program. Yet from today forward I have no hope of getting a Dorico with what I regard to be reasonably implemented features and improvements unless I pay you US $100.
I am a dissatisfied customer.
Wheat, you had the opportunity to trial Dorico for 30 days without any commitment to buy. Why did you spend your money if it didn’t fit your needs?
I’m obviously sorry that you are a dissatisfied customer, which is something that we assuredly do not want you to be. But rather than spending any more money today, I would strongly urge you to consider waiting a few weeks until you can try Dorico Pro 2 for yourself to see whether or not you find the new features to be worth your money. If they’re not, then please save your money until such time as you find them to be worth additional investment.
We have always tried to be up-front about what Dorico can and cannot do. Thousands of musicians are using it successfully every day, and of course that does not in any way change whether or not it is suitable for you as a specific individual musician. When you bought Dorico in December 2017, a 30-day fully functional trial version was available for you to assess the capabilities of the software, along with direct access to me and other members of the development team via this forum. I am sorry that in the course of a 30-day period you were unable to ascertain that Dorico wouldn’t be suitable for your use and went ahead and bought it anyway.
Hi, Daniel.
Could you please clarify one thing: If I remember correctly, some user said on the forums that for Cubase paid updates are cumulative, so if I skip one update then the next paid update, if I is “worth additional investment” for me, will cost twice the update price. So in the end it’s worthless to skip an update, because I will be paying for it anyway.
Do I remember correctly, and will this also be true for Dorico?
Another question about upgrade pricing Daniel:
Is there an educational price for upgrading to Dorico 2 or is the price the same for all users regardless of license?
Update prices are not truly cumulative for Cubase. If you have Cubase 7.0 today and you buy the update to Cubase 9.5, you won’t pay the combined total of what each intervening update (7.5 → 8.0, 8.0 → 8.5, 8.5 → 9.0, 9.0 → 9.5) would have been. But as a user of an older version of Cubase, you would pay a higher price to update to Cubase 9.5 than somebody updating from Cubase 9.0. None of these prices are secret, by the way: you can find them all in the Steinberg online shop.
Steinberg doesn’t offer educational pricing for updates: whether you bought your original copy of Dorico via a full retail license, an educational license, a crossgrade, or even an educational crossgrade, the update price is the same.
A grace period spanning 5-6 months…?… Not sure if a grace period of that duration exists. I would however welcome a longer grace period. One month (or not even) is a bit thin.
And, being one of those who cannot make full use of 30 consecutive days, I’d like to suggest 30 days of use. I was positively surprised you can test Scrivener for 30 days which needn’t be 30 days in a row. Looks likewise useful and clever to me – even if after three days of fiddling around with the software I let go, I still can come back months later for another try and don’t get that annoying “your grace period has expired” dialog. I like it.
If I upgrade to Dorico 2, will I still be able to use 1.2? For example, in another PC?
You will still be able to use Dorico 1.2, as your Dorico 2 license will still allow Dorico 1.2 to run, but the update must be installed on the same eLicenser, either software or USB version, as your existing Dorico 1 license, so that will have to be on the same computer.
Congratulations with the Dorico 2! The new features are really exciting, especially in staves management.
Concerning the upgrade. I remember it was promised for existing users of Dorico that if they purchased the software during first 4 weeks after Dorico launched, the update to the next paid version (the case now with the version 2) should be free. Am I right?
Thank you
Daniel, we will be able to install Dorico pro 2 trial in the same machine without overwrite dorico 1, right?
Yes, you can have version 1 and 2 installed quite happily. Please note that the trial won’t be available for a couple of weeks.
Thank you Paul!
This is how all Steinberg updates used to work - 60 days of actual use. Now it is 60 consequtive days - Truly useless for busy musicians. The new method does not bring money in any quicker - it just pi**es the users off.
No, I’m afraid not. I think you may have misunderstood how Steinberg’s grace period updates work: if you activated the last version of a product within four weeks of the next version coming out, then you get a free update. So if you first activated Dorico 1.x on or after 2 May 2018, you can have a free grace period update to Dorico Pro 2, but if you bought and activated Dorico 1.x before that, then I’m afraid if you want the update you will have to buy it.
Yes, I misunderstood that, thank you for the explanation.