Kore discontinuation

It's been something to do while waiting for dinner to cook, at least

It looks like we've received a snippet of information or two per day, but they're on German time, which means:
10:00-12:00: Work.
12:00-14:30: Lunch.
14:30-16:00ish: Work (now a little tired from all the food).

So give them a little slack, eh?

Show us on the doll where Auto-tune touched you.

 

+1

I don't want to have to find, buy and learn alternate products from competitors. I love my Kore+Komplete setup. This decision to discontinue Kore makes me feel as though NI is forcing me in other directions though.

Fact is, I also want NI to win me back. But a cross-grade offer to a product that's useless to me and does not even begin to replace my Kore setup does not qualify as a consolation prize or as an enticement to stay.

 

Fairy Dust

Yes Sir...For many of us,it seems that Komplete 7 & Kore 2.x.x will be the end of the integrated NI system for us....It's a great system,but that leaves less incentive to buy other NI products - except on a singular basis - and not without some serious consideration...

It was NI who spurned us with their unilateral decision - so it will be up to NI to try and woo us back...

Not with fairy dust and spotless GUI's - but with sincerity and genuine concessions on their behalf... This has been an unmitigated disaster for NI and it's going to take a considerable effort on their part to regain the confidence of a disillusioned user base

 

Took me a moment to get that. Then I laughed. Then I felt a little creeped-out.

Talk about wandering!

But yeah that auto tune makes my ears feel like they're plugged up with water. I would like to take the Black Eyed Peas' microphones away from them. Creeps me out.

 

lol, when i was working for the online news plattform of a somewhat big austrian weekly newspaper our working hours were something like:

08:00-09:00 breakfast
09:00-10:20: a bit work
10:20-10:40: coffeebreak
10:40-12:00: a bit work
12:00-13:00: lunch
13:00-13:20: coffee break
13:20-15:00: a bit work
15:00-15:20: coffee break
15:20-17:00: a bit work
17:00: fleeeeee home

now THAT was an efficient timetable ;-) but then, we were only 3-4 people and did not have any superior in our office ...

 

Hope you had some quality coffee to get jacked up on.

 

I don't actually agree with this point, unless it's a "bought in the last month" or so limit. If people have bought the soundpacks and used them why should NI pay them back?

I don't remember Intel giving me a new processor when they discontinued the P4, even though I'd got one. Apple didn't mail me a shiny new macbook when they went from Core2 to i-series processors.

Giving people the packs they don't have as an 'sorry, we messed up' gesture would be great, but doesn't mean they should refund everything they've discontinued.

Mike

 

Odd logic. "If people have bought the soundpacks and used them why should NI pay them back?" but if "bought in the last month" or so limit." then they should. Why?

If people are due any 'payback' it's as much (if not more) those who have built their entire system around the Kore system as those who have just had a recent dabble. Anyone in the former group, one way or another, has a LOT of work to do to recover from this business.

 

Because decisions like this aren't made in a few days, and by now I'd expect a month to have gone by since the decision was made. I think it'd be fair that people who bought since the decision to drop the product was made should be recompensed in some way for buying a product NI knew was about to be discontinued.

For the record, I have a pretty good selection of the soundpacks (to be honest, all but one ... damn those "buy now buttons" lol) , but none were bought within the last month or so and I'd not expect to get anything back for those.

I did buy Maschine about two days before the "we're discontinuing Kore and you can get Maschine cheap" announcement which is more than a little annoying!

Mike

 

There is a certain group of buyers that think it is unfair that they paid for the soundpacks, and everyone else will get them free. Even NI is using this as a reason, you know....now that NI is suddenly concerned with being "fair" to everyone.

I was just trying to proactively think of something that would nip this partcular issue in the bud. It may be the only solution, and in the end, NI would take the hit or "take one for the team" (for their own mistakes, indecision, changing their minds, going about all of this in such a dispicable manner, etc..) instead of previous soundpack owners.

But I agree with your premise and understand what you are saying.

 

I think it was always a specious argument anyway - I can't see anyone really getting upset over soundpacks being made available again for a limited time whether for reduced price or even free. I have quite a few myself but would still benefit from the others being available and would not begrudge anyone getting a bargain or freebie, and unless someone has them all and is completely lacking in any spirit of camaraderie I can't see anyone really kicking up a fuss.

 

Propellerheads IS better in at least one sense

Umm, Props are no better? I disagree completely. Propellerheads has a reputation of putting out rock-solid products with GREAT value, and EVERYTHING I created in Reason version 1.0 opens just fine in Reason 5. How can you possibly say they're no better?

Props seem to care a LOT more about their users than NI do, then again, they have a totally different business model and different way of working.

I recently posted about a really awful customer service experience I had at NI, and I won't repeat it here other than to say that I was DONE with paying them any more money. Now they go and kill Kore, which I bought the day version 1 was released. About 75% of my tracks use Kore, and virtually 100% of the ones I've done with Live use Kore.

+1 to the "How stupid is it that they're not allowing us to legally obtain any more soundpacks"

+1 to the "Give Tick the means to translate ksd files to Zen format"

+1 to the "If Maschine ever gets the functionality we have in Kore I'll consider coming back as a customer to NI"

Just when I thought NI couldn't disappoint any more.

At least Berlin is involved, the LA branch is a bunch of morons.

Cheers,

-ix

 

"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose."
— Gore Vidal

 

I doubt anyone will ever know the truth about when the decision was made. You are correct that NI was, and still is (through retailers), allowing unknowing customers to buy a product/system they discontinued. A product that was marketed with the option to buy soundpacks, with vouchers for soundpacks, etc.., marketed as the central KORE of their system. Supposedly NI's "replacement" (Maschine), doesn't, and will never, utilize KSD, and I doubt Maschine owners want something Kore-like cluttering up their system. Longtime users, and especially new buyers, never thought they would be buying into something like this.

 

This last part is, as Frank Zappa would have said, the crux of the biscuit. After my recent nearly 3-month go 'round with "customer service" and now this?

Trust is something that is earned, and I just don't feel NI deserves my trust anymore.

Cheers,

-ix

 

I'm with you on that. Just expect that NI will continue to use a few grievances as an "out" or excuse to not do anything at all, or promise something vague for the future. I was trying not to give them an excuse. But I'm probably wrong on this.

 

One thing I forgot in my previous posts is, let's give some credit to the mods in this case. I'm pretty sure they weren't directly or solely responsible for what we all know to be a really poor decision, and they're left holding the bag.

Having said that, I hope the mods will accurately convey the sadness, outrage, and overall loss of trust that decisions like this have on the image of the company. No amount of flash on your homepage nor cool new toy can makeup for a community's perception that the people they've come to depend on are untrustworthy.

Cheers,

-ix

 

bingo.

 

When you think about it, it's a strange situation all around - the only way NI can keep everyone happy is to make everything available and start charging again!

Out of interest, the whole discontinuation was based around "it's hard to keep it updated with new engines". Would people have actually bothered if the engines weren't updated as long as Kore itself was supported on current/new operating systems and made 64-bit? Does everyone think the product needed updating/enhancing or just guaranteed to keep working for the next few revisions of OSX/Windows ?

Mike

 

I think I'm with you, Mike. I just want it to load my plugs and allow me to design sounds (and all the librarian stuff, of course). I wouldn't care if they replaced the internal engines with chocolate buttons as long as Kore continues to work.