In what FutureMusic dubs The Waves Ultimatum, Waves has been spying on studios to gather evidence against software thieves. Complete with hidden cameras. (There’s more on the campaign in this Gearslutz thread: Software Police on Patrol.)
Waves is targeting professionals, not home studios. That’s probably a good thing for the dozens of web forum posters I see every week ask “when would I use RenComp instead of RenEQ?” Generally, you know the answer to that question before shelling out $1,200 for the plugins.
However, if you absolutely must pirate a piece of software (“I need the SSL bundle so I don’t sound amateur …”) at least have the sense to buy it legally before making any money with it!
Tags: plugins
4 comments
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There are so many fantastic cheap and free plug-ins out there now, the idea of pirating is just stupid to me. I’ve been doing quite a bit of experimenting using nothing but free plug-ins, and getting some great results.
So true Darren!
I understand the appeal of .. ummm … “free” professional plugins. But the limiting factor between tools and skill is almost always the latter.
It’s like golf (or any of a hundred other pro/amateur analogies): Give me Tiger Woods’ clubs, and I’d be lucky to shave 2 strokes off my game. But give me Tiger as a teacher for a week, and … well, you get the point.
I’m a huge advocate of learning on budget equipment. I learned to play guitar on a $100 Samick beater, and I’m convinced this made me a better player than if I’d learned on a Martin, because I couldn’t take anything for granted. I had to overcome every shortcoming of the guitar in order to make it sound good, and in doing so, I learned some valuable skills.
But I have a buddy who learned to play on a Larrivee, and while he’s a decent enough player on that guitar, you slap a campfire beater in his lap and he’s lost. Sounds like he’s strumming a rake.
And so it goes with plugins. If you learn on the stuff packaged with your DAW, or even the (unbelievable for free) Kjaerhus plugins, you learn to work around their shortcomings. So when you upgrade to the pro tools, you’re that much better equipped to make them sing.
I was just thinking, a site that organizes and rates all of these free plug-ins would be handy, but we already have several such sites out there, not the least of which is KVR. What we REALLY need are a variety of example songs of high-quality, all done with nothing but free plug-ins, which showcase just how good they can be. That would go a longer way in selling the idea, I think.
That’s a great idea ……