I do not see any problem with payment for updates.
Supporting the project gives greater satisfaction
I am waiting impatiently for the S-Gear News

Being I am fairly new with S-Gear I lucked out this time.
Purchased in July 2017 so should be good to go for 2.9.
I must say though that if you look at subscription type of DAW software
outside of Reaper, a small upgrade fee for 2.9 would still be worth it.

If Mike is just a one man show and you want quality at the same time you
can't have quick updates and major revision updates fast.
As fast as computer technology moves and how demanding and impatient people are
these days it is a tough business to be in.

I join the discussioni just to say that an upgrade fee is absolutely due at this point. We can't expect software companies to survive charging just once in the whole lifetime of a product while keeping updating it. Especially small ones. Customer base does not grow limitless, how are they supposed to carry on?
Thanks Mike, I will be glad to pay for 2.9 and for 3.0, this is just a wonderful product and I hope it will be developed and improved for long time

gbtommasi wrote:

I will be glad to pay for 2.9 and for 3.0, this is just a wonderful product and I hope it will be developed and improved for long time

I've more than once suggested Mike to ask for a upgrade fee proportional to the upgrade itself. He never did until now.

As S-Gear v. 3.0 will be a "brand new product", it's just fair to ask for a price that represents its value for the market and for the player. No problem for me either.

Now you two guys make my day! You used this wonderful piece of software since 2011/2012 never paying any upgrade fee? Come on, that's exactly the point. Being a freelance software developer myself, I know that Mike has to earn a living. And yes I'm willing to pay for it. But all the guys in my situation have to pay much more money for a much shorter period of use. That's all I was suggesting to take into account. Enough talked. No discussion intended from my side, whatever Mike decides, is okay with me.
Cheers, Chris

chrismay wrote:

You used this wonderful piece of software since 2011/2012 never paying any upgrade fee?

Yep, in my case, since May 2011, when I bought S-Gear v. 1.04 paying 75 bucks.

Best investment EVER!

Interesting discussion: line6.com/support/topic/31812-why-doesnt...cons-for-the-blocks/

From: line6.com/support/user/1928801-digital-igloo/

There are many reasons why we chose to go with a flat design and sliders instead of skeuomorphic panels with knobs:

1. Sliders allow for much easier parameter control on touchscreen-based PCs (and eventually, touchscreen-based Macs)
2. Sliders have much higher granularity (both visual and control-wise) than knobs
3. Slider length can easily scale when resizing windows; knobs could conceivably shuffle their order when resizing, but then it's harder to find the right one
4. Sliders allow for better and cleaner application of sub-indicators, such as min and max values, snapshot values, or meters
5. There are instances where parameters may disappear or be renamed, depending on the settings of other parameters; sliders make this behavior much more transparent
6. Helix models often have different parameters (and number of parameters) between the mono and stereo versions; sliders make this disparity much more transparent
7. The studio-to-stage-and-back promise of Helix hardware and Helix Native plug-in is immensely important to the platform; there's an intrinsic advantage in maintaining visual consistency between the two
8. Perceived preset switching delay in Helix hardware is partly due to redrawing components on the screen; redrawing huge custom panels would exacerbate this
9. The knob position of some amps are much harder to ascertain quickly compared to a slider—especially Fender knobs
10. Accurate panels that reflect the real amp and pedals often require radically disparate panel dimensions, meaning the plug-in size would blow up
11. Accurate panels require the user effectively re-learn the UI and layout of every amp and cab, along with their quirks (UA plugins drive me completely bat$#!% insane because of this—Yes, I know that's how some API EQs are laid out, but why do the plug-in's knobs have to be upside down?!)
12. Some people mistakenly equate quality of panel graphics with quality of modeling ("Oooh, did you see the fingerprints on the metal there? It's gotta sound the best!"); chasing that dragon is a lesson in futility and we'd rather spend our resources on system architecture and sound design
13. Accurate panels imply to the user a specific rev of a particular piece of hardware, even if the plug-in supports switching between multiple revs or may represent an idealized amalgam
14. Accurate panels require dozens of knob positions (and if you do it right, multiple versions at different viewing angles) which take a lot of time and redraw resources. Not an issue if you have five amps; definitely an issue when you're adding more all the time
15. Accurate panel aesthetics often subconsciously sway users toward (or away from) specific models instead of trusting their ears ("Oh, I won't use this model because it looks like a metal amp")
16. Accurate panel aesthetics require legal involvement to determine if any trade dress might be violated
17. Individual panels often take up the majority of a plug-in's overall download/install size
18. Accurate panels with knobs often require dedicated graphic designers or outsourcing to design firms, if only because our designers have a lot of other stuff to do (fun fact: one particular GUI design firm in Germany creates the panels for dozens of MI companies, which is why so many look alike)
19. We'll often tweak and re-tweak models right up until release; it's also not uncommon to swap in a different model or add/delete/replace/rename parameters at the last second. Since accurate panel iteration takes a lot of time to get right, it could literally delay firmware updates (or hardware releases!) by weeks
20. Everyone else does hyper-accurate panels—even super cheap iOS amp sims—and skeuomorphism doesn't hold nearly as much weight as it once did
21. Several other reasons we can't talk about because they deal with future features
22. Conversely, there are only two reasons to go with skeuomorphic design with knobs:
23. Subconsciously, people think the plug-in might sound better because it looks like a real amp or pedal; for example, a few mistakenly believe Logic's compressor sounds better now, simply because of new skins
24. "Ooooh... pretty."
25. I won't claim any of our decisions are objectively correct—this is design, after all—but this might provide some context as to why we landed where we did.

chrismay wrote:

Now you two guys make my day! You used this wonderful piece of software since 2011/2012 never paying any upgrade fee? Come on, that's exactly the point. Being a freelance software developer myself, I know that Mike has to earn a living. And yes I'm willing to pay for it. But all the guys in my situation have to pay much more money for a much shorter period of use. That's all I was suggesting to take into account. Enough talked. No discussion intended from my side, whatever Mike decides, is okay with me.
Cheers, Chris

My apologies, my post was not really aimed at you specifically, nor it was aimed against anyone. Just considering that as you say, people has to earn living, and if we want a product to be developed, any company needs money to invest. I am with you on the brutality of cutoff dates, which always leave someone disappointed. If a more "progressive" price policy will be adopted based on the time a person has enoyed free updates, I think it would be fair and accept it, And make a decision if I am in or out depending on the price.
Cheers

To Jamsden
yes it is, and using sliders makes sense, but i wonder did you meant to post this here?

but then again, first message i wrote this forum was about ability to use keyboard arrows to go between presets, and i get answer.
but you can't still use keyboard, you have to use mouse or touchpad, which is a drag.

I´m glad to see the product has somehow a roadmap and includes potentially great new features, obviously would prefer to have them sooner than later but it is true also that I have yet a lot to learn from the current version, and that it is always rewarding spending some hours tweaking the product, and thus discovering it stands yet among the best guitar sims.

Of course I´ll be the first in line for getting the upcoming updates and upgrades, S Gear has a brilliant future.

Aristoteles D wrote:

but then again, first message i wrote this forum was about ability to use keyboard arrows to go between presets, and i get answer.
but you can't still use keyboard, you have to use mouse or touchpad, which is a drag.

You can use keyboard to select presets on the Standalone version. Open the preset list & select a preset. Use up/down arrow keys to select and enter to load the preset.

I am brand new to the S-Gear user base (Just purchased my license this weekend!). I have the usual amp sims that are popular and have been using them regularly but the I was told to check out S-Gear by a friend who does home recording. My thought was that the last thing that I needed was another amp sim! However, I went to the Scuffham Amps site, downloaded the demo and started checking it out. It only took me about a day and a half to decide that this is one of the best and most realistic guitar amp programs anywhere! As a guitar player I can just pull up a preset and play away without having to think "oh, it needs more mid, more this, more that...". Its great to know that I have the capability of customizing my own presets (and I did create a few) but out of the box I was blown away. Thank you for creating this amazing piece of software and I look forward to continuing to use it as well as seeing what future updates have in store.

Miranda wrote:

I am brand new to the S-Gear user base (Just purchased my license this weekend!). I have the usual amp sims that are popular and have been using them regularly but the I was told to check out S-Gear by a friend who does home recording. My thought was that the last thing that I needed was another amp sim! However, I went to the Scuffham Amps site, downloaded the demo and started checking it out. It only took me about a day and a half to decide that this is one of the best and most realistic guitar amp programs anywhere! As a guitar player I can just pull up a preset and play away without having to think "oh, it needs more mid, more this, more that...". Its great to know that I have the capability of customizing my own presets (and I did create a few) but out of the box I was blown away. Thank you for creating this amazing piece of software and I look forward to continuing to use it as well as seeing what future updates have in store.

Thanks Miranda, it's always encouraging to hear this kind of feedback about S-GEAR

Cheers,
Mike

Welcome aboard, Miranda!

It is so interesting to see the same comments over and over again. Don't misunderstand me, it is a good thing. If I searched for my very first comment on the forum, I beleive it had almost the same words in it. Trying out sgear for the first time and then buying it straight away is like when you go for shoe shopping and after trying on all the shoes in the shop that you thought you will definitely like and then suddenly in the last corner on a small shelf you find a pair you didn't know existed. You try them on and they just fit perfectly. They are comfy, they look good, but maybe not as fancy as all the others and for some weird reason they are not as expensive as the other ones. Then you don't even think about those anymore and buy these perfect ones without a second thought. Then you start wearing them and start loving them more and more as time goes by. Of course you buy other shoes later, but you just keep coming back to your favourite one...

Anyway, right now I'm thinking about what John Mayer said at Namm about designing the JMOD100. He wanted to end the search with it for the ultimate amp. Well, sgear ended my search for the ultimate amp software solution.

I`m glad what I heard from new sound demos at NAMM 2018. Hopefully the new metal sound will be my go to as for any other tones, and I`ll stop with my amp sims search and use it till any new S-Gear updates. Can`t wait to use it.

I`m delighted with the actual sound,I just hope it will got released in this decade.

standing still.

Aristoteles D wrote:

standing still.

I thought Aristotle like a bit of time to chill and think. With a Tele and S-Gear 2.7? Sounds good to me

It will be here when it is ready.

MIke, is spring coming, and s-gear 2.9? I already have your money ready for the update, do not you want it? come that the trees are blooming already

come on come on!

My wish list includes an update to the MOD thing, with program-ability set-up similar to the Room thing module. Hopefully an added Phase shifter or a vibrato circuit and porting the Wayferer Tremolo circuit sim to the Mod thing for use with any amp. I found that the existing amps are capable of literally any amp I ever wanted. It does it all. A switchable overdrive pedal would be ok, but really not a necessity in my opinion. Maybe a good compressor circuit sim on the front end.