Music Software Installers Comparison part 2

review

17 Sept

What stands in the way of you making music or working with audio? It’s not just the money — that’s a whole other story that I haven’t included in these reviews. If it’s your first visit check out Part 1. How much hassle is it to get the thing installed so it shows up in your DAW or audio editor? For some vendors it’s a piece of cake, others can make life into a Brazil-esque bureaucratic not-quite-nightmare but definitely a drag. Upon getting a new Mac I decided to document my findings as I have never seen a post like this, only the occasional grumbling online in forums or comments. Is it weird? Maybe. Useful? Perhaps. I think about the whole customer experience, including the support side, but that too may be the subject of a future post. Enjoy the ride, and if you’re a developer that wants a more detailed assessment of the pain points — all the way from your advertisement all the way through to getting the plugin up on the customer’s screen— get in touch so I can do a full report.

Audiaire

The problems begin! Audiaire has been bought by Splice, so I thought I had to make an account there. Yes I know companies acquire each other sometimes but how the former customers are handled is important. Splice is a subscription model company, but like Roland it appears they have options for lifetime licenses. There are some FAQ articles referring to activating said licenses but they were unhelpful. I made a ticket with Splice support to see how I could move my licenses to their system and obtain the latest versions. I eventually worked out that you can still login to the old site and check for any updates, but there were none.

Boom Library

*Almost there… please add thumbnails for our convenience*

One thing I haven’t really mentioned in these reviews is when these vendors limit your downloads. Boom Library proudly displays they’re not counting by displaying an infinity symbol here. The version numbers are listed on the page but no thumbnails.

Carp Audio

Carp has an option for an all-in-one pkg file that has all their plugins as separate AU and VST versions.

Carp Audio report card

✘ Installation Manager
✅ All-in-one installer
✅ Thumbnail
✅ Version number shown
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

Celemony

Celemony report card

✘ Installation Manager
✘ All-in-one installer
✅ Thumbnail (kinda)
✅ Version number shown
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

Celemony’s been in the game awhile. The downloads page lists the version number for a separate Mac download, which is versioned. No thumbnail before you get there, but it is unlikely that you own more than one of their products.

IK Multimedia

IK went down the path of an installation manager years ago. Theirs is called the Product Manager and it works almost as well as any of the others. The reason it gets an almost is because although it tells you what needs updating, it still just downloads the dmg file and you have to click through that anyway. My caveat to those of you using machines with too-small storage is that the dmg files (versioned) get stored and saved on your hard drive in a subfolder of the Documents folder, and then this might be synced with iCloud so it potentially could use up your storage there too. There are thumbnails of each product but the downside is they are using their Manager to advertise more of their range to you. Over the years they have offered customer loyalty freebies, but I find the process of getting them convoluted. It was so opaque one time I had to search on forums to find out how to get it. I wish you could just login to their site, click one link to confirm and have it appear as ready to install in the Manager.

IK Multimedia report card

✅ Installation Manager
✘ All-in-one installer
✅ Thumbnail
✘ Version number shown (but updates are)
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

Initial Audio

*Can anyone explain separating your plugins into two groups?*

Initial Audio doesn’t show you a thumbnail, and oddly only two of the plugins I’ve bought from them show the version number listed. There are separate Mac and Windows downloads.

Lese

*Just need those version numbers added…*

These folks show you a small thumbnail of their modern-design plugins, and have a separate Mac and Windows link but don’t have the version number listed.

Liquidsonics

Masters of reverb Liquidsonics are very good at showing the version number and even the release date, but require you to visit the product page for reminders of which plugin is which. Platforms are separated.

MasteringTheMix

MasteringTheMix report card

✘ Installation Manager
✅ All-in-one installer
✘ Thumbnail
✅ Version number shown
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

MTM have moved to an All-in-One installer and chosen to use InstallBuilder like Eventide has (see part 1). Using this lets you decide the plugin formats but you have to remember what you own or not and there are no thumbnails to remind you.

OxyDSP

You’re shown your order and that it’s paid for, but when you click on the item it just takes you to the main product page, and doesn’t state that if the demo is purely a demo or if your license key will convert that to a fully working version. So you check the FAQ and there you'll find that the only way to download is via a link in the email they send when you bought it. There you’ll find a combo Mac and Windows zip file. Why does it have to be so convoluted? Just give us the link when we login to your site.

Pulsar Audio

Once you login and visit your downloads page, you are offered separate downloads but not shown a thumbnail or the version number. The downloaded dmg does have the version number showing, so that’s good.

Pulsar Audio report card

✘ Installation Manager
✘ All-in-one installer
✘ Thumbnail
✘ Version number shown
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

Puremagnetik

This crew from my hometown of Brooklyn, NY chooses SendOwl as the host. You are given separate installers for Mac and Windows versions. Plus the sound ware packs are offered in Kontakt, Live and Logic editions which is handy. The version number isn’t listed on the download page, nor is it embedded in the download link so you have to risk using up one of your 10 download counts to see if there is a newer version than what you have. Cancelling midway doesn’t seem to help that but I assume they could reset your download count if you exceed the count. No screenshots of which product is which so you have to click on the product page link on your orders page to see which is which. Downloads are zips with pkgs within.

*I could really use those version numbers and thumbnails here*

Slate Digital

Slate Digital has invested in a slick installation manager called Slate Digital Connect, which shows you the good stuff like thumbnails what you own, and what is out-of-date and what version you’ll be getting. Confusingly they can also see your SSL and ANA2 products, and in the case of ANA2, you have to use their installer after using Slate’s to ensure the licensing works properly.

*When you’ve got the cash you can make a spiffy installer like this*

Stagecraft

They get a few things right — the serials of what you’ve purchased are prominently displayed at the top of the account page. Plus there is a loyalty credits scheme to buy more plugins at what could be a discount, but always compare with 3rd party resellers for sales though. Separate Mac and Windows downloads are good, however once you install the pkg you just get told you’re gonna get all three of the AU, VST3 and AAX triumvirate with no choice to customize, so you have to manually delete the ones you don’t need to save storage space. Some other items need improvement: the versions aren’t listed on the page nor are they in the downloaded pkg, and no thumbnails of the plugin. Lastly — and this is common with vendors — there doesn’t seem to be a way to add serials for items you’ve bought from 3rd party resellers so you can quickly see everything you own in one hit.

Stagecraft report card

✘ Installation Manager
✘ All-in-one installer
✘ Thumbnail
✘ Version number shown
✅ Version number in download
✅ Separate Mac/Windows version

UJAM

UJAM’s slowly moved away from separate downloads and would prefer you to use their installation manager — simply called “UJAM” to manage everything. You get thumbnails, version numbers and you can filter out what you own or view by their “series” product group. Don’t be like me and before you begin, go into the Settings where you can tell it not to install formats for plugins you’ll never use, plus choose which folder to download to in case you are running short of storage space.

Wavealchemy

*It’s pleasing to my eyes… just need those version numbers*

These folks show the thumbnail, but then don't have the version number shown nor is it in the download file, which is a zip. Mac and Windows are separated, and your serial is shown and easily copied to the clipboard in one click.

ZPlane

These folks show the version number and release date, and have separate platform downloads but no thumbnail. Another useful thing is the version of the OS they are officially compatible with which is handy.

Zynaptiq

This crew has chosen a slightly convoluted way to get their stuff. If you have only a few of their products you have to click on the product page for each one (where you see the product image) then click the downloads button, then fill out a form to be sent a download link. If you own a few, they sell some of the products in various bundles and you are directed to use the download page for the bundle instead to save time. At this point you're shown the version numbers for the seperate Mac and Windows zip files which are all properly named. Minor points lost for not giving me a tickbox to opt-out of them opening both the product manual and a window of its cruft immediately after installation.

That will do for now. There are more to come. I’ll see you in the next one… until then, may your installations go smoothly.

installers

Jason Cutler