Software licensing structures... The good the bad the ugly

Welcome Hi the pro Audio Suite. These guys are professional and motivated with Tex the vo Stars, George Wisdom, founder of Sauce Element, Robert Marshall, International audio Engineer, Darren Robo Roberts and Global Voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to try Booth, Austrian audio making passions for Sauce Elements, George the Tech Wisdom and Robo and APS International Demos. Find up more about us. Check the pro audio sweet dot com and welcome to another pro audio suite. Don't forget if you do want to buy a tribooth, use the code t R I PAP two hundred to get two hundred bucks off your tribe booth. Also Robo and APS International demos, we're offering thirty percent discount. Just go to the pro audio sweet dot com. Have a look at the link which is up in the top which says Robo an Apse International Demos. Click on that and drop us a line if you're interested. Also, while we're recording you, George in Dallas at one Voice and somebody won an award that you saw who Well, not only did I see, I was, I was another candidate for the award nominee. You really were surrounded by brilliant sorry man. And the nominations are there's two one voice nominees right here in the room room one of them one. Yeah. So there was a category called they did it last year as well, called Service Provider, and they make it very clear it's voted on by the public, and nominations are I think nominated also by the public or at least the judges. So yeah, I got nominated, and my friend iCal Roy did, and a whole bunch of other people that I know were nominated and Source Elements. So last year Source Elements took it and and this year they did too, because they do good do good service, and they do it all around the world, which is a lot of people. Indeed, yes, indeed, well congratulations Robb. In a way I'd like to fuse the discomfort of me or uncle Roy winning. It's because we're just we're buddies. You guys have to like sit at the same table. It's awkward. We're buddies and we do the same business, and it just feels weird. It just feels weird. So anyway, congrats Source Elements and uh maybe we'll see you next year. Cool awesome. I think the key actually, George, the key is just don't turn up and you're winning award. Yeah, it didn't work last year. Let me see do I have it here? The best speech actually was a woman who said, I thank myself, oh really, because it was a self submitted It was a self book on the gig. It was not through an agent. So she said, I think myself, well, that was a good noise. Solutely. Now we should be thinking Waves actually, because Waves have just announced that you can use their plugins if you pay your subscription. I guess it is on two computers without having to beg them for it, because you could do it before by begging them and they would let you use it on two computers. But now it's official. Yep. They would always let you do it on two computers if you maintained your whoop. Actually that was one of the benefits of maintaining the whoop. But it is interesting in the email, it very explicitly says this is for the same operator. It comes to take you away. No, yeah, And so they're using the same exact business model as Adobe. Adobe does, where the activation is good on two machines. If you log into a third machine on Adobe, it will tell you you're on a third machine and you must disable another machine, and or it disables all of them, and then you just start reactivating again. I can't remember which one it is, but it tells you, yeah, it tells me anyway. Yeah, Yeah, which is really handy because I like, you know, as I've said many times before, I just I don't know anybody that actually works on one computer. We all have at least two devices that we work on, so it makes perfect sense to be able to do that. And it's funny because I don't know whether twisted Wave you can use it one license on two computers. I'm pretty sure Steinberg, you can't, so twist a Wave. Before the new subscription plan, it was unlimited, and I know that because I've used it on in unlimited computers. Technically, I mean, every computer I've ever owned has had a license the same the same license. I don't remember or recall reading any stipulation on the site about numbers of computers per user, so they may still be holding on to that same policy. I don't know, have to look that up. Yeah, because it's very handy. I mean, it's it's it's interesting because it is it is like a potential leak of licenses for them, but at the same time, to police it, you have to make that into the licensing structure, and especially for a twisted wave, they are doing their own. You know, we're basically licensing through eyelock, so we don't have to build it and we just live within the structure that they provide. Which leads me to the next because when you jumped online, George, we were having a quite a deep discussion about the pros and cons of the eyelock. I was literally saying I wanted I was looking forward to the day where I could open my house, start my car, like you name it, with my eye lock. Well, once you're in an ecosystem, you want everything to be in that ecosystem whatever that. Yeah, my key chain would be so simplified. It would be just one. It was also a pass key as well, so it had the password manager for all of your stuff. That would be nice. Yeah, it's really interesting if I like was supposed to get into that and then you can have a hardware gongle for your pass keys. My parents, my parents would actually relate to that. It's funny. Yeah, it's so much easier than saying okay, use this authenticator app on your phone that you installed just to use this one thing and open that app up and then you know, authenticate off of that. It's it's a lot for the user. The two factor authentication sometimes is annoying. And I am trying to get all my two factor over to Google Off. But I have some that's through my text, some that's through the email, some that's through Google Off. I mean it's difficult for us. I mean, imagine what it's like for just you know, the civilian, you know, the regular user or an angel, and it's very challenging. Well, I just checked on twist a Wave as FAQ. Can I install twist a Wave on more than one Mac? Yes. According to twister Waves license, you're allowed to install Twistwave mac on in as many computers as you want, as long as you are the main user, it says the main user of the license. So that would mean to me that you could have an assistant or an editor or an engineer working with you sharing that license. That's what I interpret that is to say. But anyway, okay, so Voodoo Sound bought Twisted Wave and missus Voodoo Sound was using twisted Wave upstairs in the voice booth for her own voice Avic company. Even though you could technically say that voodoo sound is that. The premises is that this is where it gets interesting, doesn't It's like you can and you can get yourself in trouble. This is this is it. It's two simultaneous uses for you know, it's like being very strictly speaking, even though it's one household, it is two uses on two jobs. And I think the intention is that you as a person cannot be duplicated, and so you should be using your license once, regardless of where you are. Here's the way Waves phrase it. Starting November first, we will add a second lay since to all active Creative Access subscriptions, allowing subscribers to use their plugins on separate computers without having to move licenses between devices. The second license is for use by the owner of the main product license only. Yeah. I think that's what Thomas is and they do state it, and it's an honor. It's an he's just not getting as quite as a fine tooth. He didn't have an attorney, you know, rewrite it for him. It's just yeah, And I think and I'll speak for Thomas when I say this, So you get to verify with him is really he's going again by a bit of an honor system in which he's known for that. Anyway, like for many many years he didn't enforce really anything with the license, so you know, did he do anything else or did he only do Twisted Wave. I only know him as doing Twisted Wave period. And then he branched out to the iOS version and then the online version and then the Windows version. So his whole living he feeds all twelve of his kids through Twisted Wave. He's got well, he's got four platforms he's supporting now, so he's yeah, it's a lot to support and keep running and debugging. It's impressive because he had a pretty permissive licensing thing and he's a one man show. You know, it's it's it's it's amazing. Actually that I mean, assuming he does not have some other second gig and that this isn't just like a side hustle, it's actually impressive. Understanding is he doesn't have a side hustle. Now, this is definitely not taking up enough of the time that he just can't do other things. Maybe he got he got the Mac version to a point where it was running so well that he thought, well it's time let's get the Windows version built. So the Windows version is fully released and it supports stacks just like the Mac version. It you got to bring b YO plugins because there's not a single free plug in on a Windows machine, so you start right out of the gate by having to get plugins. Right. That's a big difference right there. But I have a few plugins of my own that I prefer to use that are totally free for those who, you know, really need to set it all up. And one of them is because of Rob Robo himself said have you ever used Melda Productions plugins? And I was like, nope, And I have installed and used them, and for the free blunt bundle they have is pretty darn feature rich, some kickoffs stuff in there, pretty darn good. Yeah, yeah, yeah exactly. So I have used Themelda EQ. I haven't used much else from them, but it did a did a fine job for for some folks and but I but I've really been enjoying being able to support that cross platform at last without having to run an actual Windows PC to make a stack. I can as long as I build that stack using VST plugins on my Mac, it will load those plugins and everything on the PC, which is nice. That's cool. Yeah. Back to Thomas though, he if you meet the guy, which I'm sure one day he will jump on a silver bird and head to North America at some point, depending how much money he makes out a twisted wave. But you can tell, like you meet the guy. You know, when you meet someone, you know that they're just a really honest character and incredibly intelligent obviously, and that's Thomas, that's the guy. So if you start showing up at conferences and sponsoring, well know, yeah, exactly, Yeah, yeah, he spent I mean, as far as I can tell, he has spent absolutely zero dollars on marketing. But it's a good product, and good products market themselves sometimes, don't they. Let's be honest, That's what I'm saying. Can you please tell that to our department of marketing. Yeah, yeah, well, I mean, honestly, I never had a marketing budget until the last year or so. And now that George the Tech is a team of people, marketing is becoming much more of a real thing. Like I really need to get the marketing machine running. So when you see you start hearing George the Tech on different places and different platforms and you start getting tired of hearing that name, then it means I'm doing the right thing. So it means my marketing is working. There was a thing that we used to talk about in radio and when you when you're at the point of hearing a song, if you work in a radio station that is driving you insane because you're just overloading on that song, you usually find that it's just starting to get some traction with the listener, the regular list Yeah, the listener in the room. So as soon as we're sick of George, that's when George really hit it. That's when George changes his name to Uncle George George. My dad's uncle George George. But that the whole uncle thing, Yeah, I was all I can think of when you say uncle, anyone is some old bloke in a pair of shorts that are two tight with the one knacker hanging up the side. That's what it's on. That for your uncle Roy, I'm just not letting my daughter call. Yeah. Now, speaking plugins Rubbo, you've been mucking around with the SSL bundle. Yeah, I downloaded it just because i'd i'd had the Slate Digital Bundle and I sort of got to the point where there was only a couple of things that I really sort of liked and continued using, being a couple of compressors, the gray compressor fresh Air, which is free anyway, and a couple of other things. So actually let that go and talking your budgets, I sort of realized, hey, I've got you know, X amount of dollars a month free. What other bundles are out there to sort of rent and have a play with? And so I downloaded the SSL one, which I've been playing with for a couple of months now, And can I just say, there's not a dog in there. It's it's so good. There's so much stuff that's sort of really nice to play with. I mean, compresses and eques go without saying. There's some other stuff like they've they've done some some instruments specific stuff they've done, like a drum strip and a guitar strip. The vocal strip I kind of like, I guess, I mean, it's not a dog, but I don't really use it a lot. The drum strip I use all the time. The guitar strip, I don't really do a lot with guitars, so I don't have much to do with that. But the other stuff that's really good is they call it the flex verb, which is their reverb, and the ex delay, which is also really cool. So so yeah, there's a bunch of stuff in there that's that's really worth playing around with. And I guess you know, when the time comes a nice sort of get sick of it, what will I keep? I would definitely keep the reverb. The DSA is very nice. Their limitter, which they call x limit is the has been the final plug in on my mastering chain now since I downloaded it, because it's it's particularly sweet. Is it like a brick wall. Yeah, it's a brick wall. Brick wall. It's a bitter yep and it's just seamless though you just you know, you get it set up right, you just don't hear it working at all. And it gives everything that sort of nice punch obviously that you look from and look for from a limitter. So so yeah, I'm really enjoying used on some other model or something from their own. Well, there's a whole bunch of models of stuff. There's two bus compressors, a couple of channel strips, bus compressor six I think they call it, and the bus compressor two, Channel Strip two. But look, you get it. They've got a thirty day free trial so you can have your first month on them, so you know, definitely worth downloading and having a play with. You have to you have to give them the credit cards. Given the credit cards, so you've got to put a put a date in your diary if you want to cancel it. I think I'll probably have it for another couple of months and well, until something else pops up, probably I'll just hang onto it because as I say, I do set aside some money to play around with new plugins each month, and that's what I'm landed on at the moment. So until something else crops up that I want to try, that's where it will stay. It's funny with the SSL plug ins though, because when I bought the SSL two it came with these plug ins. I thought it was in perpetuity, but of course it was not. So there was a whole bunch of stuff like a channel strip and a flex verb and vocal strip X camp. There was an eq X e q X phase ex saturator and X valve card. It sounds like you've got there, but it sounds like you've got the same bundle. Yeah, but the thing is I can't use any of them. You can't physically use them, or they won't work on your machine. I don't think I can use them because I think for memory, it was like it was just a trial. Yeah. Yeah, well you would have got the thirty day free trial of this possibly it goes. In fact, it just clicked on it. It says visible licenses expired there you guy. Yeah. I've been also using the plug and Alliance stuff, And the main reason why I got plug in Alliance was because having a HDX card and Waves stopped doing HDX plug ins, which are the DSP chip on the pro tools cards. So the only ones that you could really get the low latency on was plug in Alliance. And I have to say they have a lot of really good stuff, especially their channel strip emulations of various consoles. They have like an API and a NAVE and SSL and like every generation of SSL, and every generation of or a few generations of Knives and the Focus right in the AMIC nineteen ninety eight, and and then I just they have a pretty broad range of plug ins, and they're all they're all equal, they're all easily the same, similar quality as as the as the wave stuff. I have to say, you know, some people I think actually think better, but it's really hard to know. One like, oh, there's emulation is better than that emulation, And you're sitting there going like, I've never touched the real thing, So it's exactly, I have no idea. Really they sound good. Well, that's that's true though, because everyone that's got these buying plug ins guarantee that ninety five percent if not more, have never actually used the real thing. Oh sure, yeah totally. So it's like you could you could basically sell them anything you can. You just use the same EQ algorithm and all of them. Yeah, exactly, But you would have had to work in a lot of rooms to for anyone to have done that, or be a you know, Chris Lord Algae or you know someone like that who mixes in different rooms something you have every shlop like you and Mey who you know works in a studio for a few years and then moves to a different job. Would you certainly wouldn't have played with all of them. And then half the gear that you were probably using that was actually the original piece of equipment that they're emulizing, was probably broken anyway, just getting tired. Yeah, well that was part of the charm though. Yeah, that's my that's my good friend Jim Reeves, who mixed a lot of stuff, I mean like free Ride and all kinds of stuff back in the day. And he was joking, but I don't think so much. He was basically saying, like, oh, these kids, they they love the sound of analog. It's like, well, they're they're in love with the sound of a tape deck that hasn't been aligned in three weeks and its heads are worn out. Like that's what they think of analog, because that's what we were working on in the studios, you know, like there were cranking sessions out left and right. The decks are not necessarily aligned every single time. There is a lot of Yeah, what people miss is the imperfections of analog. It's not they don't miss right, Yeah, they don't miss improperly cord at audio. They just missed the the imperfections and the distortion. I mean that the thing that makes a knive preamps like a knave or whatever is not that's right, it's accurate. It's that it's not accurate. Exte the same thing for a four sixteen. Yeah, yeah, that's the distortion that makes it like that edge there, But it's the color, it's the EQ curve, it's the way it sounds compressed. All those things is what makes the mic work. It's funny. You know, I'm sure that we've all been down this track before. But when it's your turn to clean the heads on the reel to reel and you realize that no one has cleaned them for so long. You've got the cotton button, it's like it's black. You like what you go through, like ten swabs? Really really your turn. It was my job, every frigate. It's exactly what Jim was saying. Yeah, yeah, well i'll tell you what in the studio is the on air studios, no one did it. No, I can imagine too busy smoking a joint to clean the heads. Yeah that's right, blowing the blowing the smoke right onto the heads. Yeah that's right, and through the mic captures everything they're smoking is cig while you've got to raise a blade and the splicing block out. Yeah totally, yeah, yeah, exactly exactly. But that's true though. It's the imperfection that everyone tries to emulate. But the thing is the imperfection was different on every single unit. Well, that's that's where it's funny, because literally one of the patented things or whatever that plug In Alliance has is this thing called the I can't remember it, but basically when you throw down the plugins, if you throw down twenty SSL plugins on your on your daw all, twenty will be different. Oh really, because no channel in real life, no channel on that boards identical. Yeah exactly. Y'all knew that. There's like some channels that had the red tape on it and some of the you know, so, so they have the same thing where they vary the performance of the plugins themselves so that you don't get like you get that same chaotic variation across your DAR. Yeah, because I mean, if you're looking at a huge console and like there's all sorts of things coming to play, one of the main things probably is heat. Well, like the channels closer to the power supply and correct think like I have a four channel MIC preamp and the channel closest to the power supply is a little bit noisier than the other two. Yeah, exactly. More there you go, plugins, Hey, plug in baby, Yeah, Well that was fun. The pro audio suite next to Trim and Austrian audio recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and next by Robo. Got your own audio issues just ask robo dot com. Tech support from George and the Tech Window. 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