Zombie/Josh Palmer.. Joshua Logan has always had a funny vendetta against us but I love the dude cuz he certainly keeps me on my toes and its always a bit entertaining. He started in with the whole cymbal thing and "platinum users hate you now" thing at the SSD forum but the guys there seemed to like the SSD cymbals and not mind the new deals:
http://www.stevenslatedrums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2245
Dude, Steve, I try not to be an asshole to you, but sometimes I just can't help it. I constantly feel fucked over by your company in one way or another, and I've talked to many other people both here and elsewhere who feel the same way. It's ridiculous that people have to make such a fuss about shit to get you to take notice in the first place. The people showing so much support are mostly just guys who are psyched to get your samples for so cheap. They see it as a personal favor instead of what it really is, because it allows them to use the samples for way less $$$ than others have payed. And the majority of people posting on your forum are blind fanboys... just like EVERY company and forum has, so I wouldn't assume their views are the views of everyone on the whole. OF COURSE you're going to have support on your own forum. I've seen tons of negativity both here and on gearslutz (and I don't even post there). I've even heard people talking about the fake LA lifestyle, the faux hawk, etc., but that's getting a bit personal.
From the very first time I bought anything from you, I noticed everything seemed very unprofessional and it's stayed that way for the most part. $15 shipping charges for software burnt on regular DVD-Rs and shipped in padded envelopes that showed plainly they cost less than $2 to ship. No actual packaging for a long time. No actual pressed dvds for a long time. Tons of people never getting answers from customer support. Understaffed even with the company getting so popular and generating so much income. Constant hype and used car salesman-like speeches all the time on multiple forums all over the internet... usually ignoring most negative comments or complaints. Final versions of products still having tons of bugs, often even after people had mentioned them previously. Always late with
everything. Yeah, you started off as a small company, but that's not an excuse for everything.
Let's be real here. You're making a shit ton of money off of your samples, and it's very directly affecting your quality of life. If you want to be the best and get payed accordingly, shouldn't you step up your business and make sure it acts professionally? I just think a company who wants to be such a giant should act like one. $300 is nothing to you, but not everyone who has payed for your samples are big time producers making a killing. You shouldn't forget that without everyone who dropped the $300 on Platinum, you wouldn't have the funds to launch all of these new products.
I don't hate you. I just think you can a bit of an asshole. I know that I can be too, but not without reason. I've talked to a bunch of guys on here who feel the same way. Actually, I know for a fact there are quite a few guys on this very forum and elsewhere who bought Platinum as a group buy, splitting the costs between themselves and sharing the samples with each other. The anti-piracy watermarking does nothing to stop it because they know not to upload them to torrent websites. I'm not one of those people. I payed for them, although I could have easily done something similar. I like your drum samples. I like that you are providing these products which help people improve the quality of their mixes (although I don't mistake this as a personal favor, because I know it's business and $$$ is to be made). I know that you are good at what you do, and I respect that. I just don't like feeling like I'm constantly being fucked over. The only difference between me and others who feel the same (some of whom posted in this very thread) is that I don't hesitate to be openly vocal about it. I feel no need to kiss ass.
That's about all I have to say about it. I'm honestly surprised I haven't been banned from your forum yet. heh
