These days a lot of people all use computers etc. All come with various software. Most software at some point will have the options to either upgrade or buy the new version.
As a musician i am no exception. To start with those who record on computers will probably use a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). These days there are a few daws to choose from eg. Cubase, Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, Sonar, Reason etc. All of which, after a few years bring out a new version. This time it will probably come mainly the same, but with a few new features & more 'bells & whistles' that you probably may never need or use. This is the time when you ask yourself "Do i really need to upgrade my DAW to the latest version?" I have to say that yes i have been caught up in that. For example when i started recording i started on Cubase Studio 4. After about nearly a year upgraded to Cubase 5. Then a year or so after that my computer started playing up, so i thought, well seeing as i've got to have my computer fixed & re-installed i might as well upgrade to Cubase 6. Thankfully as of now i have not upgraded to Cubase 7. Will i? Well the new mixer console has had a redesign, theres some new effects etc. However, again the question is "Do i really need to upgrade to Cubase 7 or shall i wait for Cubase 8?" I think for now i will stick to cubase 6.
Cubase is just one example. Pro Tools recently announced Pro Tools 11? Ableton released not so long ago Ableton 9, Reason are now on Reason 7 & so the upgrades go on. (However i would like to point out that Logic Pro 9, that was released a few years ago, as far as i know, has not been upgraded to Logic Pro 10 or X. There have been various rumours circulating the net, but nothing has been confirmed)
I've mentioned the DAW's and their upgrades. Then there's the soft synths and plugins (effects). Oh yes they all may one day need updating or a possibility of an upgrade. Do i update my software? Well sometimes. I know you may well think that i should all the time. However, there have been times when i have updated a piece of software to fix a bug or something and whats happened? The update hasn't worked correctly & messed the computer up a bit. I haven't been happy, when that has happened.
If you do upgrade your software, what are the chances after a very short time that it will become 'Old Hat'?
So next time you are thinking of upgrading your software (not matter what it is for), ask yourself 'Do i really need to upgrade?"
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