Would someone be kind enough to tell what the best upgrade package would be?

I have all of 2018 but don't want to miss out on any extras.

Is it best to upgrade to the Mega Pak?

No Having seen you around here often Mal and take it you have the 2018 ultra pak then the cheaper option to still have all realtracks etc is the plus pak upgrade at $99, right side of upgrade page as its easy to miss at first

Then if you want you can choose some add ons like 49bonus pak or Xtra styles 6

Of course you can spend a lot more if you want an audiophile edition.

For Pgmusic-There does seem to be a misprint on that upgrade page where it says that you need 2017 on left but then says you need 2018.

@musiclover

I have been using this software since the floppies musiclover and used to use the forums quite a bit. I think I was the original to ask for 64 bit software but this caused a lot of aggravation and argument. I see now the option has been added and I am enthralled at the prospect of using in Cubase Pro.

I didn't want to argue my point back then but just browsed occasionally to assist in what I was looking for in the forums.

https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks

https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/168894/songs

Mal

I have upgraded and hope I didn't miss anything.

Hi Mal, Sent you a personal message regarding your upgrade package.

Thanks!
Cat

Me too please .... just ordered the Audiophile update from 2018, while wondering what's not there that will be missed. F.i. nowhere i saw the XTRA styles 6 as content present mentioned.
PS i still have most Atari Floppies around somewhere, must be a long list by now ... F

I made the mistake of ordering the basic upgrade, plus the 49 pak and xtra styles pak 6.

A member of staff was kind enough to message me and told me I would be missing out on extra styles and suggested I upgrade to the pluspak. I did so but I now think this is an annual headache.

I would hope that the sales team make it clear in future what to buy and not miss out on the annual upgrades. At present one has to really study what is on offer.

It leaves me wondering if I payed too much.

Oh........ and as an afterthought, I note that RealBand remains 32 bit.

Is there a reason for this?


https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks

https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/168894/songs

Mal
What was the Basic Upgrade that you were considering?
Presumably the PlusPak you mentioned was the UltraPak+

I do admit that there can easily be some confusion with users with the paks, names and upgrade/crossgrade options. (Not a criticism, YMMV)

The thing that always confuses me is the list of packs to upgrade from last year to this year. There is the PlusPak for $99, then the UltraPak & UltraPak+ for a bit more, all of which seem to "get you everything", but I'm never sure which everything I want. Without searching out previous invoices, it's not easy to work out which I've got and which to get to be sure I don't miss out on something.

As lots have said, I think it could be made easier to work out.

Andy

Hi Mal, you were the first person I thought of when I found out about 64 bit.

I don't have an answer as to why RB is still 32 bit bit but it may have to do with the new Biab VST. I've haven't tried that out yet but it seems to me if it works well and you can use Biab directly in Cubase as a plugin, why would you need RB any more? Perhaps they thought developing the VST removed the need for 64 bit. That's just a guess though.

Bob

Which version of Cubase? I am jealous; i can't, mailed PG support about it ...

I've always found PG Music's offerings to be extremely confusing. The problem is that there are too many packages. They need to simplify their purchase options. It would even help if they went to a simple Bronze, Silver, or Gold tiered system or something similar. The uninitiated would definitely appreciate it. I remember when I ran my first gauntlet and I know it would have helped me! I took some lumps and bruises along the way and fell a few times but with the help of this forum, a therapist, and the invocation of every deity in human history, I was soon trying to figure out the difference between entering a shot and a hold and the process took only 87 hours to complete!

However, the current offerings are crystal clear for those of us with extensive legal expertise, a doctorate in linguistics, the luck of the Irish, a tin of Crisco, and a shoehorn, BUT the shoehorn MUST work on a size 10 shoe ONLY and be made of hard, brown plastic. No other shoehorn options are suitable.

How can one be sure whether or not he/she needs the Pro-Mega-Ultra-Everything-Plus-And-Your-First-Born-Wrapped-In-A-Snuggie-Blanket-But-Only-If-His-Or-Her-Eyes-Are-Green-And-Born-On-The-Second-Tuesday-Of-The-Month-SuperPak or some other package?

How do you differentiate the above from the Mega-Everything-Ultra-Pro-Plus-Everything-And-Your-First-Born-Wrapped-In-A-Giant-Hot-Dog-Costume-With-Relish-And-A-Side-Of-Mayo-But-Only-If-His-Or-Her-Eyes-Are-BLUE-And-Born-On-The-THIRD-Friday-Of-The-Month-Super-Colossal-Pak? And God forbid if the eldest was born in any other week of the month! That unfortunate state of being requires a completely different Super-Mega-Ultra-PAK thingy!

Of course, throw in the different package options for number of digits on your driver's license ID number, the name of your first pet, the color of your wife's toenail polish when you purchased, and the color of that old mood ring you found in the back of your closet and you have the PG purchase system down cold. But be very careful with that mood ring option. It may break a non-seasoned PG Music customer to tears or even drive them to an asylum for respite because in order to know exactly which is best for their needs, the customer will need the color of the ring two weeks BEFORE they found it!

And for an additional 49.99 you can order the Wait-You-Didn't-Get-These-Goodies-But-They're-Included-In-The-Pro-Mega-Ultra-Everything-Plus-And-Your-First-Born-Wrapped-In-A-Snuggie-Blanket-But-Only-If-His-Or-Her-Eyes-Are-Green-And-Born-On-The-Second-Tuesday-Of-The-Month-SuperPak for both Green eyes AND Blue eyes! (See? We're nice that way!) Note: Brown Eyes will have to purchase the Oh-Crap-I-Bought-The-Wrong-Option-Hey-Customer-Service-Can-You-Help-Me-Ultra-Dunce-Cap-Pak.

Now a savvy customer may wonder, "Gee... why didn't these RealTracks make the final cut and be included in the full release I just paid for? Were they not good enough? And if they weren't good enough why must I pay an additional 50 bucks for them?" All great questions, but let's not get carried away! The important thing here is MORE! MORE is always better! You're paying for MORE! So what if you'll never use the Mouse Farting Underwater _MSEFRTTINYBUBBLES Real Track? The important thing is YOU HAVE IT!

Just kidding PG, but I do wish the purchasing options were simpler. Hey! Maybe that could be a new feature next year!

"Hey, Marketing..."

Yes it is a bit confusing. I have 2018 UltraPAK and the $99 PlusPak upgrade seemed to be the best option.

Now after seeing the post by Callie from PG Music about saving 40% etc, it seems that I should get the $149 upgrade. But then I'm not sure, maybe I should get the $179 upgrade because it has the midi songs and lessons PAK.

I'm not that interested in the midi lessons stuff, so back to trying to decide whether I can get by with the $99 upgrade. I can't see what the $149 upgrade gives in addition because I assume with 2018 I already have the Real Tracks, midi super tracks etc.

I intend to wait until after Christmas to see whether things have been made any clearer before I decide. With luck the Aussie dollar will improve against the US dollar so I get a better exchange rate.

I went for the basic product upgrade.

I think the hardest thing is deciding how much of the new content will be useful, I did the UltraPak 2017 for my last upgrade and have found I use very little of the extra (non MIDI) content.

If you want the content the bigger packages are great value.

Drivers for me this year were 64bit and the VST.

With the mention that this years' 49-pak RT's are not included in the packages Ultra/audiophile so that discount of over 40% when you want that 49-pak is almost cancelled out with the extra 49$ purchase.

Thank you for the responses.

It would seem that there is confusion as to what is on offer and how to sift through and get the best deal.

I too am delighted to use my vst's in BB and to have BB in my DAW. I like the options to be able to use midi and audio files when composing and strive for the sound i'm looking for and BB has done a wonderful job over the years.

I never feel as if I am staring at a blank page when in BB. There is always a spark to ignite creativity there. That is not always the case inside a top end DAW. I use them more for mastering instruments and my vocals. I declined the upgrade to Cubase this year. I felt they were not offering enough to long term user upgrades for such a hefty price. This is not the case with BB. I consider the courtesy, help and the efforts put in to their customers to supply what is asked for superb. There are always snags but they are dealt with rapidly.I am satisfied with the product and happy with my purchase. I will always be frustrated at things. What musician isn't?

https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks

https://www.reverbnation.com/control_room/artist/168894/songs

Mal,

Packages can be confusing. But for someone such as yourself a quick rule of thumb (as the packages are named now) is just upgrade to the Plus pak each year at $99, works out to be about £80 or under.

if you want the 49 bonus Pak (which I usually do without) you can add that for an additional amount.

Yes musiclover. I went for Plus Pak, 49 Pak and Xtra styles 6 in the end with a member of the sales teams advice.

Well I'm not too sure jazzmammal ...... I rather looked forward to RB in Cubase as well as BB. Imagine editing parts of a track till your really wowed.
I'm on Cubase 9.5 Pro at present and BB is working fine. I'm satisfied with the new improvements and am having real fun at present.

Great to read that I am not the only one getting very confused about the different packs. I wish they would make much more clear what you get and what you don't get in each package.

One would think that the web pages with sale options should be the most important to keep clear in order to motivate customers to buy, but they are truly confusing.

I want to upgrade but I don't know where to click!

Will