you’re dreaming mate…
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100% agree… It’s not hard to update your high paying customers about the status of an update.
I’m surprised more aren’t pointing at the elephant in the room. The focus on Gemini has clearly got in the way of finishing their first and only product out in the market.
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At the market price point UDO are targeting the S6 should now be a mature product with lots of support from UDO , free downloadable editors, Liberians and sound banks etc , if Modal Electronics and Nord , both small companies one at the cheap end of the market the other price wise a direct competitor ( own synths from both and they really are great well built / designed / supported mature products that I would highly recommend anyone . Given the premium price point of UDO synths , strong communication and at least given the no screen approach then a working Liberian is the minimum level of support users should expect . As it is, if I was holding out for the Gemini , common sense would lead me to rethink and look at both new and existing flagship synths from more established companies.
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Well, any UDO news from UK Synthfest?
Seems no news from UK Synthfest 23, no news on website or forum regarding the much promised upgrade release or any additional support for existing UDO S6 owners .
To me it seems to paint a negative picture for potential purchasers of both the mega expensive Gemini and / or current and future owners of the Super6 regarding future product support by UDO
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The lack of communication affects certain perceptions and confidence but doesnt actually make any difference to the other fundamentals. We are still getting an update with important fixes and features, its only a question of exact timing of release, when it is ready we will get it and words wont affect that timing. If they indicate a date before the work is actually finished, then the date will still be liable to potential delays beyond that date. And when it comes to product support for individual customers, it remains the case that you get that support by contacting them directly, not via the forum.
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As for SynthFest, this isnt usually a big show in terms of brand new news. Also Bristronica happened just one week earlier, and George was interviewed as part of that previous event. He speaks of being locked away working on firmware, including Super 6 firmware. And, if memory serves me correctly, the temptation to take some stuff that emerged from Gemini development and apply it to the Super 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH6M7P6zSzE
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Steve, I gatta disagree man, I think communication means a lot and goes a long long way. I would argue that many people want to have a relationship with their small synth company and be involved in the conversation because they are invested in their purchase, their hobby (or job) and in the longevity of the company. Very different products, but Isla and OXI are both tiny companies like UDO and are working in the same industry. Those guys (especially OXI’s Manuel) are CONSTANTLY communicating with their users and it hugely positively impacts the perception of their gear, the quality and frequency of bug fixes/feature additions and the relationship in general. People in this thread have been asking the same question since March, and its been near radio silence. The last real update is from March and its a paste of internal notes for “firmware v.90”. It takes 5 minutes while you’re taking a dump to bash out a post updating users.
That said, I’ll take your other premise here and run with it. If the S6 is now somehow inextricably linked to the Gemini, then the question now becomes, “when will that actually be in stores?” Cause it cant ship without finished firmware.
Finally, I’d just like to point out that homie said he was beta testing in JULY in this very thread. Nearly 3 full months ago at this point. How long is reasonable for this to take?
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It seems you were very correct. Credit where its due.
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Wasn’t the new Super 6 FW to be timed to release along side the Gemini?
Gemini is out in a few days,
This comment pretty much sums it up.
Stop obsessively whining it’s coming.
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Oh dont get me wrong, I far prefer much more public communication, and my favourite synth purchases of this era have involved more of such things from key developers of those other synths. I was just pointing out that it doesnt directly change the other fundamentals, it wouldnt have gotten us the new firmware any sooner. And clearly this sort of complaining has not had the desired result, it hasnt made George more likely to communicate here even though I would strongly advise any synth company to indulge in more forum communication, not less, even if they find complaints painful. I try to be positive because I dont want to contribute to anything that might make bunker mentality worse, negatively impact on mental health etc, but I’m not sure its made any positive difference.
I really hope that UDO get their act together very soon, at the moment I am far from sure that the Gemini will be anything else other than a permanant beta product like the S6 is 3 years after its launch. If I have the spare cash and the GAS for ‘just one more synth’ do not think I would go for the Gemini but would strongly look at the latest Yamaha flagship synth Montage M8X at it current UK price of £4K the M8X just blows away all the completion (poly aftertouch on a ultra high quality concert piano based keybed- unheard of but Yamaha claim to have done it.
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What exactly is “beta” about the FW except a random sub 1 number?
I’ve had Super 6 two and a half years and it has barely skipped a beat even on earlier firmwares.
If the FW was 1.0 from the start you wouldn’t have this attitude, you wouldn’t even have blinked an eye.
Yamaha synth is cheesy and plastic sounding by comparison, and the rest is a rompler - buy it if you wish but it’s not really comparable but I’m sure it will have a more reassuring FW number to put your mind at ease.
UDO did a big mistake by numbering the FW they way they did but it is literally random numbers. They could have done it to indicate ongoing development, who knows, but it backfired as this thread is evidence of.
The firmware now is more than mature and stable enough to be labelled 1.5 or higher by other companies standards.
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To make it clear, I love my S6 and will never sell it but am not a fan boy .
The simple fact is that anyone researching or considering a mega expensive synth (except maybe the serious home user ) for use in a commercial environment and or for prestige live use will probably be put off by the issues highlighted in the forum esp with UDO being a new ‘to many’ company - if I had the GAS for another mega expensive synth (which I don’t) and intended to use it professionally I would have concerns about the viability of the S6 and gemini due to the perceived lack of customer support and more importantly the on going financial viability of UDO given the dire state of the UK / world economy.
As for the new Yamaha flagship , as a rule I do not like Yamaha synths as I find them too complex to program and am not keen on the sound they make , even though I will admit they are generally very well made professional instruments. All I did was simply use it as a comparison as its very new to the market , offers 4 different synth engines ROM, 8 op FM , VA and user sample ) poly aftertouch plus a ribbon controller in the same price range as the Gemini .
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With respect, that’s all waffle isn’t it.
What perceived lack of customer support? By all accounts they offer excellent customer support, which is via email - this is a forum. UK or world economy. What has that got to do with anything? New Yamaha Montage? Also irrelevant.
If the synth was seriously buggy for live, or even home use, not even the “fan boys” would be tolerating it. But the fact is it works fine and development on the FW and features continue. They don’t want to promise then have to back pedal due to unforeseen circumstances. New S6 FW is coming soon, just need to be patient.
I don’t think Sequential broadcast development updates for the mega expensive OBX8 either. I own Maschine+ which hasn’t been updated in over a year and NI have been much more tight lipped with it than UDO have with their synth.
If anyone is researching and considering their next synth based on firmware development instead of sound then that is a sad reflection. On sound I believe the Super 6 is second to none and I’ve tried them all, except the Baloran River 
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No, only a fraction of people in those markets consider those factors. The pro users I know cannot judge things based on internet moaning or else they would end up owning hardly any synths at all. They will tend to listen to the opinions of trusted peers that they know personally.
Thats also a segment of the market where there are many happy Moog One owners, despite that synths flaws and huge periods of time between updates. Not all of them were happy and could live with all of that synths flaws, but plenty do, because there are obvious upsides, just like there are obvious upsides to UDO synths. Sound quality and what the synth does do (as opposed to what it doesnt do) go a long way. And pro users with large synth collections dont need every synth to do everything brilliantly. Plus they tend to learn over time what spending bigger amounts of money actually gets you, and its not perfection.
Where there are issues but still upsides to the synth in question, they just get on with it by working around the issues unless considered insurmountable or not worth the hassle.
So agree many points you have made Steve, as I said my S6 is a keeper , thankfully over the years I have accumulated a few flagship synths which ‘fit’ very well with the S6 sound.
Glad you brought up Moog , as you may know they have been very sadly bought out and most of its staff sacked - lack of sales due to many reasons inc being an easy to copy one trick pony (mini Moog D) and a well know German who produces mega cheap rip off synths in China.
That is the point I am trying to make UDO must appeal to non professional users who don’t have large hardware synth collections to supplement its weaknesses . For the majority of potential customers the S6 or Gemini may be their first mega expensive flagship synth, people whom it is a very big spend and must be able to cover many bases plus have a solid customer support base and stable , mature software
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The Moog situation is complex and is far from being only about sales. Its about margins and missteps and existing debts and the previous owner and component inventory too.
I know what you mean about the Super 6 stuff anyway, and there are things I’d rather have been different in the story so far, but we are bound to vary when it comes to quite what perspective we place any issues in. Certainly I dont have a means by which to safely guess what proportion of potential customers will be buying their first expensive synth with the Gemini but I do doubt that it will be the majority. When it comes to a large chunk of the people I expect to hear from online about their Gemini purchase, I dont expect it to be their first expensive synth at all.
As for what their first and then lasting impressions of the Gemini will turn out to be, we will just have to wait and see. It does in a number of areas build upon work done on the Super 6, including years of firmware work, so I expect it to benefit from early Super 6 growing pains and dev work in some key areas. But right now people dont know what to expect in terms of the next Super 6 firmware either, they dont know how many areas will be a source of continued frustration. I do have sympathy with that and people letting off steam about it is more than understandable. I’ve had mine for 3 years and have been more patient about it than I probably would have been if I was younger or didnt have as many other synths to distract me during periods where there was no news of improvements. And I am an MPE fanatic who waited a long time for that feature to arrive in any form, and then again for it to ripen.
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