• From: TC Denmark
  • Registered: 2007-10-26
  • Posts: 371

Topic: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Dear PowerCore user,

As part of a larger strategic review, we have decided to cease further development of the PowerCore product range, including hardware units as well as software for the PowerCore platform.

With the most recent release of software version 4.0, PowerCore is fully compatible with current operating systems, such as Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as the most popular DAWs - 32 bit and 64 bit.

We will continue to sell all of the existing PowerCore plug-ins (through dealers and www.tc-now.com) and hardware variants. We will also keep offering user support for the platform so you should be able to continue using your current system for quite a long period. Bugfixes will be handed on a case-by-case basis.

Also, it is very important to stress that we will continue our general computer recording activities, including audio interfaces and plug-ins.

Finally, for those of you who wish to continue using externally powered plug-ins on the long term and want to find an alternative to PowerCore, we have collaborated with Universal Audio in order to create an attractive UAD-2 crossgrade offer. The only condition is that you are new to the UAD platform. Read more about the crossgrade offer here .

As a final note I'd like thank everybody for their support of the platform.

Thomas Valter
Product Manager, TC Pro

thomas@tc's Website

2 Reply by mg

  • mg
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2008-09-25
  • Posts: 47

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Thanks Thomas

It's good to hear an official announcement.

MG

macbook pro intel / 10.6.4 snow leopard / poco compact / VSS3 plug / Non Lin plug / Voice Mod plug  / logic 9.1.1 / motu 828 mk2 /
  • Registered: 2007-11-15
  • Posts: 90

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Oh my god?!?

men sana in corpore powercore - amen wink
  • Registered: 2010-01-15
  • Posts: 179

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Finally - someone puts us out of our misery.

I'd like to say I'm shocked - but I'm not.

Thank goodness I only payed £1000 for my System 6000!

Oh well - life goes on.

tmy

PC Workstation, Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64 bit), DP35DP motherboard, Intel Q9550 CPU, 8GB RAM, Siig PCI-e f/w controller, Powercore PCI-e Express card, Powercore 6000, CL1B, Assimilator, Sonnox EQ, Sonnox Inflator, UAD-2 Quad x1 UAD-1 x2, Cubase 5.53& 6.02, RME 3.26
  • From: TC Denmark
  • Registered: 2007-10-26
  • Posts: 371

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

mg,

Thanks.
We deliberately chose to announce this up front, hope you all understand.

themarqueeyears
I'm glad you see it that way.

Thomas Valter
Product Manager, TC Pro

thomas@tc's Website

  • From: London, UK
  • Registered: 2007-11-14
  • Posts: 1,060

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

OK, well that is sad news - but not particularly unexpected.

Can you shed any light on whether or not we will see our beloved Powercore plugins in native format?  (The hardware will presumably die eventually)

Discogs Technical Credits

HueJahFink's Website

  • Registered: 2008-12-31
  • Posts: 2

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

This was expected - nuff said.

  • From: KL, Malaysia
  • Registered: 2009-07-08
  • Posts: 40

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Sheesh! And I only put my X8+VSS3 on Ebay last night.
Can't say I didn't see the writing on the wall, tho.

W7x64; English; Dual Xeon E5630; 24GB RAM; 8TB RAID; TI1394; Sonar X1 x64; PCx8 (now deceased)

Paul@Calamity's Website

  • From: TC Denmark
  • Registered: 2007-10-26
  • Posts: 371

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

HueJahFink,

There are no current plans of porting the PowerCore plug-ins to native.
At the same time please beware that this is not a TC exit from Computer Recording, plug-ins inclusive.

Thomas Valter
Product Manager, TC Pro

thomas@tc's Website

  • Registered: 2007-12-19
  • Posts: 93

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Classy.....NOT

Well the writing was on the wall...the development and support has been pretty woeful for quite a while. Kicking myself I didn't ditch TC products earlier.

Oh well....it'll be a nasty stain on the brand name for quite a while. I don't think the company will recover from this...it will look bad from many angles.

Would you buy an audio interface or a guitar pedal or hi-end processor from a company that ditches a long running technology out of the blue? I certainly wont be.

There of course would be a nicer way to do this, but that didn't seem to cross anyone's mind.
I don't like my chances of being able to use anything TC in the next mac os iteration given the gigantic brain fart we had to endure over snow leopard.

Incidentally...nice way to go about turning dedicated customers into walking/talking haters of your brand name. Flush all their money.

Whoever the genius is running the company...get ready to lose a LOT more money.
Just a friendly warning ;-)

Last edited by quantize (2011-01-19 15:33:25)

Mac Pro 2 x 2.8 gHz Quad Core Xeon / 8GB Ram / OSX 10.6.8
PoCo Compact / PoCo Express / Motu 828mkII
Cubase 6 / Pro Tools 9 / Powercore 4.3 w Virus PoCo, CL1B, Tap Factory & MD3
TC, please do the right thing by your once loyal customers and provide fixes and updates well into Mac OSX Lion!

quantize's Website

  • From: London
  • Registered: 2007-12-06
  • Posts: 117

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

As you want all the comments in one thread...

"With the most recent release of software version 4.0, PowerCore is fully compatible with current operating systems"

No it isn't! As a 20+ year Mac veteran, I'm usually happy to be an early adopter but I've actually stayed with Mac OS X 10.5. Why? Because I tried Snow Leopard and v4.0 only to find the same, serious problems as numerous other users including kernel panics and perpetual unloading of plugins. But as I use Apple Logic, I am going to have to upgrade to Snow Leopard soon - then what?

"Bugfixes will be handed on a case-by-case basis."

Really? As a pro user am I really going to be prepared to report a serious bug and then wait for a seriously pared down team to come up with a solution?

What really rankles is the reduction in plugin costs over the past few months. Like many others, I have invested thousands of pounds in two FireWire PoCos along with numerous plugins. Yes, my system works fine under v3.2 but that's a short-term situation. And I can't afford to kiss goodbye to my investment.

Before you draw a line under PowerCore, at least ensure that the v4 software is robust and works properly. As you know, you released it while users were still reporting bugs and haven't updated it since.

This is the least you owe a dedicated user base.

Gtrs: Strat with Abby Ybarra ltd edition p-ups, G&L Legacy with same pickups, Carvin 12-string, Les Paul custom, Taylor 314CE, Yamaha Silent Guitars
Gigging: G-System and either M-B Quad Preamp & Sennheiser guitar/iem systems or M-B IIc+ with 1x12 Thiele cab and 1x12 Altec 417-8H
Studio: 8-core 2.8GHz Mac Pro, Apple Logic Pro 9, 2 x MOTU 896HDs, 2 x FireWire PowerCores

viclen's Website

  • Registered: 2007-11-13
  • Posts: 925

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

Not a huge surprise to me either.

The writing's been on the wall for some time now!

Kit List & setup
  • Registered: 2007-11-15
  • Posts: 90

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

quantize wrote:

Classy.....NOT

Well the writing was on the wall...the development and support has been pretty woeful for quite a while. Kicking myself I didn't ditch TC products earlier.

Oh well....it'll be a nasty stain on the brand name for quite a while. I don't think the company will recover from this...it will look bad from many angles.

Would you buy an audio interface or a guitar pedal or hi-end processor from a company that ditches a long running technology?

Whoever the genius is running the company...get ready to lose a LOT more money.
Just a friendly warning ;-)

How many audio-people even know the PoCo platform? I don't think it will hurt TCE...

In the past 2 years they moved their product portfolio slowly to a more paying and bigger marketing target (guitar and bassplayers, bedroom audioproducers...) they had 2 strategies: pro-audio and bedroom-prducers. And PoCo was in the middle of it... Not pro (cause it was not working) and not bedroom (well, cause it was not working) wink

men sana in corpore powercore - amen wink
  • Registered: 2008-01-19
  • Posts: 44

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

thomas@tc wrote:

There are no current plans of porting the PowerCore plug-ins to native.
At the same time please beware that this is not a TC exit from Computer Recording, plug-ins inclusive.

You'll go native , if theres money to be made TC will be there.

The reason your not announcing native yet is damage limitation all the bad press poco users would give TC in forums etc.

But mark my words TC will release Poco plugins as native in future it a no brainer for TC the code is already there.

Last edited by cane creek (2011-01-19 15:40:25)

canecreek.co.uk
  • From: London, UK
  • Registered: 2007-11-14
  • Posts: 1,060

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

thomas@tc wrote:

HueJahFink,

There are no current plans of porting the PowerCore plug-ins to native.
At the same time please beware that this is not a TC exit from Computer Recording, plug-ins inclusive.

OK, so as I understand it - System 6000 will be the remaining DSP solution for the majority of the Powercore plugins.  Also Pro-Tools (I'm not going there)

Is there a possibility that the S6000 will start coming down in price to help bridge the gap for those of us looking for a more future-proof solution?  I use MD3, Brickwall Limiter, Dynamic EQ on a day to day basis and all the reverbs also get used regularly for my mixing work.
I understand that I can still use these tools but there will come a time for whatever reason that my investments will be obsolete.

To be honest I would much rather have seen a crossgrade offer on S6000 as this seems a much more accurate replacement of the Powercore than a few plugins for a new UAD card.
IE - buy the 6000 unit (at a discount) and get the relevant licences that you own on Powercore for free.

I understand that you can't please everybody, but as a professional mastering engineer I have to wonder whether or not I am stranded on a sinking ship.

Last edited by HueJahFink (2011-01-19 15:42:19)

Discogs Technical Credits

HueJahFink's Website

  • Registered: 2008-02-15
  • Posts: 36

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

PoCo RIP

I have most of the plug-ins- even the expensive ones.

I'm also already a UAD-2 user - so the upgrade offer doesn't apply to me.

How about letting us have the plugins for free - for example : look at our accounts and what we have
bought and then come up with some plan that allows for vouchers that some how equate with what we have bought already and and the give us some vouchers for plug ins that we do not have?

Is that clear?
If not free plugins then at least free plugins base on the number/value of the plugins we already have licensed?
The new pedal plug ins would be nice.
What about third party? I always wanted the Novation Synth or the Amp Room - will their prices be reduced?


Oh and when TC goes native will you allow us to "upgrade" for free?


Thanks for reading.

Last edited by granted (2011-01-19 15:43:10)

  • Registered: 2007-11-13
  • Posts: 122

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

It's been a long journey, but as soon as Lex release their plug-ins as native, I think that was the final nail in the coffin. And with other DSP solutions going native (read SSL) and CPU resources not being an issue, it was just a matter of time. To be honest UA will probably last a couple of more years but eventually they'll cave in as well.

If a crossgrade to UA for new UA users is the best they can offer they are really not trying hard enough. Crossgrades to the native versions of the plug-in's from Softube would be an honest thing to do, and releasing their current PoCo plug-ins for free to current users would also be a nice way of saying bye bye. I can't see how they could loose out any money at this stage by giving all PoCo users access to all plug-ins, honestly

MacPro 2.8 Octo (early 2008) * Apogee Ensemble * 2xUAD-1 * 2xPowerCore mkII)* Cubase 4 * VirtuaVia PCIe-adapter kit * Logic Pro 9 * Euphonix MC Control+Mix
  • Registered: 2008-01-19
  • Posts: 44

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

quantize wrote:

Classy.....NOT

...the development and support has been pretty woeful for quite a while.

Quite a while ? the support has been poor from day one , i bought my Poco back in the days when SSL Jim was working for TC.

SSL Jim hyped the Powercore now its dead , SSL Jim also hyped Duende which is Dead as native versions are imminent .
Thast why i don't trust what SSL Jim says over at SSL.

Last edited by cane creek (2011-01-19 15:50:56)

canecreek.co.uk
  • Registered: 2010-08-21
  • Posts: 10

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

What a kick in the ass for us users, especially after years of misery with a completely amateurish behavior regarding drivers and updates.

Well what i learn out of this ... TC will not see a cent from my money again, for no product, whatever it will be.

  • Registered: 2008-01-19
  • Posts: 44

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

replicant wrote:

. I can't see how they could loose out any money at this stage by giving all PoCo users access to all plug-ins, honestly

Great idea, However TC will go native and by giving access to all plugins will lose them sales.

canecreek.co.uk
  • Registered: 2010-05-10
  • Posts: 13

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

OK, so I spend $3000+ on a PC6k SPring 2010, get some extras, spend hours upon hours integrating, and now TC states "Go fuck yourself."  Are you serious?  You couldn't have pulled the hardware off the selves earlier and did a slow exit?  WTF?  Basically TC steals every dime from Powercore users to the last minute.  And the kick while your down - "... technical support on a case by case basis."  Yeah, in other words, unless it is an issue someone can rattle the answer off the top of their head, sorry, your fucked.

Simple question: you continue with the 7000, much of the Powercore platform, especially the 6k is based off the same.  WHY are you crashing the platform?  This is not good customer relations.

NEVER buying a TC or affiliate again.

22 Reply by mg

  • mg
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2008-09-25
  • Posts: 47

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

quantize wrote:

Oh well....it'll be a nasty stain on the brand name for quite a while. I don't think the company will recover from this...it will look bad from many angles.

Would you buy an audio interface or a guitar pedal or hi-end processor from a company that ditches a long running technology out of the blue? I certainly wont be.

to be fair, this happens all the time with musical technology, things become obsolete (but often still usable) without being offered any upgrade path to the next thing: pre-midi keyboards, hardware samplers, and in particular - computers (how many i've had about 10 macs and each one is a brand new purchase, no part exchange from being a long term user)...

during the POCO snow leopard driver wait, i basically resigned myself to the fact that my poco would just eventually reach the end of its useful life just like one of my computers. no upgrade path, no re-sell value.

same with my native plugs. they are only as good as long as the manufacturers keep them up to date. or you just build a working system and leave it. no upgrades. no chasing the next OS or application version.

what's the alternative? hardware comes with its own problems but at least you can re-sell it and it survives OS upgrades.

i'm not buying UAD i know that. its native for me from now on i reckon.

macbook pro intel / 10.6.4 snow leopard / poco compact / VSS3 plug / Non Lin plug / Voice Mod plug  / logic 9.1.1 / motu 828 mk2 /
  • Registered: 2010-05-10
  • Posts: 13

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

... Oh, and I'll be sure to advise ALL my clients, friends and associates the same... 

Man up and get some corporate responsibility.  Customer service is number one priority after turning out quality product.

24 Reply by mg

  • mg
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2008-09-25
  • Posts: 47

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

maybe no-one bought the Poco guitar pedal plugs?!
we've only got ourselves to blame...

macbook pro intel / 10.6.4 snow leopard / poco compact / VSS3 plug / Non Lin plug / Voice Mod plug  / logic 9.1.1 / motu 828 mk2 /
  • Registered: 2007-11-13
  • Posts: 122

Re: Future development of the PowerCore platform has been ceased

cane creek wrote:
replicant wrote:

. I can't see how they could loose out any money at this stage by giving all PoCo users access to all plug-ins, honestly

Great idea, However TC will go native and by giving access to all plugins will lose them sales.

I'm hard pressed to see anyone having spent zillions on PoCo would opt for their native plug-ins. So I'm not sure, it would however give them great street cred should they opt for native versions, because most people from the PoCo world would probably upgrade to the native versions since they've gotten used to the tools. However, expecting anyone to buy their PoCo plug-ins at this stage is (cough) hoping a bit too much (did I say Spark?) This is not the first time TC has abandoned users, could it be the last?

MacPro 2.8 Octo (early 2008) * Apogee Ensemble * 2xUAD-1 * 2xPowerCore mkII)* Cubase 4 * VirtuaVia PCIe-adapter kit * Logic Pro 9 * Euphonix MC Control+Mix