![bias amp 2 standard bias amp 2 standard](https://tokyoguitarpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/preamp_standard_pluginboutique.jpg)
Sales can sometimes just be loss-leaders meant to get people into the system for future payments. When buying software, it's always important to take in to account the total costs, including future upgrades. Even if you initially get something on sale for something you don't need, you will be paying more for upgrades down the road. And once you buy, you can always upgrade later for upgrade prices, not full prices.Īnother thing to take in to account, in terms of only paying for what you actually need, is future upgrades. I think Pro is the sweet spot and would have bought that, had I not had a sales code (a real sale) to get Elite for ~US$140 vs. I agree that there's no need to pay too much, and each tier is a point of diminishing value. In fact, I think someone in the PG forum looked at the web code, and saw the variables for the "promo" starting with "fomo_", presumably for "Fear of Mission Out", to trick people in to panic buying. Yeah, their "sale" prices are a bit dubious, which is why I quote those sale prices as the "normal" prices. Not to mention all the free DAW plugins adding to the mix.
![bias amp 2 standard bias amp 2 standard](https://guitaradvise.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bias-FX-2-Full-Review-Can-it-Replace-Your-Real-Amp.jpg)
For a grand total of $300 for the software and $200 for the PreSonus hardware, I have two quality amp & effects platforms, two quality DAWs (actually three, since the AudioBox came with a Studio One Artist license), and I'm pretty much set, other than some smaller software upgrade purchases every few years. Although, in a moment of weakness, I did buy the PG Spark, but that is just a one-off (at least until the next one-off.).īut to your original point - one single-purpose "boutique" pedal can typically be over $200, and I paid ~$140 for BIAS FX Elite, $99 for S-GEAR, $60 for Reaper, and Ableton Live Lite was free. I'm loving the minimalism in terms of physical clutter, but am also spending a fraction of before. I now mainly use just my laptop with an entry-level PreSonus AudioBox and some entry-level PreSonus monitors and some decent headphones, and do it all with BIAS FX and S-GEAR, along with Ableton Live Lite and Reaper tying it all together. I bought my last physical pedals in 2018, then swearing-off all new physical equipment (other than a guitar itself), and am slowly getting rid of all physical equipment, other than keeping my BOSS GT-1 and a few booster pedals. I'm at the opposite end of the original poster - my days of playing in a band are long over, and I'm mainly a hobbyist now, or just making music on my own at home.
![bias amp 2 standard bias amp 2 standard](https://store.shimamura.co.jp/ec/img/mt00643/mt0064391.jpg)
This is a chart that depicts the differences between the tiers, although they don't mention here that Elite also gets the BIAS Pedal product:īasically the price of one decent-to-great real pedal.
![bias amp 2 standard bias amp 2 standard](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wgoQR7f0SBc/hqdefault.jpg)
These are their prices, and the Metal Edition is about half-way down the page:Īlso, take their "sale" prices with a grain of salt - they seem to perpetually have that dubious 40% sale, and they periodically have real sales on top of this, with deal codes. The expansion pack by itself is normally $47, but with the bundle, you're effectively getting it for just $18 more. It's basically a combo deal of BIAS FX Elite and the "Metal signature pack", which is a dozen extra amps/pedals (total). One tip: if you are into metal and decide that you do need Elite, then you probably should instead buy the "BIAS FX Metal Edition" for only US$18 more. Elite, then just do the 14-day trial, which again, I think is the Pro version. In any case, last I knew, the 14-day trial was the Pro version (their marketing claims in places that it is Elite, but it was actually Pro when I tried it), so if you simply want to see how limited you'd be by Pro vs. Keep in mind that if you buy a lower tier, you can always upgrade to a higher tier later at an upgrade price, not full price again. I own Elite, since I got a deal on it, but Pro has plenty of features and effects, and would work better on ToneCloud than Standard. They throw-in some modelers and the BIAS Pedal stuff, but if your're just starting out, you'll have your hands full learning how to use pedals, let alone building them. But in general, there are actual features that differentiate Standard and Pro, while the difference between Pro and Elite is largely just more pedals and amps, and not as much features. I'd say Pro is the sweet spot, in terms of value, but can't say how limited it is on ToneCloud. I agree with u/thisismyphony1, in that Standard would probably be too limited if ToneCloud is important to you.