MPC Ren Price Drop - $799

Yeah, I paid $1700 for my 2500 back in 2008. Same thing happened with Maschine. Shit was like $600 when it first came out. I paid like $329 shipped in 2011, brand new.

back on track.....

1300$ to be a beta tester, putting up with buggy software lacking some really basic iconic mpc worklow....and then to get shafted by the pricedrop to 700--ouch....

i wonder how low these will go for by Black Fryday?
499$ for a new Wen is my guess
anyone buying a Wen before then is not wize

and still no announcement from whack aye regarding its licensing fiasco.....which is only making prices falls even lower

mpc_fiend wrote:back on track.....

1300$ to be a beta tester, putting up with buggy software lacking some really basic iconic mpc worklow....and then to get shafted by the pricedrop to 700--ouch....

It was very clear that MPC Software 1.0 was awful, we were all discussing this, most of us were warning people to not jump on board yet. We covered the bugs, the missing features, the poor workflow and the fact that it was clearly still in beta. This entire forum was filled with these warnings, as were most other tech forums. We continued these warnings for 1.1, 1.2, 1.3....

Anyone jumping on this product the moment it was released should have been more than aware they were paying top dollar to be a public beta tester on an unfinished product. Beyond reading the warnings, it's generally common sense and good practice to hold off on such a big purchase until you read the reliable reviews.

There's no denying that the current price drop is huge and it sucks if you are looking to sell your unit off on the s/h market, however historically it is not unusual to see fairly big price drops in gear once all the 'gear lust' purchasers have parted with their hard earned dollars.

And yes I agree, Akai should definitely be more clear over licensing issues - as I mentioned before, the info on their site conflicts with the info stated in the license agreement in the installer, however it is clear that officially each Ren can only have the license owner changed one time. What people need to know is whether this is a strict policy or not.

I think the price drop stinks to see for early adopters. I wasn't one of them, but can still imagine it stings.

Isn't this the same pattern for Akai though?

Price high for early adopters
Big discount to capture the on-the-fence adopters
Another big discount to capture the "I always wanted one" adopters
Discontinue

Again, my concern is how far through this cycle are we really. One could argue somewhere around #2 and #3. Which means, IMO, the question really is, how long before discontinue, and what state will the software be in when they do that? And / or, will the software survive and remain the center of a new controller?

So even while the price is luring, what are you really investing in? The software, or the controller? I would be thinking... within 12 months you could be sitting on a discontinued piece of hardware (and already dated IMO).

Eyalc wrote:Isn't this the same pattern for Akai though?

Price high for early adopters
Big discount to capture the on-the-fence adopters
Another big discount to capture the "I always wanted one" adopters
Discontinue

Not just Akai, this is a standard segmented sales structure that most companies adopt. You identify your different customer groups, work out the max price they are willing to pay for a product and work out how you can offer the different prices to each group to maximise sales and profit as a whole.

One way is to target a group is to offer coupons through outlets only that group would tend to use e.g. through a particular site or magazine that group tends to read.

Another way is to simply drop the price over time (as well as offer additional incentives such as pro tools le) - eventually you should reach a price point that 'bites' for each particular group.

MPC-Tutor wrote:And yes I agree, Akai should definitely be more clear over licensing issues - as I mentioned before, the info on their site conflicts with the info stated in the license agreement in the installer, however it is clear that officially each Ren can only have the license owner changed one time. What people need to know is whether this is a strict policy or not.

This what what keep me from grabbing a used Ren and giving it another try once the software had improved.
I could find some great deals but didn't want to get caught with being a second owner who couldn't unlock the software.

It seems as if many believe this to be the final days of MPC Ren/Studio.

I guess many have found other tools, or are anticipating the Maschine/Studio.

Good luck my friends! Keep making those excellent musics!

Don't worry too much, European prices are still high and I presume this is where Akai is seeing the bulk of their profits.

Actually the Studio is now down to 359 euros in some parts but no drop on the Ren as of yet.

I will definitely pick up an MPC Studio at the new price for the travel/portability factor.

There's obviously more cash to be made in Europe. I remember the 2500SE being sold exclusively in Europe at a premium.