What’s the timetable for a possible BFD4 release? The preferences question was first asked in April '21 and based on the discussion, it’s already in process. Like many, I’ve been having problems and have considered just scrapping the current install and rebuying the program (now at PlugIn Boutique for $50) and starting all over. But if a shiny, new, improved version is around the corner, I’ll bide my time. Thanks - George
My guess is that with Drew’s announcement of the BFD Player and that possibly coming first, I wouldn’t expect BFD4 until late next year. But who knows, maybe both will be released at the same time? For some, the Player may be all that they need anyways, especially those just wanting to jam on an eKit.
BFD4 is some time away. Late next year isn’t a bad shout. Probably a bit later.
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Can’t wait to put it through it’s paces 
yes. but not much point in rehashing “technical breaches of contract” which leaves whatever social media channels anyone cares to post on as the only realistic recourse. fwiw,
DRM is not a subscription or “subscription-style”.
DRM has nothing to do with data collection. it could but that’s not the point. there are products, even free ones. that implement a status update for any # of reasons. i.e. to confirm the # of active/registered users. no problem here with that.
the real issue imho is the treatment of existing/potential customers;
- the 30?/90?/random number-day de-authorization of a 4 figure investment without any warning or mention of a fundamental change in the de facto user experience.
- that 4 figure investment -made prior to InMusic- is fundamentally compromised if you signed up for the relaunch. (the breach of contract per the original license agreement.)
- and still no mention of the re-authorization -requirement- in FAQs
-any- heads up on the DRM would have been fine, and then it’s up to the user to decide if they can live with it or not. the relaunch was pretty much a bait and switch. if you did not have backups of a previously authorized installation, you’re out of luck. we were able to restore a known good configuration, but that was after two remote sessions were sabotaged by the change. so ya, I’d say a substantial amount of good will was lost here. the fact that we’re 1.5+ years into this with out a reliable release or clear statement of requirements wrt DRM is not a good sign for any future expectations, jme.
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Just on this - if people are experiencing their time-out occurring before the 90 day period, then we really need to investigate - together. Because that isn’t supposed to be the case, and if it is a widespread thing I’d love to get it analysed and figured out and fixed. Please get in touch and investigate it with myself or one of the support team.
I’m still flying the flag for proper offline mode support and either a removal of the 90-day refresh, or at the very least a grace period.
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lmk what we can do to help. feel free to pm if it’s faster/more efficient.
= an expectation by long time users
good start as it’s been somewhat problematic
notification with a chance to finish a session would be better than our experience.
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Sorry, too late. InMusic have killed any goodwill they had with me and many other people. That they introduced this with no warning of change of terms shows how they operate and what they really think of customers. The fact the website still doesn’t reflect this requirement is duplicitous. Even if this was fixed, what would be next from this shady brand killer?
Never quite got comfortable with the BFD3 GUI compared to BFD2 .Sound and functionality are excellent.It is very comprehensive but I still find myself looking all over the place at times and labelling/menus etc. is for me too small.Someone suggested a simple /advanced layout which I would welcome.A configureable screen set system perhaps ( Don’t use groove editor but I’d like checking out grooves and dragging into Logic X, or a large 2 tier dedicated mixer page ? Depending on the preset editing , routing/subgroups and mixer tweaking can feel fiddly.I think psychologically the layout of BFD2 was more intuitive.See the drum , click on it ,edit effects, ambience, done.Perhaps the slightly anaemic graphic representation ,regardless of the loaded preset/kit is alienating.Of course, the more options, the more screen pace required and it becomes a DAW within a DAW A key command for show hide grooves would be nice.
I think it just happened to me-- unfortunately I couldn’t give details since I only now noticed it and 90 days might have elapsed by now. What definitely did happen though is that the license manager logged me out and de-authorized the products I had authorized, DLed, and installed. Best of luck Drew, here’s hoping you manage to convince them to give up the 90-day scheme etc. Happy Thanksgiving btw (not sure if you’re American or not but might as well be on the safe side )
Unfortunately, I am irrepairably British. But thanks
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you are confusing a subscription with a periodic payment ?
There are lots of types of subscriptions - some require upfront payment - some require no payment whatsoever. Actually I might SUBSCRIBE to this thread.
IMO the current BFD3 licensing system is clearly a subscription system. If I want to ‘unsubscribe’ then after 90 days (or some other random amount much less then 90 days ) then my licences will cease to work.
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this is -the- problem, and specifically for a four figure investment in the core program/expansion packs made -before- InMusic dragged the existing user base down a dark alley…
to make matters worse, i’m getting some rather stressed emails from peeps who decided to give BFD3 a try based on BF pricing and it’s doing it’s wholesale de-authorization after 8 days of usage. (just smh…) I’m referring them to ‘support’.
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having read thru a few of these posts it might be nice to get a feature summary wishlist (as a poll to vote on?) sometime …or did i miss it?
ps i also get the feelin that maybe BFD may need a new name at some point… i know that sounds like anathema … but perhaps a refresh reboot that works with the various packs as a new product might be worth considering at some point if a line in the sand is required. i take my hihat off to the developers who have navigated some very serious changes by apple et al… as a software dabbler i appreciate the many challenges that users are never aware of… patience persistence perseverance… i enjoy playing BFD 3+
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I got BFD mainly for reggae and ska. How about the ability to “tape” drumheads to shape the sound and pitch?
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Can you not achieve this with the built in effects?
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I’ve seen a couple of those on the BFD Facebook page too and I’m wondering if they’ve been sold older versions with an older LM as it seemed to have pretty much been fixed with last few builds of the LM.
Steve
That was one of the reasons I went with BFD2, not that it had any great reggae kits or presets, but that it wasn’t so heavily skewed towards metal as toontrack were (and still are) and seemed much more open to other genres.
Reggae and ska are such great genres in the rhythmic sense but seem to be largely ignored by most drum vst’s.
As @deangersmith says, you can achieve good results with the built in effects or other effects you might have but I’d still like to see a more extensive collection of reggae and ska drums and presets with lots of percussion and timbales.
They need to get Denis Bovell in to advise or create some signature kits. 
Steve
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I agree, although I have never used the reggae kits much, only on a few projects, they really are good, reggae has such killer rhythms, more of that would be great.
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@exBFD_Drew a lovely reggae kit/presets for BFD4 would be awesome