#1

I would have never bought this. I am so annoyed right now. This is the last purchase Arthuria will get from me. You should SAY SO ON THE BOX THAT YOU HAVE TO REGISTER TO “GET ARTHURIA’S PERMISSION” TO USE A PRODUCT YOU PAID FOR IN FULL.

Also, the Keystep is awful. It’s impossible to use the DO key properly because the dumb keyboard bed has this big raised sharp corner. How hard would it have been to bevel it?!

Now I am stuck with these products that Arthuria can choose to remove access from me if they feel like it.

If this topic gets deleted, you can be certain I will badmouth this company that thinks it is “renting” out equipment, every single chance I get. You could easily fit the stupid drivers on the minifuse itself. There is absolutely ZERO reason to force anyone to register a fridge or table. what the heck.

#2

When I got my Keylab 61, I had to register to get access to the included software.

Likewise when I registered my Novation keyboard, I had to register it to get access to all of their included software.

When I bought my Native Instruments Maschine Mikro, then Maschine Mk3, my S61 mk1, then S61 mk2 and my latest S88 mk3, , I had to register to get access to the included software.

When I bought Spectronics Omnisphere v1, it came on a nice hard drive, but I still couldn’t use it until I had logged onto their site and registered.

When I purchased my DAW (studio one) I still couldn’t use it before registering.

When I bought a new oven, sure I could use it without registering, but if I wanted the extended 3 year warranty (that was in huge stickers all over it in the shop), to get that free warranty I had to register.

When I set up my new MacBook today, had to have an Apple ID etc etc etc

If you look at Trust Pilot, Arturia comes out very very good whereas most of their competitors come out very very bad.

I get it you’re angry, and I too wish I didn’t have to register all my stuff either, there’s always the worry about a company going bust, or discontinuing a product and me not being able to download it anymore, but Arturia are no different from virtually any other company, and saying you’re going to bad mouth them at every opportunity you get, well that to me is unfair.

You don’t like this way of doing things, fair enough, neither do I, but Arturia are one of the better synth/keyboard/audio software companies out there, and slagging off a company for doing what they all do, well it’s your choice, but again I think it’s unfair…

I don’t know which keystep you own, but I have read very few (if any) comments from people unhappy with them, I would argue the exact opposite is true, the vast majority of Arturias customers, myself included, love their products…

That’s not to say I and others don’t think they could have designed things better, sure we think that, likewise we do with Arturias competitors.

That is in no way meant to undermine your grievances , if for you it’s unusable, then fair enough, but when the vast majority seem happy with it, either you’ve discovered something no one else has, or you are using the keyboard differently to everyone else etc.

That doesn’t mean the product is crap and useless, it just means it’s not suitable for your use. I’ve hated many things in the past that everyone else seemed to love, so I do sympathise.

What was the non refundable product you bought?

Just because a company says it’s not refundable, doesn’t mean they won’t refund under certain circumstances, and you not being able to find out the licensing term’s until after you bought the product , they may well agree to refund.

Well they may refund if you ask their support when you have calmed down (threatening to bad mouth a company isn’t going to make them want to help you at all).

If you bought it elsewhere, it’s not really Arturias fault if they won’t refund, can only talk about how it works in the UK, when I buy something, the contract is between me and the place that sold it to me, not the manufacturer (although often going direct to the manufacture is quicker etc)

I wish this registering and things phoning home didn’t work the way it does, I even had to register my TV to get the smart options installed, even new cars have computer systems tied to the company that makes them.

I’m now too old to want to make a stand, I’ll leave it to the younger generations, but being polite and unthreatening will get you much further than having a go at them.

If I didn’t use a bank that annoyed me at some point over my life, or a TV provider etc etc, I’d have no bank account, no TV, no Internet etc etc and I’d be screwed.

Sure , I hope the way we seem to effectively be leasing almost everything we buy nowadays changes, and the sooner the better, I understand your frustration but Arturia make some great stuff and I’m glad I discovered them, and wouldn’t want you to miss out on them.

4 Likes
#3

HI @NotHappy and welcome to The Sound Explorers Forum!

Sorry to hear your experience isn’t up to your expectations.
If you purchased your KeyStep new, you should be able to ask for a refund, depending on any statutory rights in your area of The World.

As someone else has mentioned, most companies have some kind of registration system, personally, i use them as it can prove proof of ownership in case of theft/insurance claims etc, as well as help to identify things like ‘batch issues’ to manufacturers if there might be a QC issue.

As regards the physical layout of the KS not being to your liking, it’s always worth putting as much effort into checking out if a product is going to suit you and your own needs/wants. I’ve recently purchased a new interface and have put well over a year’s research into it before parting with any money.

Unless the end user is going to use a ‘frozen system’, then pretty much all software is ‘rent to own’ as you say, we could say the same for pretty much anything if we look at it from that perspective.
This is why MANY professional studios DO in fact freeze their systems for years at a time. There are STILL studios out there using Atari 1040 STs out there and doing very well out of it.

It would be remiss of me if i didn’t also point you toward ARTURIA’s Code of conduct for obvious reasons.

You can of course Log into your account and discuss with Support to discuss.

HTH!

3 Likes
#4

Lots of good feedback here already. If the product doesnt suit your needs and you are still in the return window, return it. In terms of a design issue and feature suggestions, I have had at least one enhancement I suggested for Pigments implemented - to my surprise. I think Arturia are listening and open to suggestions. I try to stay positive but, like a lot of things in life, you get out of it what you put into it, so I try and contribute wherever possible. There are a lot of good people here on the Forum who are willing to help with troubleshooting problems.

2 Likes
#5

Ok there’s some pretty serious muppetry going on here. I can’t make my mind up if this thread is even genuine or not because I’ve never met anyone quite so…unique…IRL.

You’re registering for the right to use the software that you, as a purchaser, and only you, are entitled to download. Otherwise how else do you think Arturia (notice the spelling btw) know that ‘you’ are ‘you’? Think about it. Take as long as you like. What did you think it was going to come with in 2024? A CD or DVD?

And no they don’t remove access. That would be technically illegal in probably every territory.

EDIT: Fair play the only thing I can sympathise with is you not liking the keybed. That’s going to be a personal preference, and is the reason why we once had these strange physical things called STORES where you could actually check stuff out before you bought it. Now it’s all about buying online and exercising your right to return. So…do that.

EDIT2: I’m still half thinking this is a windup. No one IRL is this…unique…are they?

2 Likes
#6

They may and should remove access to the software if you return the hardware it’s registered to.
Perhaps that’s the problem :wink:

1 Like