Soundcloud is cool, but again, as a musician, I’ll tell you that I’m still not as likely to use it. Why? Because the sharing is cool and all, but it’s _still_ doesn’t answer the needs I have for actual online collaboration with a friend in Berlin, and there’s no major tools beyond sharing audio files. The point of Koblo’s project is to allow you to share your entire working project file from Koblo Studio with other musicians, especially those you want to collaborate with. This is what actual collaboration needs to be – not just sharing some audio files.

The issue is not having trouble sending a track to someone. That’s easy. The issue is not being able to send them the whole track, with the software synth that you used on that track, and the automation, and other tools. That your friend might not have on his system. That’s the issue. That’s what Koblo is addressing. That’s what others are not. File sharing is great and all – but it doesn’t answer my needs as a collaborative musician.

I would say that you should talk to some mid level/professional musicians about how they would see the difference between tools such as Hobnox’s, Soundcloud’s, and Koblo’s. I’m not sure what is “cold” about the Koblo site – and taking issue with plugins that are $20? I dunno about that, either. Everything that’s free is not good. Everything does not need to be free on the internet. Beyond that, a free audio workstation that works on all major platforms? Still miles above soundcloud and hobnox. The plugins are simply addons – the host does the talking as it is. I know you say you don’t understand mixing, but perhaps you should read on it a bit, or talk to those that do it, to get an understanding of the fact that this is miles above what the others are doing.

You should also understand that the Koblo host already comes with a multitude of plugins for mixing audio, beyond those that you can buy. You should also understand that an average plugin in the virtual instrument world is at least $50. Koblo’s are much lower than that, and just as (if not more) powerful. The fact that Koblo’s tools are not flash toys like Hobnox’s is to their credit. These are tools that musicians can actually use – do you think I’d ever use Hobnox on stage? Erm, no. Won’t happen. Toys are fun, but they don’t usually lead to real music.

Closing statement; take a closer look at what you’re reviewing, and more importantly, those that would use it. Otherwise, nicely written.

meME