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The tech will go this way whether we agree with this or not. The question is who will build the hardware first?
The hardware is irrelevant if Fractal / Line6 / Kemper / NeuralDSP etc refuse to supply the software.
I cannot see them opening up that to third parties. The software is more valuable than the hardware units. I also find it unlikely that they would all agree on a unit design / specs.
And then there is development. After a physical unit has been released - one of the big 4 is going to hit the limits of that hardware quicker than the others and demand the physical unit gets updated even though the others don't yet need it. The unit won't be like a desktop PC where users can upgrade a part or two.
I think the only way it might happen is if Yamaha (owners of Line6) decide to buy the other companies and create a brand new line - but with an even more tightly controlled ecosystem. That would be quite disastrous really.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
I'm a Software Developer by trade so I'm coming at it from that angle. From a software perspective it makes perfect sense.
Hardware could be offered with a few different options much like a laptop.
From a shareholder / accounts / legal position - I can't see it at all.
Even if the lower end players decide to go for it, there would have to be a seismic shift in perception to get them to be desired more than the big guys.
I get it can happen - Apple were laughed at by Blackberry when the iPhone came out...
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
IK do their pedal and a PC version of the Tone X.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
The hardware until itself isnt the entire value proposition. It's also the fact that you are buying a tightly quality controlled, curated set of models that work with virtually 100% reliability with known performance characteristics that all have the same workflow and UI.
A generic VST host built into a hardware controller isn't going to provide that.
https://youtu.be/VhSYE_51vBo?si=7qyzcwXj9ngm0CsJ