phil,
it is obvious that we have a different point of you in here…
since you are in the industry and i am just an amateur :P:P:P:P (this is just a teaser)
yeah i do agree with you with some points, but there are many free Plug-ins an a few free DAW for people starting out, no need to spend 2k on a set up to start with.
in the last 6 months i’ve been unemployed i’ve still managed to buy plug-ins, i just would never be able to folk out all in one go i have to save.
before i was unemployed i was a simple laborer earning a carp wage with two kids and a wife to support and still managed to add to my studio.
i guess that if you really want something then saving for it shouldn’t be a problem.
i have no problems with people who use dodgy software (i do while im saving) the problem come’s to the industry when people just use plug-ins with no intention of ever buying the full software or even supporting the free plug-in creators.
I use Sylenth 
Raymond
If you making money from something then it’s only fair to be putting money back into the industry your making money from.
For instance it completely gets up my nose when there are DJs who are expecting paid gigs when they’re pirate downloading all their tracks, it totally takes the piss.
The same goes for producers.
But yes a few £££ to ££££ can be too much really, especially in hard times. All thats happening (and what was mentioned in my CM/FM mag (Cant remember which)) is that due to the recession, people are now turning a lot to free ware and pirate ware.
The simple fact is that if costs were brought down to more reasonable prices then they’d shift more units, effectivly in the long run making more money. It’s effectivly the same principles as how companies like poundland, primark, iceland etc do it. Lower costs = more units shifted = more over all money earnt.
Sylenth is my first weapon of choice. All plugins i use are bought or free ones. I believe that u should learn a couple of them really good before u go and buy another one. But time and inspiration are the biggest ingredients in this cake. And thanks to S.A they shortened that time a lot 
Hey all just wondering if anyone uses thor in reason ?
i just rewire to ableton .
i think that this synth is phat and use it in most of my leads
any body else ?