I have no problem at all working with my new AR2 as it is. And in fact I enjoy a lot about it.
Many seem to think that you EITHER are a) the typical hardware musician or b) a DAW based music producer, and that you either should be satisifed belonging to a) OR you should be satisfied belonging to b), because you only have to understand how cool it is to belong to a). But most people I know are a bit or a lot of both, and then a lot of all shades in between! So both assumtions don’t seem to reflect how most musicians nowadays work.
First of all, they don’t belog to a) OR b), but to a) AND b) at the same time, concerning hard- and software use. And second, there are many more types of musicians and ways of making music out there than just these two basic types.
So for most of them, just like for me, the problem is not, that Elektron gear would be useless without Overbridge. Far from that: I’m doing a lot of things with my AR2 while Overbridge is still missing. And the other way round I also won’t stop working on DAW projects, just because Overbridge is missing: of course there’s endless musical life out there without Overbridge !
But:
the problem which won’t vanish, is that Overbridge is essential for certain kinds of planned workflow, and it is very annoying that planning that kind of thing with a buy is not just slightly delayed for some minor problems, but cancelled for the time being, without any further explanation how and when to get back on track.
So let’s not debate wrong alternatives of all or nothing, hardware or DAW, workarounds or real solutions etc.
Let’s focus on what Overbridge is needed for and why we can’t just forget about a part of the heavily advertised deal, which was cancelled one-sided in a - from my view - completely unacceptable way. It is NOT ok to keep us as uninformed buyers, after getting our money, instead of treating us as respected customers, who deserve A LOT more of qualified information and effort, and naming in a much more concrete way, how to fix a very bad situation.