- Go ahead and reduce polyphony on the non-commercial version. 6 voices is enough.
- Don't remove any features like OSCs or filters or mod-routings... that'd be lame and people would continue to steal.
- Limit the number of concurrent instances. Two is enough, but four would be better.
- Here's the really neat idea: enforce a cc-by like license. So that songs/albums that use the software must (legally) list the software being used. Free marketing for you!
- Of course, no technical support. (Support is where a whole lot of cost goes for software.)
I also want to point out that it is
very important to release a high-price version of the software as well as the low-price. First, those are the people who will require support, and you (as the developing company) pay through the teeth for that. Second, and more importantly, it will ameliorate the perception of the software being "cheap". PoiZone, for example, sells for $80 or so (last I checked). It's a nice synth! I'm not sure why it's that low. ...But for reasons that may be lame but are entirely human, I kinda passed on the synth
because it was in the bargain bin. There's just something about a low price that suggests cheapness. But if you sell a non-commercial version on the cheap when the "real" version costs $500, far more people will say "Aww, man, I
need this synth".
Yes, you will get fewer sales of the commercial version. But I imagine the non-commercial version will sell profoundly well. I think in the end, you'll end up with more overall income.
My two cents.
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