Huh, I wonder if he'll give his sample packs away for free now.
Doubtful. Someone in the comments stated that he made a whole video praising the John Bowen Solaris, a full digital machine based around software in a hardware form and from his response.....well like I said above (not sure if it's a troll attempt or something genuinely more serious).
Espen is kind of an endearing character, and it's not uncommon for him to contradict things he's said in not too distant past. In one interview a couple of years ago when talking about gear he mentioned he would love to own a Prophet 10 Rev 4. Around the time I first found his channel, he said he didn't like using plug-ins because only real hardware inspired him, and recently he's been extolling the virtues of software over hardware.
I do remember that he quit his full-time day job in IT during the pandemic as his YT channel was taking off, and in a recent live stream he said he regretted that decision because it's been more of a struggle than anticipated. He also sold a lot of his gear, and seems to have streamlined his setup toward minimalism. I've also noticed that the prices he mentioned for certain synths is much higher than US MSRP, so yeah I can see how his perception would be skewed if a 3rd Wave would cost him the equivalent of $7k USD....in that case I feel like his grievance should be about the cost of acquiring gear in Norway rather than going after synth manufacturers.
It is human nature I think to adopt a negative attitude toward material things that are outside of our reach... it helps us cope with not being able to own them, and I hear that tendancy all over Espen's recent material.
At the end of the day I think Espen has realized that controversy and negativity earn views on social media, and when choosing subject matter that puts food on the table, then maybe at least in the short-term and when it comes to YT click bait subjects, the old saying "there's no such thing as bad publicity" might have a smidgeon of truth to it. I think this is why he just started a second channel.... he is probably going to dabble in the business of being a professional troll/curmudgeon to generate views but wants to keep it separate from "the real Espen" channel.