Fractal Talk

[SwirlyMaple]

This is a miss on their end, and I would have handled it differently if I were in charge. Period.

You've done your share of lifting on this, SM. To ask you to do more is utter BS!

We don't know what the refund amount will be yet. Perhaps better to wait and see how the story ends before judging?

He already paid shipping costs for a repair voyage that he can't recoup, JD. I only
ever work for other people my entire adult life. If the fuck up is on my end I eat it. All
of it. The end.

It is true that I have forked over shipping costs that likely won't be recouped, but it was my choice to have it shipped Next Day Air originally, and also to get the RMA back more quickly (where they covered 50% of Next Day Air on the way back here).

But one could argue that going above and beyond for the customer would recognize that the unit was less than a month old, and that it probably cost them more in the end to send it back, try and fix it, and then pay $65 on their end to split the return shipping with me, vs. exchanging it.

At the end of the day, I just want an FM9, and the path of least resistance is to buy a new one and have them refund me, so I'll eat it.

 

[jellodog]

Question regarding FASLINK II.

If "a person" wanted to try the Axe-Fx III before committing to buying more foot controller hardware (i.e. FC-12), can the FM9 be used as a "dumb" foot controller for the Axe-Fx III ?

 

[JiveTurkey]

Question regarding FASLINK II.

If "a person" wanted to try the Axe-Fx III before committing to buying more footcontroller hardware (i.e. FC-12), can the FM9 be used as a "dumb" footcontroller for the Axe-Fx III ?

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Question regarding FASLINK II.

If "a person" wanted to try the Axe-Fx III before committing to buying more footcontroller hardware (i.e. FC-12), can the FM9 be used as a "dumb" footcontroller for the Axe-Fx III ?

I have a very dumb FM9 that you could try it with. Not useful for much else! What's your address? Juuuuust kidding

 

[la szum]

We don't know what the refund amount will be yet. Perhaps better to wait and see how the story ends before judging?

Respectfully, nope.

It's already a miss, from my perspective, and personal management/business perspective. (Business owner of
30 years).

You just don't ask someone in SM's situation to pay more out of pocket. Period.

If the situation/circumstances were different then ok. But they are not different and we know the deets
as shared here by SM.

I mean, he's paying more shipping for unit 2 on top of the original shipping from the 1st unit, and the 1st unit's
repair he can't get back. That's f'ed in my "How to treat customers properly manual."

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

Honestly, I agree. But, I understand that Fractal is a small company, and probably doesn't have the same kind of brute-force financials behind them to just send out new units any time an issue is encountered. I also admire that they maintain jobs for technicians and service their own products. So I don't really fault them for that.

You are definitely getting the "high road award for patience" on this one! I would imagine your history with electronic repair has been a large factor there, but kudos to you for not going bananas and rejecting the product line for life because of an isolated incident!! I hope all ends well!!!

 

[Whizzinby]

It is true that I have forked over shipping costs that likely won't be recouped, but it was my choice to have it shipped Next Day Air originally, and also to get the RMA back more quickly (where they covered 50% of Next Day Air on the way back here).

But one could argue that going above and beyond for the customer would recognize that the unit was less than a month old, and that it probably cost them more in the end to send it back, try and fix it, and then pay $65 on their end to split the return shipping with me, vs. exchanging it.

At the end of the day, I just want an FM9, and the path of least resistance is to buy a new one and have them refund me, so I'll eat it.

If you’re buying a second one new in advance, did they at least cover expedited shipping for that second unit?

 

[la szum]

It is true that I have forked over shipping costs that likely won't be recouped, but it was my choice to have it shipped Next Day Air originally, and also to get the RMA back more quickly (where they covered 50% of Next Day Air on the way back here).

But one could argue that going above and beyond for the customer would recognize that the unit was less than a month old, and that it probably cost them more in the end to send it back, try and fix it, and then pay $65 on their end to split the return shipping with me, vs. exchanging it.

At the end of the day, I just want an FM9, and the path of least resistance is to buy a new one and have them refund me, so I'll eat it.

You shouldn't have, too, though. That's my only point.

You didn't consciously choose to receive a faulty unit, twice!

So the conscious choice of you willing to pay extra shipping is solely
the outcome of receiving a faulty unit 2 x. Those are choices you had
to be asked to make because of receiving a unit (2x) that didn't function
properly.

 

[jellodog]

Respectfully, nope.

I thank you for your respect, sir

 

[SwirlyMaple]

You shouldn't have, too, though. That's my only point.

You didn't consciously choose to receive a faulty unit, twice!

So the conscious choice of you willing to pay extra shipping is solely
the outcome of receiving a faulty unit 2 x. Those are choices you had
to be asked to make because of receiving a unit (2x) that didn't function
properly.

I agree completely with you, FWIW :)

But I've dealt with issues like this enough times in my life to know that arguing and fighting usually just leaves me more stressed, and no closer to a quick solution, so sometimes I go with the path of least resistance for my own sanity.

I don't know what the final refund amount will be. Maybe they'll sweeten the deal once all is said and done; maybe they'll refund the new purchase plus the expedited shipping cost too. I have to assume Cliff is seeing these posts, since he's been active in the thread.

I'll withhold any final judgments until I have a new one in-hand, and everything is resolved. :)

 

[SwirlyMaple]

If you’re buying a second one new in advance, did they at least cover expedited shipping for that second unit?

I had to pay fully out of pocket for Unit #2 until they receive the old one back, since I didn't choose to return it first by UPS Ground (1 week) again. Not sure what they'll do with the shipping cost -- we'll see.

 

[laxu]

Question regarding FASLINK II.

If "a person" wanted to try the Axe-Fx III before committing to buying more foot controller hardware (i.e. FC-12), can the FM9 be used as a "dumb" foot controller for the Axe-Fx III ?

Unfortunately no. That would make the FM9 even better value because the FC12 is so expensive.

 

[laxu]

Just my 2 cents.... and a little experience using various power sources. This is where
something like a Power Station can come in super handy. Or a tube amp with an
FX Return.

I am also happy with other solutions. But there is something to be said for tube power
sections that make all the various solid state options a bit of compromise. Not that
compromise is a bad thing.

When I tried the Fryette PS100 vs the BluGuitar Amp 1 with my Axe-Fx3, there wasn't a whole lot of difference at 90-100 dB @ 1 m volumes. The main difference was the more guitar amp like behavior of the BluGuitar, as it should since it is a guitar amp and not meant to be neutral like the PS.

But I don't have a lot of experience with other SS Class D poweramps so I can't vouch for those.

The BluGuitar was also louder than a 45W Bogner GF45 SL when cranked all the way through the same cab, as it should be since it's rated like a 100W tube amp. Blug has never really said how powerful the Amp 1 really is.

 

[FractalAudio]

Well, I got my FM9 back from RMA this morning. Box looked great; no damage at all. As soon as I took it out of the bag, I noticed the sound of something very tiny falling from end to end inside it.

Then I plugged it in, and it appeared to boot normally to the presets screen. I pushed the "Page >" button once, and the screen immediately went black, and the tempo LED went out again, just like it was doing before. The top 3 scribble strips aren't lighting up at all either.

I'm not too happy. I just emailed them again, and thankfully I had the forethought to record video of all of this stuff as it was happening, but I politely but firmly insisted they send me a brand new one before Thanksgiving. I offered to pay Next Day Air out of my pocket again, because I am stupid with my money.

I'm sure they'll take care of it, but sadly my first experience with Fractal gear has been a major fail. I bought this unit 10/19, and I've only gotten to use it for a couple weeks. On the bright side, I loved everything else about it. Tones are killer. Just wish I actually had one I could use and trust!

Heads are gonna roll.

 

[FractalAudio]

I had to pay fully out of pocket for Unit #2 until they receive the old one back, since I didn't choose to return it first by UPS Ground (1 week) again. Not sure what they'll do with the shipping cost -- we'll see.

I'm going to go throw some chairs around the office tomorrow and make sure this is made right.

I already fired a tech a couple weeks ago for similar incompetence. I don't take this sort of stuff lightly.

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[fretworn]

 

[laxu]

I'm going to go throw some chairs around the office tomorrow and make sure this is made right.

 

[JiveTurkey]

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I'm going to go throw some chairs around the office tomorrow and make sure this is made right.

I already fired a tech a couple weeks ago for similar incompetence. I don't take this sort of stuff lightly.

Hey Cliff, I appreciate the reply very much, but please don't take it out on them unless there's strong evidence of incompetence with their work on your end. Especially not around the holidays.

The issue before I sent it in was highly intermittent -- it went 4 or 5 days after the first issues without a hiccup, after being powered for many hours. Then the next week, it started to exhibit the issues randomly again, and by the time I sent it in, it had gotten so bad that I wasn't sure it was ever going to boot again. But the morning I sent it back, it booted up completely normally right before I boxed it up! I thought nobody would believe me if I hadn't recorded the videos of it.

Anyway, I'm sure it'll all get worked out. I'm not angry, and I'd hate for someone to lose a job so close the holidays over my FM9. I could totally believe that the issues the tech saw went away completely after the work they did, only to reappear after it was shipped, because I saw essentially the same thing happen when it was still in my hands. :)

Edit: also, I want to add that I doubt the noise I hear of something tiny & loose inside has anything to do with the issues. It's behaving a lot like it did before I sent it in, and it had no loose noises before that. If they re-seated the connectors and had to remove the original glue staking, maybe the noise is just a fleck of that glue that got loose. Not sure -- I'll send it back without touching it and you can see what it is.