Elektron-Users

ok - fuck this thing. Look at the signs of how sketchy it is:

first of all, they say "if it arrives broken" right in the email! Whats up with that? That does not inspire much confidence.

Its in beta testing and they are producing 25 - so, basically, they will make $18k on this and call it a day. Forget email support and new OS and firmware updates for 25 units!

the thing seems like a scam to me. I mean, who makes only 25 of anything and expects people to pay huge bucks when it could break in 2 weeks and the company is gone?

seriously. Does anyone else think this is suspect?

milkmansnd wrote:
ok - fuck this thing. Look at the signs of how sketchy it is:

first of all, they say "if it arrives broken" right in the email! Whats up with that? That does not inspire much confidence.

Its in beta testing and they are producing 25 - so, basically, they will make $18k on this and call it a day. Forget email support and new OS and firmware updates for 25 units!

the thing seems like a scam to me. I mean, who makes only 25 of anything and expects people to pay huge bucks when it could break in 2 weeks and the company is gone?

seriously. Does anyone else think this is suspect?

I think you are right on the money milk....though I still think it is nice...but your point is a good one. Yeah, that arrives broken line was scary. At least I can forget about this one and concentrate on the fact that I want a Droid 3 and most likely will never get one.

gentlemen,
I think you may be jumping to conclusions. My brother has lived in Norway for 10 years and his english communication skills are now shit. He and his family say stuff all that time that make me go, what the fuck? Just like Fredrik's if it arrives broken...
For all we know, they have a big problem with courier services breaking shit and not paying for it?@?@?!
Anyway, I emailed the Minod guy for clarification on a "warranty for workmanship". I'll let you know what he says. If he skirts the issue, then ya fuck 'em. But I'm pretty sure it's his translation.

Well, I say fuck em due to the price and the limited quantity.

"Hello Stuart,

Of course any serious failure will be corrected.

The hand crafted wooden box is very solid and the front plate is thick
aluminium. High quality Swiss knobs, joystick and pots (Re-an and Alps).


Mechanical failure is highly unlikely. The only thing that I can think
of is if a glued part should come loose, which you can easily fix
yourself. Don't rest a DX7 on it, and it will be ok. One of the beta
testers had this problem, and the construction has been changed to
improve this.

Electronically, it is a 5-Volts system with well protected inputs and
outputs. The firmware is upgradeable via MIDI. If a firmware upgrade
should fail, the microcontroller inside could need replacement. This
will be at the buyer's expense. A new microcontroller will cost you $40
plus shipping.

Every unit is thoroughly tested before shipping. Any fault that is due
to bad design, faulty assembly, or insufficient shipping protection will
be corrected free of charge within a year.

Failures due to bad handling can also be corrected, but at the buyer's
expense.

We do this because we like to build synthesizers, not to rip people off.



Sincerely,
Fredrik C "



I'll post pics and mp3s when mine arrives.

it should be a DIY project! If you have to do the maintenance yourself, might as well build it yourself and save $700. Right?

replacing a microcontroller is not so simple as taking the old one out and putting a new one in - you have to program the bootstrap onto it, otherwise the thing will not boot and be ready to take the OS via midi (sounds real similar to the midibox to me)

either way - it looks and sounds good enough, and its no more of a gamble than any other small company which can go under at any time. However, for the amount of user involvement in the maintenance there should be a kit option. I would build one!

replacing a microcontroller is not so simple as taking the old one out and putting a new one in - you have to program the bootstrap onto it, otherwise the thing will not boot and be ready to take the OS via midi


That's true, but one would definitely hope that they'd be able to ship you a pre-programmed MCU!


(sounds real similar to the midibox to me)


Midibox definitely wasn't the first project to use a bootstrap'd midi loader, though....

milkmansnd wrote:
first of all, they say "if it arrives broken" right in the email! Whats up with that? That does not inspire much confidence.

Let me assure you that if you were scandinavian you would probably feel just the opposite about that. It's a cultural thing; we consider it good manners to talk like that. 'Cause it's reassuring see...and nobody trusts the postal services. (At least they shouldn't. Never, ever, ever trust your postman. )

Good call pointing out cultural differences. It's all too easy to forget that people hail from around the globe here on Elektron Island.

/Scott

ok, I can chalk that up to my american-ness.

When i hear "if it arrives broken" all of a sudden I am thinking "someone had one arrive broken and this company is trying to cover their ass for next time"