8len8
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Over the past few years I've tended to buy more boutique stuff because I'm picky about the features and sounds that I'm after, but that's come to an end.
I've had too many bad experiences with boutique vendors (see below). I know that all of the vendors I talk about below (names omitted) are highly regarded here and on other boards, but all I've had are hair raising experiences.
- Pedal vendor #1: I bought their pedal at a local shop and it soon failed. I contacted the vendor and sent in in for a replacement. No word back from the vendor for over 1 week. I emailed and called them but got no reply. After 2 weeks they finally sent a replacement.
- Cabinet vendor #1: I wanted a very specific size and style cab made for a chassis I had. I sent a pic of what I wanted it to be like. There was a huge misunderstanding and he sent me one of his off-the-shelf models that was way to big for my use.
- Cabinet vendor #2: It's now week #5 of his "3 week turn around" custom cab for me. For the past week he's promised to send me a photo of the cab before it gets tolexed, but no replied from him in the past week.
- Amp vendor #1: Ordered a custom amp. After several weeks went by without and feedback I tried getting in touch with him, and got no reply at all. The next few weeks had me wondering if this guy was still even alive. I finally got my amp (a great amp) with apologies.
- Amp vendor #2: Ordered one of his stock amps. As usual, it slipped schedule. After I got it the fuse was blowing left and right, and one of the features wasn't working. He ended up telling me he must not have fully tested it prior to shipment. I spent a lot of time then returning and picking up the amp after it was fixed.
- Amp vendor #3: The guy was offering his "high gain" amp, and had a video on his site of heavy music being played through it. When I got it the gain was nowhere near what the video showed. I had to return it to have him increase the gain.
These are just a few of the issues. I know there will be those of you who will say some of the issues are my fault for not doing due diligence, or are "typical" things you have to deal with when doing internet ordering with a small vendor, but I give up. If these guys are going to go to the effort of selling product they should be more responsible.
I'm gladly now sticking with mass produced product. While all of the features and sound might not be there for me, I know they will have "some level" of customer support, be available for demo'ing at a local store, and be designed and built by people trained to do so.
I've had too many bad experiences with boutique vendors (see below). I know that all of the vendors I talk about below (names omitted) are highly regarded here and on other boards, but all I've had are hair raising experiences.
- Pedal vendor #1: I bought their pedal at a local shop and it soon failed. I contacted the vendor and sent in in for a replacement. No word back from the vendor for over 1 week. I emailed and called them but got no reply. After 2 weeks they finally sent a replacement.
- Cabinet vendor #1: I wanted a very specific size and style cab made for a chassis I had. I sent a pic of what I wanted it to be like. There was a huge misunderstanding and he sent me one of his off-the-shelf models that was way to big for my use.
- Cabinet vendor #2: It's now week #5 of his "3 week turn around" custom cab for me. For the past week he's promised to send me a photo of the cab before it gets tolexed, but no replied from him in the past week.
- Amp vendor #1: Ordered a custom amp. After several weeks went by without and feedback I tried getting in touch with him, and got no reply at all. The next few weeks had me wondering if this guy was still even alive. I finally got my amp (a great amp) with apologies.
- Amp vendor #2: Ordered one of his stock amps. As usual, it slipped schedule. After I got it the fuse was blowing left and right, and one of the features wasn't working. He ended up telling me he must not have fully tested it prior to shipment. I spent a lot of time then returning and picking up the amp after it was fixed.
- Amp vendor #3: The guy was offering his "high gain" amp, and had a video on his site of heavy music being played through it. When I got it the gain was nowhere near what the video showed. I had to return it to have him increase the gain.
These are just a few of the issues. I know there will be those of you who will say some of the issues are my fault for not doing due diligence, or are "typical" things you have to deal with when doing internet ordering with a small vendor, but I give up. If these guys are going to go to the effort of selling product they should be more responsible.
I'm gladly now sticking with mass produced product. While all of the features and sound might not be there for me, I know they will have "some level" of customer support, be available for demo'ing at a local store, and be designed and built by people trained to do so.