My Music Gear Is Falling Apart - And I'm Not OK
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2024
- It's upsetting to me when I pay good money for a piece of gear that then proceeds to fall apart.
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Bill's recent gear in use: (Sweetwater Affiliate links, see disclaimers below):
Levy's guitar strap: sweetwater.sjv.io/LXaq7Y
Kyser Capos: sweetwater.sjv.io/nLd0ao
TC Electronic Polytune 3 Mini Tuner: sweetwater.sjv.io/q444Ag
Strymon Compadre Compressor: sweetwater.sjv.io/LXP9dM
Strymon Riverside Overdrive: sweetwater.sjv.io/eK4mZO
Strymon Iridium Amp Modeler: sweetwater.sjv.io/5gb402
Lehle Mono Volume Pedal S: sweetwater.sjv.io/oqaMon
Pedaltrain Classic Pro Pedalboard: sweetwater.sjv.io/rQQQ2D
Strymon Zuma Power Supply: sweetwater.sjv.io/QyLXmA
Adam Audio AH8 Monitor: sweetwater.sjv.io/9gGP03
Argosy Halo Plus Studio Desk: sweetwater.sjv.io/Pyj97Q
Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB: Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/anRm7M
Avantone MixCube: sweetwater.sjv.io/0ZQ74J
Chords of Orion - Ambient guitar is life
Bill Vencil - Guitars
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The sole pad (aka rubber pad) of our products is being coated with a double-sided fabric adhesive surface, based on a solvent-free acrylate adhesive and then adhered with the top of the pedal. This procedure is being done successfully at LEHLE since 2015.
The advantage is: the pad sticks well at the pedal, the adhesive is environmentally friendly, it’s age resistant, but also demountable which means the pad can be replaced for any reason at any time.
An alternative would be to mould the rubber pad directly to the metal part, which sticks even better but is not repairable or replaceable at all.
There has been a charge of pads where the adhesive strength has been less distinct, so after a few weeks there existed the possibility some of the pads got loose.
Of course we are replacing them for our customers already. Customers just need to get in contact with us and get shipped a new pad with flawless adhesive to replace at the pedal.
Bill, have you been in contact with us?
Best regards
Joki
Hello Joki: thanks for replying. I took the suggestion of one of the other commenters here and used Gorilla Glue to tack down the sole pad. As I mentioned, the issue made me wonder about the reliability of the internal electronics. Any recurring issues reported from users?
How about you ditch the the glue altogether and bolt the pad to the plate, that way it will stay on and can be removed.
@@chordsoforion Hello Bill, you are asking about the reliability of the internal electronics.
We are using a discrete built Class-A input stage since 2019 - no failure.
The VCA is from the well known brand THAT, on the market since 20 years - no failure.
The magnet sensor technology includes one of the most precise and most expensive 3D Hall sensor available, made in Germany, used for safety appliances - no failure.
The internal 30 V power stage is in use since 2019 - no failure.
The mechanics are using friction bearings of medical engineering institutions, maintenance free - no failure.
We haven’t changed anything to cheaper parts. The analogue technique in the product is top notch. Our products are developed and produced in Germany.
We do not have any shareholders. Our return rate is below 1%.
We could have simply sent you a new rubber pad.
@@LehleSwitcher Hello Joki. I've been in touch with you regarding a technical enquiry. You were absolutely superb to deal with.
Personally, I think that griping in a video to get content before giving the manufacturer an opportunity to resolve the issue is discourteous.
Of any of the gear I own, Lehle is of the highest standard.
Environmentally friendly is a terribly poor excuse for failure to provide a reliable product. It shouldn't be an either-or. And if it is an either or then ditch the environmentally friendly BS and give me a product whose reliability is worthy of your reputation. Secondly, it's a ridiculously poor excuse to say that you want people to be able to take it off easily. You can't have it both ways, do you want people to be able to take it off easily? If so, in your opinion how often are people going to take it off? And why do you punish people who legit need to use this on a routine basis and needed to stick on just so you can appease those vanishingly few people who want to take it off repeatedly. Stop gaslighting.
As someone who has worked in a few luxury consumer electronic companies with a history of good quality, I've seen everything has moved to a business model that extracts maximum profit while producing the worst possible product people are willing to buy while gliding on the brand name.
thats fucking sad
In other words, capitalism. 😔
That sadly seems to be the case for a lot if not most big companies these days. Feels like small brands is where you find the best quality on everything that doesn't require millions of dollars of investment to produce.
really sad reality. We went from companies manufacturing products that they can be proud of, to producing the minimum viable product.
@@Skrubenz Most of the small brands have this goal of becoming just good enough to sell their company to a larger company, though. It's part of the downward spiral of enshittification
Somebody once told me that every company can let a dud through. It’s how that company treats you when you get a dud that matters.
I’d be interested to learn how Lehle and the others respond.
Thanks as always for sharing Bill!
Exactly. I have had excellent experiences with Lehle support so far. So I hope he will contact them and let us know in another video how that went.
Yep if he had a strandberg instead of the ibanez, they take of ANYTHING you need
Lehle support is awesome. They repair without any charges and are super nice :)
One of the best in the industry
We responded already in the comments.
Not only does that Ibanez have a problem with the nut, but the headstock is missing! Can't believe that made it through QC.
😂😂😂
boom boom 😊
Now that’s funny!
Now that’s finnt
It’s not supposed to have a head.
This is why you end up realizing that Boss is best
Nuts are intentionally lightly glued to necks so they can be removed easily for height adjustment or replacement. That's a feature. They are held down by strings anyway.
Thank you. People think ti glue it extra. Then u can’t get off
Although this is true, it shouldn't come off from regular usage
When in doubt, buy Boss. That stuff *really* holds up, and should it break it's backed by one of the largest music gear companies in the world. You'll be fine :)
I'm friends with someone who's in the business of taking apart and analysing guitar pedals - let's just say that I have very few illusions left about "boutique quality"!
Personally I haven't really had any issues with gear failing. EQD foot switches tend to need replacing though.
I’ve had many new high end products fail recently, all my 80 and 90s stuff is still working perfectly
Woww. Thank you for this and all your other videos. Been watching for a while. Love the vibe man - keep solid
Thinking off my brand new dishwasher which stopped working and leaked after 6 months...
Two brands that come to mind that I'm never buying again because everything I've ever bought from them has broken on me are Gibson and Line 6. And that's a shame because all those products sounded great, but they all had issues in terms of quality control :'(
What was wrong with the line 6? I've actually never found a faulty unit, I saw the old bean 2.0 and the X3 live at a pawn shop the other day and they were both in working order and ready to demo if I wished.
No reason to play authentic, it all just breaks
Let us know how the Lehle response goes. It might be a good opportunity to try to change the color of that tan friction tread. If looks like a giant bandaid. I have a Volume S and three Lehle Expression pedals in the same chassis. I love how they work, but I too was hoping they would last a very long time and be trouble-free. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. My Morley pedals from the 80’s still work, but they squeak. They probably need some lubricant.
Hearing this from you has more weight than other people because I feel like you’ve always tried to put things out that are sincere and thoughtful. This video is no different. I’m sorry that you are frustrated but the positive take on it is you made another well thought out video that will help people!
Lehle should be embarrassed. They are premium priced and should have zero problems out of the box.
The Lehle pedal thing is bad, didn't expect any Lehle product to have that. I used and still use Lehle products and when hitting up the customer service about questions of potential use cases and functions, I had an absolute competent guy on the phone, who really was enjoying the talk and helped me tons. Rather than talk me into buying anything more from them, told me "for x you can use your unit like that and don't need anything else."
Even explained to me WHY. In a technical term and then broke it down simply. The quality of the stuff I had and have is great.
Bummer the pedals rubber was falling off. I always seen them as an S tier quality manufacturer. Might be a dud in their catalog.
Luckily an easy fix, but yes, shouldn't have happened anyways.
Stuff happens. Not a big deal
Sadly, all forms of newer electronics, especially from bigger companies, are lowering their quality. Why? Because of trying to meet profit margins to make their stakeholders happy. It’s never gonna get better. It’s sad.
Capitalism 101!
It's a little depressing how cheaply made (some) of the "best" stuff can be nowadays. Whatever it takes to keep profits going up! 🙄
I bought a Strymon Ultra Violet, it stopped working and I hadn't even used it 10 times yet. It went back, but they did repair it.
There are some manufacturers that just know how to build quality products. Meaning they do build them like tanks and they are reliable. Some companies choose to cut corners which does eventually come back to haunt us.
The only fail I've had with gear is my Walrus Monument tremolo randomly died a few months ago. It turns out to be a thing common with that batch of pedals, so I replaced it. Three weeks later, Walrus released the new Monument.
My Lehle Dual Expression lost its rubber like a week after I purchased it…I just used a different adhesive and glued it back on…
Hey,
have you been in contact with us?
Best regards
Joki
That doesn't exactly sell it to me 😅
@@jelnet I love it. As long as it's just the adhesive, I don't mind. I have the old Lehle Mono Volume and that rubber is going nowhere. Maybe they changed to a different (cheaper) adhesive? The inside of the pedal is still the same, just smaller
@@guitarplayer1994 As written in our comment there has been a charge of pads where the adhesive strength has been less distinct, so after a few weeks there existed the possibility some of the pads get loose.
We didn't change to a different or cheaper adhesive.
Every customer who gets in contact with us of course gets the pad replaced.
@@LehleSwitcher Moin Joki!, mega cool, dass ihr das macht. Ist mir zu viel Hassle, Doppelseitiges Tape und fertig ;)
Had the same problem with my Mono S! Glued it back on with Gorilla Glue... Its not budging now!
Nuts are meant to be lightly glued so they can be removed easily for adjustment or replacement. It's a feature. Strings hold them down anyway.
@@Leo_ofRedKeep The Mono S is the volume pedal lol
Shouldn't need to do that
Man Bill, if thats ranting well I don‘t know, you seem so chill! It really sucks when gear falls apart even worse if it‘s expensive!
Your Ibanez may have a tight cap on top of the knob. You need to turn that cap with rubber or nylon jawed pliers to get the knob off.
My Ibanez Q series volume pot went bad. I emailed Ibanez and they said if I provided a bunch of documentation they MIGHT be able to send me a replacement pot!! I wrote back with an "appropriate" response. And yeah, getting the knob off was CRAZY difficult! I also bought a Jackson Soloist and the neck had the low E falling off the edge of the fingerboard. I just got a Taylor big baby and the preamp was bad. My new Strandberg has a loose jack after about 3 weeks. Good companies are turning out some pretty shit products these days!
I own an sr375 bass, the middle poti died out. Well, not the poti but the circuit, still don't know why. Hadn't touched the bass for a time.
I wrote to customer services and they asked the serial. About 2 days later a little package arrived me from a German music store. Inside was a complete replacement for the electronics, and an e-mail came the same day. Ibanez explained that there was an issue with this particular electronics related to a small iec, which in some batches was an issue. Because of the iec of the same batch working correctly on the electronics in other basses, they were never able to really get to the core of the problem.
They just replaced the electronics if the problem occurred, all on their own costs.
That is why I LOVE old 80s rackmounts like Aliesis and Art, you can grab something like a Midiverb II or Art Multiverb for dirt cheap and the things never fail, hell my Midiverb II has been purring like a kitten since the mid 1980s and since they all use MIDI they are easy to use like stomp boxes.
I have 2 MV II’s and a Quadraverb Plus. I use them mainly on synths and drums. They’re bulletproof and sound great with their own character. Love them to death!
Right with you there, Bill. About 4 years ago, I bought a Focusrite Clarett 8 PreX. Within a month, headphone jack #1 stopped working. Bah!
Nothing personal, but it makes me glad about how much money I've saved in my approach to gear vs. getting this special gadget or that slick guitar. One very good Yairi acoustic (bought used) and one MiM Strat (bought used). One Digitech multi-effects pedal and one Digitech delay/looper. None of that is made anymore and I got them at the end of their production life (but new). I can't create EVERY sound, but I can create a TON and it certainly outstrips my playing ability. Solid, decent multi-effects plus solid, decent guitars = sanity. I'll preach it to anyone who wants to listen.
I had a Jimi Hendrix Experience pedal made by Digitech that literally FELL APART onstage, its an early modeler but the foot controller was made of very cheap white metal that broke in half at the worst possible time. Digitech did provide a replacement for the broken part, so I repaired it myself and have a fully functional repaired unit - but I never trusted that pedal onstage again and that was the last Digitech product I ever purchased.
Completely agree with you! I remember people complaining that TC pedals would "fall apart" but every one I've owned has been liked a tank. Oh and used prices on ebay/reverb etc tend to give an idea of quality/longevity as good stuff holds its price!
It's because manufacturers make electronic equipment with something called "Planned Obsolescence" built into it, they do it because it's the easiest way for them to maintain their healthy profit-margins.
I understand that individual units can occasionally be faulty - as long as the customer service is good and I get a replacement, then no problem. But expensive gear should come with more than a year or two of warranty.
A classic example of electronic gremlins. "Worked last night when I was using it, now today it doesn't work." One of life's greatest mysteries.
No such mystery at all.. Just poor craftsmanship, cutting corners to save money any way they can.
@@Doady1337 The mystery is, it works one minute and not the next.
Have to say I’ve got to agree. Some kit just does not stand up to even mild use.
Well done for calling a few out.
all the gear i have that was made in the 20th century still works
Wear and tear is normal. Also, you should try reaching out to the companies first before blowing up a case of “bad glue” out of proportion.
See, this is why I like watching your vids. Even you 'ranting' left me with a smile. My big thing is right now is 3 high frets on a 6 month old guitar, and they're high on the high e side of the board. Conversely, only just now my 54 yr old fingers & wrists could use an upgrade. Now back to my duo capo setup that you got me stuck on!
I own tons of pedals and got tired of paying premium prices for pedals that only cost a few bucks to make. I started building my own
I feel you.
My Eventide Harmonizer just started glitching like record static, and now pops loudly when switching patches.
My year old Jazz Bass neck just cracked at the first fret popping up the inlay.
Never made a truss rod adjustment.
Both bought new just around a year ago.
Both in the span of a month.
Both out of warranty, and to ship the harmonizer from Canada to the States, pay for the repair, and get it back will be expensive.
The replacement bass neck...more money.
Really frustrating.
Stuff happens, but honestly, like you said, the older stuff is just so much better in build and QC.
Erica Synths use pot caps that use a set screw to hold them on. One was probably just a bit loose on your Zen Delay. This isn't really a serious quality control issue, for me. What is, is faceplate silkscreen printing that scratches off, after a few weeks of some of heavy use. My LXR-02 is a pretty great drum synth, but Erica Synths needs to start spraying clearcoat over their printed panels/faceplates. My LXR-02 looks abused now, and it hasn't been.
I just bought a Squier Contemporary Jaguar 2 months ago. I was very happy with the sounds, the roasted maple neck, the fret work. But when I went to raise the stop bar (to make bending a little slinkier) I noticed that one of the inserts was just turning in the body and lifting. I phoned the store where I bought it (probably the biggest chain in Canada for instruments) and they were quite happy to take it back and fix it under warranty. But it was my job to get the guitar there. I live 1.5 hours drive (one way) from the closest location. So it would take me 3 hours to drop it off and 3 hours another day to come pick it up when the repair was done. Thats a lot of time and gas. I asked them if there was a better choice and they said I could ship it, but warranty service does not pay for shipping. So I looked at a couple of TH-cam vids and fixed it myself. I have also recently purchased a Godin Radium electric. It is flawless. Lesson? Don't know. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't.
Rants welcome.
The paradox is that what makes so many products available and affordable is the lowered cost of the parts used. And what makes those parts less costly for gear-makers is the high production volumes of the parts-makers. Let's be clear, though. SOME aspects of production have improved substantially. Look at many '70s pedals and the boards can be 20% solder, sometimes. Just great big blobs, compared to the nice tight compact joints on SMT boards.
My own experience with pots is that the smaller the pot diameter, the more abrasive the pot wiper. And while we may *think* that all dirt that can make a pot scratchy comes from outside, more abrasive wipers *produce* dirt internally, by scraping the resistive strip. After all, pots rely on the wiper pressing forcefully against the resistive strip to make contact. Those 9mm pots we see everywhere, these days, are generally closed off, such that one cannot spray anything in there. For any control one adjusts maybe 10 times in a year, that may not be an issue. But for any control used frequently, not being able to clean it easily is a recipe for premature failure IMHO.
Have been, still am, and likely will always be very partial to Boss equipment. Their pedals are built like tanks and rarely breakdown.
Great vid. Thank you. Hope it finds it's way in front of some of the manufacturers eyeballs. My late 70's Boogie is still cranking. My early 80's BC Rich that I carted around w no case for 15 years still plays great.
100% agree! I use a Morley volume/wah/distortion from the 90s, which I got for less than $50 on reverb. I love Morley, and would recommend their stuff to anyone.
The Cyber-Truck had the same issue with it's accelerator pedal, except the cheap rubber pad glued to it was peeling off and jamming the accelerator on.
Back in 2019 I bought a brand new Rickenbacker 4003S and it arrived with a chunk of clear coat out of the headstock and with the plastic bridge pickup guard bent down so bad that it rattled against the A-string. Was surprised the dealer didn't notice it.
I have a BluGuitar Amp 1 (the original) that I have gigged and abused for years, still works fine. I got the newer Mercury edition that I used in my home studio, sat on a rack shelf. Used it probably 10 times and it started to make a crazy buzzing noise on the overdrive channel (like a ground issue). Contacted their repair center and they said they wouldn't even try to fix it as they had no idea what the issue was and it would most likely cost more than a new one. $800 bucks down the drain, never even moved or unplugged, knobs not even turned after I first set it up and slid the rack shelf back into place. I have been mostly lucky, but this isn't the only recent story like this I have had. I think a cost cutting measure over the past 5 to 6 years has been to reduce QA and to reduce tolerances on components.
Ten years ago when a company in New York called Absara revived the Supro brand of amps I bought the 35 watt 2-10 speaker combo called the Royal Reverb and took it straight to the gig from the music store. After being underwhelmed by the sound I took a close look at it on the bench when I got it home. Imagine my shock and horror when I saw that it had passed inspection and was shipped with only one of the two speakers wired up. There were absolutely no wires going to the second speaker! It's pretty hard for the manufacturer to shift blame on that one. Let's hope that since Bond Audio acquired the brand in 2020 quality control will be more diligent.
Great video! The lesson from the Morley VP is notable. Stick with tried and true tools for utilities like that. Volume swells are a big part of my playing and I've been using the same Ernie Ball VP Jr. for 14 years.
I’ve owned 5 high end German made Warwick basses. The output jack didn’t last a year on any of them. On several the tuners developed wobble regularly and needed to be tightened. Just because it’s an expensive piece of gear doesn’t mean they didn’t use cheap parts or the craftsmanship is top notch.
Warwick xD...
Had a custom shop Warwick shown by a friend of mine, who does luthier works.
Haven't seen a worse neck and fretwork.
It's a shame what Warwick gives out sometimes
Yeah, I’m going up to stick up for Warwick here…. I had a 2011 custom shop thumb bass that did not have a single flaw ,the most immaculate fret work and craftsmanship
@swiftymcgarnagle4567
Didn't say it happens often.
But even if it is 1 of a thousand that's too much for that instruments price point.
If the instrument has a price over 2k I definitely expect the quality to match that.
When it's custom shop with prices reaching far above 5k there should be no flaw at all.
Well done, Bill! ✌️😌🎸
That pedal grip was probably a victim of aging glue from the manufacturer of the cork? mat. We’ve had adhesive products come into my wife’s picture framing business like that where they just let go a few months after the job is complete and out the door. A real pain, makes us look bad but not really our fault.
It's 🍀 ecology and public health thing, some solvents, binders and materials have been prohibited and nowadays we have worse and worse glues to work with.
Meanwhile, I've had my 1st Gen Scarlett 18i20 rack unit since 2015 with zero issues. I do have it plugged into a Furman power conditioner, but I doubt it makes much of a difference.
I have the same experience as you did with your mustang with my 03 strat. I have beaten it to death, modded it like crazy and it still crushes.
It's worse with vintage gear falling apart with age - synth repair gets pretty tricky. My Oberheim OB-8 is out for repair after it got stuck in purgatory with an autotune loop, and my Simmons SDSV is feeling tired. My Mesa Fifty/Fifty also released the magic smoke a few months back.
I have two rules with pedals:
1) Bad customer service: they loose me forever.
2) No pedal, however sophisticated, is worth more than 500$. Yes, this means no Zen Delay, no Meris LVX or Mercury X etc.
Never regretted applying these rules.
Me too. A) It must be darn cheap and B) match the looks of my other gear 😊
What pots did you buy? My Schecters, as much as I love them, seem to have very cheap pots in them. They also get scratchy often.
Hey there, I wanted to chime in on this video. First, it sucks that pieces of your gear are falling apart or failing in whatever manner. However, I would like to take the side of the manufacturer's defense on several points.
First, we should expect a 4% rate of product failure. This is typical regardless of the value or cost paid. Look at airplanes failing mid flight. They cost way more than the Lehle Volume pedal. I have the bigger version of that pedal and have had zero issues with it falling apart in any capacity. I don't see how the manufacturer could be held accountable. I see the suppliers of the products used to make the rubber mat, the adhesive manufacturer or the paint dealer being the culprit. One could argue that the lamination process failed due to a bad batch of glue. How would Lehle test the efficacy of the glue on each application?
As we all know, the EU has strict guidlines on chemicals used, and manufacturing processes. This pales in comparison to Morley making their pedals in Illinois. The US has had very relaxed guidelines over the years. The regulations on chemicals used for adhesives, paint and rubber manufacturing are scant at best. That's not including any part of the pedal that was sourced from Chinese factories which have even less restrictions. So it is clearly obvious that the US made product could be rife with higher strength chemicals that allow for better adhesion.
If you are going to glue the tread back down, I would strongly suggest using Acetone on the surface to provide a more suitable substrate to adhere to. Again, it sucks when things fail. Especially with the perceived value of goods: we pay $1K for a guitar when it probably cost a fraction of that receipt. It was a good video that demonstrated the difference between manufacturers and the reliability of said products.
Looking forward to the next video
This is a known issue with these pedals, not a one-off
@@jelnet I was unaware of that particular. Thanks for the information.
I totally hear you!!!.............I've been dealing with things like this for far too long in recent years. Back in the day, I was 'playing pro', full time on the Big Stage, a different city every day.....and honestly, there aren't very many newer pieces of gear, at ANY price, which I'd feel confident taking it out on tour, where I had to really rely on them night after niguht.......Shame on these manufacturers..............I know it's probably more difficult to find quality components, but DAMN, my old gear still feels bulletproof...................WTF?!
I had the same problem with '90s DOD pedals. The rubber they used, while extremely durable, doesn't (didn't) bond well with adhesives. I had to sand each down and treat with acetone before using ShoeGoo to finally get them to bond.
As for power supplies. I swear 99.99% of the time, they skimped on the electrolytic capacitors. Swap out whatever they used to Panasonic caps with the exact same values and most shoddy PSUs will spring right back to life.
Had a Dunlop volume pedal the newer one, I think Volume X and the rubber tread started peeling, so I had to glue it back down. Only about 1/2 the price of your Lehle but still upsetting.
Purchased a Gibson Les Paul classic in 2014. Within 1 year the fretboard inlays started falling out. Conveniently for Gibson, there were no local luthiers in my area that do warranty work. This guitar has lived in its case the entire time I’ve owned it and yet the color finish has changed significantly. My 30 yr old Korean Epi Les Paul has had no issues dispite the fact that it’s had the snot beaten out of it and doesn’t spend a single day in its case.
A little while back I bought a Strymon Bluesky reverb effect brand new. This was pretty expensive here in Australia. It was faulty. The power supply was OK but when I unplugged the supply and then re attached it later, the pedal failed to turn on. Pretty bad if you ask me. I contacted Strymon as well and they were not helpful. Lucky the store I got it from had a great return policy and refunded me. I ended up getting the Zoom MS-70CDR which actually worked and very well.
I’m always looking up pedalboards of touring pros… those guys need gear that works every time and if you see something on multiple pro boards, then chances are it’s a solid piece of gear. There’s a very good reason the majority of pros have Boss or MXR pedals on there somewhere!
Speaking of Focusrite interfaces... I'm only my 3rd replacement Scarlett 18i8 gen3 back to back to back. And this one is messed up too. Each one had a different issue. Now they're blaming "my system" (never had this issues with other interfaces) and making it difficult to replace this 3rd unit. I'm stuck in this loop until they send me a working one, I'm burnt out from it, and without a working interface currently
HeadRush Pedalboards have a Rainbow of the death problem too... they simply didn't turn on and the company didn't helo in any way, is an isue of the mother board and they know it
That Mustang is sweet!
Bought 2 epiphone Les Paul's about 10 years ago. Both had bad 3 way switches pretty much since the day I got them. disappointing but an easy cheap fix. It's almost expected now. I haven't returned anything because I'd rather fix it than go through all the trouble of reboxing, going to the shipping store, filling out return forms, etc. if the neck isn't broken I can deal with it.
I got a mission engineering exp pedal,
Same thing,
can’t help but wonder if counterfeit products sometimes somehow end up at real stores.
I had a Pigtronix delay that they apparently took years to develop. It sounded beautiful. $350. But they didn’t develop build quality. I got 6 months of use out of it before it stopped working onstage. From then it would intermittently, convinced with the fact that my presets would randomly change. (Meanwhile, my Boss delay still works perfectly after 20 years of consistent use).
This is why my board has stayed almost the same for almost a decade now. I just switch my overdrives and fuzzes very recently. The only reason I even switched was because I know each company has good customer service (JHS, JPTR FX, and Bondi effects for those interested) so incase anything happens then I can at least tell them directly and ask them to fix it. I've had too many stories over the years of buying fairly expensive and well reviewed pedals, and within months something going wrong with it. I have a Boss DS-2 turbo, 2 big muffs, and a Small clone I've had since I was a teenager (in my 30's now) and a Boss SE-70 I got when I first started college. They're all still going strong.
My 60's Moody BA17 blew it's first fuse a few weeks ago. :)
I have been using the same Morley Maverick wah for 20 years as well. Same goes for my Boss pedals.
Volume pedals, it's been Ernie Ball only for me. I got my first one in the late 80's. I finally had to replace it (with another Ernie Ball) in 2021. So my first one worked flawlessly for over 30 years... And the new one seems to be on the way to last just as long (it may outlast me! ;)
I've always had problems with delay pedals, so a couple of years ago a decided to play only acoustic and nylon strings guitars
My Focusrite Saffire Pro rack broke after several years as well. I had to toss a used Korg KP3. If its something I can fix easily I don't mind. If it requires soldering I would be pissed off.
Totally agree, most old gear are produced in a good quality. I also have some new gear that was not perfect from the start, but I knew it and I solved the problems... I like to have the gear in my hands, before I buy it, to get a first impression of the quality. Sometimes I make a compromise and buy gear and at home I solve the problems, changing the knobs, potentiometers, switches, anything that is necessary to get it right. The price of the gear don't tell you always something about the quality.
Had the same thing happening to my Fender volume pedal, but only after 20+ years of steady use. I've tried other volume pedals - the Ernie Ball was very noisy from the outset and proved impossible to repair, the Boss was excellent albeit very neutral-sounding (which can't be bad, I suppose). Overall I've had more luck with Japanese than American pots.
Explain to me how a volume pedal can sound neutral? what is non neutral way of turning up and down the volume?
@@kidkique There's no other way to put it. The Fender wasn't just a pot opening and closing, there was an added quality to the sound, a sort of soft whiplash effect. The Boss was just the volume being turned up or down - nothing added, hence 'neutral'.
I have an amp with a rectifier tube. Those aren’t what they used to be. I can get a few months of moderate use out of them and then they short. I’m thinking about investing the serious coin required to get a genuine NOS one just so I don’t have to worry about it going south on me at the worst time.
you will be glad you did
so many people ignore morleys in the guitar pedal youtube scene, it shocks me. i tried a buncha different ones nothing else is in the same world as them. its insane how large of a footprint they take up but it is so solid you can abuse it your whole life it feels like and all youd get is a sore foot.
that fender mustang is gorgeous, you should use it more
Oh god I bought a brand new American professional II p bass in 2020 and the bass feral fell out first restring. Not a big deal but not a cheap purchase at all. I’ve also purchased a tonex that had issues right out of the box. Blessing in disguise tho returned it and got a quad cortex and haven’t looked back since.
Im planning to buy ibanez q52pe, I hope it will not disappoint. In the other hand i just returned strandberg boden essential because of uneven frets defect😢
And it's only to get worse as everything goes more online with apps and whatnot. The TC Wiretap looper. Needs an app to function properly, that app didn't work properly and they never updated it.
I’m never buying anything that requires a phone app to work. There is no way that app is going to be supported in 20 years. Who knows if the current phone paradigm will even exist? Every time I get a new phone a handful of apps go away because the phone finally is incompatible and there is no update in Apple Store. It’s very tempting to replace physical pots with an app but pots don’t need constant software support
A poorly glued nut and a couple of loose screws are not fail, really now. On the other hand a rubber falling off a $300 vol pedal is really stupid.
got my crybaby in 92. no rubber ever fell off. 300 for a pot in a pedal…dont pay that much.
Nuts are lightly glued on purpose so they can be removed easily.
(buying a 300 volume pedal is also shhhhhhhh…and it hurts the market.) i know i know made in germany and such, but you wouldnt believe..cheers!
Your Mustang is super sweet! 🤩They don't make 'em like they used to! 🧐
You are absolutly right!!
I am so jazzed that you still have your childhood Fender (less jazzed on the mods, but I prefer Fenders as single coiled, otherwise not being a mod snob.) That guitar is effing beautiful.
Check out the Boss Power Volume. It has 20db of active gain and it’s extremely transparent. Pretty long in the tooth, but reliable
"Good enough is good enough." We are all reaping the rewards from decades of our collective non-committal to excellence.
Speak for yourself
Maximize profits, not quality. If you build a product that lasts a lifetime…. The consumer never needs to buy another from you. So design it to break in 2 years, you sell way more over time that way. Sad reality
@@Bleeeaaoop I am.
@@dreadedscarpia2066 well that's just sad, you should take pride in your work regardless of what you do... I carried myself the same as a carpenter/construction worker, to a machine operator, and now a chef. You can and should do better...
Just to address the small elephant in the corner if the room, many of theae issues appear to ne glue based. I wonder if glue quality has reduced in general recently for some reason?
The man plays ambient music with a constant wet sound. I'm sure that explains things ;)
I kinda envy you in a way because you grew up in a world where even standard products weren't only reasonable in price but durability and quality as well. Nowadays the only difference (sometimes there is none btw) between a basic and premium product is that the premium product is nicer while it works, but doesn't have any better durability or longevity.
The only difference is price
This is why I like maintaining old stuff. If something has lasted long enough to get into my hands, then it is most likely worth repairing. I am glad technology has moved forward but dang it, I wouldn't trust, say, a Kemper to last 30 years.
The last month I bought a used Hall of Fame 2 X4, but when I received it, I notice that the selector knob was loos when I turned it to the right. After check it I notice whtat the plastic knob was broken inside, that why it get loose. Fortunatelly I could fix it with epoxy glue. But I had the doubt about how it could be broken. The pedal was in perfect conditions and there was not signals of phisical damage, and previous owner says that he never could use it because he got married and had to sell all his gear. And I doubt that those knobs aren't designt to rough use. The only posibility... a faulty knob. But well, at leas I got it cheap.
Man... I remember speaking with you in the comments YEARS ago, 6 in fact! I'm at the end of my 20s now, man what a TRIP seeing you again in my recommended, ha! I remember sending your channel around to my buddies calling you the imo very fitting "Bob Ross of music" 😉 hehe. This is so random, I just felt like commenting again, we last spoke about that 30 inch Ibanez short-scale bass/guitar thingy and I recommended a Schecter baritone or something and asking you about them both. Anyway I can't wait to listen through the chill ambient stuff I've missed over the years after I stopped hard core following the channel because of life. Sorry about your gear though man, an absolute bummer. 😕 I'm actually going to buy a fully new bedroom studio soon because my previous stuff is now WAYYYYY too old, I'm still running an old Windows XP with fire-wire and FL Studio 9 for music related stuff... 😅So an upgrade is necessary by now. Point being that this video came just in time as I'll do heavy research on the things I'm looking to buy before I make the purchase! ☺👍
Anyway, we don't know each other, just strangers on the internet, but man the nostalgia of seeing you on the front page again hoooly moly! Keep up the amazing work you legend! 🤘😝
Edit: Saw the medical update video, hope you're fully back to health, another perfect timing thing, another reason my music was put on the back burner was health related issues and now I can't WAIT to produce some cool stuff as I'm healing, man I'm telling you, your channel is just a calm place for me, stresses are all deleted! 😄
Ok my Line6 DL4 switchs have gone bad, my Digitech EFX7 foot pedal broke in half, several bad volume knobs gone bad plus output jacks. Don't get me started on how many bad cables i'v had.
At my day job I do QC on acoustic string instruments. I have replaced more Fishman preamps then I can count.
A few things that are consistent are my pedaltrain board and Visual Sound pedals .....
My Focusrite 6i6 worked great for maybe 6-7yrs..then after a move I was setting up my studio and out of the blue one day it stopped working. My iMac no longer recognized it and after hours on the phone and via email correspondence neither Apple or Focusrite could make heads or tails of the issue...Of course the 6i6 was waaay out of warranty. So I bought a newer 8i6 and so far the last few years all is good. Sad when well known, reputable electronic or instrument products fail...I often feel it's lack of QC.
Little tip: High price does not equate to a better product. I'm practical, I buy good quality gear that is not ridiculously priced, I've built guitars and amps and modded pedals I know what quality looks like and sounds like, there's no need to buy Strymon and Eventide priced pedals, it's just a status symbol at that point. I see pro's using Boss and other cheaper pedals...I think the most expensive pedals I have are Fulltones like the Deja 2 and Clyde deluxe
Also, nuts are not glued to the neck, they are glued to the end of the fretboard...or supposed to be.