Re: Na Nice Lexicon Story

[Jon Durant <74074.1316@CompuServe.COM>]

>But the funny thing is Lexicon told they won't support any warranty in my
>case. What i'm supposed to do is have someone repair it and pay. Just
>nice. I've checked on my warranty card. Nowhere is written that the
>warranty is void in such circontances.

International sales by US delaers is a subject of incredible controversy 
at Lex
land, and I'm sure at many other companies as well. The reason is really 
quite
simple: Every unit sold by Sam Ash or Guitar center is a unit *not* sold 
through
the distributor. Which means he's losing money. Which means he's bitching. 
Which
means they have to slap Guitar Center on the wrist. But wait, Guitar 
Center is
GOD. You can't slap them on the wrist. So, what to do? Well, to cut down on
trans-shipping, the company policy is just what you've stated: They can't 
offer
warranty service to a customer in France: only the French distributor can. 
Which
means if you bought it from a French dealer, you'd be covered. But you 
didn't,
so you're paying the price. Ugly, huh?

Ultimately, it boils down to an age-old problem: too many hands in the 
middle.
(This results in several issues, not the least of which is price.) I had
suggested that Lexicon do a Cambridge Soundworks, i.e. sell direct. Cut 
everyone
out of the middle. Yeah, it makes for a major shift in company structure, 
but
let's face it: your customer support doesn't change. Who goes to their 
dealer
with a question? No one. So why should they get 40 points (plus another 8% 
rep
comission)? To put it on the shelf and not have a working unit? Then when 
they
*do* demonstrate it, make a mockery of the product? (See an earlier 
diatribe
about my experiences in dealer hell...)

As for the problems you're experiencing: The program select knob appears 
to be
slightly problematic. Apparently there's an issue regarding this knob, the
details of which I know nothing, but I experienced the same difficulties 
on my
Vortex, JamMan and Alex (all of which use the same pot). I thought it was 
just
my prototypes, but apparently not... Word is, it's an easy fix, and they 
turn it
around pretty quickly.

>Seems like when Lexicon decided to stop producing this thing, they didn't
>feel like testing and controlling any longer.

Actually, they were all tested ages ago: they've been sitting in a 
warehouse for
many many moons...