Long and serious, but important

[The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.calarts.edu>]

Matthias:

> Hey, wait a minute!
>  Should apologise for a necessary feature I worked a lot for?
> Even more since I managed to hide it so it only helps and never becomes 
>notable?

I don't think an apology is needed from you or anyone else behind the
Echolplex for this particuolar feature.  However, I think the fact that I
mistook a limitation of this feature for the unit actually being broken
suggests that it is, in fact, somewhat noticable.  (I've gotten private
e-mail from one or two people who have noticed this problem before, and
they remarked that it had been a bit of a hindrance to them). 

> A different story is the energy you acumulate. Only the fact that 50 
>people
> suffer with you and want your problem to be fixed, in many cases 
>physically
> fixes the problem.
> One day, I will post my serious problems so we can fix them all together.

I think there's a bit of a difference between my asking for Echoplex
technical support on a looping digest, as opposed to expecting 50 people
to vicariously "suffer with me" through my "serious personal problems."  
It's not like I posted a notice that my cat had died, or something.

Similarly, the solution to my predicament came not in the form of my
feeling good because a lot of other people were sharing my karmic strife
(though that would probably bolster my authenticity as a quintissentially
'90s musician), but rather as a result of many users pooling their own
experience via this list to indicate that the ideosyncrasy was
factory-standard and not a malfunction or mechanical problem. 

And now we get a bit serious:

> >The tradeoff, of course, is
> >that in a public forum you will undoubtedly have people only glancing at
> >things. They see the initially outraged/paniced description of a 
>problem,
> >but maybe miss the resolution. They then wind up with opinions that the
> >item in question may not totally deserve, or are out of proportion with 
>the
> >real situation.
> 
> Oh yes, thats another side. Although you say now, that there was no
> problem, in the subconscious of many members might have sticked that the
> Echoplex "creates problems", "is hard to fix" and that your "days with
> the Echoplex may be seriously numbered... "

I think my incident over the weekend has managed to bring to light a
somewhat problematic subject that's been generally understood but never
really brought up outright.  So let me try to put this as even-handedly
and as fairly as I can: 

I am honestly of the opinion that the Echoplex is the best overall looper
out there, bar none (and this includes custom jobbies like a modified
Lexicon PCM-42).  It can do things that no other loopers or processor can
even come close to, as well as do things other processors *can* do,
generally *better* than they can. 

However, there are undeniably some problems with the unit, as has been
discussed on the digest many times.  It's been well-documented that
certain older models have a tendency to freak out when their memory is
upgraded, due to an incorrect internal connection.  There's at least one
feature listed on the front panel and in the owner's manual (namely the
LoopCopy function) which wasn't completed prior to the unit's being
shipped and is inactive on all units.  (No mention of this defunct
feature, nor of the alternative operating methodology which makes this
function a reality, is made anywhere on the product).  There are a number
of smaller, generally less severe bugs, many of which have been covered on
this digest many times, and seemingly all of which are dealt with in the
Holy Grail of looping technology, the legendary Software Upgrade. 

Then there's the issue of official support for the unit.  I've heard about
one person on this list who sent multiple units to Oberheim for repair
regarding sync functions; Oberheim had the things for months, and didn't
return his calls.  I'm not even sure this individual has gotten them back
yet.  Another person reported on this list that he had sent a unit in to
have the reverse mode pops ironed out; after a long (and rather
uncommunicative) stay, the unit was sent back to him with the message that
nothing was wrong. 

Coincidentally (?), both of these cases, as far as I know, dealt with units
being shipped in by users who thought the devices were broken, when in
fact the "problems" were simply part of the factory standard -- the same
situation I found myself in over this past weekend.  For my part, I phoned
Oberheim's customer service number in November or December of last year
and left a message with a question on the plex, and I never got a call
back. 

In short, the unit as it currently stands does have some gremlins, albiet
mostly of a fairly benevolent nature.  Furthermore, Oberheim's track
record with regards to treating its customers with respect and
demonstrating intelligence for their products seems pretty suspect.  Is it
any wonder I was freaking out at the prospect of sending the thing in for
repairs? 

I think anyone who's considering putting down anywhere from $400 to the
nearly $900 list price on an Echoplex, or anyone who's already done so and
has possibly spent considerable time grappling with some of the design
flaws, has a right to know about *exactly* what they're getting into.  If
that includes a number of internal problems, or dubious support from the
parent manufacturer, then they by all means deserve to know. 

Yes, I was panicked and highly critical of the unit when I made my first
post in this thread.  But think about this: Just a few days before that, I
had seen *the first mention* of what seems sure to become Kim's perennial
favorite subject, the overheating problem on older models. 

Now then, many people have talked about upgrading their Echoplexes to the
full 198 second configuration since the beginning of the list.  Until the
last week or so, however, there wasn't *one single warning* from anyone
associated with the unit on this list that doing this might have the
slightly detrimental result of causing your controls to freeze up in the
midst of performance!  (This was the primary source of my comment
referring to the Echoplex as "what appears to be an increasingly
problematic unit.")

There's a sticker on the circuit board of my unit indicating that it was
shipping in May of 1995.  This puts it outside of the 9-month "safety
zone" that Kim referred to when he made mention of how recent a unit would
likely have to be to be free of the overheating problem.  Now, I've
already upgraded two of my SIMMs to 4 meg.  What if I'd done a full
upgrade before the subject had happened to be mentioned on the list, as
has happened to other users?  (And while we're on the subject, *is* there
any overheating danger with two 4-meg SIMMS?!)

What I'm trying to say here is that if people read this digest and come
away with a notion of the Echoplex as a somewhat problematic unit, there's
a very good reason for that: it's true!!!  As fine as the unit is, I don't
think anyone who's been reading this digest or who's worked with the
looper can honestly say that the thing doesn't have it's problems, at
least one or two of them potentially disasterous.  (And when was the last
time anybody heard an update from Gibson on the release of the upgrade?)

To be blunt, skirting around the very real issues of the unit's flaws and
Oberheim's questionable support for it *is not* going to make all those
Echoplexes suddenly fix themselves, nor is it likely to compell Gibson to
launch a massive marketing and support campaign for its looper.  However,
discussing the unit's problems in an open, honest manner that acknowledges
these facts has the potential to solve many of the problems that a lot of
users have been dealing with -- as has frequently been the case on the
list.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, there's no telling where I'd be
without the Internet-related help I've gotten for the unit -- and not just
for the noise gate issue. 

What I recognize the Echoplex to be is a visionary and progressive piece
of hardware, which also has some mechanical and professional hinderances
which any user or potential buyer has a basic right to be aware of --
upfront, and in full.  If someone tries to disprove me on the first part,
I'll debate them to the end.  If someone can disprove me on the second
part, I'll be highly relieved (and more than a little disbelieving.)

I'd say we should all be willing and able to acknowledge the strengths
*and* weaknesses of whatever hardware is out there.  I of course welcome
any other opinions. 

Take care,

--Andre

P.S.  And no, the above tirade isn't an excuse for dropping the damn 
thing.  :-/