I find actually customer satisfaction is key - I have at least a couple of music stores I refuse to buy from due to poor attitude, failing to see the problem or admitting there is an issue, even if they are the only ones with what I need!
Sometimes I feel that is the case here which is a shame as most times it’s very inclusive. You only have to look at the power supply issue to see where it goes wrong. Never mind the Expression pedal.
Push on with Dwarf and Duo X - make them do what they promised ie audio interface etc, get them all shipped and move forward with next project.
And ask us what we want next maybe as we are the customer /fan base.
As always my feelings no Hurt intended to anyone else
I bought DUO + FOOT + EXPRESSION… I sold my entire set for this… I had BOSS, ELETRO HARMONIX, VOX, FULLTONE, SANSAMP, among others… I had 16 effects on the board… which I gradually acquired since my 12 years. I was very impressed with the project and, being headed by a Brazilian, like me, I was encouraged and made the deal. Honestly, today I use the MOD very little, I don’t have the courage, I even changed my way of playing during that time. If you look at my previous posts, you’ll see that I haven’t been comfortable with the situation for a long time. Anyway, I hope this pedal ends soon so I can cut the umbilical cord that the company is still linked to me.
Like you I learnt the hard way selling kit for next amazing bit of kit. Only to be bitterly disappointed. Zoom G9.2tt and B9.1ut if I’m being honest - don’t laugh . I lost microsynth, vox phaser, big muff, bass balls , gt3 etc . I vowed never to do that again
Even when I bought my Helix Floor I kept every pedal and amp.
And now I run a combination of everything but mainly just VST on PC as in-between bands at present.
Probably least used is Dwarf just because it’s a bit clunky / impossible to edit without pc - which causes massive noise aswell.
Thankfully I bought it more as a USB hub control which it’s doing OK at but could be a lot better.
project management at work learned me never to switch to something without having a transition period. But that’s not related. The common denominator in many User Journeys is communication/expectation management. I still think Mod Devices needs to communicate more AND better and allocate some occasional high priority to it.in order to be pro-active. Speaking when asked about it is too late. Eternal prio #2 is the death of every initative
a lot less noise since I switched to this power supply
So I was scrolling back, and I think the last update was that there was some financial discussions happening in order to get the pilot batch ordered from the manufacturers in June. I’m assuming we are still in that phase of waiting for the financial discussions to be completed before ordering the pilot batch? I know it may be a longshot, but is there a target for when things should be closed up? Thanks for your time in responding, and hope you are all having a great week
I reread Gian’s update again last night. As I said in my reply - the reboot was not a surprise to me. Long established business worldwide have gone out of business due to covid/shutdown/supply-chain issues. I see the mod situation as a ‘reorganization’, not a ‘going out of business’.
What we - the backers - see on our end is only one side of this. The dedicated people working on this project - people with families who depend on them - apparently have been working long hours without pay. Some have invested large sums of their own money just to keep the project afloat.
Can’t remember the exact quote, but it was sports related:
“There’s someone out there who knows exactly what needs to be done and can step in and fix everything. If only we could get them to put down their beer and come down out of the stands”.
There are a few things still to figure out with production, but yes, that’s the goal.
EDIT: please refer to @friedsilence post below for a more accurate answer. He really knows it better than me since he takes care of everything production related.
Our target is to finish DVT (design validation test) production of 20 units this year still. Which was fully prepared already in March and basically waiting some time for parts payment, until we needed to cancel due to failed fundraisers. So I am procuring everything again right now. Lead times suck, but are still moderate. We shall have order confirmations soon and will keep you updated.
Though from these 20 there will be only a limited amount of units available for backers who are helping beta test firmware etc. Please raise your hands already if you are up for that!
Shipping to all backers can happen in the following batch next year. But as said by @gianfranco in the reboot threads, it’s not part of our current budget. There will be a fair proposal once we are ready to dimension the production, also depending on further fundraisers and our income from sales.
I’m sorry it’s impossible to catch up the time lost until we got operational again recently. Yet I’m happy the slowest project in the history of MOD is moving again!
I’m afraid I have sad news again: There won’t be MOD Expression pedals still this year.
The enclosure sets were finished just in time, but unfortunately not at all in quality:
Powder coating and aesthetic details like too visible studs are nowhere near the previous samples. Up to now we were impressed by the superior quality of the supplier, fit as well as finish. They are clearly not happy with it either and we discuss fixes. But it needs to be reworked or redone. It’s the design validation and we cannot lower the bar. The result must be a Golden Sample as reference for further production and for marketing photo shootings. I believe also the beta testers want a proper enclosure after waiting for so long.
The electronics I ordered against a “we try our best but cannot confirm” for a delivery until 14.12.23 and we don’t have it yet either. Anyhow the enclosure is now clearly the critical path. The supplier will be closing soon until 15.1.23. Being realistic, we end up in February with finishing these 20 units.
I’m very sorry about that! Promised we will keep moving as fast as lead times allow.
Let me finish on a (unrelated) positive note: There are some great plugins in the oven, so at least still something to look forward to for X-mas. To be released next week…
