avid email support - where?

[youngas75]

Tombliss: Whilst I'm glad that your problems were dealt with eventually it's worth remembering that this forum will naturally tend to be full of people having trouble with their systems. No one will create a new thread on a user conference saying, 'Had a session today, everything was fine.' The very nature of the forum is for someone to ask a question about a problem and get helpful responses to hopefully solve the issue. There are many people on here who have helped me out innumerable times, stalwarts like Keybeats and Chrizdee (sp?) to name just a couple. Also, as you have seen yourself in this thread, DigiCD and DigiTechSupport do also come on and help out. It's worth remembering that Avid have only quite recently taken over Digidesign and they're still in transition. They will get it right as they know what they have here.

I hope that doesn't sound like me having a go at you as it's really not supposed to be just it's a little frustrating when people come on forums and get all wound up they they're full of problems.

Cheers

[tombliss]

I'm very aware of all of that. And that's exactly why there needs to be proactive and timely support here - to balance all that frantic shrieking.

On every other support forum I use (and there are lots), the first person who responds is often a mod. Here, you can go for days without any response (even with a major problem), and weeks without any input from a mod at all. That's not good for business.

And the philosophy which says that customers should get their operational information from manuals is also flawed. This is complex software - and people have deadlines to meet. And the manuals are not always as clear as they could be.

Yes, you can make a case for it, but if the competition is providing tutorial support, customers will eventually to go where the smiley posts are.

Avid have a policy of not giving email support for 'tutorial' issues, so the mods do need to keep a weather eye on the advice being given here, lest it be misleading or inadequate.

[BobbyDazzler]

Originally Posted by youngas75

Tombliss: Whilst I'm glad that your problems were dealt with eventually it's worth remembering that this forum will naturally tend to be full of people having trouble with their systems. No one will create a new thread on a user conference saying, 'Had a session today, everything was fine.' The very nature of the forum is for someone to ask a question about a problem and get helpful responses to hopefully solve the issue.......

The problem is that the forum is the "go to" place for Pro Tools support. I know if I have any sort of Tools issues I head straight here and do a search for the relevant issue (and it has helped me immensly).
Over the last few years the Forum has been a lot more toxic than I remember it ever being, so now the front line of Pro Tools support often represents it very negatively.

On another support point, I spent about an hour looking for a plugin update solution and was eventually linked to the archive site. I must say the format of the archive site (heaps of info per page with not too many links) sure beats the new avid (not much info, with heaps of links) style. Its like the new support pages were designed by an art director, not a Pro Tools user.

[lsfoxx]

My band has a Digidesign 003 soundcard coupled with a Mac computer. We bought the card used. Now we have a new Mac running on Mountain Lion. We understand we need some new driver. I Googled. Nothing. Went to Avid and got caught in a loop of "contact us" links. I have never, NEVER, seen a company that has no email support on their products. We got the card together with a Tascam hd-recorder and mixer. We now know this at least. We will never buy anything connected with this brand.
To me it´s not that complicated; you have to help people who buy your stuff. Period.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by lsfoxx

My band has a Digidesign 003 soundcard coupled with a Mac computer. We bought the card used. Now we have a new Mac running on Mountain Lion. We understand we need some new driver. I Googled. Nothing. Went to Avid and got caught in a loop of "contact us" links. I have never, NEVER, seen a company that has no email support on their products. We got the card together with a Tascam hd-recorder and mixer. We now know this at least. We will never buy anything connected with this brand.
To me it´s not that complicated; you have to help people who buy your stuff. Period.

Its also not that complicated to get help here.

If you want to whine about Avid support you are welcome to but it is unlikely to change much, and all you are doing is telling other users (who already know) that Avid support is less than wonderful. However the basic information you want is likely available in the knowledge base and in these forums. If you want help from other users here it woud help to have more information...

You mean you purchased a use Digidesign 003 interface? I assume that is a 003 rack not the standard console product (one that acts as a control surface/has faders etc.).

What version of Pro Tools or what other DAW are you running?

Did the 003 come with that version of Pro Tools when you purchased it used. (and not directly related, did the seller complete the standard Avid transfer of ownership paperwork for you? Did you send that in to Avid?)

On what exact version of OS X on what model Mac?

What do you hope to do with the 003 and the TASCAM recorder and mixer (and what model are those?).

Latest 003 drives are here http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/d...02-003-Drivers. But please answer the questions above, I suspect there is more going on here...

Darryl

[lsfoxx]

I´m not whining. It´s just that sometimes you get pissed at how we buyers are treated, and I figure, if more testify to a common phenomena it helps getting an idea of the magnitude of a problem. Enough of that and on to your questions.

1. We bought it used.
2. It is the rack, you´re right about that.
3. We´re using Logic, latest version.
4. We did not get any transfer of ownership papers.
5. We used to run Snow Leopard. Now we are using Mountain Lion. It´s a MacBook Pro, just bought.
6. Am at work now and I can´t remember the model Tascam. It´s MX something. It´s a 24 channel mixer with a separate hard drive recording machine. We lay the drums and bass tracks in the Tascam, transfer to Logic and then I lay the guitars and the singer lays the vocals through the 003 directly in to Logic.

When we got the things the seller made sure everything worked. In doing so he downloaded some drivers to make the 003 work with our computer. Problem now is, he is one of Swedens most hired live technician and is always on tour and we can´t reach him. So I thought "what the hell, I´ll give at try..."

Thanks man for bothering and trying to help. Really appreciate it.

[lsfoxx]

These are the Tascam units.
http://www.keymusic.com/en/product/Tascam-MX2424
http://soundwave.com/Htm/Articles/2000/Sept/Tascam.htm

Again. Thanks for any help.

[SKI]

Originally Posted by youngas75

It's worth remembering that Avid have only quite recently taken over Digidesign and they're still in transition. They will get it right as they know what they have here.

Avid has owned Digidesign for a very long time they only recently dropped the Digidesign name.

This is not transition it's simply lost of functional customer support.
They did away with the CSR Form so now ANY communication with them has to be PAID for.
The problem with this is historically they have a pretty low percentage of actual resolution given on the problems you have.
So you will have to pay for them to tell you something you don't want to hear.

As for the forum lets take it for what it is, a way for Avid to get around providing support.
With the current state that they have shifted to the forum requires proper tech support or at a minimal the means to contact tech support.

They Avid site refers you to the forum and FAQ docs that don't cover questions that are frequently asked.
Far too many post about the same problems go unresolved.
It would seem that they would be addressed by the FAQ instead of them just basically quoting things from the manual in these docs.

From a realistic point of view the forum is actually beneficial to Avid more so than the users.
_It allows Avid to not provide true support
_It allows Avid to charge for any and all communications
_It allows Avid to greatly control the visibility of real issues they have since they don't address them publicly if they address them at all.
_It forces users to hope that some forum member has the answer to their problem or pay for Avid to not have the answer

Like many started with the now classic 001, upgraded to the 002, had a 002R,upgraded, then upgraded ........
So I have dealt with tech support for years and it's currently at it's worst state ever.
Even the 002 FW problem wasn't as bad as Avid new brick your product with an update philosophy.
Just do a search and you will see that it's affecting everything from the Venue to the mBox and just as hard to resolve.

[chrisdee]

Originally Posted by SKI

So you will have to pay for them to tell you something you don't want to hear.

+1.

I wonder if many of the issues relate to people using Pro Tools on unsupported hardware or using incompatible plugins?

Im shure this is obvious but it's very important to do thorough research befor you buy something.
You will save precious time and money by doing so!

Countless times I have bought things myself and not done that proper reasearch and badly regretted it afterwards.
No more foolish purchases for me!, I hope.

[SKI]

Originally Posted by chrisdee

+1.

I wonder if many of the issues relate to people using Pro Tools on unsupported hardware or using incompatible plugins?

Im shure this is obvious but it's very important to do thorough research befor you buy something.
You will save precious time and money by doing so!

Countless times I have bought things myself and not done that proper reasearch and badly regretted it afterwards.
No more foolish purchases for me!, I hope.

I fully understand that they were probably bombarded with user error, lack of understanding etc, however that's not who is suffering now.

The people really suffering are those dealing with known issues that Avid doesn't give you direct access to the solution or means to resolve it.
There is no reason for driver updates bricking hardware and you not having the means to resolve it.
These incidents of bricking are not isolated or in small supply so it's a known aspect.
Should be addressed in the FAQ with a link to a functional updater.

Lets take it even further.
They should:
-Give access to a functional firmware loader that works
-At least allow you to call to get a RA# to get it serviced without having to pay for the communication.
As it is now you will pay to communicate as well as paying for the flash.
-Make the cost of a ASC product based