Avid Pro Audio Community

Avid Pro Audio Community

How to Join & Post  •  Community Terms of Use  •  Help Us Help You

Knowledge Base Search  •  Community Search  •  Learn & Support


Avid Home Page

Go Back   Avid Pro Audio Community > Legacy Products > 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-18-2010, 04:00 AM
Jay_dammit Jay_dammit is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 19
Default Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

I am fuming with rage, incandescent with anger, and shaking with a cold and unmeasurable fury.

I recently upgraded to PTLE, with a Digi 003+, Logic Pro 9, and an Octopre MkII Dynamic.

Guess which product took me an afternoon on the phone to Tech Support to install and configure? Yes, the Dodgy one. (And I'm not a novice: I used to demonstrate PT at trade shows.)

Guess which product had the authorisation keys in places other than where the instructions said they would be? Yes, the Dodgy one. (And yes, I ALWAYS RTFM.)

So having done that (which is OK; I accept that a new installation always has its technical issues) I set out to to a test session by remixing a recent project. The first 8 outputs from the 003+ worked fine, but no ADAT outputs worked (although they appear in the I/O setup,) and yes, I did RTFM and connect and configure everything properly.

Phone call to Focusrite Tech Support (and I used to do Tech Support, so I wasn't rude or angry with them, or Dodgy for that matter) and we established that the Octopre was fine. Swapped cables, jiggered and poked, still no luck.

Phone call to Dodgy Tech Support (may their name be forever damned) who advised me that the best thing to do was strip everything out of my rack again and (get this!!!!) TAKE THE UNIT TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND ASK THEM TO TEST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And the Tech Support person sounded as though they couldn't give a damn. OK, I'm not expecting counselling, but some expression of sympathy would not have been out of place.)

What kind of shameless abdication of responsibility is this? What kind of help is this? I just paid nearly £1000 to Dodgy and they can't even be bothered to offer me a replacement while the unit is checked??????

If the software wasn't my preferred solution (and all my legacy material relies on my having a version of PT) , I would have binned the damned lot and switched to Logic.
As it is, I was amazed and inspired by what Logic Pro 9 can do (including 32ms latency; twice the best performance PT LE can manage) and will be using it to start my next project while I wait for Dodgydesign to use one of their dealers to do their own work for them and provide me with a working system for my £1000.

You at Dodgy should hang your heads in shame. What do you tell your kids you did at work today? "Oh, I shifted responsibility for helping a busy and long-term customer onto a busy dealer. Another buck passed."

Sorry; rant over.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-18-2010, 07:27 AM
Ben Jenssen's Avatar
Ben Jenssen Ben Jenssen is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Oslo
Posts: 5,260
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

Have you checked the other thread of yours lately?

PT LE 8.0.3, Digi 003+, Octopre MKII ADAT connection

Darney established the fact that your problem doesn't come from a fault in the Digi hardware:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Darney View Post
The MKII Doesn't have optical in (which would be from the DIGI optical out)..... ergo, you can't access the additional 8 outs as there is no D/A conversion available. The line outs are semi-paralleled with the inputs.
And I might add that the two optical connections on the back of the Octopre are both outputs.
Other than that, your frustration with a bad support experience might be justified.
__________________
Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6.
Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-18-2010, 08:06 AM
Jay_dammit Jay_dammit is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 19
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

Thanks Barry, Yes I checked that thread and as a result went out and swapped the octopre for the MKII Dynamic.
Dodgy's own tech support people said that the fault must be in the Dodgy hardware.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-18-2010, 08:12 AM
Jay_dammit Jay_dammit is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 19
Default From Bad To Worse (if that were possible!)

OK, I got a support email from Avid success telling me that if I didn't respond within 5 days they would assume that the case was closed.
I replied to it..... and got a new email telling me that "You cannot create a new case via email...."

WHAT???????????????????????

All I want to do is get a working version of the box I paid a grand for and get on with some f*****g work... I have 3 projects to deliver by the end of the month: I've spent 2 days p****g about with Dodgy tech suppport, will spend another day having my local dealer check the unit, and then what????

At what point does the faded TV celebrity leap out of the bushes with the hidden camera, rip off the false beard and sunglasses and chortle "Well, Jay, we certainly had you going there, didn't we? My favourite moment was when your house and car were repossessed because you'd missed your deadlines. Let's have a look at your best moments, shall we?"

How about the following as a suggestion for Dodgy Tech Support personel:

"I'm sorry to hear you're having difficulties with your Digidesign hardware. We'll courier you a replacement unit while we investigate the problem."

You are about to lose a customer: I was intending to upgrade to HD later this year (The LE system I bought as a temporary measure, having run PT version 5 for over ten years) but having observed a colleague of mine working on Logic with a third-party interface, achieving latency times of 32ms as opposed to your best offer of 64ms, I think I'll save myself the trouble of spending hours on the phone to your tech support department trying to fix several thousand pounds worth of equipment only to be told that Digidesign are not really interested and would rather palm the problem off to one of their dealers.

Last edited by Jay_dammit; 03-18-2010 at 08:19 AM. Reason: Additional information
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-18-2010, 08:22 AM
Slim Shady Slim Shady is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 7,527
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

K, see ya.

Enjoy troubleshooting Logic, it's a real blast.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-18-2010, 08:29 AM
BRH BRH is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 733
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

""Guess which product took me an afternoon on the phone to Tech Support to install and configure? Yes, the Dodgy one. (And I'm not a novice: I used to demonstrate PT at trade shows.)""

What's with this "Dodgy" word?

Hey.... Don't let the door hit you on the way out!
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-18-2010, 08:31 AM
Jay_dammit Jay_dammit is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 19
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

Is that how much you care about your customers?

And I'm already up and running with Logic while Dodgy offer me a unit that has been repaired (and therefore was faulty) and will take a week to arrive.
Incidentally, I have to leave my old unit with the dealer while the swap is done, so for a week I have no system that I paid a grand for, and when i get a system, it will be used and possibly unreliable.....

Jesus.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-18-2010, 09:06 AM
Bender Bender is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Posts: 1,160
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

There is no way of knowing for sure but I see a pattern.

Low number of posts
did not know you did not have inputs for adat (this is a biggy and a beginner mistake) no real information (spec) provided.
It is a long post with no info.
I don't even know what your problem is.
and last and this is the one I always see

You are not polite at all.
Is it people just go ballistic when gear does not work and seem rude.
Or is it that you most likely had an attitude when working with Digi from the start. I have always had great service from Digidesign.
I have had some service issues in the past but they were great and more than once I was wrong. I even wrote a post way back saying I was leaving.
I was nice and people helped me.

Quote:
"I'm sorry to hear you're having difficulties with your Digidesign hardware. We'll courier you a replacement unit while we investigate the problem."
See how many software/hardware companies do this.

If you come on here off ripping the product many use and like they will ignore you.
Post all your specs and the DUC will help you. There are PT geniuses on this forum but they will not look at you post with no specs.

PT is picky software that requires things to be done a certain way and I don't like that but I love the software.

I run Logic 9 also and like it but Pro Tools is my choice.

I have an 003 and it works great. If you send me a message with your contact I will be happy to help you.

Just in case you need this
Adat out of 003 to adat in octopre
Adat in to 003 from adat out on octopre
no WC needed as it is handled in the Adat cables.
Set the sample and bit rates the same on both units
and set PT hardware setting to Optical.

Good Luck
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 03-18-2010, 09:21 AM
Ben Jenssen's Avatar
Ben Jenssen Ben Jenssen is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Oslo
Posts: 5,260
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

And now, the OP first post in this thread suddenly reads:

"I recently upgraded to PTLE, with a Digi 003+, Logic Pro 9, and an Octopre MkII Dynamic."

I'm not gonna bother with this.
__________________
Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6.
Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 03-18-2010, 09:55 AM
Jay_uk Jay_uk is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,254
Default Re: Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.

Digidesign (or Dodgydesign as we call them in England) rant.... You do not speak for anyone but yourself. By the way why do you specifically say 'England" ... You seem to have a very insular mindset.

(And I'm not a novice: I used to demonstrate PT at trade shows.)

(and I used to do Tech Support, so I wasn't rude or angry with them, or Dodgy for that matter)

Are you an ex employee?


Avid/Digi have their faults but "Customer Service" is not one of them.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Drin Drin call Digidesign , i/we need more DSP Paul S-Tone Pro Tools TDM Systems (Mac) 1 12-11-2006 06:22 PM
England/Yam CDR's? antlife Digidesign Hardware & Software 0 08-23-2000 07:08 AM
CDR's In England? antlife 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Win) 0 08-23-2000 07:07 AM
Buying CDR England? antlife 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac) 0 08-23-2000 07:04 AM
CDR'S England antlife General Discussion 0 08-23-2000 07:02 AM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:30 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited. Forum Hosted By: URLJet.com