You obviously have a very positive attitude, which is good to hear. On the other hand, when gear doesn’t turn on or function properly from the very first start up, it makes me wonder, “don’t they at least turn on every unit once it’s finally put together to make sure that every unit going out the door actually works?” It seems like this is the very least kind of quality control. Every company should do.
Based on what i’ve seen on the Discord and other forums, it seems like most other Osmose customers got a working unit. The quality control must have worked for their units. I just happened to be unlucky - end of story.
Of course I’m disappointed that I lost the QC lottery. Shit happens.
Let’s see how Expressive E support handles my ticket.
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Mine has been flawless for 12 years, ever since the repair. On the K2600X, it was a dysfunctional key, which was far more vexing because it weighed 33kg. I sold it at a discount right after the repair to acquire the module instead.
Make sure you dont touch or move the Osmose while startup and auto calibration.
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I got an email from Christopher Hans of Expressive E with attached firmware. He asked me to try starting the Osmose in Bootloader Mode and installing the firmware with Osmose Updater in Advanced Mode.
Been happily scrolling through presets and messing about on the keys without any issues like before.
Very good first impression of Expressive E support!
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Got my shipping notice from Perfect Circuit today, can’t wait!
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Had to dig back - shipping in USA was $80 for those who preordered? Just completed my order after missing the initial email for half a month and was surprised by shipping cost. The Osmose page even says free shipping over $200, but I’m guessing it’s different for preorders? Can always open a ticket, just curious.
Mind if I ask how early you pre-ordered with Perfect Circuit?
I missed my preorder email and just finished mine too. There was a table hidden on the site somewhere a year or two ago (or maybe I asked customer service about it at some point and they sent it to me) that broke down shipping costs and $80 was what was quoted for US customers.
Frankly I’m amazed it’s still $80, really cool of them to honor a shipping quote from a year or two ago.
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Day 1 when they opened up pretty immediately after Expressive E sent the preorder announcement email
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Thanks for the update. So glad you were able to fix the issue without returning it, and that they are clearly aware of the software issue and have apparently fixed it. It inspires a lot more confidence knowing that it was a firmware issue, rather than a hardware issue from a quality control standpoint.
I had faith that their support would come through, and my faith was rewarded
Tossing out serious accusations at their quality control people or the company is a Gearspace/Mod Wiggler kind of thing - not my style.
Nicely said. Again, I am glad it only turned out to be a firmware issue, although I still stand by my original stance that shipping a unit that does not function at startup, for whatever reason, is something that should be avoided at all costs, seems easy to avoid (turn on every unit and make sure it works before it ships) and calls into question quality control for any company and does real (and understandable) damage to their reputation, especially if it is something that has some reported recurrence.
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If you have no return right, yes, agreed.
However, usually with remote purchasing you can typically return the device and no harm’s done. I think this process is also built into the DNA of every company, to relieve some pressure from quality control. It is easy to criticize this final stage and it is really difficult to keep quality up with so many external factors.
It is actually more worrying when damage is detected at later stage.
fwiw, Expressive E’s Christopher Hans’ email to me stated a willingness to take the Osmose back if the firmware update failed.
It seems like the majority of Osmoses are not dead on arrival based on post I have seen from fellow customers.
I would not recommend basing a decision on whether not to buy an Osmose on only my experience. You should base it on a larger sample size than just one person, and of course do the typical homework you should do on any piece of gear - look up the specs yourself, look up the manual yourself, etc.
I think there is substantial harm done when you receive a unit that doesn’t work. Yes, you can rectify it by returning it, which I have done on occasion, but it definitely leaves a sour taste in my experience with that piece of gear and company, even if I decide to get a replacement, which I have also done. I am also not commenting on “external factors.” That is not part of “quality control” because in those cases the company has no control at all. I bought a MatrixBrute from Guitar Center a few years back. The outer shipping box was fine. The inner MatrixBrute Box had a huge hole in it, and the unit itself was dented right on its playing surface and one of the control knobs was bent almost to 90 degrees. I didn’t even turn it on. I brought it right back, and waited for them to ship a new unit. I don’t hold this agains Arturia, at all. On the other hand, I bought a Waldorf Iridium. Box was perfect, but the unit wouldn’t complete its startup process. The company attempted to help, walking me through a firmware upgrade, but that didn’t work either, so they told me the unit had a hardware defect and needed to be returned. The replacement unit was fine and was also from a much later manufacturing batch. In that case, I suppose its possible the first iridium was damaged during shipping on a nonobvious way, but Waldorf suffered from many reports of units either not working out of the box, or failing shortly thereafter due to specific hardware issues (e.g. white screen). Waldorf apparently worked out the hardware issues eventually.
To @GovernorSilver, I completely agree that my decision on the Osmose would never be contingent on just one user experience. I mean, Tim Shoebridge complained about his Osmose unit shutting down on him unexpectedly, only to realize later that it was user error in how he had it plugged in. I also think complex units like the Osmose understandably need time for the company to work out kinks and deal with unexpected issues. I am watching this and other threads because I definitely plan to get an Osmose, maybe next year, assuming the kinds of issues others have mentioned (hardware issues) fade and firmware is a bit more stable. Either way, no company should ever let a single unit leave their factory for shipping to a customer without making sure it actually works with the version of the firmware installed, and there does seem to be a very good chance they didn’t do that in your case (no bumpy ride on the FedEx truck explains your unit’s failure on the first try).
Pretty sure no company can guarantee a 100% failure-proof level.
Plus there are so many things to test, even on one machine it’s very hard to leave no spot unchecked.
Such wish is IMO unrealizable, from my understanding of software development and industrial production.
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I am sure this is true. Nonetheless, it should be the idealized goal, and every unit that ships to a user that is dead on arrival is a significant failure for the company. If it is a very trivial number, it will go mostly unnoticed. If it is more than trivial, it will and should be used to gauge purchasing decisions. For this reason, I am very glad people like @GovernorSilver are willing to pass on their experiences to the rest of us, which I have also done, both positive and negative, when I get a new piece of gear.
Why don’t you just ask them directly what their current process is?