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Eden WT800C amp woes!! Anyone else having Problems?

#121
I have a WT550, works fine, and this mess is just sad. I can't believe these guys don't care for their reputation or customers, so maybe they are in a mess, not getting funds for techs by US Music, whatever. I can't believe they gave great service for years and years and then in a few months just stopped caring. I hope they get back to their former state soon.
Anyway, Lane and David, I know you're reading this, so give us all a break and give this guy his money back immediately, this is ridiculous. He bought an amp over two months ago and he still hasn't got what he paid for. Would YOU be ok with something like that? Instead of attacking him you should be apologizing to him for every day that passes with him not getting his amp. Make it right for him, at least now.
I can't see me buying anything Eden again in the future, not after this.
 
#122
Dragonlord said:
I have a WT550, works fine, and this mess is just sad. I can't believe these guys don't care for their reputation or customers, so maybe they are in a mess, not getting funds for techs by US Music, whatever. I can't believe they gave great service for years and years and then in a few months just stopped caring. I hope they get back to their former state soon.
Anyway, Lane and David, I know you're reading this, so give us all a break and give this guy his money back immediately, this is ridiculous. He bought an amp over two months ago and he still hasn't got what he paid for. Would YOU be ok with something like that? Instead of attacking him you should be apologizing to him for every day that passes with him not getting his amp. Make it right for him, at least now.
I can't see me buying anything Eden again in the future, not after this.
Click to expand...

I am in a very similar situation. I had a WT300 that gave me over ten plus years of trouble free service. I have met both David and Lane and was impressed by both. I now own a WT550 that was sent back for one repair within 4 months of purchase but has worked fine sense. I use to recommend Eden very quickly as great sounding bulletproof amps. But now I find myself concerned. I work in a small, very service centered industry and as so I have learned to value customer service. All I can suggest is that David and Lane need to bend over backwards to get this stuff right. As of this point I will hold off on recommending Eden products to anyone until this situation is dealt with.
 
#123
I play a 2005 Wt550 + 210xlt4 and 210xst4. Have been playing them all 4-5 days days a week, mostly at seriously high volume, since February 2006. Haven't had any problems at all. I do hope that whatever problems may have been affecting other people are resolved ASAP, as Eden has up until now had a great reputation. At the same time, I don't know of any musical instrument or amplifier company that hasn't run into problems from time to time. And of course, as a company gets bigger, the chances of glitches increases. The key, again, is to resolve the problem for the affected customers in a timely fashion.
 
#124
svtb15 said:
I am almost shying from this thread since it is really depressing... but its like watching a car wreck... you have to rubber neck, and honestly after i do i feel better that it comes back to the top so other people are able to see it easily.
I am still at NAMM and heading home today.. I PMed one of our brothers in here who the person at eden was.. And I am not sure if i should say his name here, just because he said to me that i bad mouthed him here.. I have not!
I never did that I said to him.. So just incase I go Legal on them, I do not wish to create anything that may effect my outcome.. Because honestly. I only want my money back now. I dont want another Repair attempt.

Two times are enough on a One Day Old Amp. And I dont feel comfy with getting a new one from that Company.. I just want to get the $$$ back and move on.
What happened is I introduced myself to (another name for a small street) :hmm: .. he laid into me. misquoting me in the forum, I told im that this is not the time or place to get ugly and i was only introducing myself, to put a face with the phone voice and email... but since he started I tried to get in a defense at that point and he said that he had to go talk with someone else.. I was actually stunned that I had to give a defence, since Eden is the one at fault... I know the person he was going to chat with since that other person was at our booth..

I have been given excuse after excuse from (another name for a small street).. and David..week after week. since the beginning of November 2006. we are approaching February. Promise after promise and never a Date of when they will have resolve...
I was told by David that they can not send a new amp to replace the defective one since they dont have any...
So they are issuing empty words at this point and dragging it on longer and longer..

anyway... everyone have a happy sunday!!:rolleyes::rolleyes: and ill stop whinning...
Click to expand...

Well trying to look on the bright side, at least you now have a clear picture of the attitude of the people at eden and the chances of a resolution. Which means you can move forward and do what you need to without investing any more emotional energy in the situation.
 
#125
Yea, I'm just starting to get interested in Eden and hearing all this is very disheartening. I've heard nothing but good things up until this point and I wonder how much of this is contributed to the factory move. Long repair times I can understand, poor customer service, however, is unacceptable. I really hope they can fix this.
 
#126
I had a LONG discussion with Lane Saturday at the NAMM show, followed up by a shorter one with Dave. It was quite interesting to say the least.

Lane seemed extremely upset about this whole mess and commented more than once that he's been going to the mat internally over a lot of this and has nearly lost his job twice over it.

I can't comment specifically on each case, since that wasn't discussed, but since I asked about the failing tuner output, he offered some insight on it (since that was the original complaint at least in this particular thread). Turns out it was a ground problem, not a signal problem, so it was tested before it left, and worked with both tuners they have, but obviously not all tuners. I guess the point here is, at least in this case, it wasn't gross negligence on the repair bench.

I also got comments to the effect that the majority of complaints have come from a minority of particularly vocal people... not really a representative sampling of the majority of thier current product experience... a "tempest in a teapot". However, at this product quality/price level, this should be expected, IMHO.

So regarding the actual reliability of their products and quality control overall, their reputation should still stand. However, and this is where I think the REAL problem is...

What about the customer experience when there is a problem or at least a complaint... THIS is what I brought up as what I consider to be the biggest problem of all.

All it takes is a few cases of abysmal customer service at this price level, and you have very vocal complaints with apparent corroboration, and even though it may not be a truly representative sampling, it looks just as bad and is pretty much just as damaging to the company's reputation... not to mention the fact that it should never happen anyway.

This is when it got most interesting... Lane pointed out they have two problems which are being resolved, but are not yet resolved...

1.) Communications - they're working on some new internal corporate software, and implementation is not complete. In the meantime, tracking situations has been a problem. This means Lane/Dave not being kept up to date knowing the status on things, as well as the folks responding directly to customers not knowing what's going on.

2.) Staffing - They're short technicians. They went from having dedicated Eden-specific techs and a supervisor, to sharing USM techs and a supervisor. Lane has been particularly frustrated with this one, as it has affected his job directly, so he's particularly sensitive to this one. As such, there's urgency to resolve this one as well.

Re: 1.)
This is being worked on, but is clearly a big problem and can't be solved soon enough. I urged Lane and Dave both to be more proactive about getting involved in these matters until this problem is resolved, noting that people felt they were being lied to due to the lack of correct information being passed back to customers when inquiries are made. They both agree this is frustrating and intolerable, and are working hard to resolve it ASAP.

Re: 2.)
They're actively looking to hire and train techs.

Apparently, USM management hasn't been as supportive as it needs to be, which is the reason things got to a point where Lane's job was at risk for being perhaps a bit too direct about trying to deal with these problems at times.

So there you have it. If I was to sum all this up I'd have to say Lane and Dave are the same customer service oriented people they've always been and Dave still designs great products. However, much to our chegrin, some of the original fears of the potential harmful effects of the USM purchase of Eden are now being realized.

What's left is, to see if Lane and Dave can get these problems resolved before more damage is done. At this point, I personally believe they're dedicated to solving these problems, as Lane was particularly adamant and passionate about these issues, and Dave seemed supportive, but I guess we'll just have to see.
 
#130
I think that i have always maintained at the earlier part of this thread that Lane Always tried to do the best that he could with what he had..
Sometimes when you wait 2 months + and the said repair is done (on a day old out of the box amp), after the second time you start to wonder if the words are just that...

What is their Slogan? "Never Compromise" ..

I think that their amps sound incredible..
That is why i am waiting so long to see what gives..otherwise I would have just moved on a long time ago..

And i know that others have waited longer... however, i have not had the amp to gig with since it has been in one stage of repair since the day after i got it..
This think this is totaly a CS issue and lack of communication issue...both within the new company and with the customer na dI have expressed that to the powers to be...

I was contacted by the regional rep and was told that when they get new amps in , it will go the the tech bench and then send a new one out to me right away.. I wonder where they are coming in from.. but anyway like i said I love the way the amp sounds.... I heard a similar story a month ago but lets see what gives... It is past the point now that i can go do a charge back on the credit card even though the rep said he would verbally honor that.. but words over the phone are not a written contract..
 
#131
svtb15 said:
I think that i have always maintained ... however, i have not had the amp to gig with since it has been in one stage of repair since the day after i got it...
...
This think this is totaly a CS issue and lack of communication issue...both within the new company and with the customer na dI have expressed that to the powers to be...
...
I was contacted by the regional rep and was told ... but words over the phone are not a written contract.
Click to expand...
svtb15, I hope nothing in my post sounded critical of your comments or actions, because it wasn't meant to be so. In fact I generally sided with you when I spoke to Lane personally. Anyway, just to make sure we're on the same page here.

I fully intended to have a very frank and up front conversation with him, and (thankfully), I feel he granted me that. It actually got kinda' heated a few times, but (also thankfully) not adversarially between us, but rather from sharing concern and frustration. This is actually what gave me the best feeling. I never felt like he was accusing me of anything wrong or taking me to task for doing this.

svtb15, you gotta' do what you gotta' do, and in all honesty, I think you've shown exemplary tolerance, and I also think I can understand (and empathize with) why. For whatever it's worth, whatever you decide will not draw any criticism from me.
 
#133
Vic .. you rock.. I dont think you are critical at all... i just wanted to restate my original concerns incase someone steps into the midlle.. or hopefully end of the thread...:hyper:

From what it seems Lane has his hands tied right now... It appears to not be his fault.. but he is the go to guy and sometomes the go to guy has to take the heat.. we have all been there..
Not to be cold.. but in a business matter i dont feel that is not my concern..

All of our (as bass players) business (if its stadiums ,clubs, basements) is delivering our product.. consistant low end...
At this point my business is being affected.. I got this as an amp that I could use on my flying dates becasue it is way lighter than my SVT head.. and relying on rental backline is inconsistant..
So i ask that companies not give a completion of repair dates to make me feel better.. Give a real date.. then i will work with them.. CS first says 2 days. then they say 2 months.. it changes daily.. and now i have no set time.. just open ended..

So i only want to clarify my saga.. and Vic.. I luv you man.. even though we have never met.. thanks





Vic said:
svtb15, I hope nothing in my post sounded critical of your comments or actions, because it wasn't meant to be so. In fact I generally sided with you when I spoke to Lane personally. Anyway, just to make sure we're on the same page here.

I fully intended to have a very frank and up front conversation with him, and (thankfully), I feel he granted me that. It actually got kinda' heated a few times, but (also thankfully) not adversarially between us, but rather from sharing concern and frustration. This is actually what gave me the best feeling. I never felt like he was accusing me of anything wrong or taking me to task for doing this.

svtb15, you gotta' do what you gotta' do, and in all honesty, I think you've shown exemplary tolerance, and I also think I can understand (and empathize with) why. For whatever it's worth, whatever you decide will not draw any criticism from me.
Click to expand...
 
#134
My Eden 550 is in for service. I was told 10 weeks. I purchased a ROland Cube Bass 100 to use for now. I've wanted to see if a 100 watt combo would be enough for my gigging needs anyway. Turns out so far it is. I almost always have PA support and when I don't, I think this amp will be plenty.

I have a 550 and 210 XST (4ohm) that are months old and basically new. They will be for sale. I like the sound, but not enough for the CS issue. And really, no one I play for will notice or care. They didn't at the gig last night. They were groovin with me just fine.

I'm not going to tell anyone not to buy Eden, or that it doesn't sound great. I'm just going to tell of my experience. Others may have a different story.
 
#135
I would caution folks considering dumping Eden gear. If it's not broken, it may never break. If folks start dumping, the price will drop and you'll get ripped off... just like the stock market. It's in everyone's best interests to keep a cool head about this.

FWIW, I still have a couple Eden heads and a few Eden cabs, and currently have no plans to sell any of it.
 
#137
Vic said:
I would caution folks considering dumping Eden gear. If it's not broken, it may never break. If folks start dumping, the price will drop and you'll get ripped off... just like the stock market. It's in everyone's best interests to keep a cool head about this.

FWIW, I still have a couple Eden heads and a few Eden cabs, and currently have no plans to sell any of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah...I'm just glad that the Eden wt400 I bought works fine. 2001 model. I bought it, obviously, used. f'n awesome beast.
 
#138
matt11 said:
I do hope that whatever problems may have been affecting other people are resolved ASAP, as Eden has up until now had a great reputation. At the same time, I don't know of any musical instrument or amplifier company that hasn't run into problems from time to time. And of course, as a company gets bigger, the chances of glitches increases. The key, again, is to resolve the problem for the affected customers in a timely fashion.
Click to expand...

This isn't just an Eden problem. Many great little companies seem to suffer after the big merger or buy-out. Bigger isn't always better. Of course we don't know the details of or why David made the deal with US Music. I'm sure we all wish that they were still making everything in Minnesota under the watchful eye of the founder. I'm sure Ampeg lovers wish they weren't in Korea or China or wherever. It's the way business is these days. I think it's too bad. I'd sure lov eto see a swing back to "the good old days" again. I don't even think I'd mind paying a little more.
 
#139
This has been a very difficult thread to read, and very disappointing. I'm not a current Eden customer, but they were on my list of options as I'm looking to make a purchase in the next few months... I guess reading all of this really bothered me so much because I can only imagine what I would do if I were in that situation.

I kinda feel for Lane and Dave... I only know of them and their position from reading this thread, but it's easy to tell that they're between a rock and a hard place with customer pressure on one end and what appears to be piss poor support from USM. As SteveC alluded to, it can be debated whether or not they put themselves in this position by making the deal with USM, and who knows how green the USM grass looked at the time. I can't really comment on that, because I don't know the details how or why that worked out... if they felt it was necessary, thought they'd have more resources, if there was a big payoff for them, or whatever.

The bottome line for me is that, with the support and communication issues that they are having, I will not buy Eden. I don't have money to toss around only to be potentially empty handed for months if something goes wrong. It's been mentioned before in this thread, but I for one can't afford to just drop more money for a backup amp after paying that much money for equipment. I'm not a professional, and my income doesn't rely on my playing. Nonetheless, whether someone is a pro or not, if they pay good money for something like this, there is a certain level of service that should be provided, and not have to deal with months of haggling and poor communication. And while it's a tough situation for Lane and Dave, it's an issue that should be transparent to their customers whether it's a problem on their end of lack of support from above (USM).
 
#140
I thought I should update my own situation. I got my 550 back today. The turn around wa 3 weeks including shipping time from my door to theirs and back. I don't know if it works yet as I sent my power cord along with it when I sent it in but one didn't come back with the head. Oh well. I'll get one tomorrow as they are your basic power cord.

I'll report back again when I see if it works. The work order says they replaced a bad pot. Many thought it was a tube issue. Again, we'll see tomorrow.

I hope the speed of my service wasn't just because I bitched to Lane and on the Eden forum. I hope it's because they are getting things turned around.
 

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