Have to agree with that. I see that brand as one that’s mainly still in business because of a handful of famous players who basically use them just as a stage monitors. When I tried them I had their at the time top of the line rig and it was meh
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Ever write off an entire brand?
- Thread starter Rolling Thunder
- Start date
Yes. Fender. Not because I don't like them (I do). Not because of their designs (I like them - played P's and J's and copies for decades). Not because of any spurious issues (like QC, which is relatively good). I quit playing Fender/Squier, and had the neck redone on the one Squier VM J-body I still have for one reason: my hands hurt when I play 34-inch scale basses, and I have gone to 33-inch scale basses.
I bought a small, digital 500 watt bass amp in a very small box. I loved the sound. One day, I plugged it in, turned it on, and... no, it did not turn on. Maybe it was me. Tried again, and it came on. All is well. About three days later, it refused to turn on. Fiddled with it a bit, and it worked again. Two days later, would not turn on. This really got my attention. It became a crap-shoot. I carried it to gigs along with another "primary" amp but I would check each time to see if it would turn on or not. I read online about others with the same issue, and not just one or two guys. The company said nothing. Guys online found a "fix" but it involved opening the amp and swapping out a couple of things, and the company still said nothing. The company did, however, discontinue this particular model.
Currently, they have a nice looking, all tube amp that I would love to try. But, no thanks. If the company will not stand behind an obvious design or production flaw, I will not stand behind them.
Currently, they have a nice looking, all tube amp that I would love to try. But, no thanks. If the company will not stand behind an obvious design or production flaw, I will not stand behind them.
Well... can I name names? Or what it rhymes with at least?
One company that rhymes with ishman kept deleting my instagram comments about what I really thought of their guitar humbuckers- that it sounds too clear, digital, and robot-y. And that their wiring diagram requires a masters in electrical engineering. I used 3 of their humbucker sets but they all pretty much suck. Went back to 2 passive sets and 1 EMG set.
And another brand (a string manufacturer) that rhymes with eartone gave me the Kalium treatment. I custom ordered some sets for my guitar and bass. No shipment, no response except when I finally emailed them saying just cancel the order. I tried reaching out on their Instagram but I just got blocked. Go figure.
One company that rhymes with ishman kept deleting my instagram comments about what I really thought of their guitar humbuckers- that it sounds too clear, digital, and robot-y. And that their wiring diagram requires a masters in electrical engineering. I used 3 of their humbucker sets but they all pretty much suck. Went back to 2 passive sets and 1 EMG set.
And another brand (a string manufacturer) that rhymes with eartone gave me the Kalium treatment. I custom ordered some sets for my guitar and bass. No shipment, no response except when I finally emailed them saying just cancel the order. I tried reaching out on their Instagram but I just got blocked. Go figure.
I'm almost there with Thomastik... They make a great 4 string flatwound set, that's for sure. That's about it for their electric strings though. Can't attest to their upright strings.
Their rounds are hit and miss (usually miss), and god forbid they figure out how to make a passable B string, flat or round. Not to mention they cost an arm and a leg, and only really stay bright marginally longer than any other brand. I have 1 more set of theirs on the way, and it's the deciding pack for me.
I had to completely swear off of TI for a set of 5 string flats.
Their rounds are hit and miss (usually miss), and god forbid they figure out how to make a passable B string, flat or round. Not to mention they cost an arm and a leg, and only really stay bright marginally longer than any other brand. I have 1 more set of theirs on the way, and it's the deciding pack for me.
I had to completely swear off of TI for a set of 5 string flats.
Yes, although I give them a try once in a while because I keep thinking that it must just be my bad luck:
Line 6
things I've owned of theirs that went bad while I owned them or were bad from the factory:
- pod x3 live (footswitches)
- pod xt live (bad input patch cable fried something important in it's brain, amazingly enough - no protection against such things in their input circuitry!)
- Amplifyer 150 (whatever that line of modeling amps is with bluetooth and remote control and such) - had major issues with it's logic board, but they were unpredictable, and at times it was just fine, like when I tried to get it serviced.
- digital delay pedal (with 4 buttons) - omg why did they design such unreliable buttons?
- bass pod xt - main input digital knobs started getting really unreliable
Things I've owned from them that were awesome:
- variax guitar (the cheap model) - other than having not the greatest setup in the world and other than being variax (Which is very cool, but real pickups with blend would have made those guitars a much bigger hit), it was very good and very useful. I recorded a guitar solo for a movie soundtrack professionally using that guitar.
- bass pod pro rack - it was fine, although I preferred my cheapo berry bass rack modeler and let this go.
- another pod xt live - that one was fine
So I keep writing off the company, which sucks since they have some really really good products, specially these days.
Line 6
things I've owned of theirs that went bad while I owned them or were bad from the factory:
- pod x3 live (footswitches)
- pod xt live (bad input patch cable fried something important in it's brain, amazingly enough - no protection against such things in their input circuitry!)
- Amplifyer 150 (whatever that line of modeling amps is with bluetooth and remote control and such) - had major issues with it's logic board, but they were unpredictable, and at times it was just fine, like when I tried to get it serviced.
- digital delay pedal (with 4 buttons) - omg why did they design such unreliable buttons?
- bass pod xt - main input digital knobs started getting really unreliable
Things I've owned from them that were awesome:
- variax guitar (the cheap model) - other than having not the greatest setup in the world and other than being variax (Which is very cool, but real pickups with blend would have made those guitars a much bigger hit), it was very good and very useful. I recorded a guitar solo for a movie soundtrack professionally using that guitar.
- bass pod pro rack - it was fine, although I preferred my cheapo berry bass rack modeler and let this go.
- another pod xt live - that one was fine
So I keep writing off the company, which sucks since they have some really really good products, specially these days.
“All the good Gibson guitars have already been made.” Sad truth.
Gallien-Krueger
The next GK anything I try that I like will be the very first one....
So I just.... don't.
I know alot of guys love em, that's how I've ended up trying so many.
But their just just not my thing.
The next GK anything I try that I like will be the very first one....
So I just.... don't.
I know alot of guys love em, that's how I've ended up trying so many.
But their just just not my thing.
My ‘62 Les Paul (SG before they called them that) needed a neck reset due to the poorly designed joint. The luthier discovered the neck was almost 1/2” too short. My dad had him put a mahogany shim in to correct the scale length.
Even when they were making good ones, there were rather serious issues.
You're right, some pedals are impulse buys. For me its about the deal. If I can get a mint+ condition pedal for 70% of retail, I will give it a try because I know I can probably flip it (maybe even for profit, but most likely paying what amounts to a rental fee).
That's a great example. I personally love GK and own their MBF800. However, GK doesn't do it for you. There is no right answer.
I wrote-off digitech pedals for years. Back in olden times, I had a few of their pedals with the switches pictured below, and those switches failed or became unreliable on almost all of them. Friends had the same issue. So because it seemed like they had a design flaw, I had a "no digitech" policy for a time.
.
.
Yeah, in the 90s even my local guitar store frowned on Digitech and would steer me to Boss. Some might claim they were up-selling me, but honestly they didn't want to see me end up unhappy (the sign of a good store).
I like the MXR Bass Compressor. It does what I want it to do and doesn't have a baked-in sound. It can go from subtle to aggressive. I do wish there was a blend control. The price was more than fair second-hand. IIRC I paid about $115 for it, which is an incredible value IMO.
None of their other pedals I have tried have really done it for me, though. I wanted to like the Bass Envelope Filter, Bass Octave Deluxe, and Vintage Bass Octave, but there are other options that I like better. Bass Chorus Deluxe is a good pedal but I like my Boss CE-2W more.
Also MSRP is a little high IMO considering what is available from other manufacturers (even boutique builders) for a similar price. They do usually go for a fair price used, but new they are a little pricy.
None of their other pedals I have tried have really done it for me, though. I wanted to like the Bass Envelope Filter, Bass Octave Deluxe, and Vintage Bass Octave, but there are other options that I like better. Bass Chorus Deluxe is a good pedal but I like my Boss CE-2W more.
Also MSRP is a little high IMO considering what is available from other manufacturers (even boutique builders) for a similar price. They do usually go for a fair price used, but new they are a little pricy.
- Jul 7, 2010
- 3,383
- 2,311
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist for: Duncan Pickups; Line6, Hipshot, GHS Strings, Somnium Guitars
I used to LOVE Squier when they were made in Japan (era (83-88) but then after the move(s) the quality went south quickly. I wrote them off for YEARS!
But when they got the CV and VM line and the quality jumped back up, I now enjoy doing a few upgrades and setups to play them.
That's my story and feelings but hey others may not agree.
But when they got the CV and VM line and the quality jumped back up, I now enjoy doing a few upgrades and setups to play them.
That's my story and feelings but hey others may not agree.
I won't go do far as to say I've written then off, but there is a Danish company where their tech support clearly doesn't understand their own products, and it's led me to be very...judicious...in buying their digital stuff.
After doing some tinkering, I think I found a use for my pedal, so maybe I was a little premature in my claims. So maybe I bought hammer when I needed a screwdriver? Like most players I see effects as tools (not "talent boxes") and I will always entertain the possibility of "user error".
Thanks to everyone for entertaining my (possibly misguided) rant and keeping it civil (we need all the civility we can get right now).
Fulltone as a whole is completely off of my purchasing radar— the owner is the worst IMHO 
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Why on earth would you keep buying them then? Life's too short to out up with stuff you don't like.
There is so much gear available, so many other choices.
I've got a few builders on the do not buy list for exactly that reason. Some I've had dealings with, others I just don't like their practices.Fulltone as a whole is completely off of my purchasing radar— the owner is the worst IMHO
But on the flipside, the majority of boutique builders are awesome.
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