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FEA fan club!
- Thread starter bongomania
- Start date
Thanks for the suggestion. We were talking about a pedal like that several years ago until SFX built a really nice one.
-Frank
forgive the duplicate post, but please allow me the concession, as I am panicking..
please feel free to address me privately, or on
this thread so I don't detract from the party here too much
I JUST got an opti-fet in a trade, and it is QUITE new (shipped to the original owner late march from FEA)
after taking out the battery and resetting the DIP switches, the compressor, when engaged, now produces NO sound, and NO indication of compression being triggered..
next move?
silly obvious troubleshooting that will make me stop crying?
thanks, all
:scowl: hate myself sometimes
please feel free to address me privately, or on
this thread so I don't detract from the party here too much
I JUST got an opti-fet in a trade, and it is QUITE new (shipped to the original owner late march from FEA)
after taking out the battery and resetting the DIP switches, the compressor, when engaged, now produces NO sound, and NO indication of compression being triggered..
next move?
silly obvious troubleshooting that will make me stop crying?
thanks, all
:scowl: hate myself sometimes
After waiting for just shy of a year, I received a notification email from FEA Sunday, and immediately placed my order. During the time I was waiting on the list, I contacted FEA 2 or 3 times, and got a reply within 24 hours each time. I received my Opti-Fet wednesday, and hooked it up through my practice rig at home (my rig is at a venue), and I have not been able to stay away from playing through it. THE WAIT WAS SO WORTH IT! The build quality is superb, and the new knob design and inclusion of rubber o-rings to preserve knob position during transport are a testament to the designer/builder using customer input to optimize a product. Seems all of the best equipment I have gotten over the past few years is coming from New York. What are y'all drinking up there? Lol. Cannot express enough how pleased I am with this compressor. I am normally a "fewer knobs, the better" guy, but I have not been able to wrench a bad tone out of the Opti-Fet. Kudos to FEA Labs, and thanks. Btw, I am a newbie here on Talkbass, so thx for reading my overly long 1st post. Looking forward to gigging with the new comp tomorrow.
Thanks for that great review and for being soooo patient!
I am currently working with another knob manufacturer for a newer style custom knob for the future. The new knob will have a satin finish so the reflection from stage lighting will be diffused and easier on the eyes. There will also be a black fill in the index cut for a much easier view of knob position. Occasionally you find a company that has stellar products and service… I think this is one of them. **Fingers crossed**
As I have said elsewhere in this thread, we are working on ways to improve efficiency to shorten build cycles. But early last month I dropped off a batch of enclosures for powder coating. The powder coating shop is a husband and wife team… and they are very awesome people. I found out that Valerie (the wife that was MY dedicated powder coater) lost her battle with cancer. And because of medical expenses for her illness, her husband Gary, along with being totally devastated for the loss of his wife, is now being evicted from his shop. So, at this time I am unsure of how all of this will affect his business or even if he will continue. Whatever he decides to do I wish him all the best.
Thanks again for all of you who are waiting patiently.
-Frank
I am currently working with another knob manufacturer for a newer style custom knob for the future. The new knob will have a satin finish so the reflection from stage lighting will be diffused and easier on the eyes. There will also be a black fill in the index cut for a much easier view of knob position. Occasionally you find a company that has stellar products and service… I think this is one of them. **Fingers crossed**
As I have said elsewhere in this thread, we are working on ways to improve efficiency to shorten build cycles. But early last month I dropped off a batch of enclosures for powder coating. The powder coating shop is a husband and wife team… and they are very awesome people. I found out that Valerie (the wife that was MY dedicated powder coater) lost her battle with cancer. And because of medical expenses for her illness, her husband Gary, along with being totally devastated for the loss of his wife, is now being evicted from his shop. So, at this time I am unsure of how all of this will affect his business or even if he will continue. Whatever he decides to do I wish him all the best.
Thanks again for all of you who are waiting patiently.
-Frank
I have an apprentice that is helping with circuit board assembly or do you mean an apprentice for powder coating? If you mean an apprentice for powder coating then I do not have the physical space for a proper powder coating area. This has been a great shop to contract with, they have served me very well for many years. If Gary doesnt set up shop somewhere else then I will look at the few other powder coating shops around here. But for now, I really have to contract for this work.
BTW Even with the set backs we have experienced, each year we have been doubling the output of pedals from the year before. So, I think we are moving down the right path.
-Frank
I was thinking of an apprentice in the traditional of learning from master while working and attending classes at night or short courses. Yearlong waitlisting suggests you might be erring on the cautious side with taking on staff!
Thanks Frank, and so sorry to hear about your powder coater, I will use the pedal with a deeper appreciation than it's musical contribution. Please allow me to apologize if I gave the impression that I was dissatisfied regarding the lead time, rather, my expectations were confirmed as to the quality that is achieved when all stages of the process are closely supervised and controlled. I wish you continued success, and look forward to my next purchase from your line of exceptional tools. Probably going with the mixer next. Thanks again.
Bo
Bo
Yes, I am extremely cautious now. A few years ago we had shelves and shelves full of pedals ready to ship. There were no sales for several months, so I stopped production. Financially this put me in a very, very bad position to where I almost abandoned this venture and was considering working for someone else again. Then the sales started coming in slowly, then suddenly it was like drinking from a fire hose.
Standing that close to the abyss makes you move in very measured steps. But, we are moving forward and my plan is to get to a point where the wait will not be longer than one month max. I dont know exactly when that will be but thats what we are working towards.
BTW These last two batches of Opti-FETs actually covered 4 months of the list.
Stay tuned, we are getting there.
-Frank
Thanks Bo, Valerie was an awesome woman. There is no need to apologize I didnt take your comment as dissatisfaction at all. I am just deeply grateful for everyones outstanding patience while we are moving forward.
-Frank
Just adding my personal update to this thread: finally got around to trying out the O-ring mod to make the controls stiffer. Works like a charm. (I ended up with a #47 on the bottom and a #60 on top fyi)
Thanks for the suggestion Frank!
Thanks for the suggestion Frank!
Got my opti-fet back today! Class-act of a business, I almost can't wait to break something else
Consider me an official fan!
Thanks! I hope you get over that feeling to break something else.
Thanks for the o-ring update. We have been getting some great feedback for the knob stiffness since we started using them last year. We are using metric size o-rings. It is amazing that something so simple can make such a drastic improvement.
BTW, Glen has PDF instructions on the website if anyone is looking for o-ring information for the knobs.
-Frank
Yeah the O-rings work great. I'm a set it and forget it kinda guy, and since the Dual Band Distortion needs quite a bit of tweaking, I'm extra happy my settings aren't going anywhere
On a side note, does the added stiffness put any unnecessary strain on the shafts?... (since they're covered with a thin layer of foil, I'm just curious how sturdy they are to the extra force being put on by the knob via the hex screw).
On a side note, does the added stiffness put any unnecessary strain on the shafts?... (since they're covered with a thin layer of foil, I'm just curious how sturdy they are to the extra force being put on by the knob via the hex screw).
The o-rings shouldn’t stress the pot shafts, because the shafts are solid aluminum. Most of the drag that the o-rings provide is lateral resistance from the knob directed towards the pot mounting threads. The foil tape on the shafts was added because the original knobs were made for a ¼ inch shaft and these pots have a 6mm shaft. Putting the shim foil tape around the 6mm shaft helped keep the knobs more centered.
The new custom knobs are made for 6mm shafts… so there won’t be any shim foil on those shafts.
-Frank
The new custom knobs are made for 6mm shafts… so there won’t be any shim foil on those shafts.
-Frank
