Just a got number 427 a couple days ago, so far loving it!
Couple questions though. Does anyone else here find the output a little weak? Compared to my Yamaha SY85, S80, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Roland JD-990, and Access Virus Indigo 2, the LP’s output level is the lowest by far. Is this normal?
Also, I know analog synths are a little noisier than most digital ones, but I’m wondering about a sort of high-frequency wheeze that triggers on all notes. It’s at the same pitch, but the mod wheel can sometimes affect it. I read that the first 15 LPs had this problem, and while I can hear the same noise in some of other user’s sound samples, mine seems a little worse.
Here’s an example (with the filter closed it’s still pretty noisy). Once again, is this normal? I know the overdrive exacerbates the problem, but it’s present even when overdrive is off.
this definitely sounds like a problem to me, don’t supposed you’ve contacted moog yet on this? mine should be arriving in a few hours, i’ll drop a post in here for comparison, but i seriously doubt that wheezing is normal. the output volume on the other hand may be correct.. either way i’ll do a comparison, for what its worth.
any other LP owners out here experiencing this problem still?
Seems like Pulsar’s is a bit noisier than mine? I took mine back for repair (#9) and the “fix” seemed to make it better, but it did not completely go away.
If you listen to DocT’s post of individual sounds, you can hear the buzz, especially in the bass sounds.
I suppose that this is normal since no one else is commenting on the situation.
this was totally a refurbish job and AMS was trying to pass this off to me new. No audio comes out of it all, I am SO pissed that they’d do this and not even check it after they got it back from Moog.
looks like that comparison isn’t gonna happen for a while.
That really sucks. I hope you can get that taken care of ASAP.
In regards your your earlier post, I did not contact Moog yet. I was hoping a bunch of people here would say “nah your LP is fine” or “yeah, sounds bad.” That way I wouldn’t end up bothering them for no reason. I suppose I’ll call them now though, just to be sure. For me, at this point the wheeze pretty much rules out having a bass sound go solo without using heavy EQ or noise reduction.
thanks for the condolences, after three months of waiting AMS better cough up a new one stat, i’ve bought way too much shit from them over the years for this kind of crappy service. especially for a higher ticket item like this one.. eesh.
don’t take it if it’s refurb’d, regardless of whether it works or not. paying full price for something that had to be returned to the factory isn’t fair to the buyer, especially when they don’t even warn you before hand. if i wanted something used, i’d get it on ebay. now i’m stuck with a broken one that has to be returned, go through slow ass processing, and wait for the next shipment. if they put me in the back of the queue line for this i’m gonna have to have some words.
Have you given a talk to Moog yet? Will they work on? I imagine its still under warranty…
Im not very impressed with AMS at all.. There is no reason they should be selling refurbs at full price. Its just not right.
i have doubts that MOOG would send off a broken phatty… So, im guessing AMS probably took in a return, and put it right back in their inventory… cheap bastards.. Maybe try contacting MOOG to see if they had actually worked on the Phatty #141…
i haven’t talked to moog yet, but i can tell it’s been returned before, 'cuz the box has a bar-coded sticker on the front that was from the AMS return cataloging system. so far my emails with them have been pretty useless, they don’t really care about fixing the situation or making an exception, but i’m just going to keep climbing the escalation ladder until i find someone who can actually do something exceptional. so far i’ve talked to 5 people, from customer service, to the returns dept, to the floor, and now to the marketing team (i think i’m getting closer). we’ll see how it turns out.
ya know, i was considering just having it repaired with moog, but lemons tend to keep being lemons, and i’m not paying this much money for something that has been passed around AMS like an exploding birthday cake.. not to mention has been owned by someone else. i did this SAME dance of BS with a Nord Lead 3 a while back, and it ended with me having words with the North American distributor guy for Clavia personally setting it up with AMS to have a replacement sent to me. no more repair crap, thats AMS’s job and what they should have done from the start. they knowningly sold me a returned product and now have the gall to say they can’t honor my preorder.
i want this trail of lies to stop, and for them to take the neccesary steps, so the next chum in line doesn’t get the one i just got. AMS needs to shape up, bad press can go pretty far on the net. especially with the boutique stuff like moog.
I tend to buy the nice stuff from smaller, more specialized dealers who rely on customer service and word of mouth, such as Big City Music and Audiosyncrazy. I buy less important stuff (cables, etc) from the big stores. Do the bigger stores not realize how important customer service is? Makes you wonder how they got so big in the first place.
There are a few big stores that I have lots of good experiences with, such as 8th Street and ZZounds. I don’t think I would ever buy from AMS or Musician’s Friend if i can help it.
I will say though, for me personally, AMS has always been great. Ive been shopping there with the payment plan for… maybe 4 years now… something like that, never had any problems. Even built up enough trust to order some guitars from them, and I am usually ALWAYS against ordering a guitar without playing it… but this situation with you just reminds me once again, that after everything, AMS is just a big envelope waiting for money.
I am really unhappy about this.
And am dreading the Moog I get from them… I can see it now… opening it up, and its #141…
I purchased my Phatty from AMS also, recieved #124, and it was also defective. It had a bad output, I was hardly getting any sound from it, sound was really low level. AMS asked me to send it back, and told me that it would take 6 weeks to get another one. So, I contacted Moog, and they told me I did not have to send back to AMS, but send directly to them. Moog took care of everything including shipping. Moog customer service is great, and the technical support team/engineers are outstanding! when I got it back, it only took a week and a 1/2, they fixed the output, but also updated the OS. Those guys really care about what you think about their synths, so I recommend you give them a call, and ask for Amos. I am absolutely sure they will take care of you, it’s in their warranty.
I purchased my LP from a local store… I always buy locally if I can. If I don’t support my local guy, he won’t be able to bring in the weird little goodies that most people do not buy, like Moog, and other makers of analog gear. Most local stores only sell the Korgs, Yamahas, Rolands, etc.
I don’t know why anybody in the US would buy mail order analog from anybody besides Analogue Haven. They really know their products and support us analog freaks. You don’t talk to an order desk, you talk to a fellow analog freak. I almost purchased from them, but decided to stick local. I was a bit unsure about purchasing sight unseen, and they offered to let me return the LP if I didn’t like it. Yeah, like I wouldn’t like it…
This story about AMS is a nightmare, and it keeps me from even thinking about dealing with them. The whole thing sounds pretty sleazy. There is no doubt in my mind that you would be seeing a different solution from Analogue Haven. Why don’t you call them and see if they have an open slot for an LP? Give AMS their funky stuff back. Or if you are in a hurry, just take the other suggestion and send your LP straight to Moog. You know that they will make it right.
i agree 100% and thats exactly what i’m going to do. don’t have anybody local who could get a phatty, so AH is definitely my choice. AMS has been pretty good to me in the past, but it seems like big ticket items really get tossed around over there.. don’t understand what the deal is. as the serial is pretty low on this one, i’m just going to send it back to them for a refund, their customer service dept is misinformed and don’t communicate well at all when it comes to stuff like this. different answers from every person.. thanks for the comment, cheers.
