Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

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unmarkedplace
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Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by unmarkedplace » Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:15 am

I have been lusting after a Moog for as long as I can remember, and recently I thought I had fulfilled my dream by buying a brand new Subsequent 37 CV at a great price.

It took 2 weeks to arrive, and I was so excited - only to discover that it had scratches all over the front fascia.

I made some phone calls, couriered it back to the distributor, and waited three weeks for the replacement to arrive. I was so so stoked and excited to finally be able to sit down and make some music with my new instrument.

It was shortly after I discovered that the second Subsequent 37 CV had an issue where the controllers would generate random changes after a while, eventually degenerating the current patch into nothing but static and noise. I contacted Moog support, who had me take it apart and check the ribbon connectors - all was fine. The distributor offered to send me new boards to install, but given it was brand new and we weren't exactly sure where the issue was, I didn't feel comfortable with performing major surgery on it.

So the second unit went back and opted instead to take a standard Subsequent 37, hoping they'd be from a different batch. Another four weeks went by, and I was so stoked to receive my new instrument.

Last night I was playing and started to find the control panel was periodically becoming unresponsive. I figured it had to be something I was doing wrong. I reset settings. I checked MIDI routings. I read the manual again. Then I discovered what the issue is.

On my third Subsequent 37, the "Mod 1 Destination" button seems to be mushy and sometimes gets stuck in the engaged position. When this happens, the control surface stops responding. I have to get a guitar pick or something similar and prise it back up to begin using it again. This one is two months old.

This isn't a cheap instrument - it's a $2000 monosynth that's supposed to be best in class. I originally ordered it in November 2018, have been through three and have yet to find one that's satisfactory condition. I wish in retrospect I had just kept the first one, scratches and all, because at least it works.

So now I'm faced with the prospect of either sending this one back and waiting four weeks for a replacement, getting a brand new instrument repaired (and hoping that doesn't do more damage than it fixes), or just living with it.

I wish I'd just kept the money in my pocket, to be honest.

Maybe I'm just a statistical anomaly, but this has been one of the worst purchases I have made from a reliability perspective. Make no mistake: it sounds fantastic and is a joy to play, but there's obviously something going wrong somewhere in the supply chain.

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stiiiiiiive
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by stiiiiiiive » Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:46 am

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear all you've been through with your Subs. I wish you'll find a decent one or another instrument for the money, according to what you decide.
Is it possible that your local shipping service is kind of brutal?...

unmarkedplace
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by unmarkedplace » Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:56 am

stiiiiiiive wrote:Hello, welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear all you've been through with your Subs. I wish you'll find a decent one or another instrument for the money, according to what you decide.
Is it possible that your local shipping service is kind of brutal?...
Thanks for the kind thoughts - I want nothing more than to get a working unit!

It could very well be the courier - unfortunately, my distributor insists on using one of the cheapest and nastiest couriers around, and I wouldn't be surprised if ti is getting banged around a little. I don't want to lay blame, but something is going wrong somewhere between the unit leaving Moog's factory and it arriving at my door!

unmarkedplace
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by unmarkedplace » Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:10 am

So, now the question is: so I see if my distributor can send a new panel board, and risk something getting damaged during installation, or exchange it for a new unit and hope the fourth one is in better working order?

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stiiiiiiive
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by stiiiiiiive » Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:25 am

Well.

Statistically speaking... yep.

But that's without any shipment risk.

You may want tot get one used locally and ensure everything is ok before taking it home. Just thinking.

Quatschmacher
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by Quatschmacher » Wed May 08, 2019 11:16 am

I would guess shipping too. I sent my Subsequent in to get the oscillator outputs balances and it came back with the box all bashed up and loose knobs. Sent it back again and it came back with one pot not working at all. Sent it back a third time making sure to reinforce all the packaging (internal and external) with strong tape and it finally came back seemingly OK, though recently I’ve noticed some pretty large oscillator tuning drift.

Dapifer
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by Dapifer » Wed May 15, 2019 6:18 pm

I agree, my experience with the Sub 37 has been awful, I had one of the early batch in 2014 which had the dodgy filters, my filter broke not once, not twice but 3 times. To Moog's credit their customer service was great but it took 3 times before they decided to upgrade the filters to the metal ones which solved the problem, all this was sorted under my warranty so that was fair enough, it was a slight hindrance but got sorted in the end. What's left a bad taste in my mouth is that since my warranty has expired, the headphone output suddenly stopped working, the frequency 2 pot went glitchy just like the filter did and now the pitch wheel has broke, all of which I have to fork out for if I want to fix. Unacceptable for an instrument that cost me £1300 at the time.

unmarkedplace
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by unmarkedplace » Fri May 17, 2019 8:01 am

Sorry to hear about your experiences - disappointing for an instrument that costs so much.

I think I will live with the button and fix it when something else inevitably breaks. Other than the button, everything else seems to be working okay - and after some poking and prodding, the button does at least reapond now. Not worth the risk with couriers etc.

Moog, sounds like it might be time to revisit some of your OEM part selections, shipping boxes and maybe upgrade to a better Chinese contract electronics manufacturer (or bring it back in-house, which I guess is what Trump wanted with his tarries).

JonLukas
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by JonLukas » Sat May 18, 2019 10:51 am

I'm sorry to say that I have had multiple issues with both the quality and reliability of the products and with a lack of support from Moog. I too was very excited to own a Moog, and I ordered the Sub 37 as soon as it was announced. They keybed was sub-par (improved now in the subsequent 37), and the support team indicated they would be working on providing updated springs for sub 37 users. However, they soon after stopped taking about it, and multiple follow ups on this forum and directly to Moog support were unanswered. I had the faulty cutoff potentiometer issue which took about a week before I got any response from Moog. While it was being fixed, I replaced it with a different brand synth and then sold the Sub 37. When the Subsequent 37 came out, for some reason I thought Moog had figured everything out. But many of the knobs are loose and 'mushy,' some of the patch selection buttons were partially pressed in and stuck, as though they had never been used/tested before. I should have returned it right away but for some reason I was fooled into thinking Moog was a really great way to go. I really tried to enjoy my Moog, but the company and the synths have been completely disappointing.
Pianoteq, Guda KickR, Drumaxx, Diva, Pigments, Flow Motion, Kontakt, Omnisphere 2, StudioLogic SL73, MainStage, Logic Pro X.
Downtempo performed live: http://echofabric.com

progendev
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by progendev » Sat Nov 16, 2019 5:54 pm

Ok wow I had a problem with a patch selection button being partially pressed in and stuck when my Subsequent originally arrived as well. Seems like that was a common problem,

Fortunately for me, after going through the whole return shipping & repair rigomarole, my unit has held up great since. And that was well over a year ago. Maybe I just got lucky lol.

vinnie12
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Re: Really Disappointed with Moog Quality Assurance

Post by vinnie12 » Wed Dec 04, 2019 2:40 am

i recently ordered a few parts from rockauto, and i was really on the fence ... with my own very disappointing experience. the moog swaybar links are ....
http://nbiclearance.website/

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