Does It Bother Anyone Else?

If poor Cliff could just invent himself a 36 hour day maybe he could alleviate half the whining going on around here lately.

Since we are referring to software and issues, let's think about Microsoft. The most popular software on earth and you have sit on hold for an hour to talk to "Bob" from India who "loves the Yankees" and that great American past time "baseketball".

When I was there picking up my II there were three employees, Cliff, his wife and some other guy.
 
That is part of the whole idea behind the Axe-Fx products. I wanted to create a community of like-minded users who would help each other and share information. With any product as in-depth and complex as the Axe-Fx, the community almost has to become part of the support paradigm.
 
Let me preface this with the fact that I'm coming off a lousy day at work so I'm cranky and this may come off as snotty. That's not my intent. I know that you're fairly new to the game here so I just want to explain what I see from my perspective.

I just sold an 11R and while it didn't have much of a learning curve I learned everything about using it from 1.) the manual, 2.) asking questions on the user forum. I would have called AVID, but I didn't want to pay their support fees. When I updated to (excuse me, PAID for) the expansion pack they included a set of release notes which I read up on and got caught up on what I needed to know.

The biggest differences are obviously the fact that there are no tech support fees with Fractal and the updates are regular and FREE of charge. Hell, to go even further here did anyone notice that one of the bug fixes from 5.0 to 5.01 was changing something that another forum user requested be reverted back? We had over 200 individual requests on the ideascale over at AVID for things to either be fixed or added or changed and not one of them were done nor do they seem to have plans to do so.

The Fractal stuff does a lot of things and yes it can be overwhelming at times, but the thing is that regardless of whether you read the manual, the wiki or have Cliff himself come over to your house and program it there is a learning curve and there is going to be some time invested on your behalf to get the most out of it. I personally love this forum because I know that I can post a question and within an hour I will have several responses or if I feel especially fancy I can use the search function. If Cliff went out and hired a staff of guys for tech support we're talking about phone lines being tied up, not to mention the fact that the overhead is going to have to come straight from the cost of the unit itself.

We're also not talking about a company that is moving 90,000 units a week here, it's a small, very tight community and I have yet to see a problem in the 3 plus years I've been a member here that needed to be escalated to a "Cliff level" of action that wasn't addressed by the man himself and taken care of.

As for all of the updates, I can't even remember how many firmware upgrades I made with my Ultra, but I do know that every single one of them had a set of release notes included. That has never changed.

I don't know what the terms between Scott, Yek, AlbertA, JavaJunkie or the other handful of guys that do the beta testing and manage the wiki and basically provide all the information on updates and stuff are with Fractal, but to me whether it comes from someone that I know on a semi-personal level and TRUST implicity or from someone who punches a clock and is receiving a paycheck from Fractal isn't important. The information concerning updates and new features are spelled out nearly 100% of the time before the update comes out by this group of guys. What they get from it is none of my business. And we're not talking about some kids hanging out on a gaming site here just sharing cheatcodes or something, most of these people have some kind of background and foundation to draw from to handle the task at hand. I know that I for one owe them a huge debt of gratitude for it and I can tell that you appreciate them as well.

I think that what I'm trying to say is that the information is available to everyone, but it is obviously too much to absorb in just a few sessions and it's going to take a certain amount of pain if you want to know the unit to the sub atomic level. The best way to get that level of knowledge is from the people that are actually using it which is what this forum is all about. I'd hate to have to wait for someone to sort through a ton of emails or be placed on hold for an hour just so that someone could say "is it turned on, is the front panel lit up, are you wired correctly, what OS are you using, etc".
 
I haven't had to contact Fractal and hope I never have to. The more time that they get on R&D and churning out code, the better. Oh, and getting that stinkin' list down so that I'm nearer the top! :)

I'd much rather be learning from people who use the devices "in the wild" as it were.
 
Cliff should hire some nerds to learn the Axe FX in and out, and answer customer support emails all day.

Some nerds get a rad job, there's better response from the support side of FAS... everybody's happy, 'kept maybe cliffs bank account.
 
I think this method of support works great. I like having my questions answered by people that know the product inside and out, but with different perspectives. On the few times I have actually had to contact Fractal Support they were very friendly and responsive.

My previous "rig" was PodFarm2. For a laugh you should go to the PF2 support forum every few days. You see an incessant stream of people complaining about the same legitimate problems. If you are lucky they might respond and say to reinstall the software. Ironically, the questions that do get answered are typically by a handful of power users.....

No complaints here.
 
Spaceboy said:
Cliff should hire some nerds to learn the Axe FX in and out, and answer customer support emails all day.

Some nerds get a rad job, there's better response from the support side of FAS... everybody's happy, 'kept maybe cliffs bank account.
Click to expand...
Is there an issue with customer support that would specifically require nerds to solve or could it be a set of consumer grade geeks or just generally pointed headed mofos?

And how many? A herd? A herd of nerds? A gaggle of geeks perhaps? ;)

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but the majority of 'issues' I see could be remedied by reading a manual of looking in the wiki or just by experimenting. I don't see the need to have someone read it to me. If the AxeFX isn't working that's another thing all together and I believe that their repair/replacement/warranty service is pretty darn good....not that I've had to worry about it.

I'm curious here. Has ANYONE ever had to send an email to Fractal for support and not gotten a timely response? I've never heard of that happening. Doesn't he have a few guys working for him right now that handles some of this stuff? I know that I've seen people say that so and so got back to them from Fractal and it wasn't always Cliff.

But just in case we should probably have them screened to see if they possess the necessary level of nerdosterine. :mrgreen
 
Eh, this is basically me when editing the Axe-FX:

tumblr_lmva2mQD3Q1qiyh9no1_500.jpg


I still manage to get some nice tones out of it.
 
shasha said:
Has ANYONE ever had to send an email to Fractal for support and not gotten a timely response? I've never heard of that happening.
Click to expand...
You've been away too long ;) I've seen that happening quite a lot lately, but often there were good excuses, like FAS moving mail servers, etc.
 
FractalAudio said:
That is part of the whole idea behind the Axe-Fx products. I wanted to create a community of like-minded users who would help each other and share information. With any product as in-depth and complex as the Axe-Fx, the community almost has to become part of the support paradigm.
Click to expand...

I think Cliff hit it on the head here. I agree that this product is a steep learning curve, but even if Yek or Simeon disappeared tomorrow, we've got the Wiki left behind as a result to document your 'ah-hah' moments.
 
Yeah, the Axe-FX Wiki has been an invaluable source of information. It's basically "the missing manual". I find the presets are a great starting point, just find which ones work for you and tweak to perfection. Half the work is already done out of the box.
 
Perhaps the best online support model might be:

1) RTFM
2) Search the Wiki
3) Search the forum
4) Contact FAS
5) Post to the forum

If you exhaust these steps and are still unable to resolve the issue, then you might need proceed to the next step

6) Sell your AFX on Ebay

Circle of life! :)
 
metalpriest said:
Relative newbie here, with a philosophical question.

Does it bother anyone else here that, as the complexity of Axe II
rapidly approaches “Mars Rover” levels, that virtually ALL the post-purchase
customer support for us ‘Joe Average’ players seems to be coming
from a tiny handful of crazy-loyal Forum members, rather than Fractal Audio?

Seems to me the company’s priorities are Product Development and cultivating
celebrity endorsements. Not bad things at all, but as product complexity increases,
striking a balance with customer support/education, becomes ever more critical, I would think.

I don’t see any company effort towards this. The product is being developed at a
feverish pace, but a continuing official support and education to customers/members is
something I don’t see. “Here’s the miracle box…..you figure it out!”
I just find it unsettling that virtually everything I know about organizing, programming,
and all the personal advise/help I’ve gotten with patches, has come from either Smilefan
or Yek. Wonderful that they took their personal time to help me, but I didn’t pay
my money to them.

Why isn’t my aftermarket support coming from the folks I bought the unit from?
Is it unrealistic to look for that? What happens if those few members I get my present
support from disappear? Personally, I’d be lost without them. Does this not bother anyone else?
(Maybe I’m just the only dummy who finds this ever-increasing labyrinth of technical menus daunting)
Click to expand...

The manual is very good as is the wiki. What other support do you need? Have you e-mailed fractal and not gotten a response?
If you post here, it'll be hard to get an answer directly from Fractal as there are way too many topics posted everyday for them to follow on all of them.
 
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shasha said:
Is there an issue with customer support that would specifically require nerds to solve or could it be a set of consumer grade geeks or just generally pointed headed mofos?

And how many? A herd? A herd of nerds? A gaggle of geeks perhaps? ;)

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but the majority of 'issues' I see could be remedied by reading a manual of looking in the wiki or just by experimenting. I don't see the need to have someone read it to me. If the AxeFX isn't working that's another thing all together and I believe that their repair/replacement/warranty service is pretty darn good....not that I've had to worry about it.

I'm curious here. Has ANYONE ever had to send an email to Fractal for support and not gotten a timely response? I've never heard of that happening. Doesn't he have a few guys working for him right now that handles some of this stuff? I know that I've seen people say that so and so got back to them from Fractal and it wasn't always Cliff.

But just in case we should probably have them screened to see if they possess the necessary level of nerdosterine. :mrgreen
Click to expand...

Every time I've emailed FAS they have responded within an hour or so. I think FAS is a finely tuned machine and I cannot honestly think of anything to change about them.

To the OP, don't forget FAS has a worldwide user base. Not just us active forumites. When I complained about the USB changes FAS politely reminded me of that fact. I imagine that they get TONS of emails.

I'm no blind fanboy either. FAS f'n RULES!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
shasha said:
I don't know what the terms between Scott, Yek, AlbertA, JavaJunkie or the other handful of guys that do the beta testing and manage the wiki and basically provide all the information on updates and stuff are with Fractal,
Click to expand...

Just for clarification I'm not associated with Fractal Audio nor I'm I a beta tester. Any contribution I've made has been made on my own time and money (I hosted the original wiki at my own expense) out of the kindness of my heart :)
 
Oh, I should also mention that I only care if my issue gets resolved. Not who helps. Btw, anyone who helps you out here is still technically FAS support. Cliff has created a worldwide network of free tech support. Cliff chimes in at the right moments in these threads. Like my thread about the B + time constant. He chimed in with a perfectly detailed explanation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I am a volunteer moderator, volunteer beta team member and no official capacity other than that beyond those roles. I am not an employee nor am I paid by Fractal. To beta test, you have to sign a NDA and I do tend to push the boundaries a bit on that by talking about things but try to either get approval and/or only talk about my thoughts in a general sense and ONLY after Cliff or someone from Fractal has opened the discussion.

A lot of folks have helped me out; I try my best to give back as much as I can because it's how I am. I talk about what I know, what I use and what I do. I am a has-been/never-was but I love to play and have been employed as a sideman or in working bands since I was 14.
 
It would bother me if the current methods of support weren't working. But it seems to be working very well and responses on the forum tend to come more quickly than other companies' official support. For my money I'd rather have Fractal focus on product development.
 
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