But no, manufacturers should write manuals, quick start guides and instructional videos that layout and communicate clearly to the experienced and to the novice.
I understand where you are coming from, but my opinion stems from a larger concept I've been studying and that is making everything a commodity these days and customer entitlement.
Advancements in technology and computers have driven down the price of electronics so much that amazing "professional" gear is available to the masses. As more people get into music, the manufacturers find ways to lower their prices for both beating their competition and to sell more units. So the other companies do the same. Lower prices make the market grow and lots of times force poorly made products just to seize the sales opportunity.
This tends to dilute the market and makes customers feel "entitled" to things just because they have the money to buy it. "i bought a guitar, i am now a guitarist." (i think it's GREAT though that so many people have the opportunity to experience music, instruments, recording, etc because of lower prices, but i just wish the entitlement thing didn't come along with it.)
When I was the GM of a music store here I was in charge of purchasing. I worked with many of the top brands in MI and one of the questions I always posed to my staff was "What's the lowest price (keyboard, guitar, bass, etc) we should carry?" If we had a $59 guitar, sure we would sell many many guitars, but for one, I didn't like the quality of those units and I didn't want to equate our store with "cheapest dang thing they make." But more importantly, I felt that offering a guitar for so cheap diluted the market and industry and reduced the value of anything else more expensive. People will start thinking "why should I buy anything more expensive, everything should be cheap like this." You might think that someone could hear the difference between a $59 guitar and a $500 guitar, but many times the consumer is thinking about $$$ that they don't WANT to hear the difference.
Now there are digital effects units for $99, but the average consumer buys something between $300 and $600. Let's say they used that for a bit, but decided to take the jump to something super pro, mostly because it's ~$2000.
So someone buys the axe-fx and might think "man this thing is hard to use but it shouldn't be. i shouldn't have to learn anything new because i spent the money to buy it. i did my part. i gave the manufacturer my money. now they need to teach me how to use it." to me, that's total BS, and i know people feel that way, even if they don't realize it.
because i spent the money.... this should be easy to use. so if you had the money to buy a rocket ship, should it be easy to use just because you bought it? people buy a car today and expect to know how to drive just because they bought a car. they are entitled to be on the road and be a bad driver simply because they bought a car.
but you might say, if the manufacturer had clearer manuals and videos and catered to the novice, they would sell more units and make more money. maybe so maybe not, but that might not be the goal of the manufacturer.
back in the day, the only type of cell phone was the type you make calls with... only. no games, sometimes no lcd display at all. you just dial the number, hit call and talk. now there are iphones and touchscreens and this and that. because the iphone is so affordable, many people who have absolutely NO computer experience buy one and then get angry because it's "hard to use." people try to build websites today because they feel entitled to having a website and get so angry because they don't know anything about code. people buy a computer these days for under $500 and get angry because the mouse is so hard to use. but i spent my MONEY on it. i should know how to use it or it should be easier or it should read my mind!!!
and they usually blame the manufacturer for making it so difficult instead of taking the responsibility to actually learn what their doing.
everyone see Wall-E where in the future everyone is just lying down on that hover bed thing looking at a screen and machines do everything for us except swallow? that's where we are headed if people don't buckle down and take responsibility for their actions and learn and think and grow and contribute.
all that from "better manuals should be written"? yes.
At first I didn't know what FRFR meant. Thats how much of a novice I am.
to me, not knowing what FRFR means doesn't equate to being a novice. FRFR is a term that is thrown around this forum, not necessarily an industry standard term. but not knowing its definition, you probably searched the forum or the internet to figure it out, rather than complaining that "FRFR" wasn't defined in the axe fx manual, right?
