MFC-101 - Construction Issues

CodePoet

CodePoet

Fractal Fanatic
I just received my MFC-101 and think it does wonderful things - was able to get it just in time to spend an allnighter with it to get it ready for use at practice yesterday and it was fun. But I was surprised at a couple of construction issues - which I was disappointed in on a $750 pedalboard. I don't see or believe they were done during shipping as the box arrived clean and undamaged.

The top chassis piece isn't very flush (maybe an 1/8" gap) with the left side and makes a fairly substantial metal squeak when pressing the switches as the chassis pieces rub against each other. The right side is flush and appears normal. I don't really see a way to tighten this up. Also, one of the chassis screws on the back (on the other side, not the gappy-side) is also loose - just spins. I'm sure Fractal would swap/repair it if I returned it, but it was such a process to get this one, I don't have the turnaround time to have it leave my hands.

Just wondering if any of this is normal and if anyone knows of a way to remedy the gap and its squeaks let me know. There doesn't appear to be anything to screw down to close the gap - looks like you'd have to bend the top, or line the side with some type of material to buffer the gap. I haven't opened it up to look inside at this point. If anyone has any thoughts, let me know.

Construction issues aside, it seems to be fully functional and amazing.
 
I just recently got my MFC-101 and haven't had any of the issues you describe. Quite to the contrary, I'm very impressed with how solid it is....no squeaks or anything. I'd suggest you contact Fractal to see what they can do.
 
You have a damaged mfc - damaged box or not, that thing took a huge drop and broke IMHO. Not anywhere near what you are describing here; my MFC is as rock solid a pedal as I've ever seen.

Have you contacted support?
 
This is NOT normal. My MFC is built like a tank. Solid, flush joints, no loose screws (other than my programming) and no noise at all.
 
Scott Peterson said:
You have a damaged mfc - damaged box or not, that thing took a huge drop and broke IMHO. Not anywhere near what you are describing here; my MFC is as rock solid a pedal as I've ever seen. Have you contacted support?
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Hmm - you think so? Could be. It doesn't appear to have taken a beating during shipping - the Fractal box arrived in great shape. Guess I'll contact support and see what the options are. If it had some trauma, maybe I don't want to trust it long-term. Bummer...

Based on your info, I contacted support, so I'll see where that leads. Thanks for the info.
 
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Just received mine on Friday. Nothing like what you are describing. Hopefully, FAS will provide you with good support.
 
I was actually really impressed with the quality of the Midi Controller. I've spent MORE on some other models and they were NOT anywhere as solid as this one. In terms of build quality I would rank this thing > $1k.
 
I just got my MFC-101 today and I noticed something similar. None of the screws were stripped or loose, but lightly pressing on the left side of the pedal caused a pretty loud squeaking noise. Since I was going to mount it on my pedal board, I went ahead and removed the feet. While I had the screwdriver out, I loosened the two back screws and slightly realigned the chassis before tightening everything back. I'm happy to say that the squeak is gone.
 
I did notice that the rubber feet on my unit were almost all loose - one came off completely after 1 or 2 gigs.
 
Update for those that have a similar issue:

I contacted support and for the stripped screw they had me remove it - when I did, I heard the press-nut inside the case drop. So I opened the case up and sure enough found the nut inside - it had broken off at some point. (It could be said the MFC busted a nut...) Waiting to hear if that can be replaced or not.

While I was in there, I decided to investigate the squeaking. After a few alignment attempts, reassemblies and testing, I figured out that the PCB for the display was rubbing on the side of the case - it's a very tight tolerance with that board and the side, not much room to be off. I used what strength I could muster to pull the left side of the chassis out to try to give it some breathing room. I must have been able to bend it just enough because I was able to reassemble it and the squeak is gone! So that worked for me - it's a bit of a low-tech finesse move, but now I think I'm to where I should be, save for one screw. Feels much more like a tank now that the squeak is gone...
 
oddb0d said:
I was actually really impressed with the quality of the Midi Controller. I've spent MORE on some other models and they were NOT anywhere as solid as this one. In terms of build quality I would rank this thing > $1k.
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That's true - I was just disappointed with the issues my board had as I thought they were QA'ing them at HQ before shipping them out and the issues were pretty apparent. But things can slip by - it happens.
 
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