Something new from Fryette .....

[dirtyfunkg]

That comment section of the Kickstarter is turning into required reading. Fryette is not handling this well at all and backers are starting to (rightfully) get really pissed off, myself included. They're 8 months late on shipping the first GP/DI and still the backers have no idea when they are expected to ship. I don't get how they wouldn't understand our frustration. Their last update with the photo to make fun of us was a bad decision on their part. They're losing some long standing customers.

 

[maddnotez]

That comment section of the Kickstarter is turning into required reading. Fryette is not handling this well at all and backers are starting to (rightfully) get really pissed off, myself included. They're 8 months late on shipping the first GP/DI and still the backers have no idea when they are expected to ship. I don't get how they wouldn't understand our frustration. Their last update with the photo to make fun of us was a bad decision on their part. They're losing some long standing customers.

I have no skin in the game so it is easy to say but it really does not seem that bad.

I am sure most people expected it to be late and from the comments Fryette left, it seemed they were informative, went into reasons why it is behind and also alot of un-needed info they did not have to share.

I am sure they understand everyone's frustration but does everyone understand Fryette's? They are the ones under the microscope and under the pressure of an expired timeline.

I am sure if I backed this I would be pissed as well but since I am not I can view this from an outside perspective.

 

[ejecta]

That comment section of the Kickstarter is turning into required reading. Fryette is not handling this well at all and backers are starting to (rightfully) get really pissed off, myself included. They're 8 months late on shipping the first GP/DI and still the backers have no idea when they are expected to ship. I don't get how they wouldn't understand our frustration. Their last update with the photo to make fun of us was a bad decision on their part. They're losing some long standing customers.

I have no skin in the game so it is easy to say but it really does not seem that bad.

I am sure most people expected it to be late and from the comments Fryette left, it seemed they were informative, went into reasons why it is behind and also alot of un-needed info they did not have to share.

I am sure they understand everyone's frustration but does everyone understand Fryette's? They are the ones under the microscope and under the pressure of an expired timeline.

I am sure if I backed this I would be pissed as well but since I am not I can view this from an outside perspective.

I agree. I read through a lot of it and it really wasn't that bad but then again I don't have my money in it either so there is that.

 

[Candiria]

I have money in it, and I can't stand the whining.

I went into it knowing it would be late. They said Feb/March, I expected June... so they're going on 4 months behind my expectation. I really don't care because 1) it was only $400 2) they've been improving and updating the design this entire time and 3) they've been up front with the fact that the delays have come from not being able to nail down a transformer design/find someone to manufacture them.

We gave them an interest free loan, so that they could do R&D and create a product from the ground up. That takes time, and as long as they're communicating there shouldn't be a problem. If we're sitting here a year from now still waiting and still getting the same reasons, then you have a legit reason to be pissed. But this is a recording gadget that costs barely more than some pedals. This shouldn't be a vital part of anyone's rig, and if people were pledging money with the mindset that this was something they were depending on then they shouldn't have been pledging money.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

That comment section of the Kickstarter is turning into required reading. Fryette is not handling this well at all and backers are starting to (rightfully) get really pissed off, myself included. They're 8 months late on shipping the first GP/DI and still the backers have no idea when they are expected to ship. I don't get how they wouldn't understand our frustration. Their last update with the photo to make fun of us was a bad decision on their part. They're losing some long standing customers.

I have no skin in the game so it is easy to say but it really does not seem that bad.

I am sure most people expected it to be late and from the comments Fryette left, it seemed they were informative, went into reasons why it is behind and also alot of un-needed info they did not have to share.

I am sure they understand everyone's frustration but does everyone understand Fryette's? They are the ones under the microscope and under the pressure of an expired timeline.

I am sure if I backed this I would be pissed as well but since I am not I can view this from an outside perspective.

I agree. I read through a lot of it and it really wasn't that bad but then again I don't have my money in it either so there is that.

Project Management 101 teaches Gantt charts. They should have a revised timeline in the Gantt chart based on all of the delays they've encountered. I don't need to know the gory details of the delays, just the implications and basic reason. The fact that they haven't given us a revised timeline (which can always be further revised when unforeseen circumstance arises), leads me to believe that they don't have a date goal. No goal and no accountability almost always equals no progress. That is what worries me.

The fact that they are 8 months late and haven't given a revised timeline is what has us pissed off more than anything. Open ended projects often fail, and while I fully expect to receive a GP/DI at some point in my life, I have no idea even when Fryette intends for that to happen. Since I have my skin in the game, I've decided not to buy a bunch of things that the GP/DI is supposed to do, like a re-amper, a DI box, or headphone amp (Logic modeling and latency just don't do it for me). I have a 6 year old kid at home and live in a condo. It's not like I can crank an amp at night.

It also worries me that Fryette amps have been pulled from or is out of stock at almost all retailers they used to be at including Sweetwater, Musicians Friend, Guitar Center online, Tone Merchants, Axe Palace, etc. It just doesn't look good.

@Candiria, the R&D was supposedly almost done from the outset. In fact, here is the actual verbage from their KS:

Given the nature of the product, we do not foresee many challenges in fulfillment if our campaign is successfully funded. The only real risks involved are the usual risks of manufacturing - part availability and second-party component manufacturing delays are common issues, especially with the types of custom parts we use, such as transformers and potentiometers.

The custom transformers are being produced by trusted suppliers to our exacting specifications. The vacuum tubes have already been sourced, screened and pretested for this project. Finally, the initial tooling and engineering challenges have already been evaluated for feasibility and cost. In short, all of the usual manufacturing variables and potential challenges of a project of this scope have been anticipated, addressed and backed up to insure a smooth, successful completion.

This is not an essential part of my performing/rehearsing rig, but it was to be an essential part of my recording and home practice rig. I sprung for the cab also, so this is to be my practice amp among several other things. I get that I'm whining, but I want to know that Fryette has a goal that they're working towards that's more substantial than an eventual conclusion.

If you commission a contractor to build you a home and you pay them up front, you'd want to know when you can expect to move in. I don't care if it's a 5 man or 500 man operation, it's still the same expectation. If the contractor says "You can move in in two months," you may say to yourself "Yeah, right, maybe 5-6 months is more reasonable." When you're looking at 10 months and the contractor won't tell you when they expect to be done (after repeatedly asking), you might find yourself slightly irate.

 

[ejecta]

 

[stephen sawall]

I remember Andy Marshall telling me it took him ten years to design the Flexi 50. He spent over a year just on the midrange knob. He originally thought it was going to take a year or two to do the entire design.
I was their the day he fished the design .... He had it down to four voicings. I was playing as he was soldering & showed me the voices. I picked the final voice. This was all a conversation we had that day. I remember asking him how long till it is done. He said that was it...it's done. That amp was dissected and the final proto type was built.

I am not making excuses for anyone.... But if you ever built anything from the ground up you understand nothing always goes the way you think it can...

 

[maddnotez]

I remember Andy Marshall telling me it took him ten years to design the Flexi 50. He spent over a year just on the midrange knob. He originally thought it was going to take a year or two to do the entire design.
I was their the day he fished the design .... He had it down to four voicings. I was playing as he was soldering & showed me the voices. I picked the final voice. This was all a conversation we had that day. I remember asking him how long till it is done. He said that was it...it's done. That amp was dissected and the final proto type was built.

I am not making excuses for anyone.... But if you ever built anything from the ground up you understand nothing always goes the way you think it can...

that is a good story.

To the Kickstarter backers: I may have misread but I think I saw Fryette say they will have a new timeline soon with the release of the new website.

Also not that anyone of you would care, I have been waiting for a video game that I backed on kickstarter for about 10-11 months now and there is no telling when it will be ready to even test. 10 months minimum AFTER they get all the approvals they need which may never happen.

So I do understand your pain I just do not think the builders are out to screw anyone and I am certain they want to be done as bad as you want them to but they probably want this thing perfected before it is finished.

I am unsure but I do not think it will be like an Axe fx that you can just get a firmware update for. Once it is done it is done kind of thing.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I remember Andy Marshall telling me it took him ten years to design the Flexi 50. He spent over a year just on the midrange knob. He originally thought it was going to take a year or two to do the entire design.
I was their the day he fished the design .... He had it down to four voicings. I was playing as he was soldering & showed me the voices. I picked the final voice. This was all a conversation we had that day. I remember asking him how long till it is done. He said that was it...it's done. That amp was dissected and the final proto type was built.

I am not making excuses for anyone.... But if you ever built anything from the ground up you understand nothing always goes the way you think it can...

No, it doesn't. That said, I don't think artists just get a pass on project management and professionalism. It's still an engineering discipline and a new product roll out pre-financed by loyal, excited customers. I've worked project management and national new product rollouts in craft beer. We're talking barrel aging and wild yeasts--lots of unpredictability there. We owed it to our wholesalers to update them on ETA's for products, and we did just that. They didn't need to know that fermentation stalled and we needed to rouse or find other ways to bring it to EOF, we just let them know, things like "Sometimes our craft takes us to unexpected places, but rest assured, we are still working on it and you should now expect your case allocation by [x] date." I've maintained that that's all I ask of them as far as communication is concerned. The fact that they fail to give this type of information leads me to believe that something is going wrong. Add in the other context clues (out of stocks and retailers no longer carrying them), it seems like a much larger problem.

Nice one ejecta. That that little girl didn't pay for anything, and I'm not asking for my GP/DI and R112 now, I'm asking for when they (Fryette) expects that they will ship. There is a big difference.

 

[ejecta]

 

[dirtyfunkg]

 

[ejecta]

Thanks for having a sense of humor. In all seriousness I understand you wanting what you paid for, being frustrated with the delay, and Steve not living up to your expectations with communication. My experiences with him and his products have been very good so personally if I had money in the kick starter... I wouldn't be too worried.

BTW what micro brew you work for?

 

[dirtyfunkg]

Thanks for having a sense of humor. In all seriousness I understand you wanting what you paid for, being frustrated with the delay, and Steve not living up to your expectations with communication. My experiences with him and his products have been very good so personally if I had money in the kick starter... I wouldn't be too worried.

BTW what micro brew you work for?

My experience with his products has been stellar as well. PB Classic, D120, D60, UL, Sig X, 2/90/2, and FB412 are all either in or have been in my possession at different points. Only thing I've had an issue with was the FB with a P50E blowing--probably before it entered my possession. Hopefully (key word now, as I no longer know what to expect) they get the P50E's in stock as they say they will, and I'll be able to replace the blown woofer.

I am very worried about Fryette disappearing from almost all of their major retailers. It's not a good sign for company prognosis overall.

 

[lowmantotempole]

That comment section of the Kickstarter is turning into required reading. Fryette is not handling this well at all and backers are starting to (rightfully) get really pissed off, myself included. They're 8 months late on shipping the first GP/DI and still the backers have no idea when they are expected to ship. I don't get how they wouldn't understand our frustration. Their last update with the photo to make fun of us was a bad decision on their part. They're losing some long standing customers.

I'd rather have money invested in the Fryette stuff, at least the people are getting updates. Friedman/Tone Merchants/King Guitar just takes your deposits and make it your responsibility to follow up...