Just wanted to give a heads up as to my recent experience with TC Electronics and see if anyone here has experienced similar. I'm apparently far from being the only person that's had this kind of experience with them.
Bullet point, to keep myself from getting out of hand:
-Bought a Ditto X4 in September ($250+tax)
-Never leaves the studio
-Seven months later it just stops working
-Go to TC for Warranty repair (1 year manufacturer coverage)
-Find out they're owned by a different company ('Music Group')
-Music Group doesn't give a crap
-Just keep telling me to update firmware
-....There hasn't been a firmware update for the X4, but I follow their steps anyway
-Finally get to warranty
-They tell me to ship it out to some general elec shop in Florida (I pay shipping)
-Check reviews
-2/5 stars
-Apparently tons of music companies use these places to cover their warranties
-"Took weeks and sent back still broken"
-Find out I need original receipt of sale
-Find out I have no warranty because I don't have it
>:(
$250 for one pedal from a company that calls themselves boutique and they essentially sold me a $250 paperweight. Unbelievable. Also found out that the standard warranty could be 3 years, if you register your pedal within 90 days....Something that is advertised nowhere.
All this work just to screw their customers. I'll never buy TC Electronics again. If only 24bit DIY loop pedals were a viable option.
that a bummer.
I know the little 1590A sized ditto is notorious for its stomp switch shitting itself. Any chance that something similar has occurred with your unit?
http://www.coda-effects.com/2015/04/ditto-looper-repair-how-to-fix-broken.html
Is it Harmon Music Group? I have a friend that worked for them a long time ago. When they used to get warranty calls they would pretty much laugh at the customer and hang up. They suck big time.
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I won't buy tc anymore either. I had a spark mini which died after 13 months and I was told by tc to buy a new one as it will cost more than that to fix the switch on mine.
Quote from: somnif on April 24, 2017, 11:50:52 PM
I know the little 1590A sized ditto is notorious for its stomp switch shitting itself. Any chance that something similar has occurred with your unit?
http://www.coda-effects.com/2015/04/ditto-looper-repair-how-to-fix-broken.html
That wasn't the issue with mine in-particular, but in my initial "TC Ditto X4 issues" Google search, about half the complaints were towards that issue exactly and the other half being my issue. TC Elec uses momentary switches attached to a spring that hits a much smaller, internal switch beneath it (wtf). Apparently, those springs pop out of place constantly due to there being no containment structure for the springs.
My particular issue was this:
I go into the studio one day to find my Ditto X4 (which I'd previously left off, obviously) 'on' with a red LED glowing above the 'LOOP1' switch. I can't remember if the signal was being bypassed/audible or not. What I do know is that nothing on the pedal was working. I unplug it, plug it back in and all lights flash a few times and then back to the red LED and no function. Tried both the original power supply and secondary to make sure it wasn't that. It wasn't. It's literally just bricked.
Quote from: flanagan0718 on April 25, 2017, 12:34:16 AM
Is it Harmon Music Group? I have a friend that worked for them a long time ago. When they used to get warranty calls they would pretty much laugh at the customer and hang up. They suck big time.
I don't think so, but I'm not entirely sure.
This is the link to TC Elec's parent company from TC's website: http://www.music-group.com/brands?active=Brands
From memory, that's Behringer under another name.
Quote from: Willybomb on April 25, 2017, 09:44:02 AM
From memory, that's Behringer under another name.
Same group owns a bunch of brands, including Behringer. From what I've heard most of TC's new 50$ budget pedals are Behringers in prettier boxes.
(Including the goofy spring-and-microswitch set up).
only TC pedal that does anything good to your tone is their polytune mini tuner.
anything else I've used I just though sounded super artificial and I never wanted to stomp on it.
I loved playing with the Toneprint reverbs (trinity 2) just because I could make it sound like I was suddenly playing a wall of amps the size of a house in a cavern the size of a blimp. Great post-rock "Big Noise" soundscape stuff.
If you want over-the-top ethereal ambience, its fantastic. But most of the other day-to-day toneprint stuff was fairly "meh" (to me, your mileage may vary of course. Some folks love em)
I love the sound of my TC flashback mini delay. Bought it because the DIY pt2399 delays were either too dark or too noisy for my taste. Apart from a tuner it's the only non-self-built pedal on my board. Did have problems with it though: when switching, the LED would go on, but no delay to be heard (only the bypass signal). Pressing the switch a few times, and the delay returned. Mailed TC and got a friendly reply with the advise to return it to the store I bought it from. However, since then, I cannot recreate the problem ... it seems to have solved itself, so I did not sent it back ... well, as long as it ain't broken ...
I've ended up with a fair bit of TC Electronic stuff (Ditto, Polytune Alter Ego x4 and T2 Reverb) and I've had nothing but good luck with them so far. I really like the Alter Ego...like a lot. Esp. in stereo. The T2 not as much but it's not bad by any means. Anyway, no failures so far...but maybe they will someday. Those switches don't seem too difficult to repair. I think Smallbear has compatible parts.
Quote from: AwesomeTyler on April 25, 2017, 06:52:43 AM
TC Elec uses momentary switches attached to a spring that hits a much smaller, internal switch beneath it (wtf).
That's exactly how Line 6 implemented the switches on the DL4. And it's also why they broke all the time. I repaired a DL4 and replaced all the springs with regular momentary footswitches wired directly to the PCB (had to remove the tiny little push-button momentaries from the board).
So what you are saying is the Foot switch on my Doubler is just a spring loaded cosmetic button screwed into the case which then prods a cheap internal switch when depressed and not an actual switch with contacts soldered internally.
Hate being ripped off.
How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.
Quote from: impycat1 on April 25, 2017, 04:02:29 PM
So what you are saying is the Foot switch on my Doubler is just a spring loaded cosmetic button screwed into the case which then prods a cheap internal switch when depressed and not an actual switch with contacts soldered internally.
I'm not sure I'd call it a rip-off. I'm sure somebody in the engineering dept ran some numbers and determined that long-term failure rate was lower with the spring-actuated switch.
Here's exactly how it's set up:
(http://www.fxdoctor.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/spring-switch.jpg)
(https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder484/500x/76741484/xzibit-yo-dawg-yo-dawg-i-heard-you-like-inception-so-i-put-a-switch-inside-your-switch.jpg)
If it seriously bothers you, you can glue a little shoe to the end of the spring so when you stomp on the footswitch, a tiny foot hits the true footswitch.
This switch is a switch of death and is causing serious problems.
3PDT Switch ~ 20K to 50K electrical cycles
Tact Switch ~1M to 5M cycles
It seems like the goal was improved cycles, it needed better alignment keeper as previously noted.
I'm sure cost had something to do with it besides MTBF. Those tac switches are literally a dime a dozen.
My TS10 has a similar kind of setup, except worse. I remember when my college band was in the studio (I was playing drums). The guitar player was using my TS10 and I literally had to push it on and off half a dozen times as quickly as possible while he played just to get the thing to turn on. I still need to fix that POS. It's probably worth something.
Quote from: madbean on April 25, 2017, 04:13:42 PM
How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.
So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it. My issue has nothing to do with the switch. The pedal is bricked all together.
Quote from: AwesomeTyler on April 26, 2017, 12:14:37 PM
Quote from: madbean on April 25, 2017, 04:13:42 PM
How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.
So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it. My issue has nothing to do with the switch. The pedal is bricked all together.
I was responding to impycat1's post directly before mine. For your issue, don't know what to say. It's definitely disappointing they are not willing to repair. Maybe try PM'ing TOR on TGP...he's the TC Rep that posts there all the time. Perhaps he can offer some help?
Quote from: AwesomeTyler on April 26, 2017, 12:14:37 PM
So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it.
Doctor, heal thyself. ;)
QuoteMy TS10 has a similar kind of setup, except worse. I remember when my college band was in the studio (I was playing drums). The guitar player was using my TS10 and I literally had to push it on and off half a dozen times as quickly as possible while he played just to get the thing to turn on. I still need to fix that POS. It's probably worth something.
I got one of those in 93 for my brother, cost all of AUD$75. Through a convoluted series of events I ended up with it years later. Anyway, I lent it to the other guitarist in my band and never got it back after I left that band. He had it up on ebay later on. I messaged him and he said he would drop that and my crybaby off but I never saw him (he lived an hour or so away in another town).
Anyway, they go for over $150+ on ebay now...
Quote from: madbean on April 26, 2017, 12:24:18 PM
Quote from: AwesomeTyler on April 26, 2017, 12:14:37 PM
Quote from: madbean on April 25, 2017, 04:13:42 PM
How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.
So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it. My issue has nothing to do with the switch. The pedal is bricked all together.
I was responding to impycat1's post directly before mine. For your issue, don't know what to say. It's definitely disappointing they are not willing to repair. Maybe try PM'ing TOR on TGP...he's the TC Rep that posts there all the time. Perhaps he can offer some help?
Apologies, there's a litter of replies on the switching issue. Thanks for the heads up on the TC rep. Not sure it's worth it as I have literally no reputation on the site as of yet lol.
On the switch issue, it shouldn't be a hard fix. This being a DIY community, there's plenty of people here to help with that, if you're having problems getting it back in place.
And I would t consider the spring activated switches a 'ripoff' whatsoever. I was extremely curious about how they were able to make a switching system so incredibly seamless. Was happy to have that question answered once I found a small enough star-bit to pop the hood on it. If anything, I'd consider their switching systems a selling point, if it weren't for the issues commonly found in them.
I like the TC Electronics Delay I have, but I haven't used it much because I won it in a contest and it's autographed by the dude from Aerosmith.
Quote from: AwesomeTyler on April 26, 2017, 07:05:26 PM
Apologies, there's a litter of replies on the switching issue. Thanks for the heads up on the TC rep. Not sure it's worth it as I have literally no reputation on the site as of yet lol.
Apology is totally not necessary. I wouldn't worry about having a rep on TGP, haha. I forget Tore's member name on there, though (it's not Tor...that's a different guy).
I'm kinda surprised by:
- how far off the rails this thread has gone
- that Behringer isn't stepping up to the plate. They've spent a lot of time and money trying to get street cred after peddling a lot of crap. They bought into TC's reputation.