2005/7/10, K Lim <bukorong@...>:
> I would be grateful if any long term users would comment on their
> experience regarding the reliability of any of the DSI Evolver models.
> Are there any common faults or reliability issues with the product?
> How durable are the rotary encoders, has anyone had any failures?
The only thing I've heard (about the Evolver; it's obviously a bit early
for much about the PEK) is that some people have had encoder issues; I
suppose this is to be expected as encoders in general seem less reliable
than pots (usually -- see the Alesis Ion for an exception to the rule).
However, FWIW, I've owned two Evolvers for several years and haven't had
any such problems; it seems to be a relatively rare issue (I've never
seen a message from anyone that actually had such a failure, only heard
rumors of it).
The encoders very occasionally misread -- go up for a few steps instead
of down -- but this seems to be more a design fault with the encoders or
the software, not hardware failure (mine have done this since the
beginning, and it's so occasional that it's not a real problem).
[I vaguely recall reading some message from one the PEK beta-testers
saying that Dave had done something to address encoder failures in the
PEK, but I don't know how.]
One of my Evolver's CPU chips failed; DSI sent out a replacement for
free (though the unit was long out of warranty), and I replaced it
myself ("undo screws, swap the [socketed] chip, redo screws").
> If someone has had faults how were repairs/replacements dealt with,
> was the unit shipped back to DSI/ did DSI send out replacement parts
> for the user to undertake a fix.
DSI is in general very, very, responsive to support queries, will bend
over backwards to get things fixed up, and won't bullshit you. It's
often D.S. himself who responds; being the designer, he's obviously
immensely knowledgeable, but he's also very friendly and no-nonsense.
It's an extremely refreshing experience if you're used to typical
manufacturer "support".
It seems that the preferred approach is to, where possible, send the
user a new part and have him replace it (e.g. the CPU replacement I
mentioned above). Obviously this only works for some parts, but I
_really, really, like_ this method, as it's sooo much less annoying than
the typical "ship entire box to have screw tightened" method that the
big-volume synth makers use.
Many people will probably buy the PEK from a dealer, and I don't know
how that affects support (DSI still happily responds to PEK queries, but
I suppose they may want to have the dealer handle any wholesale
replacements and such).
> I'm wondering if it may be worthwhile waiting for a later batch of the
> keyboard to appear in case there are any problems with the first
> production run of the PEK.
I just bought a PEK, and sent email to DSI with a few complaints; the
only real issue seems to be the pitch-bend wheel: the spring is too
strong. Apparently they bought the wheel assemblies from Moog (they're
the same as the minimoog voyager), so he's going to check with them.
[Replacing the pitch-bend spring probably falls into the "easily
done by the user" category, if it comes to that though.]
The most widely talked about problem is the misspelling of "fiilter" on
the front panel -- and supposedly this will _not_ be fixed.
[I guess they ordered 10,000 front-panels...d'oh! :-]
> Were there any later fixes to the mono or
> poly models after the first models had appeared?
_Very_ early model Evolvers (maybe still classifiable as beta units; I'm
not sure if the problem was noticed before or after they started
shipping for real) apparently had some issues with noise in the analogue
electronic. I recall reading about them on some mailing list, but I'm
not sure if it's this one or the ex5-forum.
I don't know about the rack.
I think the PEK electronics are largely the same as the rack, so there's
probably less risk of issues there than with the original.
> I have noted some comments regarding the Evolver becoming unresponsive
> to MIDI and requiring a factory reset to remedy the situation. Has
> anyone experienced this problem, is it common known issue?
I've never heard of it before.
BTW, in case anyone's curious about the resolution of my earlier "buy
PEK local or mail-order?" query, I ended up buying from the U.S., from
"Analogue Haven" (http://analoguehaven.com); they're _far_ more clueful
and helpful about analogue synths than most retailers, very friendly and
honest -- and at this point everybody has the same price for the PEK
anyway, so you might as well buy from them. They also pack very well
(they built a second box _around_ the original PEK box and wrapped the
result in several layers of plastic; I think it would have been safe to
drop kick the whole thing across the pacific if I could deal with the
resulting property damage when it landed...).
My good experiences with DSI support in the past (and that Analogue
Haven are not your usual scum retailer) definitely made me less nervous
about buying a PEK early.
-Miles
--
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.