Doepfer

--- In Doepfer_a100@y..., Florian Anwander <Florian.Anwander@c...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> BTW: If you know that well, how life should be, then found your own 
company
> and do it better. Just my 2c...
>
 
the above statement is not relevant to what i was dicussing. so 
here's my 2c... i have been self employed for over ten years and run 
my own business. i know first hand that when i am absent from my 
business that things don't get done the same way. why
? because most employees don't have the same sort of interest as an 
owner. if i was hearing that the business was doing something wrong i 
would go out my way to fix the problem. why doepfer keep ignoring 
requests for the upgrades? i don't know, if it were my company , i 
would do something about it pronto and not have the bad PR.

for example, look at Yamaha that release products that die in the 
market place all the time. they release products with flaws and never 
give them the time of day. the product doesn't sell well because it's 
users are not happy and tell other people don't buy it, you're 
wasting your time or it gets poor reviews. it's on to next thing on 
and who cares about it. the bean counters factor everything but the
hit your PR image takes. Doepfer is it not in the same position as 
Yamaha to take hits like that. Doepfer should foster an image of 
caring about its customers and its products and not the other way 
around.

another example, they release the FS1R which is one of the most 
creative machines in synthesis for years. what do they do they give 
you a volume knob, 4 roatry encoders, 9 pushbuttons and a small lcd 
display. it has the biggest nightmare interface i have ever seen. 
plus they don't give you the sofware to create your own fornt 
seqeunces. they probably put this out as a feeler to see the market 
would like it. it does incredible things which no other synth can do. 
because of the interface people didn't buy them so they just 
disappeared from the market place. if it had done some proper 
marketing research, they would have known that the unit deserved a 
better interface. 

Doepfer has its own forum and a public newsgroup, they should take a 
more interactive role with them because this is the best marketing 
research group they will ever find. the bonus to them is that it's 
free and it is continously engaged in conversation about their 
products.

the point i am making here is that Doepfer hasn't relegated these 
products to their graves. they are still selling them. people have 
asked for them to be improved because they see the potential. why 
should they suffer when they could be so much better. people didn't 
ask for blue led's. they wanted musical functions and not window 
dressing. Doepfer should heed to its paid customer base do something 
about it. if they extra cash to do it. i am sure they would pony up 
the money to have a better machine. it they did the upgrade, they 
would sell more of them and for a longer period of time. look at the 
MAQ upgrade. the MAQ is close to 10 years old and still selling 
despite a few hiccups in its software.

look at the Europa Jupiter6 mod. it brings the jupiter6 to 2002 midi 
specs and functions. the mod only costs $200.00 USD to bring the 
synth into the modern age. i am sure Doepfer could do the same 
for ....werks. now if only someone out there would do the same thing 
to the Prophet VS and the Matrix 12 i would in synth heaven. :)

 times are different with the advent of the internet and instant 
communication. companies have to change with the times they are in. 
Doepfer is basically a cottage industry, it needs to actually share 
more with its customers in the developement of its products to avoid 
the disasters associated with the ....werk boxes.

if i had the technlogical know how i would have done it a long time 
ago. but life is life and people make early choices and its hard to 
just leave in the middle of something and start from scratch. i have 
always like music and electronics. when i was young i could not even 
afford an MS-20 or a tr808. all said,we are lucky to live in such a 
technology advanced time.
 
regards,
RM


> -- 
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