Tough situation.
As a Serge owner (and lover) I feel compelled to give my twopence
worth: We are all aware that Sound Transform Systems has undergone a
significant downscaling over the last 2-3 years; Rex has always told
us so. They went from a five? people outfit that would meet a
promised lead time of 6 wks. per panel to the minute, to just Rex
and a very unreliable and informal builder. I've been constantly
aware of this, and have waited a long time for a custom panel to be
completed, and yet have chosen to place even another order for
another custom panel. Why? Because I love the product. Period. And
out of this love for the synth I accept the imperfections of the
company, and reset my expectations from it at a lower level. In all
fairness to Rex, when I asked him for a estimated lead time for
these latest orders, he replied: "I don't know." And it was cool
with me.
One thing is undeniable: Mr. Probe is a very helpful and reasonable
individual, and has always provided ME with excellent service (long
lead times notwithstanding). Last custom panel I purchased had a
little quirk with the quadrature oscillator in its freq. shifter (it
would not put out a sine wave). I sent it back, they checked it and
found it was working perfectly (just like Kirk's temperamental
panel); still, they replaced the quad. oscillator, and I've had no
problems whatsoever with this baby.
The bottom line is: this ain't Yamaha or Korg, guys. It's a tiny,
boutique-shop company with a product which I think is not for
everybody. For immediate modular gratification I would suggest
Doepfer or ASys (or a nice Cwejman!). Otherwise, if you want a Serge
that badly, be aware of the limitations of the company. I know about
them, and yet continue to have Serge as the main modular system in
my studio.
J. Diaz, aka cuari
As a Serge owner (and lover) I feel compelled to give my twopence
worth: We are all aware that Sound Transform Systems has undergone a
significant downscaling over the last 2-3 years; Rex has always told
us so. They went from a five? people outfit that would meet a
promised lead time of 6 wks. per panel to the minute, to just Rex
and a very unreliable and informal builder. I've been constantly
aware of this, and have waited a long time for a custom panel to be
completed, and yet have chosen to place even another order for
another custom panel. Why? Because I love the product. Period. And
out of this love for the synth I accept the imperfections of the
company, and reset my expectations from it at a lower level. In all
fairness to Rex, when I asked him for a estimated lead time for
these latest orders, he replied: "I don't know." And it was cool
with me.
One thing is undeniable: Mr. Probe is a very helpful and reasonable
individual, and has always provided ME with excellent service (long
lead times notwithstanding). Last custom panel I purchased had a
little quirk with the quadrature oscillator in its freq. shifter (it
would not put out a sine wave). I sent it back, they checked it and
found it was working perfectly (just like Kirk's temperamental
panel); still, they replaced the quad. oscillator, and I've had no
problems whatsoever with this baby.
The bottom line is: this ain't Yamaha or Korg, guys. It's a tiny,
boutique-shop company with a product which I think is not for
everybody. For immediate modular gratification I would suggest
Doepfer or ASys (or a nice Cwejman!). Otherwise, if you want a Serge
that badly, be aware of the limitations of the company. I know about
them, and yet continue to have Serge as the main modular system in
my studio.
J. Diaz, aka cuari