A livid Elektron "customer"

panelist · 2014-08-27T16:54:26.000Z

It’s all sides, really.

Elektron should be more transparent with availability and ship dates to retailers (apparently, as I don’t actually know anything about their communications).

Retailers should not allow fully paid pre-orders for items without definitive ship dates.

Customers should not expect something definitive if nothing definitive was offered at the time of ordering (“should have by” does not equal “will ship to you on”).

FreeFall · 2014-08-27T17:55:27.000Z

Woes of the ‘early adopter’.

This shit happens all the time. Everyone HAD to have known that there would likely be delays. Especially coming off the heels of the ongoing ‘frosted box’ event, which was also delayed, and was also on the heels of delayed A4 and OT updates. See a pattern yet? Elektron is overwhelmed. Shit is going to be delayed, every time.

FreeFall · 2014-08-27T18:08:49.000Z

""Royalston"":

I’m in the same boat - been waiting with JRR (paid in full) since June. Not happy with Elektron right now either.

Are you THE Royalston? You have the name, and the avatar, so I assume you are him!
If so, please allow me to say that I love your music man, and you really stand apart from the typical Hospital sound, IMHO.
Cool that you use Elektron gear. They should do an interview/feature with you!!!
If you’re not actually Royalston, forget everything I’ve said, and find a new avatar.

Accent · 2014-08-27T20:27:28.000Z

""mokomo"":

I read somewhere that retailers get the units from elektron at something like 30% less than the elektron.se price. Some users would prefer that profit margin goes directly to elektron shop than to a middle man distributor. It isn’t difficult to understand how retailers can afford to offer discounts given their profit margin.

for out of stock items elektron should have a queuing system in their shop, where you can pay a deposit (or in full) in advance, and there is a reliable date provided of when your unit/units in general will be available.

And if I buy used, neither Elektron nor the distributor see any money.

I get it, it’s the reason I at least purchased my MDUW, MNM, and OT new. I did not purchase them direct and maybe I should have, but I also would prefer to deal with a domestic option, especially if there were any issues with the unit-I’d rather let them sort it out with some sort of guarantee that wouldn’t potentially mean I’d have to eat the cost of sending a unit back and forth to Sweden. I’m sure I’m not the only one who considers these things in making a purchase.

If I had waited 4 months, I could have saved $400 on my MDUW. Two months after I bought it Elektron dropped the price by $200. Two months later they had a “back to school” sale and took another $200 off the price. After lusting after one for 2 years, another few months wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I thought to myself that it was ok because that money was going to support the company. By the same token, I was happy to make my last Elektron purchase through JRR because I would like to support the little guy and give my money to them if my sale is being made domestically, instead of Guitar Center or Sweetwater.

If had purchased directly through Elektron, I would have had the same wait, maybe just a few weeks shorter, with the same poor communication and delays, and I would have paid in full for the experience. I thought a lot about canceling my order and buying used, and I could have probably gotten my OT for less than I paid with a discount from JRR, but did not cancel it because I wanted that money to go to Elektron and JRR to further support them.

That said, I probably won’t buy another Elektron from JRR, but it is because of the way that Elektron have jerked them around and send them only a handful of units at a time. I will still buy new gear from JRR in the future however. As for Elektron, the experience soured me on them enough that I can’t say I will buy any more of their products new. I guess that when I cough up over a grand for something, I have some expectations that it will be provided in a timely manner, or with realistic status updates (there is a big difference between two weeks and six months…) if there is to be a delay.

Royalston · 2014-08-27T22:34:20.000Z

Hey Freefall, Yes thats me - and thank you. I’m a big fan of Elektron gear - I just wish they would make an MD mk3 as they really nailed it with that one. I also wish that JRR would send me my RYTM…I really want it for my next album but it looks like I’ll be finished before it arrives!

FreeFall · 2014-08-28T05:06:15.000Z

""Royalston"":

Hey Freefall, Yes thats me - and thank you. I’m a big fan of Elektron gear - I just wish they would make an MD mk3 as they really nailed it with that one. I also wish that JRR would send me my RYTM…I really want it for my next album but it looks like I’ll be finished before it arrives!

Suuhhwwweet! Well, I look forward to your next release, RYTM or not! OCD is pure gold! I’m a huge D&B fan

Sorry to momentarily high-jakc this thread.
Carry on.

AmbientLifeforms · 2014-09-03T08:41:16.000Z

Well Retailer purchase versus Direct, is always somewhat fiddly, things to consider are:
[ul]
[li]Direct: you give more money directly to Elektron, which they hopefully will put to good use.[/li]
[li]Retailer: you support your local business, where you maybe can get hands-on testing with equipment.[/li]
[li]web-retailer: hmm price?[/li]
[/ul]

If speed is your primary concern - find a place which have the item in stock.

vinja · 2014-09-03T15:16:15.000Z

I turn 32 tomorrow and all I want to do is drink a couple of delicious belgian beers and geek out with this awesome device. I sent an email again this morning to the HQ in Sweden and to the guys in LA who know me very well by now. It’s all I can do. I apologize for naming names in my initial post. In hindsight, that was totally uncalled for. FOR THE RECORD : DEVON in LA is a badass and genuine dude and Benny and Rob @ JRR are also great. They have been putting up with my phone calls and emails for the last four months, and have been diligent in responding. They are total professionals.

I sympathize with everyone else chiming into this thread that has had their own issues with getting a Rytm. I hope you guys all get yours soon! Oh, and fuck yah there’s a dude from Hospital records in this thread, can we please get this guy a rytm!?

Today marks four months since I ordered the rytm. Everything was trickling along nicely (about 3 units per week to JRR) until mid July when shipments ceased. They haven’t picked up again, which is why I started this thread.

I did get a sweet deal on the Rytm, but after waiting four months, it’s actually not really a deal at all. I will order directly in the future! (Just to reiterate, when I ordered the rytm, it was out of stock on the website and I thought going through a retailer might secure a unit faster, I was wrong. The discount has actually turned into a bit of a curse).

Werd. Thanks for listening and responding. My cubase dongle broke yesterday so I think the music gods are just telling me to chill the fuck out.

DR_Strangeknob · 2014-09-03T16:36:39.000Z

My bday is oct 11th. I’m hopeing that the rytm gets here by then. If it doesn’t I’m going to buy a row of modular. I live in Portland or and right know we are the modular Mecca.

DC_astro · 2014-09-03T21:30:55.000Z

I feel lucky.Got mine from Nova Musik via e-bay back in late June. It took 4 days to arrive!!

natallica · 2014-09-03T22:00:24.000Z

I finally gave up and cancelled my pre-order at Sweetwater (luckily they don’t take money down) and just ordered direct Monday evening. It’s going to arrive tomorrow.

I wish I had found the various threads on here back in July so that I would have understood that I could have just ordered from Elektron and that dealers would be without stock for a long time.

Royalston · 2014-09-03T22:02:35.000Z

Vinja, Im glad you’re hassling someone over there to get our order through- thank you! We can’t order direct in Australia, and our local retailers make the prices way higher than if we buy online. Let’s hope its worth the wait…

old_hydro_law · 2014-09-03T23:36:04.000Z

@natallica me too…

i was waiting for a month on sweet water. saw this thread. had the AR two days later

smh

its not really cool elektron…but the AR is so rad i aint even mad at em

maybe for telling sweet water the dates lol

Aday · 2014-09-09T02:06:34.000Z

I’ve had a Rytm on order for 8 weeks from a local shop, elektron seem to be keeping them in the dark as to the delivery date, and not shipping many, if any units, all the while they show “in stock” on their web site. if I had to guess electron are controlling volume in hopes people order direct from them to maximize profit. or the distribution channel are hedging orders to order in volume. in any case its not a good situation for then end customer. I’ve since canceled my order and will not purchase a new unit, at this level of frustration I will probably wait till a local second hand appears.

DR_Strangeknob · 2014-09-15T23:43:41.000Z

Still waiting.

Royalston · 2014-09-16T02:05:10.000Z

Same. “next week” apparently. We’ll see…

owensands · 2014-09-18T17:56:52.000Z

eh dont feel bad. Ive had mine for a couple months(from JRR too) and today it died when I fired it up. Sad day indeed.

subbz2k · 2014-09-19T22:33:20.000Z

Well, i orderd my Rytm from Elektron directly and I also got a discount from them directly. So no need for a retailer just because of Discounts! I dont wanna tell who specifically sold it to me because im pretty sure that they dont want to do this all the time, maybe i was just lucky talking to the right person …

But i also waited a bit for my Rytm to arrive - although i bought it as it was in stock. I live in germany so Sweden is not that far away, but it still took about 3 weeks as i can remember. And it was said to me that it will be shipped within a few days.

But now comes the really amazing thing: I was compensated for the delay from Elektron with their first Soundset for the Rytm! This was an awesome action from them that i really did not expect - as they already gave me a discount in the first place. And after reading here how long you guys had to wait for your units im really shocked - and somehow feel a bit bad that i was served so amazingly well by Elektron …

I will buy directly from Elektron in the future again thats for sure! They really care for their customers. I dont tell you lies, it is true what i have written above. I just wanted to share this different experience with them because i really dont liked how some people jugdged Elektron here just because their local retailers did not get it. Elektron is a nice company and dont forget guys: They still handmade their machines !! And how they threated me with my order is better than anything i ever experienced so far.

So big thumbs up to Elektron for this! They do not only make amazing machines but they do also care for their customers - at least they do their best and although they are still relatively small compared to other companies on the market i experienced that they do their job very well. So again: Thanks Elektron!

nightfade · 2014-09-19T22:43:10.000Z

From pre-order my AK took five and a half months to arrive, so I can relate. The AR is worth the wait though

subbz2k · 2014-09-19T22:47:34.000Z

""nightfade"":

… A few weeks isn’t so bad and the AR is worth the wait

Yeah thats exactly what i tried to say with my broken german English

I was really amazed how good Elektron handled my order although i got a discount from them and i was even more amazed as i was compensated with the 808 Kit because i had to wait 2 weeks more than expected. So i dont really think that the problems described in this thread are directly related to Elektron. I will buy from them directly again. They really have done their best in my case to make a happy customer and my AR is in perfect condition as well