I discovered an interesting new section on the elektron.se web site called “Who we are”. There are some statements that caught my attention. I quote
“No compromises: quality is in everything we do. Engineering to the highest standards […]”
“And it’s not just the hardware. Outside of the machines, the award-winning Overbridge software suite fully integrates compatible Elektron instruments with computers […]”
Designed to the highest standards, assembled by hand and tested exhaustively before being sent out worldwide: our offerings help producers, artists and DJs both well-known and underground to perfect their craft.
So they are hand assembled and tested then? How are dodgy units even getting out there if that’s the case 
Well, I hope that so much pride in customer focused values will lead someone at Elektron to give us really soon some news about the upcoming firmware updates and Overbridge. Otherwise it’s a bit strange to show off about that, especially nowadays.
It’s not really strange, it’s their 20 year anniversary. No matter what stumble has happened over the last year, a 20 year mark promotion isn’t going to focus on negative stuff.
Possibly from the repetitive nature of such work? I should imagine once you have tested 40 units you start to lose a bit of focus and make the occasional mistake, actually it makes more sense for human tested units to have the occasional dodgy unit slip through than if the process was done by machine, machines tend to make less individual mistakes, but conversely of course if something goes wrong with the machine a whole batch could be ruined.
Somebody spiked the punch in the lunch room… 
they started playing button placing games, seemed fun and a good idea at the time… 
Of course, but there’s always a way to adjust the humility level slider. 
Hi were Elektron. We occasionally get it wrong but hey were human.
My sentiment exactly. Reading such a statement always makes me wonder how substantiated it can be if they feel they have to advertise it explicitly. Shouldn’t a company’s products get across the point there’s a strong focus on quality? And what makes them issue such a statement at the very point in time when there is a lot of evidence that shows the opposite is true? I find it - to put it mildly - bewildering, if not offensive.
Not the biggest step taken to fix things but Simon did mention in another thread that early on when people were doing the qc and button placement it caused errors so they purchase a machine to qc button placement.
I mention it cause it shows that steps are being taken to correct problems and hopefully on a larger scale than what was mentioned.
agreed. tho there are people that do repetitive work with much higher attention to detail over long periods of time, than the general population. i know that there are companies that seek to hire people with that ability, often within the autism spectrum and others with the ability to hyper focus 
It’s not that of a marketing pitch, I can second most of the points (in a way), but “cutting edge” of technology?
I just thought back more than 30 years to my first synth (Roland XP-50). It had/has:
… just saying …
I had an XP80 with a screen twice as large, possibly more controls, and you know what… It was still a pain to use. Not sure the XP50 is a good comparison to Elektron units. I could hop on any Elektron box and find my way with no outside help after a short time. The XPs? well, I did find my way after a while, but I’d say it was about 30X the amount of time needed for any Elektron box. I hated the sequencer on the XP80.
Maybe that wasn’t the case for you, and that’s totally cool. I actually did like the 80 overall, but I’d never compare it to an Elektron device. They may have much smaller numbers in the feature lists, but they’re a completely different paradigm, and one that’s actually fun to use as opposed to a chore.
No, not weird. I’ve worked in QA as well. The thing I always noticed about QA (software QA anyway) is that nobody wants to listen to you. You’re overhead, and a necessary evil. Execs don’t want to listen because fixing problems is just more overhead. It’s a game of “what can we slip the product out with, without causing too big a stir”. Then the developers hate you, because “their baby” doesn’t have an issue “YOU” do. You’re not using it correctly. Then you see customer comments, and think, “they should have listened to me”. I actually really don’t think this is how it is at a smallish company like Elektron though. I think they do care, but it takes them longer to move and resolve issues. My experiences in QA were for VERY large companies. One doesn’t always think about every user scenario when coming up with test plans either though. It’s very easy to miss something that never occurred to you as something someone may want to do, until they try it and it doesn’t work the way they expect. Then it becomes an issue.
For you to suggest things from a QA point of view (even as a customer) seems pretty natural to me, and with that perspective, could be very helpful (if they take it seriously).
The Electron company has been around a long long time. Have faith brothers.
The comparison was meant about technology, not about usability. Usability is absolutely great on the Elektron machines. As I wrote, I can second all the other points on the “who we are” list …
But “cutting edge of technology” seems quite a bit off to me.
Yeah, I supposed it depends on how you view that statement. I can see that.
There isn’t much else out there though that does what their boxes do any better though, so while maybe not cutting edge with bullet points and certain specs, they’re still on the forefront where the whole package is concerned IMO.
I see what you’re saying though.
As a QA Analyst, this is a perfect summation of my experience. Well said.
Dissenting opinion. I think Elektron is rad and has always been. Their products are super high quality and cutting edge.
But I feel like they’re becoming dated.
I feel like there are products out there now that are so much more user friendly and performance oriented and modern. MPC Live. Roland TR-8S. Some of the Boutiques (SH-01a). And affordable.
When I gave up on the mystique and exclusivity of owning an Elektron, I actually started making music. And I’ve been making beats for a while now.
Great company. Great products. Just not very user friendly for the masses. Save for a few extremely talented people like Cenk, Adam Jay and a few others. Who I imagine can make anything sound good.
If you don’t like the products don’t buy them. If you think the company falls short of their marketing BS–no company I know lived up to their own hype–don’t support them.
This passive aggressive non sense is the same as the endless babble of bar fly armchair philosphers.