Anyone get as pissed off at Fulltone as I did?

[Kaigen]

My experience with their service is great. I requested missing foot of my tremolo pedal, they just sent them for free without asking anything.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Kaigen

My experience with their service is great. I requested missing foot of my tremolo pedal, they just sent them for free without asking anything.

Originally Posted by Kaigen

My experience with their service is great. I requested missing foot of my tremolo pedal, they just sent them for free without asking anything.

I am sad to report every time I have had to talk to the tech dept at Fulltone it has been a uneventful situation. Everyone I have seen who has spoken to Mike Fuller indicates he is really rude and uncaring to them, not a way to treat your customers. I guess he has enough money and does not care. Their constant advice about using a battery and good cables runs a little pale to actually solving a problem. I actually had a Internet bought warranty on one of their pedals I used to replace it because they were not willing to bring it in and bench it. Reminds me to check on the Fat Boost if it is still active.

I 1st became interested via Fulltone via Robin Trower mainly because he liked their Vibe and Wah, the OCD was created trying to develop an overdrive for him, having since run across better units I am not messing w them anymore.

[chet.d]

As someone considering a Fulltone tape echo to use as outboard w/ a console I'm surprised to stumble on this thread.
If mister Fuller truly is "still" such an uncaring dude, this would very much influence my considering his product.

[litepipe]

I don't know. They've been ok to me when I contacted them. They don't feel so much like a boutique company anymore but their gear is great. I hear a lot of stories about Mike. Maybe he is or isn't those things. Not sure but they've always responded and things have been resolved. You're not always going to personally like people you do business with. I've been using Fulltone for years.

[Mylithra]

Something pedals that dont get mentioned much are the CatlinBread distortions. I have Dirty Little Secret that I use for mild overdrive tones and it sounds great. I'm probably going to get a RAH at somepoint. I also like Keeley's Luna Distortion though its a completely different animal. The knobs on the Keeley have a very wide range so it might be a little bit of a chore to dial it in. I also own a Katana and like it very much. I just use it for a boost for solo work.

[Steve@39]

I found my Fulltone GT500 is noisy/ humming on the boost side with anything less than the cleanest 9v DC supply. I did get quick replies from Mike Fuller, who suggested I buy a BOSS PSa style power supply. Instead I made a simple LC (Inductor, capacitor) in-line filter on the wall wart I use, to smooth out any ripple on the DC output, and that quietened down the GT500 a lot (but not perfect). It is totally quiet on a battery. Changing the subject, I just bought a Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop OD pedal, and I think I have stumbled on one great pedal, I 'm getting some beautiful tones with my Les Paul (p90s) and Tele into my DRRI amp..the search is over for the right OD pedal.

[darkhorse]

Liked my prior Fat Boost 3 but bad hum above 9v became unusable. No matter the isolated filtered power supply, Fulltone wart, or cable(s).
No problems with a battery is of little use to me, I stopped using batteries ages ago.

Fulltone always responds, "take the pedal off the board, use a new battery, use new soldered end cables right into the amp", of course no hum, but what good is that? I even tried lowering the mA current. My cables are all custom made soldered and insulated ends.

They also bloody hate daisy chain feeds, which I never use anyway, just saying.

On a huge board of often 12-15 pedals in 2 chains, the Fulltone's were the only ones to ever manifest a hum. Some are OK and have no problem.
Some do OK on 9v low mA feed try to bump that up to 12v or more as they recommend as an option and the noise just increases w the voltage bump.

I use the best power supplies available even from a Furman master power conditioner and filter, or the "noiseless" Fulltone wart which is only 9v and no difference in noise level from a feed.

Like I am going to go back to using batteries.

I have since moved on to other lines like Wampler.

[fastlanestoner]

I too have had a very unpleasant altercation with that company. I've since boycotted them and have convinced quite a few other musicians to do the same. Hopefully they change their business practices, b/c their products are pretty good.

Should have figured they just ripped off other peoples' designs.

[tarfungo]

I can't speak for the OP, Mike or Fulltone specifically here, but as a past administrator, creator and owner of a fairly well known and popular niche Internet musical equipment site, the amount of unruly, whining, self important users can often become overwhelming and exhausting. And, those users who feel that they are not being 'attended to' properly often then go around the Internet slinging their hate unerringly - and this just because no one can stop them.

It's my experience that a lot of musicians on Internet forums and bulletin boards can barely play and often have more hot air to back up their contention that they were mistreated by a manufacturer or music supplier. I can't tell you how many guitars I have sold to people over the years only later to find out that these same folks don't even play a instrument - period. They just buy equipment to look at and be part of the 'scene'.

That may not be the case here on GerarSlutz, but like most things in life; the 80/20 rule applies. 80% of the people get along just fine with whatever, the other 20% always has something to say and sometimes that opinion is negative and often down right unjustified. Passive aggression on the Internet is rampant and out of control.

Again, not applying any of this to the OP, but I can imagine that Mike may just be tired of unruly, over self-righteous customers. Contrary to popular myth, the customer is NOT always right. Be careful with the words you use and choose to publicly disseminate. Most - if not all - disputes can be settled gracefully and privately if you just give folks a chance.

Just my $0.02 for what it's worth.

[chaosgow]

Originally Posted by tarfungo

I can't speak for the OP, Mike or Fulltone specifically here, but as a past administrator, creator and owner of a fairly well known and popular niche Internet musical equipment site, the amount of unruly, whining, self important users can often become overwhelming and exhausting. And, those users who feel that they are not being 'attended to' properly often then go around the Internet slinging their hate unerringly - and this just because no one can stop them.

It's my experience that a lot of musicians on Internet forums and bulletin boards can barely play and often have more hot air to back up their contention that they were mistreated by a manufacturer or music supplier. I can't tell you how many guitars I have sold to people over the years only later to find out that these same folks don't even play a instrument - period. They just buy equipment to look at and be part of the 'scene'.

That may not be the case here on GerarSlutz, but like most things in life; the 80/20 rule applies. 80% of the people get along just fine with whatever, the other 20% always has something to say and sometimes that opinion is negative and often down right unjustified. Passive aggression on the Internet is rampant and out of control.

Again, not applying any of this to the OP, but I can imagine that Mike may just be tired of unruly, over self-righteous customers. Contrary to popular myth, the customer is NOT always right. Be careful with the words you use and choose to publicly disseminate. Most - if not all - disputes can be settled gracefully and privately if you just give folks a chance.

Just my $0.02 for what it's worth.

I think I kind of agree with your sentiment. Though the OP has some valid points. Assuming he told Fulltone about his high quality cables and isolated power supplies, it's appalling to blame that equipment and not rectify it. If a product doesn't work as advertised and suggested, it's not fit for purpose and shouldn't be sold as such. In the UK, that entitles you to a refund at least.

I like to work on the assumption that everyone I come into contact with is an idiot. I'm rarely surprised.

[godotzilla]

Mike Fuller has a rep for being a bit "testy" at times. He's a guy who's passionate about his projects and doesn't tolerate much BS when it comes to criticism of his work.

I've heard many legendary tales of his cantankerousness, but I've never experienced it firsthand--and I've owned just about all his pedals at one point or another. I've had several instances in which I needed customer support, and it was always simple, direct, fast, and effective.

I can't say my dealings with Mike were verbose, gregarious, or extensive. But he's a busy guy, and I can respect his need to deal with CS issues quickly. I look to the guy to build good gear and support it when necessary. I'm not looking for a new Internet best friend.

[dubmunkey]

Originally Posted by darkhorse

I am fed up trying to explain to the "technical support" at Fulltone, my Fat Boost 3 has a hum which gets worse when you increase the voltage. They insult you with some teenage wisdom of putting in fresh battery and using good cables (and not those bad quality solderless ones). OK, I get most guitar players are idiots and do stupid things to their effects, but sorry I am not one of them.

The hum at 9v is barely noticable but go to 16v and it is terrible. They did not reply the 2nd time I send a request or repair. It's always like it must be your power supply or cables, always!!!! Screw it, I am done with Fulltone, this is not the first time their tech support was useless and how demeaning they are. The Fat Boost is in the trade off pile.

I also took my v4 OCD out of the line. I am tired of trying to get something good out of it. Even as a clean boost, I just do not like it. I tried so hard to use and like this box.
I had the v3 and I liked the deeper bass and tone it had at lower gain settings. Just do not like the v4. And seriously why call something a "tone control" when it is just a treble rolloff? No more 3 knob ODs for me. I am going Barber or Wampler, possibly Lovepedal, no matter what it is, it better have some trim pots or more tone knobs. I also like my Ibanez real tube tube King (high current) boxes. But Fulltone, that is it for me, no more. Ubervibe or VersaVibe over the DejaVibe.

I like my fulldrive a lot but would definitely expect more customer service wise. Although im hardly a genius i cant help but call reps that give you clearly wrong advice by asking them to explain how what they are saying is true

Anyway the only reason i posted was i noticed the same issue with my red reverberator... when i used my fueltank to power it became unusably noisy - i put it down to the fact it was drawing 18v as nothing else was plugged in to the FT... obviously that is no help at all but its not just fulltone that has this problem

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by dubmunkey

I like my fulldrive a lot but would definitely expect more customer service wise. Although im hardly a genius i cant help but call reps that give you clearly wrong advice by asking them to explain how what they are saying is true

Anyway the only reason i posted was i noticed the same issue with my red reverberator... when i used my fueltank to power it became unusably noisy - i put it down to the fact it was drawing 18v as nothing else was plugged in to the FT... obviously that is no help at all but its not just fulltone that has this problem

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk

Hard to say, voltage does not split on a multi feed. If a port puts out 18v then it will no matter what else is plugged into any port. Voltage is not variable, if a unit states only 9v then you cannot give it more voltage the unit will fry. mA are a different rule, one can use more but not less than the recommended value. Even plugging a pedal than uses <100mA draw will be Ok on a 1500mA feed as the pedal will only accept what it needs to run. If you over voltage a pedal beyond its capability you will not have it for long.

mA's are a sum issue on daisy chained or bricks that are not isolated filtered port supplies. The sum draw of all mA current must not exceed the capacity of the unit. On isolated port supply bricks each port has a rated voltage and mA capacity.

Fulltone claims several pedals can handle higher voltage feeds, some do OK others get really bad hum. Fulltone always acts like it your end, your supply, your cables, when it does the same thing no matter what it is hooked to they will never admit it is their pedal. If it is OK using a battery by itself I cannot see how that is of any use for a pedal board.

[NoPro]

Originally Posted by darkhorse

Hard to say, voltage does not split on a multi feed. If a port puts out 18v then it will no matter what else is plugged into any port. Voltage is not variable, if a unit states only 9v then you cannot give it more voltage the unit will fry. mA are a different rule, one can use more but not less than the recommended value. Even plugging a pedal than uses <100mA draw will be Ok on a 1500mA feed as the pedal will only accept what it needs to run. If you over voltage a pedal beyond its capability you will not have it for long.

mA's are a sum issue on daisy chained or bricks that are not isolated filtered port supplies. The sum draw of all mA current must not exceed the capacity of the unit. On isolated port supply bricks each port has a rated voltage and mA capacity.

Fulltone claims several pedals can handle higher voltage feeds, some do OK others get really bad hum. Fulltone always acts like it your end, your supply, your cables, when it does the same thing no matter what it is hooked to they will never admit it is their pedal. If it is OK using a battery by itself I cannot see how that is of any use for a pedal board.

Fulltone has very bad customer service. Its as if fulltone is annoyed by its customers. Enough.

[darkhorse]

One of the many reasons I started using Wampler pedals and others.
Still like my DejaVibe but not really interested in any more Fulltone.