South African studio / Soundelux mic

[Troye]

Hi everybody! This is Troye's wife, Cara. We run a studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. In December last year, we upgraded our equipment and studio. We bought a few pieces of equipment from Alto Music in New York. One of these was a Soundelux Ifet 7 mic. We received it at last in February and that was just the start of the fun: it was making solar wind and burping-type noises. So we arranged to get it back to New York (at our own time and expense) and received a replacement solar wind and burping mic! So we arranged again at our own time and expense to get it back to them. Our replacement worked okay but was missing the crucial voice/instrument button and was not a new mic (there were signs of use). This time, our patience running thin, we demanded a replacement at their (Alto and Transaudio's) cost. We were told that we would receive the best Ifet 7 ever built. Hooray! It arrived beautifully sealed and packaged with the capsule facing at 90 degrees to the front of the mic. We obviously cannot expect a decent recording when the artist is singing into the side of the microphone. Of course we immediately contacted Alto, and were asked to send pictures, so we did. That was on the 25th May. Heard nothing. Heard nothing. Still heard nothing. We are at our wits end. We're at a disadvantage, being at the other end of the world from these people and don't know what else to do, except sell both these mics (we don't want anything to do with Soundelux now, which is an enormous disappointment as we were very excited to get one of their mics) to compensate ourselves for being out of pocket not only on the cost of the mic, but with phone calls, emails, frustration, deliveries and pickups, etc. etc. over these last SEVEN months!
What would you do?

[I Lurk]

Originally Posted by Troye

What would you do?

Start a rant at GS ?

[not_so_new]

What would you do?

I would do a search on Gearslutz about this and see that you find.



A few months back there was a huge rant about almost exactly what you are describing about here.

THIS is that thread and it would really help you to read the whole thing, in the end I believe there is a solution provided.

Good luck.

[Troye]

No I Lurk ,we are honestly tired and frustrated with this situation and have been patient thus far .We would like a resolution and dont seem to have been able to get one thus far.Posting here is our last resort what do we do to get this solved?Will by posting our complaint we get better service i am hoping this will be so .

[kevinc]

They SHOULD get you a working mic as quick as humanly possible and they SHOULD refund the money you`ve spent so far on shipping. You shouldn`t have to pay for the shipping in the first place because it sure aint your fault that the first mic was broken. But than getting a second and third one that are also broken. What exactly are you paying for here ? Additional shipping money for broken mics.

I own a Soundelux mic that works fine but I`m not exactly a "supporter" of the company at this point because I keep reading stories like this every other month. Just think theres gotta be a lot more upset customers that aren`t people who post here.

I DO like their mics but it gets a bit annoying reading this shit time after time.

[Johns]

Yes, I think we all feel your frustration. Hope you get this resloved soon. They are great mics when working.

[not_so_new]

Hi Troye

I think it would be a good idea to read the link that I posted above, that is a great place to start. I believe included in that thread is the contact info for some people that might be able to help.

Really, it is a long thread but plenty of good info for people that have gone or are going through exactly what you are experiencing.

"It arrived beautifully sealed and packaged with the capsule facing at 90 degrees to the front of the mic. We obviously cannot expect a decent recording when the artist is singing into the side of the microphone. "

Isn't the 195 side address?
I get plenty of great takes with people singing into the side of mics.






David

[Jan Folkson]

I believe that all of Soundelux's mics are side-address.

Just to be fair, I do A LOT of business with Alto Music here in New York and have never had any type of service issue with them, they've always been fast and professional. In addition I have several Soundelux mics here at the studio, although no IFET7, and have had no issues with any of them.

Hopefully you situation will be resolved to your satisfaction.

[Troye]

We have not only phoned, but also emailed the entire sad story up to the third faulty mic to Richard at Transaudio (this was in May). We had asked to speak to Brad, but he was apparently unavailable. We have received no direct contact from Transaudio since then. No check ups. No nothing. Obviously not too concerned. I can not believe that this company thinks that this service is acceptable! I want to repeat that we are so disappointed, because we chose to go with Soundelux after a lot of research, and believed we would be getting a fabulous mic. But so far this has proven to be the opposite. We think Soundelux is letting itself down in a big way. The whole chain is full of damaged links: from the production to the service ethic.

[C/G]

I was not as unlucky as you but I too had a Soundulux issue with an iFET7. As soon as it was repaired, I put it on ebay so I would never have to deal with it again. Problem solved. I know Transaudio, the distributor in the US has gone to bat for people before on this issue. Maybe contact them and see if they can help you out.

[Ziggy!!]

Seems more like Alto's fault than anyones.

[alphajerk]

Originally Posted by dpasch

Isn't the 195 side address?
I get plenty of great takes with people singing into the side of mics.

yeah, how about posting pics here of the sideways capsule... id like to see that,

[doombie22]

i am sure glad i came across this thread. i was about to purchase ifet7. looks like i will spending money somewhere else. these babies ain't cheap. it looks like thier customer service is less than responsive, so the search continues.

[Ruphus]

The U195 capsule is not sideway. It wouldn´t be good if it were, as the grills beam would be centered before it then.
Or does the grill of your 195 sit sideway to the icon and switches?

Mine at least is mounted traditionally.

Ruphus

"The U195 capsule is not sideway. It wouldn´t be good if it were, as the grills beam would be centered before it then."

Ha!Ha, this one is getting funny.
I am always amazed at how different people see things.

Side address is when you sing into the side of the mic. A U87, U67, U47, and all the soundelux mics as far as I know are all set up this way.
Front address is like a 57, 421, or most other dynamics.

I still have no idea what the poster means.


D

[Sui_City]

Ok, Just to get this whole orientation thing sorted out. It looks to me from the photos of a iFet that the capsule should be facing out the front of the microphone, badge facing you. Correct?

If the capsule is currently facing sideways, with the grill beam smack-bang inline with the centre of the capsule, then surely that is not a good thing. Yeah?

[C/G]

The poster meant that the capsule is positioned 90 degrees off of what it should. Imagine putting a motorcycle helmet on sideways. The part you need to see out of is over your ears and not your face.

[Ruphus]

Originally Posted by dpasch

Ha!Ha, this one is getting funny.
I am always amazed at how different people see things.

Side address is when you sing into the side of the mic. A U87, U67, U47, and all the soundelux mics as far as I know are all set up this way.
Front address is like a 57, 421, or most other dynamics.

I still have no idea what the poster means.


D

hihihi ... errr,

Got the general meaning now!

Ruphus

Was thinking in the way like Colin describes.

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by doombie22

i am sure glad i came across this thread. i was about to purchase ifet7. looks like i will spending money somewhere else. these babies ain't cheap. it looks like thier customer service is less than responsive, so the search continues.

Okay everyone slow down a bit.......

*sigh*

First off if you read through the thread I posted above you will find that yes indeed Soundelux had an issue with some of the iFET mics a while back. These mics should have been turned in by the dealers back to Soundelux for a refirb. I believe Soundelux recalled all the mics and if the dealer did not return it then that is a dealer issue.

In that thread it was pretty clear that the issue has been resolved and if you got a new iFET it would be fine.

Also in that thread product replacement should be handled by the dealer if there is any issues with the mic. The top of this thread is pointed at Soundelux but in fact I would think this is an issue with Alto way before it is a Soundelux problem (not that Soundelux should be absolved of all responsibility either).

Just a hunch (going out on a limb and this is not a swipe at Alto) I think Alto did not send the mics in question back to Soundelux for replacement when they should have. You have gotten 2 bad units that were not replaced by Soundelux and I would imagine this would be on Alto's shoulders.

Really this has all been covered here at Gearslutz, before everyone goes off half cocked take 5 minutes (or 10) and read the damn thread above, much of the bad blood could be skipped if you do.

Don't say I did not warn you.

[Troye]

Here is a image of the ifet.

[Troye]

Hi not_so_new

I read the thread I do see what you mean, but it still doesnt help our situation.I do not want anything to get out of hand .This thread has nothing to do with soundelux mics being bad ,it has to do with us not being able to resolve this issue.I believe their are many users who have soundelux mics and are happy ,we just havent had such a good experience with them .If they had problem with them or elsewhere great sort them out and lets move on,but it has been hard to move on.

[mr.gefell]

oh snap!

[Jules]

Originally Posted by I Lurk

Start a rant at GS ?

I happen to know David from Soudelux has been traveling, he was at the AES in Spain and probably the Tape Op Conference in New Orleans..

So it could well be he has been out of the country this weekend just passed..

All these people will probably be back at their desks later today or tomorrow,,,

[I Lurk]

Originally Posted by Troye

No I Lurk ,we are honestly tired and frustrated with this situation and have been patient thus far .We would like a resolution and dont seem to have been able to get one thus far.Posting here is our last resort what do we do to get this solved?Will by posting our complaint we get better service i am hoping this will be so .

Sorry with the smartass post I did.

I understand your frustation, but behind my humor lies some hope. I do think people at Soundelux wouldn't let you down now that you started this thread. I'm sure they keep an eye on these forums. You should pay a visit at Fletcher's in REP forum as well. He has a good relationship with the company, I'm sure he will be delighted to help.

best of luck

[RoundBadge]

That definitely doesn't look right

[I Lurk]

Originally Posted by Jules

I happen to know David from Soudelux has been traveling, he was at the AES in Spain and probably the Tape Op Conference in New Orleans..

So it could well be that he has been out of the country...

See ...

A new hope

[Jules]

Here is a new home for this thread..

[Albert]

I think after the second solar wind burping mic I would have sent it back for a store credit and gotten something else. Certainly, after the third mic there's no doubt I would have been looking for a different mic. After four tries and still no properly working mic, it's kind of amazing to me that you even want a Soundelux mic at this point. I'd have bailed on them long ago, it's not like they are the only people making mics. So I guess that's my suggestion for a solution, not very satisfactory either.

[Jules]

New name for thread