An appeal to Muse on behalf of Receptor 1 users

[Peter1960]

I have recently returned from holiday after three weeks but logged into this forum regularly whilst away. I was disappointed to note that no further progress has been made regarding improving combatibility for R1 users, raised during my earlier post of 1st February :

Muse, once again, I would urge you to do the following :

1. Took note of the suggestions that users have made and consider whether they really are feasible

2. If they are, please put all your efforts into improving compatibility / performance for R1 devices

3. If, finally, you decide that nothing can be done, please consider more satisfactory pricing to allow R1 users to upgrade, particularly for European / UK owners.

I also note that there has been no follow up to to Chris Halaby's post of 12th Jan :

Hi Balda,

We will have a process for our international customers soon. Please stay tuned.

Thanks for just a little more patience.
Chris

On behalf of us frustrated R1 users (and there are obviously a fair number), I would ask that you address the following queries :

1. In January there were a series of long threads which included comments / suggestions from R1 users indicating that technically, there is no reason why the OS software cannot be upgraded to 1.8 on Receptor 1 versions. I have not reproduced the threads but regular visitors to this forum will know what I mean.

Please can you state, categorically, if you are pursuing any of the suggestions made or have completely disregarded them. If the latter applies, I am therefore assuming that you are standing by the comments made below by Chris Halaby on 8th Jan and have no wish / time / inclination to explore the suggestions offered:

We worked very hard to find an acceptable solution for our Rev C customers and it wasn't until recently that we came to the conclusion that there was no way to do a field installation of OS 1.8 on Rev C hardware. There are number of reasons for this some under our control and some not.

2. In the event that R1 users have no choice but to upgrade, what options do UK / European users have ? The cost of upgrading is expensive enough without factoring in shipping / insurance to and from the USA. If I decide to upgrade, can I do this via a UK agent ? (eg Grizzly Media)

3. Would you consider extending the timeframe to allow us to take advantage of your offer below, originally posted on 6th Jan, and if so, can this be done through a UK / European agent, rather than shipping the unit to the USA ? :

You can upgrade your Rev C Receptor at a special low price
Receptor 2 - $799
Receptor 2 Pro - $1,099
Receptor 2 Pro Max - $1,399

Offer is only good until the end of February 2010, and there is a limit of one for each customer. For an additional $75 we will preinstall plug-ins that were previously on your Rev C unit. You will need to do the authorization.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your reply

Peter

[morphbay]

Hi,
I recently sent a mail to Rod's Garage in Italy. They are representing Muse in Europe and can upgrade your Receptor to v1.8.
I chose to buy a new Receptor 2 directly from Muse, even if the shipping costs to Europe are high. When you buy a Hardware Synth you seldom have the opportunity to buy the next model for a low price. I think that Muse are doing their best to offer a good option for all Receptor users. In Software World we are used to deal with updates/upgrades, but in the Hardware World it's more complicated. If you need more answers about the available options, you should use Plugorama's Support Helpdesk.
Hava a Nice Day
Morphbay

[Kermit Jagger]

you seldom have the opportunity to buy the next model for a low price. I think that Muse are doing their best to offer a good option for all Receptor users

Indeed. I was debating whether to get a R2 but once this offer was made, it was a no brainer then, if only to say thank you to Muse for thinking about its users. The 1.8 OS for R1 issue is a difficult one but Muse have at least done something, even though it's not to everybody's liking.

But how many manufacturers would have done something anyway? I remember buying a Roland VariOS for quite a lot of money at the time, only to see that particular piece of hardware being abandoned like an old sock.

Muse can be infuriating at times, especially due to lack of info on certain topics (eLicenser support anyone, state of East West PLAY, etc...?) but they have my confidence.

[johnrule]

I was debating whether to get a R2 but once this offer was made, it was a no brainer then, if only to say thank you to Muse for thinking about its users. The 1.8 OS for R1 issue is a difficult one but Muse have at least done something, even though it's not to everybody's liking.

That's like thanking Microsoft for developing Windows 7 to fix the remaining Windows Vista issues, and then further thanking them for providing an upgrade path at only $299.

But how many manufacturers would have done something anyway?

The answer to that is...quite a few. I really do not see how this is in any way a "gift" to the Receptor 1 community. Every option had a very high profit margin in my opinion. A gift to me would have been something like we pay for shipping and Muse updates our current hard drive for free. Or, we send in a hard drive, and Muse updates it for free. Instead, we pay for shipping AND we pay Muse $199 to upgrade our hard drive (that's $199 for 20 minutes work). We pay for shipping AND we pay Muse to upgrade our hardware for $1299 (or whatever). There was no gift here.

Muse can be infuriating at times, especially due to lack of info on certain topics (eLicenser support anyone, state of East West PLAY, etc...?) but they have my confidence.

A strong adjective like "infuriating" and accolades all in the same message...are you sure you are clear about your feelings here?


JR

[johnrule]

A gift to me would have been something like we pay for shipping and Muse updates our current hard drive for free. Or, we send in a hard drive, and Muse updates it for free.

I take that back...that is what I expected.

JR

[TWB121234]

"that is what I expected" JR

Unhappiness results when our expectations do not match reality, and unfortunately, many times it is our own expectations that are out of balance.

As someone who has been buying electronic keyboard instruments and related products for 40 years, I am curious as to which manufacturers have provided an upgrade path (you suggest that there are "quite a few")? Do you have specific information to support your claim that Muse is over-charging for upgrades? If I recall, Muse has suggested that these upgrades would be essentially revenue neutral (to Muse).

I upgraded my Receptor Rev C to a Receptor 2 Pro last year when upgrades were first offered. At that time, I figured if I wanted to move forward with Receptor I'd better upgrade, or just be happy with the Receptor that I have now. At least I had a choice, unlike any other instrument/module that I have ever owned. I agree with Kermit that Muse deserves credit for providing an upgrade path for R 1 users. Thanks Muse.
TWB

[johnrule]

Unhappiness results when our expectations do not match reality, and unfortunately, many times it is our own expectations that are out of balance.

Mom, is that you?

My expectations were based on two things: promises that were made by Muse and accountability. If you need proof, please search the forum at your leisure.

I am curious as to which manufacturers have provided an upgrade path (you suggest that there are "quite a few")?

In terms of "quite a few", I simply ran down the list of products that I own (quite a few) that have frequent updates...very often for free. It was also in response to a generalization asking "how many manufacturers would do this?". However, I consider this a software upgrade issue and not a hardware upgrade, so your point is subjective to within that context.

Do you have specific information to support your claim that Muse is over-charging for upgrades?

First of all, I have an opinion about what they are charging. It is based on what I find the components to cost in general, and an estimate of integration time. For example, the motherboard for the Receptor is about $80. A 500 gig SATA drive is $50. The new cpu is about $80. That brings us to $210. Imaging a drive from an existing image and reassembly...maybe $90 service fee. I believe they wanted a minimum of $799, correct? If someone wants to pay these fees that is their prerogative, but I have the right to object.

As another example, I just upgraded my Receptor 1 Rev C cpu to a 2.6 ghz processor. The total cost was $34 for the cpu, and about 15 minutes for installation. I just added tremendous value and performance to my Receptor without any help from Muse. I also plan on integrating a SATA or SSD by re-imaging my hard drive...all without sending my Receptor into Muse or paying their fees. If you want to give them the money to do it, that is your choice, but it should be a choice and not a mandate.

However, the main argument was in regards to the OS itself. The deal was that we ship our Receptor to/from Muse at our expense, and they image the drive...at a cost of $199. I can image my own drive, so why do I need to give them $199 dollars? Because they insist...and I object. That is my prerogative. I think there should have been a way to do a field installation, but because of the proprietary nature of the Receptor, it may be true that it is too difficult. In my opinion (there are those words again) they should have imaged our drive at their expense...I would agree to paying for the shipping of my drive only.

I too am getting tired of this argument, but I was slightly perturbed by praise for Muse in a thread that was asking for an appeal (or consideration) for Receptor 1 customers. You are going to have to expect some Muse lambasting in here

JR

[Kermit Jagger]

As someone who has been buying electronic keyboard instruments and related products for 40 years, I am curious as to which manufacturers have provided an upgrade path...

Exactly ! Some manufacturers do sometimes give existing users a good deal, like TC Electronic when the old PCI Powercore were upgraded, UAD did something similar, and recently, SonicCore to upgrade a Creamware Scope into an X-Cite system. But it's the exception rather than the rule.