Can we get a status update please?

GMaq · January 9, 2018, 4:35pm

Hi,

First best of 2018 to all MOD developers, employees and users!!

I am a bit concerned about the lack of news and updates especially about three important issues:

The status of the Expression Pedals
The status of the Hardware noise issues, is this a hardware or software issue?
The availability of Commercial Plugins (ie OverToneDSP)?

It is not my intention to sound harsh, I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes so my questions are intended as observations not judgements. The fact that there are a few dangling threads about all of these issues without definitive answers is a bit concerning to me and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Please let us know what’s up in MOD world, we love the MOD, we appreciate all of your hard work and we are interested in both your challenges and accomplishments behind the scenes.

plutek · January 9, 2018, 4:50pm

+1
…especially wrt the (apparently kernel-related) noise issue.

cheers, all!

Skydiver · January 9, 2018, 7:36pm

Knowing Gianfranco and the MOD Team I’m sure they are working on these methodically.

I had to be very patient in getting my unit from the kickstarter campaign… even longer for the switches… still waiting for that expression pedal… but I know my patience will pay off.

ssj71 · January 10, 2018, 4:23pm

I do agree, but it seems like there has been very little communication from the MOD team on these forums, nor any blogposts, KS updates, news… anything.

For me at least (and I think most of us) the issue isn’t the timeline, its the lack of transparency. It seems the MOD team has a high reluctance to post any bad news, ever. This is understandable as it seems like bad PR, and they’re probably looking for investors, but to the community the lack of communication makes us feel abandoned or distanced from the project. We’d like to at least know, even if its not ideal. Honestly I tend to assume the worst when they’re silent to direct questions. I understand its hard/risky to share all of a companies vulnerabilities, but it really strengthens community and provides the company an opportunity to show they really care about the product/project and are working hard to make it the best they can.

That’s easy to say, but I’ll be first to admit I’m glad I’m not in charge of MOD or any company, cause that’s a hard call.

gianfranco · January 11, 2018, 9:41am

Hello everyone

@GMaq @Skydiver and @ssj71. Let me first of all apologize for the silence. You guys are awesome and really deserve to be better informed. Also, let me apologize for not fulfilling my latest promise of the December delivery. You must be considering me some sort of liar…
As backers from day 1, your support is priceless and it hurts me so much to see that I am letting you guys down.

As many of you know, whenever we have a problem, I have a tendency to keep silent until there is a solution being put in place. As customers I believe you’re entitled to both the information as the solution and I feel quite uncomfortable to disclose problems that are not yet being addressed or to which a solution has not been envisioned. Some might argue that I am wrong, but that’s how I am

A combination of multiple factors is currently holding us literally in the mud and we’re all doing all we can to sort things out. Sorry if that is taking longer than expected.

I will have news soon and they shall be good. Very good indeed. But there is still a tiny bit to wait before we announce them.

Addressing Glenn’s topics:

1 - Expression Pedals got stuck in the midst of all this turbulence. We have a design and production quotes, but the actual kick-off has been put in stand-by. Sorry for that. I feel so bad I’ve been having nightmares of an expression pedal chasing me.

2 - Noise is a combination of issues - hardware plus software - that, according to our research, is affecting a very tiny percentage of MOD Duos from the Kickstarter batch. There is a hardware fix though. If your unit is generating audible noise apart from natural guitar noises, please contact us via email and proceed with the fix.

3 - The commercial plugin store is to be launched. Just like the Expression Pedal, it got caught by last December’s tsunami and had to be slightly postponed. Differently than the Expression Pedal it is not on stand-by. Work is actually quite advanced and it will be announced on the upcoming weeks featuring the OverTones plugins, of course.

Once again, apologize me for the silence.

There is a great year ahead of us.

Best regards to all

Azza · January 11, 2018, 9:59am

Thank you very much for that update @gianfranco !

When you say a hardware fix is available for the noise issue, does it include the case of the noise when using a low level input signal (dynamic microphone without pre-amp as an input to the mod) ?

Thanks in advance for clarifying

gianfranco · January 11, 2018, 10:26am

Hi @Azza

Yes it does

Azza · January 11, 2018, 10:26am

Wow ! I’m in for it then !

domlo · January 11, 2018, 10:49am

Thanks @GMaq for adressing this in such a direct and yet very respectful way!
Thanks @gianfranco for adressing the communities concerns.

One question: How can i identify “not-normal” noise if i’m not a guitar player? I feel the MOD noise could be less and i was once told by FOH to not use my mod for vocals (dynamic mic) because of the “high noise”. I also parttook in the noise thread (took some measurements).
I’m currently not with my MOD but i think it’s the second batch.

Thanks!

GMaq · January 11, 2018, 6:52pm

@gianfranco

Thanks very much for your responses to all questions and for your honesty…

As MOD fans and users some of us want to balance our belief in the ‘human’ side of things and are trying to be patient and empathize with the stresses and setbacks of being a startup tech company in a competitive market but on the other hand also be mindful of our investment and expectations for the device as a hardware tool for practical daily use.

I appreciate it is not an easy thing to say when things are not going well but PLEASE don’t think we want you to be ‘sorry’ or losing sleep or experiencing any other negative thing in your personal life, I believe for the most part as users and investors we just want info and we want you to able to positively focus on solving issues but not feeling bad about things beyond your control.

Secondly, which email address should we send inquiries about the noise issue to??

Best Regards, and thanks! Glen

dwek · January 11, 2018, 7:11pm

Hi @GMaq and all,

You can send a message directly to me or to contact@moddevices.com

Thanks for your support and for your understanding. They are very appreciated!

unbracketed · January 11, 2018, 7:47pm

Hi, thank you for all the information and best wishes to the Mod team for the new year!

Could you provide an update about the foot switch boards as well? I’d like to move away from my clunky FCB1010 and can live without expression pedals for a while. I’d prefer to support you financially but I’m not aware of when another production run might be made available. My holiday and work bonus money is starting to speak loudly to me…

Cheers,

Brian

ssj71 · January 12, 2018, 4:18pm

@gianfranco I certainly don’t think you are any sort of liar, I understand the setbacks of engineering schedules very well, I just like to have a glimpse of the realities. I really do see your side of it and understand your reluctance to share, but I really appreciate any news you offer, good or bad. I really hope the best for MOD!

Azza · January 12, 2018, 5:19pm

Alternatively, if you like the hardware of the fcb1010 but dont like the software part of it, whatever the rom you use, I’ve heard of people simply fitting an arduino inside it and being able to do whatever they liked on the soft side.

unbracketed · January 15, 2018, 3:31pm

Thank you for the suggestion @Azza that’s a great idea! I’ll keep it as an option - maybe something fun to do with the kids. My main hesitations are that I’d really prefer something smaller and more portable, and that I’m at a point in life where my slices of free time are already booked in advance and I have some money I can throw at these kinds of problems.

Azza · January 15, 2018, 3:46pm

Same here ! So I really know what you mean.

brummer · January 15, 2018, 6:05pm

From the pov of a plug-in developer, I’m sorry to say, but, I lost my interest in doing any development on MOD plugins. Seeing my plugs (GxPlugins) for a couple of month in a n-decided state aka “unstable”, were they are all stable, and developed special for the MOD, de-motivated me.

Srry

acunha · January 15, 2018, 9:36pm

I understand your frustration @brummer and we hear you. We’re already taking measures towards making the whole plugin store experience better from the developer and user’s perspective.

Gian already wrote about our efforts in that direction in the forum here, including the fact that “unstable” is a bad denomination and it is going to change pretty soon.

Unfortunately the size of our team and making sure the company stays afloat are taking higher priority and slowing us down in some other fronts. Without giving too much information I want to say that in 2018 we expect those two “issues” to be fixed, if you know what I mean .

That being said, I totally understand if you feel unappreciated but I can assure you is quite the opposite. The entire GxPlugins is an amazing contribution and it is actual proof that we’re tapping into something really amazing and with incredible potential. Contributors like you are highly appreciated and we hope soon you feel that way.

Rest assured that I wouldn’t be coming here to lay down a post like this if I didn’t feel we could back it up with actual progress in the short future.

Cheers,
Alex.

lazzarello · January 16, 2018, 10:03pm

What feels strange to me about the silence is most of the MOD Duo is an open source project. Aside from PCB design files, electrical schematics and a bill of materials every feature is right there to see. Even the LV2 plugin format is transparent. Literally anyone can make their own MOD Duo. Many have, including myself.

With such a level of transparency in the software stack (and a little of the hardware, the Allwinner board is commodity) why are the custodians of the project hesitant to communicate with both users and developers alike?

dwek · January 17, 2018, 12:45pm

As a company, we are subjected to the same hardships of any business: time constraints, resource management, the quality standards we wish to achieve, product development issues etc. The open source nature of our platform is a great advantage but it doesn’t necessarily protect us from the ups and downs of this rollercoaster ride.

We usually communicate when we have concrete and relatively accomplished news to give. This can be debated and we hear you guys on that: we will try to keep your information expectations sated and bring as much news to the forum as possible, as frequently as we have it.

But rest assured, a roadmap of our next steps is being defined as I write this and we will have some exciting announcements very soon that will answer many if not all of your recent interrogations. Your patience is dearly appreciated and will be rewarded.