I was certain of that, thanks for clarifying. Yeah, production comes first. Hope MOD gets the cash injection it needs.
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about stopping updates to Duo is another disappointing factor. I understand that the Duo has aged, 10 years practically, but if you understand that in that time I could not fully enjoy what I bought… Now I’ll have an old, out-of-line pedal. They abandoned their initial supporters.
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As far as I understand, no new update for the Duo doesn’t mean that it is going to stop working.
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And no update on the OS/firmware side doesn’t mean no updates for plugins etc.
I’m very sure that the DUO will be useful and expanded in its capabilities for the foreseeable future, just not on the firmware level.
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Also, maybe it’s an opportunity for the community to get more involved in the maintenance of the Duo somehow ?
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I had mine listed on ebay for several months, but I think I’ll hang on to it. If I ever play any more paying gigs (I’m 76 and not in the best of health) it’d be good to have a spare just in case. The duo, dwarf and footswitch extension have worked flawlessly for me and I wouldn’t anticipate that even with extremely heavy use I’ll outlive them. There’s always the occasional idiot who dumps a pitcher of beer, though…
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Yes I agree. My displeasure is only because of seeing DUO, which is what I funded, grow old without me having the opportunity to see it develop along with the expression pedal. In my head, when I funded the almost complete package (I just didn’t buy the Arduino stuff), everything would go almost simultaneously. I think the MOD team should pay attention to this and provide this support for the functionality of the peripherals for DUO. I understand that DUO will no longer be the focus of the company, however we were the ones who founded it and I believe that my dissatisfactions have not been heard over time. If they had done the original project completely I would probably become a customer and buy Dwaf.
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Anyway, I would like the MO team to clarify who will receive the units that were made. An actual date for deliveries. Will it be later this year? When will I have my unit?
Deadlines have long since been set aside and no longer announced, I feel even bad seeing the complacency of my peers, am I rude for after 10 years to complain?
I believe I deserve an honest position, in my company it would be unimaginable to do this with a client. Will I be caught?
Please get me out of this anguish.
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The key phrase here is ‘my company’. I agree with you that that’s the way businesses should be run. I was an independent contractor (not a very successful one) for approximately the last 12 years of my IT career. My preferred way of doing business was “under promise and over deliver”. I don’t think the mod team is any different in that regard, but we’re all at the mercy of things beyond our control just in our everyday lives.
The original backers - I believe you and I are both in that category - invested in a project that may or may not have gotten off the ground in the first place. If it hadn’t gotten off the ground - didn’t meet the original funding goal - we’d have gotten our money back. I was very happy to see it get off the ground. Still am. I keep harping on the Covid shutdown and all the problems it created, but that threw sand in the gears of a lot of companies. The big ones took a hit, but a number of small businesses and startups went under. The Mod project got a very good start, but for some reason the expression pedal went from a very simple device to something much more complex. I got by just fine with the duo, footswitch extension and a Dunlop wah. It did everything I needed for every gig. I was and still am excited to see the switch to the “enhanced” expression pedal. We got the highlights of the difficulties in working with the vendors, and then everything shut down. Looks like now it’s ready to go and start shipping except for one small thing. The mod team is rightly determined to get it right before they ship. I’m in total agreement with that.
Sorry for the rant/tldr. I’m very optimistic about this part of the project, but the people/person (sorry - can’t remember who) responsible for communicating with the backers needed to leave. I understand their reasons for doing so and understand and respect their need to devote more time and attention to their families.
I’d like more communication as well, but I personally want to see the focus be on getting the expression pedal out the door.
It’s possible for each individual backer to see where they are on the list to get the expression pedal but I can’t remember exactly how to do it. It’s explained somewhere - I think on the kickstarter page for each individual. I’m not as concerned as that or the exact date I’ll get my unit - I just want the company to stay in business.
Yan - I’m confident we’ll get there.
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WOW!! Didn’t intend to write a thesis. Just got carried away.
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I understand, but unfortunately I can no longer feel part of this team, as a supporter of the first generation I felt betrayed by the injection of resources into Dwarf. Anyway, I’m still waiting… I don’t like what I feel and that’s what disturbs me the most.
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I’m hopeful that in the next few months or so we can reel you back in - fishing reference in case you’re not familiar with our crazy idioms.
On the other hand, if you’ve been paying any attention to what’s going on over here - totally unrelated to the mod team or anything even remotely music related - you are probably quite aware of our idiots.
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I understand the frustration but personally I am amazed by the longevity of this project.
I contributed to many Kickstarter that simply failed, and I have empathy for honest creators that carry the weight of a project for years, and at one point they need to cut the string and move too something else, protect themselves or the company
I bought in the mod vision based on the web GUI flexibility it offered, and the expression pedal. So I’m very happy to see that this vision is still valid and alive as confirmed by @gianfranco latest update.
I was lucky to be able to contribute to each mod Kickstarter projects, and finally did the additional contribution to get the Dwarf (which is kind of the mod duo I was looking for, very happy).
I’m longing for the expression pedal, and maybe we, as first contributors, might have to contribute again to get it.
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Maybe I shouldn’t have been an initial supporter. By my principles I believe that what has been agreed is not expensive. This is a Brazilian saying “Combinado não sai caro”.
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I understand your frustration, and in principle, I support your right to be critical. However, I have limited patience for people who willingly enter business contracts and then complain repeatedly about the terms. You agreed to the risk that you might not receive a potentially useful hardware unit. Other people have signed contracts agreeing to the risk that they might die in a small metal can at the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes the bad outcome happens. I’m sorry for your loss, but it might be time to count your blessings and move on.
For what it’s worth, I appreciate your original investment. I’ve gotten some enjoyment using my Duo and Dwarf over the years, and probably just as much enrichment learning and participating here in the forums over the last several years. Thanks for being a part of making that happen.
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Anyway, I await a counter-proposal from the MOD team. I am losing $ 99, I wonder if there will be a reduction of this amount in the purchase of the final equipment, since I understand that the initial project is improved compared to the final result. I hope I am not ignored.
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Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head here. I suspect that a lot of people who crowdfund projects via Kickstarter etc. expect Amazon-like levels of service. Given that the UX for sending money to a Kickstarter project isn’t that far from buying a normal product off an established business on Amazon, it’s not surprising that the risk element is easily forgotten or even missed from the beginning. From my experience Indiegogo is much worse, as the protection against scams is far weaker than Kickstarter.
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I get it, but the company still exists. I hope they honor the commitments, even if it’s with a fair proposal, given the circumstances of the initial project upgrade. To just say “lost the money” I don’t think is worthy in this circumstance. Question of character.
Actually the company quite literally doesn’t exist any more. The original company was dissolved by the German government and the current MOD Audio is a complete reboot with separate business registration that bought the original IP and assets.
Technically this new company thus has even less (read “no”) obligations to previous customers.
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I don’t remember anyone saying that, and it seems unlikely anyone would, because that’s not what happened at all. (Please do link to your source if I’m wrong.)
Money was not “lost”, it was invested in a promising but nevertheless non-zero risk business which did its absolute best in the face of many adverse factors, including a global economic recession and global pandemic, but nevertheless didn’t quite make it the first time and had to be dissolved and rebooted.
As for the question of character, the team has worked tirelessly and remained consistently transparent and honest about the difficulties alongside the successes. They’ve asked their customer base, community, and investors for guidance countless times along the journey. Even now they’re still making tough calls and fighting many external challenges to keep the project alive, when many would have quit along time ago. So yes, it’s a question of character, and IMHO they have shown a ton of it.
I think what would help from the community now is constructive suggestions on tangible actions. Of course we’re all frustrated and disappointed that it’s been a rough journey, and I’m sure no one feels that stronger than the MOD team - but dwelling on that isn’t going to solve any problems. What really matters now is the way forward.
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