Ever get a dud? I did (Broken Catalinbread Semaphore)

[vinnie]

Hi. First post. Shame it's a complaint.

I bought a catalinbread semaphore a few months back from the nice guys at Tone Factor. A friend who lives in the states and visits Perú (that's where I live) brought it back. It came in its nice cloth bag (inside a box of course) and it looked killer. I hooked it up as soon as I got it but the blue LED that was supposed to blink in time with the tremolo rate didn't blink. It was just static. When I hit that first big chord there was no tremolo effect. I tried moving all the controls, dials, stepping on it again, etc. Finally I figured out a way to get the tremolo working: you have to either press hard enough on the waveform switch, this requires trial and error with the amount of pressure and direction where it is applied. Of course this isn't practical because I'm kinda used to having both of my hands available to play my guitar. I considered hiring a roadie for this job but I'm still not at this level

Another solution is to again apply pressure to the switch and sort of leave it alone once it's working, somehow lodging it into a working position. The problem with this is that if you even look zt the pedal wrong the switch "dislodges" itself from the milimetric position I've pushed it into and once again I'm stuck with a tremolo pedal that doesn't mmm well do tremolo.

I wrote a lot of polite emails to the guys at Catalinbred but all I got back from them was "send us the pedal and we'll take a look at it". I understand their position. They're a small company and all. But I got better customer service from Boss, even when they didn't have an authorized dealer in Perú...and the one they have is not that great either. Basically a store with no tech support. But when I had trouble with my delay pedals they shipped all the parts that were needed and sent schematics so a local repair person could fix the pedals. They charged nothing for the parts.

I don't mind voiding my warranty. i just want the pedal fixed. I'm really close to going back to my trusty old Boss TR-2.....honestly when the Catalinbread works (5% of the time) there's not that much of a difference. Ok now I have a volume control and true bypass.....but I'd prefer to be able to step on the pedal and have it work.

In my long love affair with pedals this is my only dud. I've had cheap boxes (russian small stone, ibanez smash box, 80s used Boss BF-2 with the screw instead of the rubber thing to close the battery lid, lots of DODs, etc) and they've all worked. For better or worse they at least worked when the switch was stepped on.

I'm sure this was an involuntary mistake by the guys at catalinbread. Still I just wanted to rant because now I own a $170 paperweight (pretty one though).

Guess I'll use it as a studio tremolo

[Chankgeez]

What part of Catalinbread saying "send us the pedal and we'll take a look at it" didn't you like?

What did you expect them to say?

It's bound to happen that every once in a while a pedal that doesn't work properly gets shipped without anyone noticing until it ends up at someone's house.

[MEC]

Yeah, there isn't anyway for them to know what's wrong and how to fix it if you don't send it back.

[vinnie]

since I don't live in the states, sending the pedal roundtrip would cost me more than a grand. That's a lot of money just to get a pedal fixed.

I suggested having the pedal fixed locally and if they could send the parts over (I even suggested paying for the parts). It's probably just a broken switch. Of course I'd void my warranty cause I'd have it looked over by some local tech.

I kind of expected "more" from a Boutique pedal builder. At least more than what the people at Boss did.

I'm going to the states in November...staying in Miami for work. Anybody wanna buy a non functioning Semaphore?

[vinnie]

Yeah, there isn't anyway for them to know what's wrong and how to fix it if you don't send it back.

not really and option. It would cost me over $1,000 both ways.

I'd like to have it looked over locally, but with some kind of support from the guys at Catalinbread....but I'll probably just get tired and have a local tech wing it and repair it the best way he can.

Boss TR-2 FTW

[MEC]

I understand your point but if they don't know what's wrong with it how would they know what parts to send?

[Jenesis]

since I don't live in the states, sending the pedal roundtrip would cost me more than a grand.

You sure you don't live in Nigeria? How the hell is it going to cost a thousand bucks to post a tiny box?

[Chankgeez]

vinnie, I understand that international shipping is expensive, but I had no idea postage to and from Perú was that expensive.

As MEC said, how're they supposed to know which parts to send if they don't know what's wrong with the pedal.

If it's only the footswitch, as may be likely, any tech will be able to replace it for not much money.

I think you're overreacting a bit.

[vinnie]

I understand your point but if they don't know what's wrong with it how would they know what parts to send?

it's the waveform switch. It works when you push it hard enough or wedge a credit card there.

[vinnie]

since I don't live in the states, sending the pedal roundtrip would cost me more than a grand.

You sure you don't live in Nigeria? How the hell is it going to cost a thousand bucks to post a tiny box?

go to your local UPS or DHL. That's the price. Maybe you can get a cool rebate for about $500. Still worth more than the pedal itself.

[vinnie]

vinnie, I understand that international shipping is expensive, but I had no idea postage to and from Perú was that expensive.

As MEC said, how're they supposed to know which parts to send if they don't know what's wrong with the pedal.

If it's only the footswitch, as may be likely, any tech will be able to replace it for not much money.

I think you're overreacting a bit.

I know, I know, You're prolly right. I just wanted the pedal to be alright from the start, or at least with a new part from the guys at catalinbread. I guess I'll just fix it here and void the warranty (which is probably not valid here anyway.....).

Thanks for the help. Just wanted to rant.

[skullservant]

I just did a ballpark quote for Priority shipping down to Peru and it says that a 2 pound package (being generous with shipping materials) would run around $50 in a medium flat rate box. Round trip you're still only looking at around $100, but I bet that if you sent it to Catalinbread they would probably fix it for free and might even pay return shipping

[the_carl]

I'm going to the states in November...staying in Miami for work.

If you're staying for 2-3 weeks, maybe you could send it to them once you get to the US and they could ship it back to your temporary address?

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, vinnie, the thing is you're expecting too much from a company the size of Catalinbread.

If I were you, I'd just take it to a local tech and have them replace the waveform switch. Then see if your problem disappears.

Everyone who buys a pedal wants it to be alright from the start. Sometimes switches are faulty. They're fine at the builders, but fail a short time after.

[Rygot]

I hate switches for this reason.

Catalinbread didn't knowingly send it out like that. Faulty switches occur more often than anyone would like, and it could have just been in shipping.