Peter K,
I find the tone and style of your message deplorable.
Peter V is under no obligation to develop for or support a 25 year old system. My God, what other equipment can you think of that is still supported in any form that is 25 years old? Cars of the same vintage fall into the same category (and price) but you would not expect Ford or GM to maintain support for a 1980 model, enthusiasts do.
Floppy Drives were not unique to Fairlight, they were used in thousands if not millions of Main Frames, Mini Computers and PC’s. If there was a demand for a modernised alternative to keep these “antiques” running you would just be able to go and buy one. But there isn’t.
And the way you have managed to mix the words “might” and “promise” in your original reply is outragous. If Peter V said he “might look into these problems in the future” … then he might, and I’ll be pretty sure the word “promise” never left his lips.
[Steve]
From: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Peter K.
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 7:22 PM
To: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Fairlight-CMI] We need your help!! Iconic Fairlight sounds
Andrew,
Thanks for your reply.
First of all, my frustration is not just to keep my CMI working, but also to preserve these instruments (not just mine!) for future generations.
Until now, I never had any negative thoughts about Peter Vogel. The NAMM video's and the development of the 30A, however, made me think that Peter is able to create solutions for problems we encountered and wonder why he didn't help us more?
You write:"The same with floppy drives. Several people on this forum had their own
solutions to the issue and were in a better position to help than Peter or
anyone else from the former Fairlight company."
The current solutions are simply not good enough. At the moment I do think that Peter has the most insight and knowledge on this matter, please correct me if I'm wrong........
There was a time that I liked everybody. Peace, love and happiness.... Flower power.......... However, when you get older, you learn that not everybody is so nice and honest.
As for this community: I'm very thankful for all the support that was, and still is, given here.
What is it that's bugging me?
Well, what if it's all just about the money and there is no love involved for the actual instruments? That doesn't make Peter a bad person.......
However, if it would be so, and he would pretend to love the instruments, just to make money and in that process uses this community, perhaps giving them false hope on future support.... Now, that I wouldn't like so much...........
Here in Holland we have a saying: "Never bite the hand that feeds you"........... I personally like to add: "But what if you hardly ever get any food"?
You advise to support the small, new Fairlight company........... Well, regardless of my negative thoughts, I guess you are right Andrew.
However, I would like to give the whole new company a word of advise: "Don't forget about customer support and take customers seriously. Don't make empty promises"
At last for those who think I should always be nice to Peter: In my opinion, you should always speak up if you think something is wrong. If a person can't take some criticism, that that's his or her problem. A wise person learns from it........... (There are some exceptions, like when someone is pointing a gun at you, in that case it would be wiser to be nice indeed.)
Also: One should never forget, that we all are also potential customers........
In the end I still would like an answer about support for the old series CMI's. How about that? Lets start with the floppy drive issue............ Any hope on help with that?
Regards,
Peter Kersten
From: Andrew
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 8:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Fairlight-CMI] We need your help!! Iconic Fairlight sounds
In reply to Peter K:
Regarding the lightpen, Peter Vogel has commented on the difficulties
they've had in sourcing these. It seems likely that he didn't offer any
help on this issue in the past because he didn't have a source for them
without committing to buy stock in bulk.
The same with floppy drives. Several people on this forum had their own
solutions to the issue and were in a better position to help than Peter or
anyone else from the former Fairlight company.
I can appreciate your frustration if you're trying to keep a Fairlight
working, but I certainly don't have the impression of Peter Vogel as someone
who would simply ignore people he could help. He's actually been very open
to this community, as far as I can see, while standing aside to give people
with experience in finding replacement parts the opportunity to help others
here.
I've spoken to him a couple of times, and although I wasn't seeking help
running an old Fairlight he was responsive and genuinely interested. He
personally provided information on the dog whose bark was in the original
sample set, which led to a piece of music I wrote using that sample, which
strikes me as the contribution of a person who cares about the instrument
and its history.
Your question does raise a point that's occurred to me whenever Peter has
referred to problems with parts, though. I wonder whether the company will
be providing the opportunity for owners of old Fairlights to buy replacement
parts.
On the whole this seems like a very healthy and responsive community of
people willing to help each other. And a small company like Fairlight
probably needs all the help it can get from such a community. That would
benefit all of us, as the healthier the company, the better for the rest of
us.