More Pedal Drama: Vertex/mason marangella interview on reverb

Chad said:
I never even heard of Vertex until someone here posted about the Wah drama, so I wasn't planning on trying his stuff before that.
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Same here. I don't hang out on TGP, and only went there for the drama (which was not, BTW, saved for my Mamma).

Also, I never use a wah. The one wah I do own is a BBE. :grin:
 
Chad said:
I never even heard of Vertex until someone here posted about the Wah drama, so I wasn't planning on trying his stuff before that.
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Thanks for the reply Chad!

Many are quick to reply (I bet TGP as well) on others say but have never tried the product. Start a rumor on anything and watch the keyboard responses fly! Another one are those A-G-I-L-E guitars. Heard more bad things about them than good but I have never played one. Everyone should trust their own judgement rather than others.

FWIW to all, Mason made a public apology. What more does he need to do? He took back all of the units that went to unsatisfied customers and refunded their money. To me he came out and admitted his wrong doing and made good with whomever he had a bad situation with. Sadly he also may have ruined his reputation with others who has done business with him. Personally I feel that if you haven't tried his products or dealt with him shouldn't be blasting his company.

Just as HIAR mentioned about the Freakish Blues pedal exposure, that dude didn't make good and I personally have a friend who owns one. My bud told me that I had to try it as it was one of the greatest drive pedals that he had ever owned. When I did, it blew chunks....not my cup of tea and to hear later that it was repacked pedal - hahahahhaha. Oh well.
 
Modern Saint said:
Curious question for all, if Mason never had the issue with the wah, how many of you have tried or was planning to try a Vertex product?
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He doesn't really make pedals I need. The last time I actually used my wah in a band was nearly 10 years ago. I don't use chorus and have enough dirt pedals. So he falls into the category of builders that I watch to see how the drama unfolds regarding new circuits and customer service issues. Most times, builders do pretty well with people who have issues. But every once in a while, there's a shitstorm, and that keeps me away. Guitar equipment is one area I can choose who to give my money to. I don't need to get involved in the drama.
 
Modern Saint said:
Thanks for the reply Chad!

Many are quick to reply (I bet TGP as well) on others say but have never tried the product. Start a rumor on anything and watch the keyboard responses fly! Another one are those A-G-I-L-E guitars. Heard more bad things about them than good but I have never played one. Everyone should trust their own judgement rather than others.

FWIW to all, Mason made a public apology. What more does he need to do? He took back all of the units that went to unsatisfied customers and refunded their money. To me he came out and admitted his wrong doing and made good with whomever he had a bad situation with. Sadly he also may have ruined his reputation with others who has done business with him. Personally I feel that if you haven't tried his products or dealt with him shouldn't be blasting his company.

Just as HIAR mentioned about the Freakish Blues pedal exposure, that dude didn't make good and I personally have a friend who owns one. My bud told me that I had to try it as it was one of the greatest drive pedals that he had ever owned. When I did, it blew chunks....not my cup of tea and to hear later that it was repacked pedal - hahahahhaha. Oh well.
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Honestly, I doubt I would ever try one now. It is cool of him to make it right with the customers and apologize, but the guy deceived his customers. There are plenty of good honest folks out there building great stuff and I don't have the money to try them all, so I would rather drop my money on a company that hasn't had a shady past.
 
Modern Saint said:
FWIW to all, Mason made a public apology. What more does he need to do? He took back all of the units that went to unsatisfied customers and refunded their money. To me he came out and admitted his wrong doing and made good with whomever he had a bad situation with. Sadly he also may have ruined his reputation with others who has done business with him. Personally I feel that if you haven't tried his products or dealt with him shouldn't be blasting his company.
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He only took back those units after he was exposed, over and over, despite repeated attempts to further cover up the fraud. Sure, it's great that he refunded the money, but he lied about his products and then tried very hard to keep lying about them. You are free to support him in his future endeavors, but there are plenty of transparent overdrives out there from manufactures that I trust.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
So he falls into the category of builders that I watch to see how the drama unfolds regarding new circuits and customer service issues. Most times, builders do pretty well with people who have issues. But every once in a while, there's a shitstorm, and that keeps me away. Guitar equipment is one area I can choose who to give my money to. I don't need to get involved in the drama.
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The pedal market has been really interesting watch over the past decade or so. First off you've got a pretty low bar for entry as a builder w/r/t money & skills so it can attract a very diverse group of people. Then factor in the hype-train that started off with guitar forums where you could get free advertising, evolved into youtube reviews & now we have paid professional demo personalities & of course ever present celeb endorsers, all having the ability to shove an unknown builder on to center stage and really drive demand out of no where. Guitarists are also a demographic, that for whatever reason, will continue to shove money at a suspect builder for a pedal while all the red flags are pop'n up on the forums that the ship is sinking...so long as the hype is still there.
 
Lerxst said:
The pedal market has been really interesting watch over the past decade or so. First off you've got a pretty low bar for entry as a builder w/r/t money & skills so it can attract a very diverse group of people. Then factor in the hype-train that started off with guitar forums where you could get free advertising, evolved into youtube reviews & now we have paid professional demo personalities & of course ever present celeb endorsers, all having the ability to shove an unknown builder on to center stage and really drive demand out of no where. Guitarists are also a demographic, that for whatever reason, will continue to shove money at a suspect builder for a pedal while all the red flags are pop'n up on the forums that the ship is sinking...so long as the hype is still there.
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It's rare I buy a pedal anymore from a company I don't know. And as the mainstream pedal market has remade itself, due to the work of Mike Matthews, Jorge Tripps, Tom Cram, and Tore Mogensen; it's become increasingly difficult to consider products from guys in their garage/basement. You've really got to put out something extraordinary to be boutique these days.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
He doesn't really make pedals I need. The last time I actually used my wah in a band was nearly 10 years ago. I don't use chorus and have enough dirt pedals. So he falls into the category of builders that I watch to see how the drama unfolds regarding new circuits and customer service issues. Most times, builders do pretty well with people who have issues. But every once in a while, there's a shitstorm, and that keeps me away. Guitar equipment is one area I can choose who to give my money to. I don't need to get involved in the drama.
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Nicely said!!!

Mark Wein said:
I think he does do great work. But so do other guys. I can choose to spend my money where I want if I'm so inclined though.

I agree Mark, I am the same way.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Grant Gross said:
I think his Dynamic Distortion sounds pretty good. I have enough fuzz/OD/distortion pedals, however.
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When I tried the pedal, it didn't do what I wanted. I too have a lot of OD's and Distortion Pedals plus I have some builds that I need to complete. I am not in the market for this one, can't justify.

Guitar Heel said:
He only took back those units after he was exposed, over and over, despite repeated attempts to further cover up the fraud. Sure, it's great that he refunded the money, but he lied about his products and then tried very hard to keep lying about them. You are free to support him in his future endeavors, but there are plenty of transparent overdrives out there from manufactures that I trust.
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It wasn't about support or trust. I was curious to know what people felt. Many are quick to blast someone but they never dealt with them or their product. How is one to comment if they never had any dealings with them? Now for the people who had issues after all came out, let them blast the guy regarding there relationship. Michael Landau made it public on his feelings and he had the right to. His name was being used to support Vertex product to the masses and he was disrespected.
 
Chad said:
I never even heard of Vertex until someone here posted about the Wah drama, so I wasn't planning on trying his stuff before that.
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Ditto.

There are so many FX builders, I don't even try and keep up. I really care less what Martin Landau was playing, Space 1999 sucked.
 
Modern Saint said:
FWIW to all, Mason made a public apology. What more does he need to do? He took back all of the units that went to unsatisfied customers and refunded their money. To me he came out and admitted his wrong doing and made good with whomever he had a bad situation with. Sadly he also may have ruined his reputation with others who has done business with him. Personally I feel that if you haven't tried his products or dealt with him shouldn't be blasting his company.
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He took the PCB out of a store-bought product, covered it up and took credit for it. It was not a modded BBE PCB...all he did was swap out the sweep pot and enclosure. Pretty f***ing low. Have I met him? Have I bought from him? Do I have a opinion on the guy beyond that?...no. But I'm skeptical enough to doubt whats stated in an online interview on a site dedicated to sales and marketing of products. This isn't about punishing him, but there are so many pedal makers out there offering so many options, why deal with proven liar?

“Never lie to someone who trusts you and never trust someone that lies to you.” ― Deanna Wadsworth
 
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Lerxst said:
The pedal market has been really interesting watch over the past decade or so. First off you've got a pretty low bar for entry as a builder w/r/t money & skills so it can attract a very diverse group of people. Then factor in the hype-train that started off with guitar forums where you could get free advertising, evolved into youtube reviews & now we have paid professional demo personalities & of course ever present celeb endorsers, all having the ability to shove an unknown builder on to center stage and really drive demand out of no where. Guitarists are also a demographic, that for whatever reason, will continue to shove money at a suspect builder for a pedal while all the red flags are pop'n up on the forums that the ship is sinking...so long as the hype is still there.
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Totally agree! With social media today, anything can get discussed freely and many can hide behind a keyboard.

One job I worked at had a new guy come in and asked how to do something. He asked all of us experienced team members what we did and then finally said to all of us, this is how the book says to do it. Well why the fuck did you ask us? Just follow the fucking book and quit wasting our time.
 
Modern Saint said:
How is one to comment if they never had any dealings with them?
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I guess I just don't understand your argument, and that's fine. We can agree to disagree.

I won't support a pedal maker that intentionally misled to others, again and again, even though he didn't mislead me personally. Thanks to the internet, I can know about these things happening without personal experience. :wink:
 
I expect you'll see more *transparency* from Mason, but I feel it'll all be rebranded stuff.

I went down this rabbit hole when they debuted the Dynamic Distortion. This time he said he was building off of the SD9. So you mod the circuit to simulated the tone knob locked into one position, then you get rid of the mid hump, and whammo, new pedal.

Also, to speak to @Wyatt 's comment above about marketing, negative publicity is just as good as good publicity. We're all talking about him. Right or wrong, his brand is growing.
 
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