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Old December 11th, 2006, 11:44 PM
MMVOX MMVOX is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 13
Wow...a response from MTU!

Hi Dave (I assume it’s Dave),

You know what? You’re absolutely right. On everything in your post except one item. Also, there is an apology which appears later in this post.

I agree that while MicroEditor lead, others followed. You did, in fact, pave the way. MicroEditor was brilliant. Absolutely, positively no doubt. The concept of “floating tracks”? Sheer genius. And when you say “We all worked well together for a Season and a Reason, but not for a Lifetime. Be glad it happened. Don't grieve it is gone”; those are wise words indeed, an insight that I should have come to on my own, but did not until reading your post.

I consider it extremely fortunate that I had the opportunity to be introduced to digital recording and editing on MTU’s MicroEditor. To this day, I recall the excitement of going through the tutorial, learning the program, and realizing the awesome potential. I used the system to create better and more creative productions faster, and even during the dog days of radio industry consolidation from 1996 – 1998, MicroEditor allowed me to meet preposterous deadlines and workloads without throwing my standards out the window. I even won awards for my work produced utilizing MicroEditor. I’m also proud that, during this period, I was able to successfully fight off corporate attempts to convert all station DAW systems over to inferior products like Sadie, SAW, Fostex and others. Although frustrating and challenging at the time, (because most of these folks had never even heard of MTU or MicroEditor) all it took was for me to demonstrate MicroEditor and upper management would also come to realize its superiority. Even when I started my own business, I chose to purchase MicroEditor due to its reliability over ProTools at the time.

I bring this bit of insignificant ancient history up because it was difficult for me to understand how MicroEditor would be in a position to just end. Before reading your post, I was not aware of your issues with Motorola or with the loss of your primary programmer. Nor was I fully aware of the paradigm shifts in the world of DAWs until a few years ago. I was in a position where I was using a great system, and had no need to research others. Sort of like if you have a great, reliable car you may not have a need to go to other dealerships to look at other models. This is the kind of brand loyalty most companies can only dream of having. And it is a fact that every other producer to whom I introduced the system felt the same way. Marketers call people like me “sneezers”…someone who spreads the word to as many people as possible. When the time would come for my business to grow to the point where I needed multiple workstations, MicroEditor would have been my first choice. So, from that perspective, my recent post reflects a certain amount of frustration upon realizing that the originator in the field of Digital Audio Workstations was pulling the plug. For that, I apologize. It comes from me being such a rabid fan.

Part of my business involves performing voiceovers at studios throughout the Northeast, primarily in New York City. Most of them use ProTools. But I don’t understand how MicroEditor, if they were aware of its existence, would not meet or exceed their needs. Yes, for music production they would require simultaneous multi-track recording and on-board signal processing. But just like my friend the chef who once told me that all he needs to create a great meal is a pan and source of heat, it seems to me that all the basics were there in MicroEditor.

I teach a college level Broadcast Performance course, and I can’t help but think how great it would be to teach on MicroEditor instead of Adobe Audition (as required by the College) and the subsequent sales potential for MTU of students who eventually might be in a position to make DAW purchases either on behalf of their employers, or for their own project studios.

So, Dave, it’s not a matter of moving on. That’s been done. However, from time to time I choose to check back on the MTU site to see if there is any sort of development with MicroEditor. Most recently I went to the site after receiving an email regarding a sale on your Hoster karaoke products. While I was there I wanted to follow up on an old post.

Apparently, years ago, everyone else had come to the conclusion and realization that MicroEditor was done, except for me. Our hard drive issue/dispute opened my eyes to that same realization. In retrospect, I was spoiled by the great performance of MicroEditor and by the previously responsive customer support from MTU. Yes, it is a fact that I waited a long time to request (not demand, as you said) that MTU take back the hard drive. It’s not like the drive is fruit or vegetable produce that goes bad after a while. The proof of that is I was able to sell it to someone on Ebay. I did not cash that person’s check until I was sure he was happy.

It seemed strange to me that an incorrect recommendation was made by one of your employees, but MTU would assume no responsibility for this inaccurate equipment recommendation. The incorrectness of the recommendation is an event which preceded my delay. You, Dave, did not handle the recommendation or sale of the hard drive, but Doug did. I still have a copy of my original inquiry and his response and recommendation. I know (and he knows) that he was not as straightforward with you has he could have been. Why would I buy a component from MTU, the “mothership” as it were, if it was not compatible with my system? Can you answer that question? If the tables were turned, I believe that you would feel the same way that I did. It wasn’t the money or anything. It was only a $180.00 expense. I just wanted a way to back up my system – in my mind, a reasonable goal. It’s interesting to note that, subsequently, MTU chose to not recommend any sort of workable solution to my interest in having a “replica” or backup of my main MicroEditor hard drive. A solution for which I would gladly pay.

In retrospect, I acknowledge that my own policy of “when in doubt, do the right thing”, while suitable for my business, may not be suitable for other businesses. So I shouldn’t expect that sort of service from others. Although I have to admit that I do sleep really well at night.

Let’s be clear: Outside of the issue regarding the inaccurate hard drive recommendation, MTU always dealt with me in an ethical manner. I never made any sort of statement to the contrary. For you to insinuate and imply that I did is not truthful.

I owe you an apology for the insulting comments on my post. At times I use language which is more colorful than called for. My posted comments reflected a lack of good judgment on my part, and for that I apologize.

That said, I wish you the best of luck and success with your karaoke systems. And I still look forward to some sort of return of MicroEditor.
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