Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Micro POG Not Functioning

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  • October 23, 2010 at 8:40 pm #80897
    tonosity
    Member

    I just received a brand-new Micro POG, and about 30 minutes into a rehearsal it stopped functioning. I’m using the supplied 9.6v EHX adapter that came with it, and it’s the first pedal of four that are inserted into the effects loop of a L.R. Baggs PARA DI. The setup works great with the other pedals.

    I have another Micro POG on a different board, and so I’ve been able to A/B it with the one that works-and has been working–fine, to be certain that the problem isn’t with the power supply, or anything else. The second board doesn’t use an effects loop configuration, with all the pedals in front of the signal chain. I’ve swapped it in and out of both boards to test the behavior.

    The malfunctioning POG does come to life sporadically, when first powering it up. When it malfunctions, sometimes the LED will eliminate with the switch…sometimes not. If it happens to work, after a few minutes there’s a click sound, and the harmonics effect turns off. The LED stays on, most of the time. But sometimes it won’t come back on. However, the POG does go into bypass mode, and signal continues along to the other pedals, and to the amp or DI.

    Troubleshooting suggestions, and comments would be appreciated.

    October 23, 2010 at 8:53 pm #112113
    briggle900
    Participant

    No need to diganose, send it back. It is defective.

    Do not look to these boards for help from electro Harmoniz personel. They do not seem to read their own Forum

    I for one am very concerned by this. I think they are reverting back to the 70’s when quality control and customer support took a back seat to product production and profits.

    I was going to get a POG2 but believe I will go with the Digitech HarmonyMan. I own the Ring Thing and love it, but I value customer support more than product.

    October 23, 2010 at 11:23 pm #112118
    electro-melx
    Moderator

    I agree, send/take it back to where you bought it, it’s tiny components and digital so not something you really want to mess around with yourself.

    October 24, 2010 at 12:49 am #112121
    tonosity
    Member

    Thanks guys. Yes, I suspected that. I looked this forum over before joining and saw a lot of unanswered requests for information and help. I believe that a “community” (as EHX has labeled it) is not a substitute for true technical-support. I hope EHX recognizes the error in their approach. Money saved on having a qualified EHX employee run down the answers to tech-support requests, is penny-wise, and pound foolish. And it will come up to bite them, eventually.

    In any case, the terms of the store that I purchased the POG requires that the customer first contact the manufacturer, before they’ll take any action on a return. So, I had to give it a try.

    I hope EHX is reading this when I ask: Does anyone know of a comparable harmonizer from another company, in the same form factor as the Micro, that’s produced by a company that actually values its customers and stands behind its products?

    I chose the Micro POG because of its ability to produce a somewhat passable 12-string sound (even though, I still find it to be a bit synthetic) for acoustic-guitar amplification. And one that isn’t a board hog. The special AC adapter is inconvenient, but tolerable.

    Again, any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Anybody A/Bed the POG and Digitech HarmonyMan, and have any observations on the differences?

    And a special thanks to briggle900 and electro-melx for setting my expectations on getting any support from EHX via this forum.

    October 24, 2010 at 5:04 am #112128
    Cryabetes
    Participant

    1- you’ve been here for a day, you aren’t familiar with how things work here. Why bitch on a message board when you could just CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE? that’s why they have a customer service line. The forum is effects pedal/EHX enthusiasts who can help with minor problems. No one is going to magically be able to tell you whether a resistor or something is burned out without looking at your specific pedal. EHX provides a warranty on their products, that they are free from defects in manufacturing. if you’ve got a defect, send it back.

    2- a comparable product for the micropog with a similar footprint is going to be the Boss PS line [PS-2/PS-3/PS-5/PS-6] and maybe the Boss HR-2. I’d personally go for the PS-3 or the PS-6.

    October 24, 2010 at 1:32 pm #112133
    electro-melx
    Moderator
    Quote:
    In any case, the terms of the store that I purchased the POG requires that the customer first contact the manufacturer, before they’ll take any action on a return.

    I don’t know what country you live in but here (in the UK) that would be totally against the law, the shop has to take back faulty goods and you are entitled to a full refund. Some shops might try to tell you otherwise, but if you know the law they don’t have a leg to stand on… they sold it to you and it’s their responsibility to sell goods that are fit for the use they are intended for. I have never heard of a shop asking you to contact the manufacturer unless the item is out of warranty.

    October 24, 2010 at 8:10 pm #112137
    tonosity
    Member

    You know, you’re right! Where do I get off criticizing EHX’s lack of direct tech support (via email or Web form), or the absence of a contact phone number on their Web site? And it’s so true that such product support is an unreasonable expectation of a manufacturer’s site that promotes and represents their products. That must be why, in this day and age, no other manufacturer does it.

    And yes, unfortunately I live in the U.S., where the terms and conditions of return policies can vary from store to store. Like it, or not. And this particular policy is more common, than not. Maybe I’ll fly over and do all my shopping in the U.K. from now on.

    But most importantly, why should I look to a manufacturer for some understanding as to how it is that a brand new device ceases to function after 30 minutes of use? Is it really my place to be concerned about the quality control of their products? Should I want or need to know if they bench test, or burn-in, their units before shipment? Is my POG from a bad batch? Or, should I just be confident, for no particular reason, that this is only a freak incident, and that it’s highly unlikely that a replacement will malfunction in the middle of a set? Should this video, taken from someone else’s older post in this forum, add to my concern?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRO4Pf3UAis/ And, by the way, why haven’t either of you Senior Members responded to his post?!

    Obviously, EHX’s tech support scheme is working well here, and rapidly building confidence in their products with new customers. My bad.

    October 24, 2010 at 8:47 pm #112134
    electro-melx
    Moderator

    I was only trying to help.. I don’t live in the US, so I have no idea how it works over there. :/

    ..that’s why I started my sentence “I don’t know what country you live in” ….. I won’t bother making any more comments if I’m just going to get sarcasm back. I don’t disagree with your other remarks, but unless an EHX staff member comes here to answer you, there isn’t much any of us can do about it unfortunately.

    I’ve edited ‘Cryabetes’ post because name calling isn’t acceptable on the forum, I’m gonna leave this thread open because I sympathise with your situation but don’t let this get out of hand or I will close it.

    October 24, 2010 at 9:27 pm #112139
    tonosity
    Member

    Electro-meix, I apologize for the sarcasm. Your post appeared to me at the same time, and just after I read Cryabetes’, so the statement felt more like “I don’t know what planet you live on, but…” However, on re-reading the post, I see that your comment wasn’t a pointed one.

    Thanks for leaving this thread open. I think in its own way it is constructive. At least, for those concerned or interested in the nature of EHX tech support, and hopefully as feedback to EHX, if they ever read their own forum.

    I didn’t come here to flame anyone or anything. It was just an attempt to get some support from EHX for my new, and malfunctioning, Micro POG. I put the concept of “troubleshooting” out there because typically tech-support people will have a few tricks that can be performed by the user, to isolate a problem, which will sometimes help you avoid the expense, hassle and inconvenience of returning or exchanging a product. In any case, that was my hope, as well as obligation regarding the return policy of the store from which I bought the pedal.

    Obviously, given the limitations, it’s clear that returning the POG to the store is the way to go. But I seriously doubt that I’ll exchange it for another one. Rather, I’ll take a store credit. If I can’t have some reasonable confidence in the equipment that I use, and depend on, then I’ll have to look elsewhere. As you probably know, performing is enough of a psychological challenge without some nagging doubt in the back of your mind about a poorly-understood, and suspect, link in your signal chain.

    P.S., I just found the EHX company Contact info buried within their Community menu–which makes no sense to me, anyway. I’ve sent them an email suggesting that they put a Support menu item at the top level of their Web page, and put this info there.

    October 24, 2010 at 9:55 pm #112141
    briggle900
    Participant

    I also hope they take this forum to heart. I mean, why offer a forum at all with a HELP/TECHNICAL QUESTIONS area if they are not going to read it themselves.

    If you really want to see a great forum and see how problems are handled, go to the Seymour Duncan forums. Support and Techs from Seymour Duncan actively monitor the site, and some like Frank Falbo go beyond and monitor other forums not even supported by Seymour Duncan. Thats why I have total confidence in their products and know it is backed up by a fantastic support staff. EHX needs to follow that formula.

    October 24, 2010 at 10:08 pm #112143
    tonosity
    Member

    Well said! Exactly!

    October 24, 2010 at 10:59 pm #112145
    electro-melx
    Moderator
    Quote:
    Electro-meix, I apologize for the sarcasm. Your post appeared to me at the same time, and just after I read Cryabetes’, so the statement felt more like “I don’t know what planet you live on, but…” However, on re-reading the post, I see that your comment wasn’t a pointed one.

    Thanks for leaving this thread open. I think in its own way it is constructive. At least, for those concerned or interested in the nature of EHX tech support, and hopefully as feedback to EHX, if they ever read their own forum.

    I didn’t come here to flame anyone or anything. It was just an attempt to get some support from EHX for my new, and malfunctioning, Micro POG. I put the concept of “troubleshooting” out there because typically tech-support people will have a few tricks that can be performed by the user, to isolate a problem, which will sometimes help you avoid the expense, hassle and inconvenience of returning or exchanging a product. In any case, that was my hope, as well as obligation regarding the return policy of the store from which I bought the pedal.

    Obviously, given the limitations, it’s clear that returning the POG to the store is the way to go. But I seriously doubt that I’ll exchange it for another one. Rather, I’ll take a store credit. If I can’t have some reasonable confidence in the equipment that I use, and depend on, then I’ll have to look elsewhere. As you probably know, performing is enough of a psychological challenge without some nagging doubt in the back of your mind about a poorly-understood, and suspect, link in your signal chain.

    P.S., I just found the EHX company Contact info buried within their Community menu–which makes no sense to me, anyway. I’ve sent them an email suggesting that they put a Support menu item at the top level of their Web page, and put this info there.

    It’s cool…no worries, it’s easy to misinterpret what people post… I did wonder if you read it like that.

    I totally understand your frustration… it frustrates me too, I might be admin here but I’m just a volunteer trying to help out other effects pedal users when I can (like 99% of the admin here) I don’t have any special contact with EHX.. if I have a problem I’m in the same boat as you… but because of this the admin here aren’t on anybody’s side, we don’t have any affiliation to EHX other than we like a lot of their products. So, I have nothing to gain by defending them blindly…. providing things are discussed in a sensible way and threads don’t descend into chaos and name calling we are usually more than happy for anyone to have their say, so to speak.

    …and yeah, I could have pointed you in the direction of the EHX contact details, sorry about that! :)

    October 24, 2010 at 11:45 pm #112148
    tonosity
    Member

    Well…I respect your sense of community and contribution. I wish I had that brand of philanthropic energy. So, thanks very much for what you do!

    You know, I don’t have any desire to bash EHX. Actually, the opposite. If they either built a product that was so rock-solid that it never needed attention, or they provided effective product support via some method, I’d like to know about it.

    As an aside, I’d like to take advantage of your good nature here. Sorry about that. And I hope that you don’t feel that I’m trying to lead you down the path of revolt towards, or detriment to, EHX. I’d just like to know if, from your long-time observations, there are particular EHX products that are more faulty than others. On the flip-side, do you see particularly happy customers about particular products? Info and stats of this kind would be really interesting and helpful.

    Not to push. And thanks, whether you can speak to this, or not.

    October 25, 2010 at 12:12 am #112150
    electro-melx
    Moderator

    well, as you can see there seems to be a lot of POG related stuff in this section at the moment, but I have owned a micropog and I never had any issues with it at all … and I guess out of the thousands sold it seems only a few that have problems, but it’s hard to say, a lot of people that post on here think they have problems when they don’t (my big muff hisses when I turn the sustain to maximum) .. I mean that’s not a fault, it’s a high gain 4 transistor fuzz, they all make a bit of noise when you crank them. There’s also a lot of 2880 threads but I’ve never owned one so it’s hard to say if the unit is faulty or the person has messed it up somehow or just not understanding something. For example when the Hazarai came out a lot of people were complaining about the loop being played back at a lower volume, it wasn’t a fault it was people not bothering to read the instructions. I really think it’s almost impossible to answer these kind of things on a forum without going back and forth saying “have you tried this” “have you tried that” … I’m a little suspicious sometimes too that the person has either plugged in the wrong power supply and blown it up or bought it off ebay ‘broken’ and then come here trying to get it fixed for nothing… so it’s kind of hard to say if i’m totally honest. I’d say footswitches breaking (especially in older pedals) is the most common thing, but that can happen to any pedal by any brand.

    There’s a thread somewhere (i’ll try and find it if you can’t) which is “list your favorite ehx pedals from best to worst” or something like that…. if you look through that you might see a pattern of what’s hot and what’s not.

    Edit, it’s here

    https://www.ehx.com/forums/viewthread/183/

    also check out the reviews section for the positive and negative stuff.

    October 25, 2010 at 12:49 am #112151
    tonosity
    Member

    Thank you! That’s absolutely useful info. The link-to thread needs to be an institution, updated annually. Really cool to see that their products, in general, are robust.

    So, I feel better about the longevity of the POG I’ve owned, previously. Seems that if you’ve got a working one, it’ll continue to work–until the foot-switch fails, of course.

    Thanks again!

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