From ccmacdon@rogers.com Mon Jun 06 06:40:25 2011
Subject:NUMA (or whatever) - should you wait to buy?


I would echo MRK7421's comments that the NUMA is a wonderful self-contained clone.. No need for a preamp to warm it up, and no need to buy a Ventilator to get a great leslie sim.
 
Regarding the "growing pains" that we have with some newer technology. I have to say that I'm very glad that not all of us have this "wait until the bugs are all worked out" approach to these new clones. If we did, it's a safe bet that we would see a lot less new technology, and that's certainly true in this limited clone market.
 
I exchanged an email with a NUMA engineer regarding a couple of thoughts I had on the NUMA organ after spending a day with an early production model, and at the same time I asked him if/when we might see a double manual version?   I received a very simple response from the engineer "we'll see how this one sells". 
 
The guys who develop and manufacture these products are watching to see how well these products perform, both from a functional and a sales perspective. If we all refuse to buy these products in the first 6-9 months for fear of these early life issues, the product would simply be deamed a failure, and they'll simply discontinue further product development in this area.
 
We have a really healthy clone market these days (and frankly I don't believe the existing market supports all the new products that are coming down the pipe) as we see Hammond, Hamichord, KeyB, Numa, NORD, Roland, Crumar, all rolling out new organ related products.. that's fantastic! 
 
Are we all going to ignore all of this exciting technology and wait a year before we buy it because of the fear of early life issues? I certainly hope not, because if we did I can assure you that we wouldn't have this kind of fantastic and competitive environment we have in the clone market today!  THE ONLY reason we have all of this exciting technology being rolled out in this limited market, is because we are all looking for the "perfect Hammond/Leslie clone".  If our desire for the newest and greatest Hammond clone subsides, or if we all start waiting for the early life bugs to be worked out before we buy something new, we will see a major decline in new product development.
 
I say... buy a NUMA organ (or whatever) and don't be afraid. Of course make sure that you get it from a reputable retailer/distributor that will honour the warranty.  If you have a problem work with the company to get it repaired, replaced, or upgraded if necessary.
 
But don't be afraid of the new technology, and the fact that these products can be fixed and/or upgraded via O/S is fantastic!
 
Regards,
Craig MacDonald

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Re: Numa Organ problems
Posted by: "rbm4kb" exp456@cox.net   rbm4kb
Sun Jun 5, 2011 7:03 pm (PDT)

Yes, I purchased it online from a reputable dealership that offers a 30 day return period. My local Guitar Center and Sam Ash didn't carry it, and like you, I didn't want to wait. I was hoping they had been out long enough to fix some of the bugs, and I was willing to risk the freight, while getting some potential relief from sales tax by dealing with a company with no nexus in my state. My experience with Nord was the opposite of yours (I've had no problems); and similarly to you, the Yamaha's and Rolands have been great. Actually my experience with Studiologic has also been very good in the past. I'm not complaining - I was just asking for feedback. I assumed a certain amount of risk when buying it online; however I've spent many thousands of dollars buying music equipment onine, without a problem. I have many certified repair facilities around me for many manufacturers, so I will continue to buy online for some of my needs. Based on the advice
received at this point, I'll probably just send the Numa back and continue using my Nord for small gigs and A100 for larger gigs. I use a CP5 and Motif XS7 in addition which sound great.
Thanks for your feedback. I really do appreciate this forum.

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