The Problem
I bought a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave in Melbourne (Australia) in late 2023. Not surprisingly, it quickly became my favourite instrument. However, during February 2024 I noticed that the Amount knob for Envelopes 3 and 4 was not working.
The Initial Solution
I emailed Groove Synthesis and Andrew Silverman sent me instructions explaining how to open the synth, disconnect a ribbon cable, unscrew a PCB, and troubleshoot the amount knob. I was happy to pull out my Allen Key set, as I have done similar maintenance on my Moog Subsequent 37 replacing a faulty VCF board and plenty of basic assembly work in Eurorack.
Spoiler alert: this article would be a lot shorter if my confidence was supported by what happened next.
Making the Problem Worse
Have you ever made a mistake and thought “I wish I could rewind time 10 seconds and do this again?”. When I got the 3rd Wave open and disconnected the ribbon cable I broke the seating connecting the cable to the main PCB. In laypersons terms I messed up really badly. The broken ribbon caused the synth to be completely inoperable.
Reaching out for Help
I emailed Groove Synthesis late Sunday afternoon which must have been late Saturday night in California. Andrew responded nearly immediately and offered to send me a replacement PCB to fix the problem. Considering how badly I had messed up attempting the simple fix I declined Andrew's offer and asked to invoke the product warranty. I was a little nervous regarding how the warranty would play out as the distributor relationship had changed from Awave to Sound and Music since my purchase in 2023.
Reassurance and Confidence
At this point, Bob Coover (Groove Synthesis Founder) dropped into the email chain with the key message that “everything will be fine”. Bob replied within about 40 minutes of my original request to engage the warranty process.
The Actual Solution
The next day Bob spoke to Sound and Music where David Corazza (Business Development Manager) made it clear they would honour the warranty as the new distributor. Matt (from Sound and Music) helped me through the RMA process which was completed via an easy to follow online form submission.
A couple of days later I drove out to Sound and Music in Moorabbin and swapped my wrecked unit for a brand new 3rd Wave. Of course I was thrilled to have my favourite synth up and running again and not to have to pay any international postage to do so. So... a massive shout out to Andrew and Bob at Groove and Matt and David at Sound and Music.
The Result
I feel vindicated in choosing the 3rd Wave and extremely happy to recommend Groove Synthesis and Sound and Music in future. The relationship between a consumer, retailer, distributor and designer of a high end product is super important. This is especially true when it is the first product released by a brand and even more so when it is priced at the premium end of the market.
I have found interactions with Groove Synthesis to be nothing short of exemplary. In addition to the warranty claim I have made suggestions for firmware changes which were adopted in point releases. It is also great to know they have excellent local relationships and support via Sound and Music.