How prevalent are defective S4s?

[3IJ]

Hi, I'm 90% sold on picking up an S4. However, after reading about some of the problems w jog wheels, faders, etc and NI's customer service rep I am starting to have second thoughts.

Have most of you had no problems or are these issues common?

Thanks.

[manchild]

Im gonna say that the chances of you getting a s4 w/ a manufacturing defect are the same as you buying any other controller w/ a defect. One good thing about those that have gotten S4's w defects is that it seems like NI is taking care of them. The biggest issue from it's release and still remains till this day is the soundcard drivers don't work well w/ windows. I'd be more worried about that as NI has basically ignored the problem.

[VanGogo]

That is hard to say, as the only one with the real figures is NI. The customer service problems are also hard to pin down, as you will only hear about the ones who either had problems, or are the problem on line.

I have had no problems with mine, but as you noted others have had problems, but NI fixes them under warranty. If you are hesitant because you are worried about NI service, then buy it from Guitar Center with an extended warranty.

[photojojo]

What VanGogo said. You rarely see someone pop into a forum to say they never had a problem, but you will see people bitching if they do have a problem.

[josh@firestorm]

the only problems i had (which i didn't really classify as problems anyway, rather they were issues) were my serial number was for TP2 but the disc they game was TraktorS4 so i downloaded the TP2 trial from NI website... and my right jog wheel wouldn't calibrate which is an easy fix of just removing the top plate and replacing it (which wont void your warrantee or hinder the performance of the equipment in any way)

[Yul]

I can only talk about my own personal experience that doesn't reflect reality probably but that forged my opinion. Each time I had to contact NI service, it took ages. I mean ages like 'not normal time frame to answer a customer'. Something like two, three or even four weeks. Most of the answers I got back where either inappropriate (answering aside the question) or just fully weird (like a guy answering that their job wasn't to answer my questions - funnily enough I copied him the exact text from their web site that described their duty, so I got an apology). However when I got someone with a bit of decent reading and a sense of customer service, I was really satisfied. But it takes ages and ages. The worst being if you have to send another message after the first in case you get an answer as it extends the waiting time by weeks once again.
Result is I just fear to deal with them in case of potential issues. In my eyes their customer service is poor on many aspects. I'm wondering what are their KPI's and if they measure themselves at all.

I can understand a company needs to allocate resources to deal with customer service and that they can't always maintain a level that corresponds to the state of actual activity. To an extend. The fact that most customers are just dumb or don't even take the time to document themselves a bit isn't an excuse. Having moderators offering here and there an helping hand is just a repair patch and not a permanent fix. There are solutions that are just not put into place (first, like hire a proper customer service manager with experience that can make things move forward to your benefits).

I like the company as an innovative and creative force but I'm frustrated by their customer service, the lack of visibility on that aspect.
It's exactly like the hardware and software, I think they are some of the best products on the market but I'm very frustrated either by a design that wasn't well thought out, or a lack of an implementation over the time, or just a silly restraint, a quality that has been promoted and wasn't delivered, etc...

Love/hate. Frustration.

[Razehell]

My S4 worked great for 8 months, faders started to go.
I had to get mine replaced, but NI was nothing but cooperative and was a good experience.
It did take a few days to get a response, and than another few to get the Service# and Paid Shipping lable.
The new one they sent me feels different and tighter, but good tight.

That said, I still think the S4 is the sheeeeeeeeeet!

[kooper1980]

My S4 worked great for 8 months, faders started to go.
I had to get mine replaced, but NI was nothing but cooperative and was a good experience.
It did take a few days to get a response, and than another few to get the Service# and Paid Shipping lable.
The new one they sent me feels different and tighter, but good tight.

That said, I still think the S4 is the sheeeeeeeeeet!

Same here. Had a problem with one of the tempo faders. took about 2-3 weeks to get my settings tested, S4 shipped to Germany and then a new one shipped back. Perfect customer service in my opinion!!

[3IJ]

Thanks for the replies. The idea of getting from guitar center w extended warranty is a good one.

I may wait until VCI-400 drops and pick up an X1, midi fighter, or xone dx in the mean time.

[DeepPeeps]

Just to add to the other responses,

I've owned my S4 for around 7 or so months, had no hardware issues with it.
Although in order for the sound not to glitch and drop out I've had to fiddle around a lot with the setup on my computer because as another member posted the sound card does not seem to work well with W7

Im running i7 with 8gb ram and a 1gb nvidea GPU and it still on occasion glitches and what not...

that would be my only main frustration with it, and yes I find the NI service and support terrible. my scratch pro 2 license just went walk about the other day completely missing and the responses I get back from those guys are so generic and not helpful at all.