Welcome to the 900th issue of inSync. That’s right, 900 issues of Tech Tips, news and information. As is normal on these landmark issues today’s inSync will be special. Today we will look at some of the correspondence we get from our readers; e-mails that otherwise wouldn’t be able to be enjoyed by our audience. All of the e-mails below are as written, except major spelling and punctuation errors have been corrected. Now we may poke fun at a couple of these along the way, but it’s all meant respectfully. Enjoy.
Some people really crave their inSync:
“Where my inSync at? You guys are killing me. I normally get it on Friday evening but for the last two weeks it has been coming on Monday. I CAN’T read it on Monday because I work. I need it by Friday.”
Some people really “get it”
“I love your Email inSync weekly. I read it religiously. Your writer is great. It’s the reason why I always buy from you guys.”
“Just wanted to let you know that I read inSync every day, and not only do I appreciate all your hard work, but I find it amazing that people can and are willing to put out a free service that is consistently good and doesn’t go away. I’ve managed some free services before, so I know how annoying it can be when people complain. I mean, come on guys, it’s free for Pete’s sake! Positive feedback can make it all worthwhile, so hopefully this will help. I give you a hearty pat on the back!”
Some people really hate what we say:
“I don’t mean to sound too rude, but this discussion seems to border on bunk. I am having difficulty coming to terms with your statement, ‘you can cut the number of amplifiers you need nearly in half by working with 4-ohm loads instead of 8-ohm loads.’ Power is Power; cut the output impedance by 2 and you drop the output power by 2.” (Ed – Just for the record, and to avoid any possible confusion, this statement is incorrect.)
“You guys are totally wrong. Lots of PC’s have SCSI built in. Why don’t you get someone to write who knows what they are talking about?”
“I’ve been noticing a trend in this publication that even when you have a clue about what certain audio terms mean, you either don’t get it quite right or you tell an incomplete story. Instead of the musical resource I thought it would be, inSync has turned into a source of frustration.”
“How could you suggest someone ring out a PA for feedback? I hate that. Eventually all frequencies will feed back.”
Some people really like what we say:
“You guys are great. I love inSync. It has helped me so many times I can’t count them.”
“Reading your TTOTD about troubleshooting made me want to drop you a note to say how consistently sensible your site is. Your answers are always lucid and your advice sound. And your topical references are a great route to broader understanding. If someone reads your digest and, uh, digests it, they’ve got to end up knowing more than they did before. I’m a total know-it-all and I’ve learned lots by keeping up with your site.”
“I really look forward to reading this each week, even when there’s nothing particularily interesting to me as a recording engineer (i.e., keyboards, sequencers, that I don’t actually get to lay my hands on on a regular basis…) – but it does keep me up to date on when new stuff is arriving, when specials may exist, and when to bother [salesman] with a phone call!”
“Always up to date and thoughtful… I always look forward to reading the Sweetwater inSync newsletter each Friday night. Even after a long day in the studio or on location.”
“Just wanted to say thanks for the answer to my question, which appeared in inSync. The reason I really enjoy and value your newsletter, is that you take the time to explain why things work the way they do, instead of just giving a quick answer.”
Some people evidently don’t pay attention:
“How come you never publish questions from customers – like me? Why leave questions unanswered?”
You might call this looking a gift horse in the mouth:
“Why does it take [so long] to award your web prizes?”
Some people just plain missed the point:
“God you guys are smart! Your last inSync e-mail scared the crap out of me! For someone like me who is thinking about purchasing a computer based DAW… it was enough to scare me off! I’m not a member of MENSA… does this mean I’ll have unending frustration with a DAW? All I want to do is make music, not become an engineer.”
Impossible (or odd) Questions:
“Do some recording systems record strictly in digital format – no analog, except for perhaps an output section for headphones or speakers? Is this the reason for moving to 24-bit digital recording devices? (I don’t think any microphone in the world is accurate and repeatable to 16 bits – 96 dB. Don’t confuse this figure with the SPL of the microphone.)”
“I am a carpenter’s apprentice and I am currently building my first guitar and I was wondering if it would be possible for u guys to send me some info about your standard 22 models with an outline to scale to use for a template so I can get the shape right.”
“What type of cabling/amp system gives the best S/N ratio? What is that ratio? In other words, using the best cables (properly shielded and grounded) in a studio environment, what is the S/N range? The choices would be plain single ended, twisted-shielded pair single ended, balanced XLR single ended, coaxial differential.”
“My wife is pregnant and I am planning to make some music for our baby including samples of her heart beat, breathing etc. I wonder which kind of mikes I could use?”
Thank You
This final quote needs a bit of explanation. Not only do we read and consider every e-mail sent to us, but your inSync editor will respond to many of them. Though these responses are genuine and at least as heartfelt as the original inquiries there are a few who merely want to voice their opinions without having their world cluttered with facts, let alone anyone else’s opinion. Presumably they just want a boiler-plate response like, “Thank you for your e-mail. It will be processed accordingly.” Personally I hate responses like this. Is this really what you want when you write to a company, or would you prefer a genuine response, even if you don’t agree with it? On rare occasions customers have even tried to play the, “see it my way or I’ll take my business elsewhere” card. This is unfortunate because from the standpoint of reading inSync mail the messages either stand on their own merits or they don’t (as you can see above). How much business an individual does with us has nothing to do with the validity of the point or question. With all of this said, your inSync editor was very pleased to have received the following as part of a message from a reader after sending a reply that strongly disagreed with his original assertions.
“You mentioned ‘The customer is always right’ idea, but I feel that if you truly respect your customers you will honor them enough to actually voice your disagreements. When you told me you felt I was off base I was truly grateful for you actually taking the time and energy to point something out to me that I was not seeing.”