Atomic Amps Support, this is getting really bad.

I had a somewhat similar experience, though not as severe.

I spoke to him and we agreed after some tests that the power amp module was to blame so I removed it and sent it back.

After a couple of weeks I emailed and he said there was an issue sourcing some parts and he was sorry and it would ship in a week.

After another week I had not heard so I emailed again, same story and it would ship in a week.

Another week later my backup failed and I was really in a bind... at this point I'm sure I was less then cordial when I emailed that I did not want to be pacified any longer, that I needed to make plans so I needed to know when it would arrive without any margin for error.

It arrived 5 days later.

Tom was always friendly and always apologetic but I could not help feeling a little put off. For those of us that use this gear to make a living it's hard to deal with uncertainty.

If either of CLRS fail in the near future I'm afraid I'll look elsewhere for my FRFR solution which is a shame because they sound great.

Wow, I feel sorry for you.
This is a VERY long downtime for your CLR. Much too long.
And it is the worst experience I've seen reported about Atomicamps' support.
It seems that Tom King's capacity as a one man show supporting every CLR and legacy Atomic product while at the same time traveling the globe promoting and releasing the Amplifire has come to a point where he needs to restructure and source out issues like yours.
Don't stop pestering him, and If I were you I'd open a thread on TGP as well which he seems to frequent quite regularly.
Please keep us posted about this.

Huh...
I was gonna treat myself to a nice frfr speaker for xmas... first I hear of all sorts of rattle issues with L6 L2t (that L6 has been aware for a year and has done nothing about it) and now I hear of CLRs dying left and right, with no support to speak of.

What's left in that league of hardware that's not flawed or a PITA to get right?

I'm sorry to here of your plight and hope it is resolved soon.
But I fear Ingolf is correct in Tom's ability to control his growing company. I personally have had nothing but a great experience with Tom and Atomic. But I have not had any issues in a long time.
I've been gigging weekly with my CLR NEO for nearly 2 years with no issues( knock on wood)

This is one reason why you see so many touring pros use equipment that isn't always boutique. If it breaks, there isn't the support they need. When I looked at the CLR, it looked great on paper and the reviews, but the support network wasn't there if things went wrong. EV or Yamaha on the other hand, have extensive support -- especially in countries that are not the USA. The EV ELX112P's for example are pretty good for the money and have great support.

I had a very bad experience several years ago. Praise from most everyone else however. Don't get caught up in the 'wow, the owner of the company is handling my issue personally' facade. I'd rather have someone who handles tech issues every day all day long than someone who is running a company and wearing five hats at the same time.

Quote from ampjunkie

This is one reason why you see so many touring pros use equipment that isn't always boutique. If it breaks, there isn't the support they need. When I looked at the CLR, it looked great on paper and the reviews, but the support network wasn't there if things went wrong. EV or Yamaha on the other hand, have extensive support -- especially in countries that are not the USA. The EV ELX112P's for example are pretty good for the money and have great support.

Or they use stuff that if it breaks, they can find easily on the road. Lots of guys use Boss pedals not because they are the best, but they work and you can find them anywhere. I use a cheap Alto for my powered monitor, over 3 years and not a problem, but if I did have one I'd just drive to the nearest Guitar Center and get another one.

Quote from MuddyFox

Huh...
I was gonna treat myself to a nice frfr speaker for xmas... first I hear of all sorts of rattle issues with L6 L2t (that L6 has been aware for a year and has done nothing about it) and now I hear of CLRs dying left and right, with no support to…

Hi,

To be clear, I am a Line 6 product manager and don't mean to interfere here. I just want to inform you that we have investigated and resolved the fan rattle issue in May of 2014. We have tested and approved a new fan (..that does not rattle :-)) and all customers that had a bad experience can have it replaced through our customer service and all speakers produced after May 2014 have the new fan.

Thank you,

Arne

Hey that's great to hear!
I've been following the whole rattle issue back then but it just kept appearing all over the place, so I finally looked elsewhere.

I liked what I was hearing from the L2t so I'm gonna put it back on the map. Thanks for chiming in!

I bought a CLR but I really didn't like it, I contacted the guy to return it and he agreed. So I sent it off.

I checked the tracking and it arrived at their EU depot so I emailed the main guy and told him. I didn't get a response. 2 days later I emailed him again and asked him if he got it. No response. I waited another 2 days and got no response, I think I even waited another 2 days to make it a week. Each email was polite and respectful.

I wondered if he wasn't in the office or whatever, or if he wasn't replying to me or not getting my emails, so I used another email account and pretended to be a prospective customer asking about the CLR, and he got back to me RIGHT AWAY!!!

So I contacted him and told him that I want a refund right away or I'm calling the police and trading standards as I know he's there and just ignoring me, and he got right back to me within minutes with an email basically saying 'Police? Wow. Refund issued'.

I found this whole thing very unprofessional. Would not recommend.

That's really sad PhilUK84. And, after hearing other similar statements here... well, here's my story.

I recently got to the place where I could build my "dream rig." It's been a long time in the making, and I won't go into all the details. The Kemper is the core of it all. But I decided on an unpowered rack Kemper, a Matrix GT1000FX power amp, and a Matrix NL212 cab. TBH, I absolutely LOVE the combo with my Kemper. I can run stereo into the cab at home, and I'm close enough that I can hear the stereo field, which was one of my main goals. It's not fully FRFR, but it sounds close enough (and I keep the cab section on), but, with some character. However, when you tag on a half-dozen pedals, a MIDI controller, a Furman conditioner, etc., the portability factor is pretty much shot. Considering I don't use my power amp/cab combo all the time, and my main gig (church) is going to an in-ear system soon, I don't need to haul around a power amp and a cab to everything.

So, I was considering the Atomic CLR Neo, and selling off the Matrix stuff (as much as I love it), but... after hearing all this, I might have to look for other options. I've dealt with so many companies and individuals I don't want to give any more of my business to, simply because of poor customer service skills.

It actually seems that things are getting off hands... I have an issue with one of my CLRs but my correspondance with Tom has ceased all of a sudden.
i don't think he's playing the smart guy, he seems to be genuinely extrabusy and not able to deal with the amount of commitment the customer care requires.
another thing I seemed to note is that, when he's got no possibility to immediately fix an issue such as replacing a broken power amp (for example because parts are not currently available) the issue just slides to a lower priority and he kind of "forgets" to keep the customer updated with what's going on.

Well, it's funny how in my case he refused to reply to any of my emails but replied right away to my inquiries about buying one, and then again instantly when I threatened legal action.

I'm not buying the ultra busy scenario.

Doug, if you want a cab again have a look at the Matrix FR212. It's awesome.

My impressions on this, and i am no way trying to defend the man: I believe he gives priority to new customers.
not that this justifies him of course. Just thought that business margins could be small

Quote from PhilUK84

Doug, if you want a cab again have a look at the Matrix FR212. It's awesome.

I still have my NL212 and GT1000FX. I'm contemplating selling both for an all-in-one solution - something I can take to a gig if I need stage volume, or leave at home if not in use. The FR212 IS indeed awesome, but that doubles my carrying weight (it's close to 60 lbs., whereas the NL212, which I'm spectacularly happy with tonally, is around 30 lbs.), and doesn't solve the problem of hot having to take a power amp to a gig when I'm not using that functionality.

Hey guys, I feel bad that there have been some service issues that have not been handled as well as they could have been. I ultimately accept responsibility for them personally. We did have a big growth spurt that put stress on our infrastructure - as evidenced here. I agree that less than excellent customer service is not acceptable.

The good news is we've recently brought on staff to handle the higher sales and customer service volume in both the US and EU. It took a while to find the right people but I feel like we have a great team in place now. Service is very important to me and our customers deserve the best. I know we also have customers here and all over that have benefited from the outstanding service Atomic has provided for most of the 13 years Atomic been around - many times going beyond the call - and happily so. You can expect that from us going forward.

If anyone has any outstanding issues, please contact our support@ address. I guarantee you'll be taken care of quickly. If you don't get a response within 24 hours PM me here but barring some unusual circumstance I'm make sure that doesn't need to happen.

Thanks.

Best,

Tom King
President
Atomic Amplifiers

Thanks Tom, nice to see you are on the track all engines running.
will contact support ASA I am back home.
best luck!