Re: arsclist 78 cleaning machines.

[Graham Newton <gn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Susan Harvey wrote:

> For us, it
> was indeed unfortunate that we were unable to See It, and Touch It before we
> Bought the Monks machine two years ago.

To put it mildly, I am aghast at Susan Harvey's comments!

Her Keith Monks "Archivist" machine was delivered in late June of 1999.

In an email of 20th July 1999 Susan Harvey said to me:

> Seems to be working alright...
> It is a fascinating machine.  

Yes, by human error at the factory, her machine was shipped without the 
pump fixing blocks in place, but fortunately due to Monk's design and 
sturdy construction, and as she acknowledged, no damage was sustained.

Yes, she did have some teething problems with the turntable which was the 
subject of a few emails between her and myself and a few tries to get it 
right.  She had numerous questions about procedure and various "how to's" 
which I gladly answered, often writing two pages of detail to ensure 
un-ambiguity for this self proclaimed record cleaning novice, and 
shooting specific digital pictures for her assistance.

On 26 July 1999, the following came from Susan Harvey...

> I took the turntable off and watched the disc with the spindle rotate.
> Please don't tell me my motor is seizing ALREADY!  There has to be a 
> logical explanation that I can troubleshoot and fix myself. 

There was... as noted, the set screws that fix the turntable to the motor
shaft had somehow come loose and simply needed tightening to a flat on the
shaft (a perfectly reasonable design for something of this nature).  With an 
explanation from me (along with more digital pictures) of how to do this
Susan reported:-

> Desired MIRACLE has taken place.  We're back in business. 
> You are a dear for sticking with me.   

And now...

> Since receiving it we have cleaned approximately 600 records with it and
> have recently had to replace the motor - for an additional cost of 
> $380-because the turntable would not stay attached to the record spindle.

This is news to me, because the last correspondence from Susan Harvey was in 
September of 1999!  Shortly thereafter, I suffered a heart attack and was 
hospitalized for 10 days, with months of recuperative time thereafter.
I'm sure the readers of this list can understand that my mind was not on 
following up where there was no indicated continuing problem.

At no time since, have I ever been advised by Susan Harvey of a continuing
problem.  From her post to this list, I must presume that she apparently 
took umbrage to a jocular comment in my email to her of 10 August 1999 
where I said (and I quote my exact words):-

****************
I'm going have to send you the "only person having troubles with a new
Monks machine" award!  Seriously, of the dozen or so "Archivist"
machines sold over the past year, no one else has reported any problems. 
****************

Methinks that perhaps the lady has no humor.


To respond to a few of Susan Harvey's posted comments:
------------------------------------------------------

> Although I feel our model was faulty...
Apparently there were two loose screws, and this hardly makes the 
whole machine "faulty".  Any competent technician should know how, and could
have tightened them properly, and the full proceedure was give to Susan
in an email on 27 July 1999 along with pictures.

> we have received no credit on our purchase.
Susan has NEVER asked me for any credit, for any reason.

> We were led to believe the problem with the turntable would be solved 
> without cost in May of 2000.
Had she contacted me about this continuing problem, it would have been 
promptly dealt with, and likely at no cost to her, but Susan aparently 
caused her own problems by deciding not to have any further contact with me. 

> I wrote our new contact and he told me we would have to <snip> have a 
> replacement motor installed.
Very unlikely.  Any competent local technician could have fixed the problem
by properly tightening and fixing the two allen screws, unless something had 
been damaged by Susan's repair attempts.  There is probably nothing wrong 
with the motor, and replacing it would be roughly akin to changing the motor
in your car because the spark plugs needed replacement! 

> While in use, the machine cannot be left unattended-especially during the
> vacuuming stage.  When the vacuum nozzle reaches the edge of the disc,  
> it will drop down on the deck of the machine, potentially damaging the 
> nozzle-another costly replacement item, and must be manually moved to 
> its arm rest.
Yes, the vacuum arm, if left unattended during the "dry" cycle will move 
off the edge of the record and lightly drop about one inch to the deck...
remember, it IS counterbalanced and very light.  
The nozzle is tapered to prevent any contact with the turntable edge, and 
the buffer thread protects the polished surface from any damage.  

IT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DAMAGE THE NOZZLE THIS WAY.
 
> ...as I've stated, feel we received a faulty machine and were not in any 
> way compensated for it.
In Susan's own words, she receive a working machine which shortly developed
an easily fixable minor problem.  Her lack of continuing communication to me, 
apparently resulted in more expense and grief than she should ever have had 
to go through.

Susan Harvey was the author of her own misfortune.  In her letter
to Keith Monks in England, she apparently failed to specify that it was a 
new "Archivist" machine purchased through me, and so she was directed to 
someone who specializes in repairing older Monks machines, and who has no 
authority to make compensation or credit for any problem, perceived or 
otherwise, on an Archivist machine purchased from me.

> I suggest anyone interested in purchasing the Monks machine make every 
> effort to observe one in operation before taking the buying plunge.
I have always suggested that prospective purchasers do exactly this.  They
will thus be able to see how the best of all the record cleaning machines 
operates, and that is not just my comment... it has been reviewed by many 
different people and proven over years of use in organizations with huge 
record holdings.

For those ARSC members going to the London conference, you may be able to 
see, touch and try the Keith Monks "Archivist" Record Cleaning Machine 
yourself.  Also, you may be able to see and talk to Keith Monks himself.  
These arrangements are now being made subject to some pre-existing 
commitments of Keith's and I'll post a notice when this is finalized.  


For Susan Harvey, if her "Archivist" machine is this unsatisfactory, I'll 
consider buying it back and she can seek perfection elsewhere, but I 
seriously doubt that she will ever find it.




... Graham Newton

-- 
Audio Restoration by Graham Newton, http://www.audio-restoration.com
World class professional services applied to phonograph and tape
recordings for consumers and re-releases, featuring CEDAR processes.