AlphaTrack

So I finally got the AlphaTrack after all this time. Actually I already had the unit since Pia came back – however, the unit had outdated firmware. And for some strange reason, Frontier didn’t have software available to download that can upgrade it.

Yet, as mind-boggling as the decision not to have such software seems; Mr. Brian George, the head of the AlphaTrack development, was kind enough to take the time to find a way to send me a new updated unit as a replacement.

Today, I just spent 3 hours in the post-office/customs to get my replacement unit of the AlphaTrack. I just have to say that I hate Philippine customs.

They are, quite frankly a bunch of bloody thieves. They really find ways to swindle you out of your money and not give you a choice about it. You’re literally at their mercy, and it pisses the hell out of me that you can’t get these motherfuckers fired for their unreasonable actions.

A few facts:

1. The shipping fee had already been paid for by Frontier Design itself (about 29USD) – and take note this fee already covered shipping across countries.
2. While it was a brand new unit – it’s a replacement unit. I already purchased a unit before, dealt with all of the included taxes before – so there’s no reason to treat it like I was trying to import a newly bought item.

You know, I have no problem with processing fees. I mean if you got a fee of P250 or even P500 bucks to claim something that has already been fully paid – and should’ve been delivered directly to your doorstep – I’m fine with that. Even if we know that the only reason that the item ended up being held in customs was precisely so they could tax the item further – not because it had to be taxed, I’m fine with it – I’m still ok with paying a bit to avoid problems.

But they wanted to charge me 40USD just for claiming the fucking thing!

So let me get this straight: It takes 30USD to send the thing across countries, but 40USD to CLAIM it? Where the fuck is the logic in that!?

Long story short, I contested the price and ended up paying about 27USD worth. Which honestly was still ridiculous. But as I said, we’re at their mercy. They can simply decide not to release the item at all – and sell it in the black market or wherever the fuck they want. ¹ My girlfriend knows someone who got a [previously confiscated] brand new 17″ Macbook Pro for 70k PHP – so there IS money to be made in that shady kind of “activity.” They literally have the power to gain items for free if unclaimed and sell them for their own personal profit – of course they’ll never admit that – but who are they kidding.

Now you may ask “Why do you need an “updated” version so badly anyways? It’s not like the old unit doesn’t work right?”

That certainly is true, but the reason why having an updated firmware was very important is because of this video – wherein the AlphaTrack was having it’s ass kicked by the supposedly inferior Presonus Faderport.

When talking about recording… response time is really important. And I was informed that the updated firmware solved that issue – and that the AlphaTrack is now faster than the Faderport – which should be the case ² After all, the AlphaTrack is much more high-tech than the Faderport by nature.

So there, it is a bittersweet day for me. On one hand I finally got the updated unit like I always wanted – on the other hand I had to unnecessarily shell out money – against my principles. But I just imagine what good times I’ll probably have with this thing (not to mention that I got it at a discount) ³ So techincally, the extra 27USD in customs probably just cancelled out the discount. then I guess it all balances out. You can’t win them all.

Anyways, I’ve uploaded a crappy YouTube that shows the awesomeness of the motorized fader and “touch-sensitivity” of the unit. In case you feel the video is too dark, just take note that the display changes as soon as I touch the knobs – awesome!