Allow me to explain the challenges around software and testing.
Products such as the
RD-8 do have a vast amount of code. A drum machine of that sort is not trivial and in fact several very experienced engineers worked on the unit for several years and created hundred thousand lines of code.
When it comes to testing, you always rely on a dual approach, which is deploying automated test routines plus internal testers and then you have your beta testers in the field. You can imagine that there is a sheer unlimited amount of key combinations and each of them can lead to a malfunction.
However you always rely on a very limited amount of units, in this case perhaps 50 to 100 units.
The moment you ship 5,000 into the field the chance of finding bugs increases exponentially and that’s when additional bugs are found.
This happens to many products and in fact I remember that software bugs also occurred with flagship products from the competition.
Is it acceptable? Absolutely not and should we become better at finding bugs in the first place? You bet.
Here I am to apologize and assure you that we will get it fixed through a firmware update.
Thank you for your patience.
Uli
P.S. On a positive note, we’re very proud that the
RD-8 has already become Europe’s best selling drum machine. We very much appreciate your support!