Do not order from Wattstubeaudio

[M Fowler]

Man I have been dealing with Ken Watts since May 1, 2018 order and another order shortly after that.

I finally took action today after being told he would get everything shipped out, well he did not.

He is now trying to fill the order after I had to threaten him with creditor claims of non fulfillment of goods.

Mark

[Colossal]

Wow, that's a bit of a surprise, but thanks for the heads up Mark. Coming from you, that carries weight as I know how much raw materials you go through. I haven't ordered much from Ken recently but have in the past. While I personally have never had any issues with Ken, times, people, and businesses sometimes change. I have been outright burned by a few suppliers and experienced poor enough service from others to never return. It's never been about price for me; it's about quality, service, and integrity. I hold a grudge for a very long time when it comes to being burned by a business or an individual.

[fred.violleau]

Man I have been dealing with Ken Watts since May 1, 2018 order and another order shortly after that.

I finally took action today after being told he would get everything shipped out, well he did not.

He is now trying to fill the order after I had to threaten him with creditor claims of non fulfillment of goods.

Mark

Hey Mark,

Last time I ordered, shipping took a while but my order got shipped eventually.

I will stand behind the users here as for me service is as important as the quality of the pieces.

Thanks for the headsup!

Fred.

[sluckey]

I've seen two recent complaints in a private forum at another site.
"Bottom line is he’s putting all of his time and efforts into his new bar/lounge and throwing everything else to the wind "

[mwelch55]

I only order chassis from him and it always takes a long time. I ordered 10 days ago and the status is still "Processing". I have always had this kind of delay from Watts, but I can't find a better deal on aluminum chassis. 17.5x8x2.5 chassis is 44.00 plus shipping. Does anyone know of a better source in the US?

Mike

[pompeiisneaks]

If I'm thinking of the right place, there was a thread on a facebook group stating the same level of problems and he actually chimed in with some kind of story about being unable to do work due to a death in the family, then getting back and his domain and email had been locked by his provider and he can't get it back, so he can't view any requests for help etc. He implied he'd help that person out. Then like a week later they came back saying he still hadn't done a thing for them and was full of it. I don't know if he's really being crippled by his provider or not, but it does sound like he should disable ordering until he can get his shit sorted.

~Phil

[telentubes]

First I'll say that I like the Watts chassis a lot and build most of my amps with them. I'm also just a hobbyist and sometimes it takes me a long while to get around to projects so the wait isn't critical. BUT... my last order for Watt's chassis placed during the spring took over 2 months to receive. If I was in business building amps, that wouldn't fly.

[M Fowler]

First he said he would get right on it. I'm on his personal FB and business FB.

Then time went on and nothing so contacted him two different ways and he apologized due to being in an car accident he was in hospital and not able to work.

Then I said I thought you reorganized your business? He said he lost his employees while he was laid up. Then he said his old employees were coming in over a weekend to get all caught up.
Still nothing shipped.

So I said screw this and got paypal involved and today I got a shipping notice on my $98 order but will not close that paypal complaint until I see the box sitting on my table.

Still have another order valued at $579, I told my bank card holder to start processing because you only have 60 days they said.

[Winder]

I placed an order a couple of months ago, and it didn't take too long. At that time, the site indicated the father had passed - not sure if he was the original owner/proprietor? So, it does appear there was a death in the family. Not trying to make excuses for poor service experienced by others. Currently, the site says they will be on vacation through July 18 (later in the sentence it says order will be on hold until 19 Jul 18). Guess they're a small outfit.

Pickup winders went through a mess with Guitar Jones several years back. Don't know if the guy just burned out or what, but sometimes it happens. In that arena, suppliers were pretty sparse at the time so it was a potentially big deal. Mojo and AllParts picked up the slack. Since RJ is short on chassis right now, I was going to buy the 17x8x2 from Watts. They look the same as the Ceriatone chassis.

[pompeiisneaks]

If you guys are looking for custom chassis' I found this guy at ebay (wife did actually) who will custom make a chassis for you as you design it. with some max size limits, but it's pretty big. He'll even do cutouts etc for additional fee. I dug it. He doesn't spot weld the corners, if that's a problem for you.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/synapticamps?_ ... 2749.l2754

~Phil

[AtomCap]

Had some similar issues with Ken/WattsTA a while back, I got on the phone with him and used some strong language, 4 letter words and lots of "unacceptable" - but I did eventually get my order. He nicely explained he doesn't stock everything , somethings are "special order" and some off the Metalwork type items take time to process, because the stuff's done in batches-
and he isn't fabricating the stuff personally- he has it subbed out obviously so his production fulfillment hangs in the fate of whatever sheetmetal place he uses.

As for Caps, resistors, turret boards etc - all of that can be had from CE distribution, anyone doing this for a living should have the credentials to have an account there.
There prices are similar to Watts and so are the offerings - for non-business enthsiasts they're stuffs on amplified parts,Mouser, newark..

Speaking of amp parts websites, has anyone dealt with that hoffman amps site?
I've wanted to get a few items there but the sites kind of sketchy looking so I've always gotten elsewhere

Also,in the age of amazon, places that do specialty work can't compete when up against the instant ship society..
If I ordered from a place like watts, knowing what I know - I'd anticipate slow ship time for things outside components (caps etc) metalwork does take time to do..

[sluckey]

Hoffman has a great business. And his shipping is reasonable and the fastest in the business.

[stelligan]

Tried Watts twice last year. First order came and was not for me. He paid to have me ship to that customer and mine came to me from the other guy....
Shame on me, I ordered a second time and got no notice or shipping until I prompted with an email 2 weeks later.
I see a pattern here.


As for Hoffman, always a good experience with them!

[pompeiisneaks]

Hoffman has a great business. And his shipping is reasonable and the fastest in the business.

Agreed. Very fast shipping, and excellent service. My point about the chassis is only of his won't work really. Custom chassis fabrication

Phil

Edit: won't instead of woot lol.

[MeanMrMustard]

I’m in the boat too. Ordered 400 eyelets on June 4th. Got a confirmation email that it was processing but no ship info. Haven’t seen anything yet. I did read a post identical to this one on FB and decided to order still.

Where do you guys get your eyelets, if not from Watts?