Well, hear me out!! This is a long ass post but i think i deserve it since
i've done the impossible!
Many many o moons ago i started to read the TM thread from the very start.
I figured instead of asking stuff i'll search for answers to still unknown questions!
So all this time i had a tab page open to keep track of my whereabouts and to do some quick reading whenever i had some time.
Today to my surprise i suddenly arrived at my very first post in the thread (which was just some funny ass remark, nothing useful at all unfortunately
) and since i have been following here ever since i now have read it ALL!!!
I am now officially
"in the knowing"!!
A few observations that stood out:
- The scepticism (and at times negativity) in the very beginning of the thread. Lasted quite a while with enough drama and bashing mixed in with growing and proper love/admiration for the thread to remain an entertaining read throughout!
Well done FC crowd!!
- The initial problems with communication that created late/random email replies and at times slow RMA handling.
Things looked ominous at times!
- How customer service started to step up at a certain point. They started to react faster but in all fairness: even when they were slow they did seem to provide solutions in the end. Even being very generous with free units and free repairs (even when people screwed up)/
Shout out to how they handled things throughout!
- The gradually growing love and praise for the once feared and distrusted TM. The thread and the early adopters proved that when it works as intended it will convince most sceptics!
Well done TM-crowd!! Solid device!
- The ongoing mystery and confusion concerning the name Lainaus/Ville!
Well done Quote-Ville! That'll never get old!
LoL
- The way this thread gradually became a great source for numerous DIY solutions to most "common issues" the og TM ran into! I have never owned an OG but i feel confident i could fix most of the issues that it can develop over time.
Man, i've never even seen an og irl and never opened my TM2 but taking apart and reassembling these devices has little secrets to me. (Except the hand on experience oc
)
Well done FC!
- Too many members stood out over time to even attempt to name/credit them all. I'll just name a couple to explain what i mean:
@Vaporific surely is the most consistent of all TM fans. Whenever i read a post of his hand that doesn't say "TM rocks! EVERY single time!!" or something similar at the end i started to worry: did his love vanish?
Does he have a problem??
But sure enough his next posts would allways include his mantra! Probably 95% of his posts contain that phrase so when it's absent i start to worry!!
I know he is number 1 on the RED list (or supposed to be anyway) and i have to admit that i feel he should get the first one!
Heck: if they only made one they should sell it to him, and i say this as an OG-member of the RED list!
Grant the man his RED wish already!
And not only for the red wood, i also think it's the only way he'll buy a TM2 and being the avid lover of the OG i sure want to witness his love go through the roof when hitting the TM2 for the first time!
@Djsleepy for being a great resource as beta tester of the TM2. His (bold) statements were proven to be thrustworthy! Long time since he posted, hope he's doing fine!
Lot's of other users that shared their usage preference! Shoutout to
@Shit Snacks for educating the crowds on low temps and for his patience as a tempstep-guide in the flavor universe!
Lot's of people that started to offer aftermarket stems or shared compatible gear/stems/stuff!
Well done guys and galls!
So many others that made this thread a huge source of information for troubleshooting and problemsolving. I've never had to try the
@dzoinp mod but somehow i think this mod and a lot of the other advice, fixes and reviews shared here for the OG TM inspired the "maker" during the design and production of the TM2.
It's quite amazing how almost all the issues (great and small) that surfaced here were addressed in TM2.
(Not all ofcourse, like the button placement will probably remain an issue for some but imho it's perfect as is and i would have an issue with any other placement so yeah: can't please everybody regarding personal preferences so i refer more to performance/durability/longevity issues).
Again: well done fc-crowd and TM-guys!!
So this might be my main observation:
When the thread was about the OG it was riddled with these little reoccuring problems
AND the DIY-fixes for them (clean threads, shim contacts, raise battery contact, wiggle/scratch bottom plates, reattach haptic, fix button, missing/misplaced o-ring...)! These fixes usually were successful and thus avoided a lot of units to be send back needing repair!
Greatness!
I'm sure the TM-maker also thanks you for these avoided RMA's!
And please correct me if i am totally mistaken but it feels to me that since the release of TM2 these fixes have not/hardly been needed?
It's been a while since i saw any of those problems/fixes being discussed.
It's like the TM2 hardly needs any service/DIY fixing!?!
It just works great?
ROCKING EVERY single time?! (
@Vaporific i agree about every single time but TM2 seems to even outscore the og TM being pretty issue-free consistently and even has the reverse battery safety (which i needed once already tbh)
)
In a way i think that is quite huge.
Not trying to compare but if i look at the release of the Venty for instance i see something completely different...
I think it has to be said that the upgrade to TM2 has been pretty impressive on several acoounts:
-timeframe (didn't take 7 years)
-quality control and beta testing
-improvements regarding the OG
-price (especially given the possibility to trade in an OG for discounted upgrade)
-overall refinement of construction/fitting/design.
As a TM2 owner i was surprised by some of the pics from early units: some seem to have huge crancks between wood and end-plates... Some of the early wood looked very rough and uneven... I realise that was mostly aesthetics and didn't affect performance but it's almost unthinkable if you only jumped in for TM2.
These units nowadays sure look pretty damn slick and perfectly fitted: very clean looking liitle buggers!!
Really very polished product imo!
So for the last time: WELL DONE Ville and team!!!
What a machine!
It truly is a weapon of VAS-destruction!!!
(I suspect that the delayed release of the PurpleHeart can be explained by this policy:
feels like they want to be 100% sure before they start selling. I know they had some issues where the red wood body was still warping too much thus compromising the glass tube surrounding the heater.
If the wood only deforms a little (over time or temp from heater) it can cause the glass to stress and crack so i think they are really putting it thru the works by heavy beta testing to find the right "recipe" for the wood (correct dryness, oven timing/temperature for finishing wood body,...).
Just guessing here but i think this is part of the delay. And i do prefer to wait than needing repair so i'll remain patient and confident they will only release a top tier product!
Gives me some time to save up!!)
So that's it i guess.. So sorry for the extra long post but it feels like i needed some closure here
I'll have to find a book to read now, will need some time to kick off.
Good thing i have my TM2 to help me thru!
tl;dr: I love my TM2 and i've read the whole thread, that's it basically..