I wrote:

They [Neumann Berlin]'re polite, reasonable, service-oriented people;
they're not in business to offend their customers.

whereupon Fletcher wrote:

Really... not that I noticed...


I mainly use Schoeps microphones. I enjoy ongoing friendships (nearly
30 years in the most important instance) with people at Schoeps; I write
most of their English translations--and I'm positioned to know that even
_they_ think very highly of their colleagues at Neumann, though of course
it's mainly the folks in Germany with whom they have contact.

I also own several Neumann microphones, some of which I bought from your
company. From a customer's perspective I think that Neumann is a first-
rate organization, or nearly so--my one serious gripe being that I think
they charge too much for repair and replacement parts including capsules,
and for accessories in general. $300 shock mounts and $400 cables are a
symptom of irrational production and/or distribution methods in my book.

But even if Neumann were absolutely ideal from a customer's perspective,
that doesn't mean that being a dealer for them is any walk in the park.
It's just a whole other angle on an organization.

I never was able to find whatever you posted about your breakup with them,
so I don't know what you went through. I'd guess that it didn't make the
U.S. distributorship look very saintly. But you're not exactly known as
a naive soul yourself around here, and I gather that you came out of the
exchange with your dignity in good condition.

Is it not so?

--best regards