Steven Massey (of Massey plug-ins) getting screwed by Nady

[Artifex]

I understand that. Just saying...

'Now, we're in a bind. We're being bullied by the Nady general counsel into either taking the lease or be in breach of contract (with damages up to $19,800 to cover full term of the questionable lease, plus other miscellaneous legal fees).'

Lots of money at stake either way.

[kingmetal]

what a bunch of assclowns! I love that John Nady is very proud of the construction and acoustic treatment of that place when it's obvious that it sounds like shit even when there isn't insane bleed through the walls.

of course they didn't disclose that information -- who could rent out a space obviously designed to be a recording studio with a rehersal space adjacent to it?

all the Nady gear that I've put my hands on has been crappy beyond belief, so this is an easy boycott for me. hope the Massey guys work it out (and I didn't know they were Bay Area folks as well).

[T-rex]

Although it does sound like Massey was duped, which is unaccceptable; that is an awful lot of money to invest in to a space without checking the soundproofing and the the neighbors etc. Maybe he thought since it was another member of the audio community he was ok, which I can understand. But I walked around and knocked on doors and talked to people before I bought my house, just to see how the neighborhood was etc. I would definitely do the same before leasing a commercial place.

Definitely an unfortunate situation regardless and I hope he can resolve it without a big money battle. I want Massey to do well so he can grow and port his plugs to VST!!

[FBH]

I'm a business/contract litigation attorney licensed in Virginia and Georgia. I have no idea about the law in California, but I would be researching things like the "implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose." It sounds like the space was held out as being fit for a recording studio, and it is, in fact, not.

Fraud would be a tough sell, especially because you have to prove intent and that you acted reasonably when you performed your own due diligence, but the real estate law in California probably provides a much tidier remedy.

From a business perspective, NADY would be nuts to pursue Massey if he just walked away from the lease. It would probably cost at least $35K (likely much more) to even get a court decision assuming the matter had to be tried in a court of general jurisdiction, and there are appeals (more time and fees), collection issues (where is the money and how do you take it), and public relations issues to be considered.

I bet this goes nowhere if Massey hires a good lawyer to write a pointed letter and offers a couple grand in "good faith" settlement money.

[Andy Peters]

Steven Massey is being held to a lease for an unusable office/studio space, by John Nady of Nady. Read all about it:

http://www.masseyplugins.com/

Suggestions? Nady boycott?

cheers,
Leigh

Everything Nady currently makes, and everything they have ever made, ever, is all worst-possible CRAP. None of their products have any use in a professional audio environment. Their stuff makes Behringer look and sound like Neve.

Plus, it's well-known that John Nady treats his employees and customers like shit.

-a

[Snarl 12/8]

Does anyone really think that this thread is doing Massey or TapeOp any good? Not that it matters.

[rollmottle]

Does anyone really think that this thread is doing Massey or TapeOp any good? Not that it matters.

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

[leigh]

Does anyone really think that this thread is doing Massey or TapeOp any good? Not that it matters.

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

Well, I can see the argument that it's not doing any good, as in, why would Nady give a shite what we think...

But harm? Really?

[Snarl 12/8]

Does anyone really think that this thread is doing Massey or TapeOp any good? Not that it matters.

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

Well, I can see the argument that it's not doing any good, as in, why would Nady give a shite what we think...

But harm? Really?

I'm worried that this would piss off a potential TO advertiser. Not really my problem, but kindof biting the hand that feeds TO. I'm also worried, that by perpetuating a rumor and favoring one side without hearing the other that there's a bit of libel/slander potential here and that Larry and Co. will be held responsible for, since they're hosting it. I'm all for boycotting stuff at a moment's notice, but the existence of this thread strikes me as problematic for some people we ostensibly care about. I mean no disrespect to people that think this is the right thing to do, but I wanted to point out my perspective.

[Brett Siler]

When I very first started getting into live sound and recording this live sound engineer told me "Whatever you do don't buy Nady. Their stuff is absolute CRAP!" I took that statement to heart and never have nor never will buy any of their shit.

[rollmottle]

Does anyone really think that this thread is doing Massey or TapeOp any good? Not that it matters.

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

Well, I can see the argument that it's not doing any good, as in, why would Nady give a shite what we think...

But harm? Really?

Yes, harm. Because when Mr. Nady gets indignant, unsolicited emails from people who aren't involved in this dispute critical of his company, his wife, his business practices, and with a link over to a forum where people are slagging his gear, however accurate or inaccurate, I would imagine that would not be putting Steven Massey in a very good position to resolve this matter amicably. In fact it may be doing exactly the opposite. So yes, harm; as in putting Mr. Massey in a worse position than he was before.

[Marc Alan Goodman]

All I can say is get a lawyer and an injunction pronto. No matter what the legal fees are it'll buy some time and certainly cost less than dealing with it later, whether they keep the space or break out.

[leigh]

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

Well, I can see the argument that it's not doing any good, as in, why would Nady give a shite what we think...

But harm? Really?

Yes, harm. Because when Mr. Nady gets indignant, unsolicited emails from people who aren't involved in this dispute critical of his company, his wife, his business practices, and with a link over to a forum where people are slagging his gear, however accurate or inaccurate, I would imagine that would not be putting Steven Massey in a very good position to resolve this matter amicably. In fact it may be doing exactly the opposite. So yes, harm; as in putting Mr. Massey in a worse position than he was before.

I understand what you're saying, but in this case it seems the situation is beyond the point of being resolved amicably. Steven made his case public on his own site, and, being a smart guy, he must have known that it would create some waves on the interwebs... so I don't think we should feel bad about airing our reactions here.

As for potential effects on Mr. Nady, I would hope that hearing reactions to Steven's situation (on threads here, on Gearslutz, or in emails) would show him that he's not operating in a vacuum. If you give someone in the pro audio community a raw deal, others will hear about it.

And as for what Snarl said, I don't think our discussion will scare off advertisers, nor do I see how Larry could be held legally accountable for what we discuss here. I do see some problem with "favoring one side without hearing the other", and I would certainly like to hear Nady's account of the situation. But that's not likely to happen, is it?

[leigh]

Nady "fans" leaving comments on Facebook now as well:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nady-Syst ... 182?ref=mf

(you'll need to click on "Just Fans" at the top, as they're not showing fan comments by default any more)

[rollmottle]

I think it's doing WAY more harm than good, however well-intentioned.

Well, I can see the argument that it's not doing any good, as in, why would Nady give a shite what we think...

But harm? Really?

Yes, harm. Because when Mr. Nady gets indignant, unsolicited emails from people who aren't involved in this dispute critical of his company, his wife, his business practices, and with a link over to a forum where people are slagging his gear, however accurate or inaccurate, I would imagine that would not be putting Steven Massey in a very good position to resolve this matter amicably. In fact it may be doing exactly the opposite. So yes, harm; as in putting Mr. Massey in a worse position than he was before.

I understand what you're saying, but in this case it seems the situation is beyond the point of being resolved amicably. Steven made his case public on his own site, and, being a smart guy, he must have known that it would create some waves on the interwebs... so I don't think we should feel bad about airing our reactions here.

As for potential effects on Mr. Nady, I would hope that hearing reactions to Steven's situation (on threads here, on Gearslutz, or in emails) would show him that he's not operating in a vacuum. If you give someone in the pro audio community a raw deal, others will hear about it.

And as for what Snarl said, I don't think our discussion will scare off advertisers, nor do I see how Larry could be held legally accountable for what we discuss here. I do see some problem with "favoring one side without hearing the other", and I would certainly like to hear Nady's account of the situation. But that's not likely to happen, is it?

My point is, that responding to alleged unprofessional behavior in kind isn't really doing anybody any good. Ends up reflecting poorly on the person trying to "help", the forum here or elsewhere, the community in general, and ultimately will just reflect poorly on Steven. Given the community's escalation of the matter, Mr. Nady is also welcome to do the same thing and reach out to his network to a potentially similar detriment to Mr. Massey's reputation. Steven's account of this story did not summon the masses for a "call to arms" against Nady...he was looking for professional advice and a potential sub-lessor, not for everybody to stick their nose in and send Nady their opinion on the issue. Let's just say that some of the responses I've read seem to be on the less judicious side of things. [Edit: After reading the FB page, I'm going to amend that to say "some of the responses I've read are pretty unprofessional."]