Brent Ward
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 p.4 #1 · Einstein Design Solution/Suggestion | |
Funny, when I google you I get this interesting info. 
"Something you discover very quick when you work for Paul is that you are in competition with Paul. He is paying you to do a job that he will ultimately not allow you to accomplish, due to his incessant narcissistic behavior. If it has the slightest appearance of something better than what Paul can accomplish, then it will be forgotten or modified to the point that it is not really your creation after all. If your task is beyond Paul's capability, it will not prevent him in the least from attempting to orchestrate every aspect of your creativity.
Paul prides himself on his many long past accomplishments in the recording industry. Curiously though, he hasn't managed to save a single piece of tangible evidence to support his alleged 'historic contributions' to the art. He claims to have engineered several notorious '60s hitsincluding 'Wipeout' , 'Incense and Peppermint' , and 'Green-eyed Lady' , yet Paul has no wall adornments or collector's editions, autographs or photos to reflect any involvement in those projects. Most people would have kept some kind of memorabilia to commemorate such an achievement in life, if for no other reason than to substantiate their accomplishments, but apparently Paul didn't consider it very important. One has to wonder why not. When invited as a guest speaker at a recent AES meeting this past summer, he reiterated that he had no memorabilia to bring representative of his early recording achievements and that he would simply answer questions from the attendees.
Paul's next claim to notoriety was his friendship with famed musician Frank Zappa. To my knowledge, there are two books available and assorted internet listings about Zappa's early evolvement in the Southern California music scene, and indeed, Paul's name is mentioned in the context that he provided recording gear for one of Frank's early studio projects. Frank, did in fact buy Paul's five-track Pal Studio, which he then renamed, but that would seem to be the extent of Paul's involvement. There is really no way to tell.
No attempt will be made on this website to detail any of Paul's previous business ventures. It would seem senseless to kick that dead horse. All that will be said in that regard is that one of them involved infringing on a well-known audio company's patent to the extent that he was sued, lost and ended up paying royalties for each unit he sold. Within the studio equipment / professional audio industry at that time, this became common knowledge.
The company that Paul started in the mid-eighties, Paul C. Buff, Inc., manufactures photography flash equipment. Paul, granted, during a quest to assist his second wife, Llynn (he is on #6 now) in her profession as a photographer, discovered a niche market in which he did rush in to fill with a product line of relatively low-cost flash equipment. No attempt is made to disparage against Paul for that achievement, and he has been milking this cash cow every since for all he can get out of it. What IS at issue here is the manner in which he treats his employees and how his ego has managed to grow at an exponential rate over the years, to where he now regards himself as a living god. In Paul's presence, one is expected to show adoration and respect when he himself has not the capacity to respect anyone else's talents or opinions. Paul is NEVER wrong, but if he is, just don't make the mistake of pointing that out to him. That will be your Instant Karma. To insinuate such folly is tantamount to dismissal. Ex-employees have been fired and rehired, in some cases during the same day.
See the little guy in the box above? That describes most people that work for Paul Buff. It certainly describes my most recent experience with the company, which just ended the second week in October, 2007. Hi, I'm Chad. I worked for Paul from 1997 to 2001 as Chief Engineer and most-recently from April to October of this year (2007). I helped design the X-series photoflash units with Paul and later, I adapted the design and drafted the printed circuit boards for the Alien Bee series. There really is no difference at all between the two except the price and maybe the temperature/misfire beeper. I also designed (along with the Technical Director) the LG4X wired remote. I had nothing to do with the RR1 wireless remote system - and I am glad. It has never worked according to spec and the units in-house are on a revolving door status - sell them, give a refund, then sell them to someone else. It's no secret.
I designed and built all the production test jigs used for testing both series of products (WL & AB), which are still in regular use today. Using PIC microcontrollers, I also designed and built all the burn-in room timing equipment, again, still in use today.
In February 2007, I was solicited and enticed to walk away from a good job in another city at the suggestion that Paul 'had changed', had 'mellowed out' so to speak. OK, I'll bite. I did bite. After an hour on the phone with Paul and Debbie, it was decided that , quote "Well, It's sounds like full time employment is in order" and I should come back for an interview. So I did, and the rest they say is indeed history. The reasoning for this rehire was development of a 'new' digital photoflash unit, something I created for Paul when I worked for him previously in 2001 - but he wasn't interested. Now, after seeing Photogenics (now defunct) Solair flash unit with color corrected flash via truncating the flash power using heavy-duty semiconductors and microcontrollers, he decided that he wanted to be the "next one out in the market" with a totally new design. Not. Fact was, I was reverse-engineering the Photogenics as the basis for this new design. There wasn't going to be a lot of difference, oh maybe bells and whistles and a neat display, but that's about it. It wasn't a 'new' concept. But, I was expecting great things in the next couple of years, according to what transpired in that rehire meeting. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening. Paul's words, "We're not in a hurry to get this done. We want to make sure we've got it right before we release it." Too bad he didn't feel like this about the Vagabond II. More on that later.
If you're reading this then chances are you know a little about the industry and the presence that White-Lightning / Alien Bees has, which is substantial. You probably know that the Customer Service aspect of Paul's business is next to the best there is, but did you know that if it wasn't for Customer Service, Paul would have gone broke a long time ago? It's volume. If you saw the numbers regarding repairs and damage control for Paul's short-sided, profit-driven attitude, then maybe you wouldn't think so highly of the product, because eventually whatever you bought from Paul, chances are it is going to fail. Granted, the early 'can' lights and the Ultra series had problems in some areas, but were more bullet-proof than some of the later designs, even though there are still customers that swear by the Zap1000. Regardless, I am prepared to 'show and tell' you examples to substantiate my claim and I challenge Paul or anyone else to refute what is on this website. Bring it on."
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