A company, that will send a free castle link for an out of warranty 4+ year old mamba max that was bricked due to programming, will never be lumped into the maxamps category by me.
I'll be honest, The reason castle lost some cred is due to the people like you. Don't take it badly, but the hurry up and make it, rush rush rush, I want it now idea of society now a days forced castle to sort of use you guys as sort of beta testers. I will never curse, blame or bad mouth a company due to Supposed bad service unless i got proof, they are blowing me off. Castle has done more for our hobby than the problems you and others have experienced. Sorry if this is seen as abrasive, I'm tired of the castle bashing over something you didn't have to buy in the first place. I'm done and off my soapbox
I could just imagine, when the upitity Schultze people said it was their fault for loose connectors, and no amount of crying got it warrantied

Not sure where you got this "Hurry up and make it" bs, I only got a MMMXL 1-2 months ago, if I was so impatient for it wouldn't I have been all over it at it's release date? A consumer who never curses, blames or bad mouths a company and takes everything with good humour, isn't that just a doormat?

However as Patrick has noted the MMMXL2 has a failure rate of less than 1% so I am happy to trust Castle once more (MMM was a nightmare for me) but I still have a spare on it's way. Warranty or not, from AUS it's $30 in postage and an extra 2 weeks each way in transit time.

Yeah I think so much of what Fastbaja says is complaining about Castle. I really respect Patrick.

For a bunch of really intelligent rcérs it puzzles me how we can't fathom that I am making a distinction between guys like Patrick and other Castle members, and how their company as a whole is handling esc's and repeated failures. I have a lot of respect for Patrick as a person, he certainly appears to have more backbone than a lot of company heads who don't bother communicating in any way with consumers, but I, as a consumer have not had good luck with Castle products and because I have the audacity to voice my complaints and criticisms as such, you all seem to think I'm having a direct shot at Patrick. Last I checked I wasn't making personal threats or insults, I wasn't making any judgements on him as a person and what he may or may not do outside of Castle Creations. Disgruntled consumers hunting down company CEO's may happen in the USA, but doesn't really interest me sorry.

If you all want to continue the castle does no wrong love-fest that's fine, I was under the impression that something resembling intelligent discourse happened on these forums.

i believe the issue with castle and their failing escs stems from faulty or improperly rated components that they have been receiving from their suppliers. they have done their best to produce powerful, reliable speed controls and motors and have had issues, but what really sets them apart from the others is their warranty and the fact that they stand by their product. even if the device is out of warranty, if it is one of the escs with a known component issue, they still replace it, often for no extra charge.

fastbaja, you have had your MMMs replaced numerous times without castle questioning your setups or the running conditions of the escs. i can't think of another company that has been so willing to replace burnt speed controls. sure, it can be annoying when your esc bursts into flames and your truck is out of the action for a while, but it is a lot more annoying when you have to BUY another speed control instead of having the maker of the esc offering to replace it for free (multiple times nonetheless).

I dont think Castle will move their controllers overseas. They have some of the best startup routines with less cogging on their speed controls. They also have some of the best programmability features for their speed controllers. I can see them going to china and then not just look alike speed controls, but I'm sure someone could easily steal their source code once there and sell to a competitor. One way to stop from losing all that R&D is to keep it here in the good ol' US. Motors are easy to copy, but as we've seen, quality isnt usually the same.
FastBaja, I've had my share of bad Castle controllers (along with some destroyed lipos to go along with them) and my share of good ones. I've come to accept that when you run this much power you essentially take a chance. The good old days of brushed speed controllers that literally lasted forever just arent there anymore, but we are going 60 and not 25mph. The major difference between Castle and the other vendors is that they take care of us and our problems. Anyone seen the reviews on some of the HK monster controllers, they are horrible. Generic speed controllers are hit and miss. But a defective 80 dollar monster lookalike speed controller is just money down the drain, because you will never see that again. Love fest ended, but you are within your right to be unhappy. I'm hoping you can get up and running soon.

scarletboa I wish it was a set up problem which I'd caused to be honest, I finded it easier to accept a component failure where I can see a tangible cause and effect. But when you have a MMM in a Slash on 3s Lipo geared for 35mph just let go, it's harder to swallow than when you push it for a 100mph run in a Savage on 6s Lipo.

I feel the frustration . We shouldn't have to accept that we are "taking a chance" running this much power. The specs say Xs with y motor .I am sure if we were looking for a game to win with good money we would try something else .
I felt like I was doing something wrong with 3 controllers going in the same year. But this story is familiar with other people. I dunno what to say. I think if i didn't want the problems I would have to switch back to nitro or gas , But brushless power gives me a boner and Patrick is awesome with the customer service thing.

I can't run gas as the neighbours are a bunch of sooks, plain and simple. As for customer service, from what I am seeing it's not as good as it was, email replies are non existent (and calling is not practical from overseas) and even the forum replies have dried up. Rather than addressing problems it seems like they are relying on their loyal band of fanboys to go in and bat for them. I've used Castle from the original Mamba 1/18 system and then the Mamba Max both were excellent and rock solid, now it almost feels like I need a spare esc and a fire blanket to run the damn thing.

Ya know, from what I am seeing & hearing on other forums regards warranty issues / servicing and email contact / replies, it does seem that the once legendary customer service from Castle has all but dried up in the last few months or so. They must be having serious issues back at base for things to be the way they are right now....

/sad face

Happens a lot doesn't it? A company builds a rep based on solid products and good service, builds up a band of merry men who will sing their praises night and day, then bigger orders from bigger companies come in, the cash starts flowing, and the basis of their original business is forgotten, scorned customers vent on forums and by email and are either ignored or intercepted by said band of merry men praising customer service from 3 or 4 years ago and in denial as to how things are at present.

Glad you have seen the light suicideneil.

I still like Castle though it's worth pointing out- they do make good stuff & they do keep innovating and improving, they just need (even) more capacity & customer service elves...

To speak about the product,
Looks like the exact copy of the 1512/1Y, 1512/1.5Y and 1515/1Y to me, maybe they come from the same facility ??

I like castle and there cs, i have fried 2 mmm v3's and had them replaced for $70 a piece (never a free replacement) from running in my e-rev's(cheaper than having to buy new)... however i am more prone to go with leopard for right now as my original 150esc hasn't failed me in many years. I run nothing but 6s lipo, (that left with my last E-rev.) besides my backup leo for my mamba (that went on my Muggy)... I am down 3-1 mamba vs leo's in the last 3 years...

Never run my 4th as it is sitting on my shelf queen
and i still haven't run my replacement

if i had to replace a leo it would be full retail, (haven't looked up to check there warranty out, but never had to use it...

Both great products...

My Toro Pissed me off though... That smoked after sitting for 6 months, went to use that in my muggy for testing and the magic smoke appeared at the flip of the switch.