Doepfer

Dieter, this sort of relates to my comments in another thread.
People are asking for very complex 'one stop shop' modules.
I believe that it is wiser to release the modules in a more slimmed down,
cheaper version with which you can add those extra functionalities with a
few other modules.
Most of the time the really fancy stuff can be reached with some smart
patching of a few bread and butter modules...

Keep up the good work.
Greetings,

ernst









On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM, <yahoo@doepfer.de> wrote:

>   > I can see why Dieter would be hesitant in developing such a
> > module if the A-112 sales are not that great :(
> >
> > Christophe
>
> No - the A-112 sales are fine. Though I see myself in the first place as a
> module designer I'm also a business man and have to keep the company
> running
> (each staff member has to pay his expenses every month :-).
>
> During the last few years I made the experience that the sales of more
> complex (and consequently more expensive) modules are a bit poor. A good
> example is the morphing filter A-107 and on the other hand the new A-106-6
> XP filter. The A-107 has a lot of features and it took more than two years
> to design the module (together with a lot of very helpful discussions in
> this group). The final design had all the features the customers were
> asking
> for but obviously the price was too high to make the A-107 a commercial
> winner (after all the sales did not cover our development costs so far). On
> the other hand there is the new A-106-6 XP filter. It has much less
> features
> than the A-107 but offers nearly the same filter functions as the A-107
> (but
> without the morphing feature). So far more A-106-6 were ordered than
> A-107's
> during it's entire livespane since summer 2003. And the A-106-6 is
> available
> since fall 2008 !
>
> That's what I have to keep in mind if modules with too many features are
> suggested. We made the experience that the sales of too complex modules are
> not satisfying from the commercial point of view (don't get me wrong: I in
> person like the A-107 much more than the A-106-6). So I'm a bit cautious if
> modules with too many features that will increase the price are suggested.
> There will be always some experts who want to have such modules badly. But
> for us it's a flop if we sell e.g. only 25 modules per year as we have to
> keep in mind the development costs which are much higher for more complex
> modules. If then the sales are worse compared to a less complex module (and
> hence with lower development costs) you will understand by concerns.
>
> These are some basic notes that are not related only to the suggested
> complex sampler module. But they may explain why I'm a bit cautious with
> suggestions of too complex (and hence too expensive) modules.
>
> Best wishes
> Dieter Doepfer
>
>  
>


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