SynthModules

--- In SynthModules@yahoogroups.com, "john mahoney" <jmahoney@g...>
wrote:
> 
> P.S. Why isn't Brice going to make any more PSIMs?

Hi John,
   
> john <--(still deprived of synth-playing & PSIM-programming time
due to huge
> project at work, but it's almost finished!)

   i'm in the same boat *twice* right now (i've got a battle royale
on a school board too)
   but i have a bit of a breather today so...

   i leave it to Brice to answer the particulars of the question
above  for himself, of course...

and i emphatically don't mean to imply that your simple question is
any sort of criticism...
i'm just a fatuous pedant and it raises an issue that i think needs a
little airtime in this brave new '2nd golden age of analogs'

i want to share something i learned when i met Grant Richter and
Wiard was barely a gleam in his eye (1999). i am a hardcore
experienced DIYer and i THOUGHT i knew a lot about 'what it takes' to
build a synth module. i had the Quixotic notion that it would be SO
cool to build this stuff 'for a living'   Boy was i wrong....
i had the privilege to be a fly on the wall as Grant struggled to
build up a cottage industry in his cottage and keep cereal in the
cupboard. The bottom line is that i learned that making and
supporting synth modules at commercial standards is an OUTRAGEOUSLY
bad way to support yourself. One bounced check or cancelled order can
collapse a whole parts-acquistion cycle for your next 10 orders. Even
 a 'successful' product can hurt business when the production of it
starts eroding R&D, or worse, customer support time. Grant is a
crusty old confirmed bachelor and i know for a fact that he has
skipped a few meals when mishaps as trivial as a lost UPS package
have occurred. Another thing that i learned was that the wealth of
features (including support) on mass-produced, storebought gadgets
has conditioned the market to expect similar bang/buck ratios from
boutiques that make things by hand and have to stop filling orders to
answer the phone to answer questions (un-grumpily)about when the
orders will be filled. My suspicion is that Brice has a family to
support and is hard pressed to produce what he has produced so far
and keep the wolf from the door. The PSIM is also a bit of a can of
worms from the support standpoint. To quote the excellent book
"Analog Days", it is a 'liminal entity' , a hybrid of software and
hardware. Brice tries valiantly to address every question he gets
from the field but i have to believe that there's a limit to what one
guy can do to support 30 potentially different system configurations
of PC's & PSIMs. i love my little 'rev zero' PSIM and i think that
the analog community is just waking up to the realization of the
power of a truly programmable multichannel function generator, priced
BELOW a thousand bucks. It's a wonderful thing and been a damned long
time in coming. i think everybody should get to try this thing....
but-
as a business, i think Brice would be well-advised to take it very
slowly and carefully, and build only what he can afford and support.
i'm very content to wait, years if necessary, for 'version 2'
especially if it means that Brice will be on solid financial footing
to support his cutomers and underwrite future development

sorry for the soapboxing
but i think that folks need to be aware of the harsh realities of
basement industries and how lucky we are that these mad scientists
(and thus amateur businessmen) are willing to share their splendid
monsters with us

best regards
-doc