SynthModules

> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2004 20:12:18 -0000
> From: "drmabuce" <drmabuce@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: scales....
> 
> --- In SynthModules@yahoogroups.com, "john mahoney" <jmahoney@g...> wrote:
>> 
>> P.S. Why isn't Brice going to make any more PSIMs?
>>
>> john <--(still deprived of synth-playing & PSIM-programming time due to huge
>> project at work, but it's almost finished!)
> 
> 
> Hi John,
>
> 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
>