MOTM

At 02:30 PM 8/18/2012, Paul Schreiber wrote:

>Check the archives, I did this already. I sold *10* RR E350s versions
>assembled and maybe like 12-14 board sets of the E340/E350 combined. I sold
>around 8-10 sets of the E560/E580 DIY board sets. That's it!

I checked the archives.  They show that at the same time you 
announced a limited feature set "limited edition", you also said a 
"super-duper" version could be ready in 6 months.  Nothing kills 
sales of a current product like announcing a forthcoming better 
version.  This is a well-known business phenomenon - the "Osborne 
Effect", one that you should be familiar with.  I, and I'm sure many 
others, passed on the RR version in hope that you would ship the 
super-duper version.  And we're still waiting, 2 1/2 years later.  :(

I would be quite surprised if there wasn't a halo effect that 
negatively affected E340, E560, and E580 board set sales, too.


>It's not that much of an effort (I will say same effort and LESS hassle) to
>take a known working Euro schematic and lay it out for 5U/MU.

But then there's the tooling cost to stuff a 2nd board, and the 2nd 
set of documentation, etc.  The point of my suggestion was to bypass 
all that.  ;)


>I would rather just do it properly and use the 5U format, with the correct
>knobs, grid spacing, etc. and cover BOTH sets of people: DIYer and
>non-DIYers. Both get assembled modules quickly.

Fine, that's my preference too, IF IT'S REALISTIC, given your 
historic lack of time to devote to SynthTech projects.  The operative 
word here is "quickly".


>If the 'group message' is that we desire new modules in a timely manner and
>the DIY aspect is not the #1 factor, then what is wrong with the Kickstarter
>approach?

SMT & DIY don't mix, so I'm pretty sure the DIY aspect is not a 
factor at all.  Timely?  God, yes!

The problem I see is, "there is no guarantee that people that post 
projects on Kickstarter will deliver on their projects."  Your long 
track record of unrealistic delivery dates will undoubtedly 
discourage some people from committing their money.  I'd love for you 
to prove the doubters (including myself) wrong, but I would bet 
against it if I was a betting man.  :(

I'm not trying to grind an axe here.  I'm just not good at 
sugarcoating things, and I tend to be pragmatic in looking at other 
people's behavior (not so much with my own - ouch!).  Please take it 
all at face value - I just want to know what's a realistic 
expectation for your 5U customers with regards to E-series modules.

Sincerely wishing you success + new 5U MOTM modules,

Jeffrey

PS Looking forward to a possible MOTM-370.  Seems like the front 
panel has to be at least 5Ux5U.  Awesome!