MOTM

Thanks Paul for the detailed explanation.

Why would anyone wanting to stretch their gear out in the direction of
modular want to buy anything made with cheap components and questionable
circuit design?  Everyone I know here came here because they want quality. 
We stay because we get it, AND we get the kind of support that is just
unprecedented among synth builders.  Thanks Paul.

Regarding non-EE synth designers, I am among the guilty.  Not that I am out
there building anything to sell, or trying to tell anyone that what I do is
that good, BUT, I am having a great time "learning as I do."  This list has
been a great resource.  ESPECIALLY Paul.  Thanks for tolerating 1000 stupid
questions from a real Stooge with a soldering iron.

Larry (I won't buy that cheap crap) Hendry

.
>
> Regarding non-EE synth designers, I am among the guilty.  Not that I am
out
> there building anything to sell, or trying to tell anyone that what I do
is
> that good, BUT, I am having a great time "learning as I do."  This list
has
> been a great resource.  ESPECIALLY Paul.  Thanks for tolerating 1000
stupid
> questions from a real Stooge with a soldering iron.

I'm not bemoaning the DIY'ers. Far from it! That's the best way to learn
something!

I'm referring to companies offering things for sale, especially in my
backyard.

Paul S.

OK, I had a look at the site as well, and here is what I observed:

  1) The company appears to have a nice facility.  Just wish they had a
phone number.

  2) The choices for pots and jacks suggest "surplus", given that picture
of the "support kit".

  3) The internet room is a small problem with me: all that is not for
selling synthesizers.  This fellow must do something else too.  Not that
this is bad, but time spent doing something else is time taken from
developing your synthesizer products.

  4) Socketed chips and analog circuits?  Yuck.  (image of stuffed PCBs)

  5) Having the PCB parts placements viewable allowed me to make a fair
guess at what the circuits are.  These people must like Electronotes a
lot.  Not that anything looks bad, just I don't know...uninspired, I
guess.

  6) There are too many MTA connectors on these boards.  I'd end up
soldering the front panel wires straight to the boards.  After changing
out all the jacks for 112As and the pots for sealed types.  At this point
the cost of something like their VCO plus my parts replacements to
make it actually last would be more than for a '300.

  7) I *do* like the cabinets.  I may have to ask about those, even if I
have to redrill or otherwise tweak the rails to make MOTM modules fit.  
This is the only item on the site that has me interested.  I would need
more info on the keyboard controller before spending $400 on one.  I could
build another MOTM-300 and MOTM-440 for that money.

  8) Too bad this place doesn't sell kits.  Half the fun of electronics
for me is the building phase.  (Other engineers always ask me at work why
I build my own prototypes instead of giving the task off to some techie.
I have to keep telling them I *like* to build stuff!  They seem...afraid
of their own hardware at times, as if engineers aren't meant to actually 
step out of the design paper-filled office).

  My conclusion is that beyond being interested in the cabinets, I'm glad
I found MOTM first.  Besides, we actually have an LFO in our lineup. ;)

Crow

/**/

In a message dated 6/3/2000 11:04:59 AM, jlarryh@... writes:

>Why would anyone wanting to stretch their gear out in the direction of
>modular want to buy anything made with cheap components and questionable
>circuit design?  Everyone I know here came here because they want quality.

Damn! And I was looking for EM components which were poorly designed or 
borrowed from Electronotes and made from surplus (crap) components which 
suffer from horrendous drift -- I couldn't find any, so I had to settle for 
MOTM. I guess I'm stuck with it! Of course I could be seduced into the 
cabinet or rails (if they are offered separately), I haven't bothered to 
check out the site though.

John (I can't imagine why all these companies are jumping on the bandwagon -- 
sinking the lifeboats -- mixing their metaphors -- when someone could swoop 
in and offer a few things like keyboards, ribbon controllers, touch plate 
controllers, joysticks, sequencers, etc., and compliment all the systems that 
are out there without directly competing with the current modules already 
being offered -- but what do I know) Barlow

In a message dated 6/3/00 4:08:06 PM, jwbarlow@... writes:

<< (I can't imagine why all these companies are jumping on the bandwagon -- 
sinking the lifeboats -- mixing their metaphors -- when someone could swoop 
in and offer a few things like keyboards, ribbon controllers, touch plate 
controllers, joysticks, sequencers, etc., and compliment all the systems that 
are out there without directly competing with the current modules already 
being offered -- but what do I know) >>

AMEN!!!  Would be a great little cottage industry for someone.

Ivan

> Regarding non-EE synth designers, I am among the guilty.  Not
> that I am out
> there building anything to sell, or trying to tell anyone that
> what I do is
> that good, BUT, I am having a great time "learning as I do."
> This list has
> been a great resource.  ESPECIALLY Paul.  Thanks for tolerating
> 1000 stupid
> questions from a real Stooge with a soldering iron.

Ah, but required design knowledge and experience vary by degrees (my pun)
depending on what's attempted. A non EE trained person can have success
designing simple mixers or modifying and customizing existing designs,
absolutely! I am EE trained, and actually did some analog/digital design for
awhile until my career detoured into software. I feel perfectly competent to
design digital step sequencers, etc. But would I ever try to design VCOs,
high quality VCAs, or VCFs for my system? NYET! I leave that to the master,
and confine myself to bonus modules. Would I build the heart of a synth
system around Electronotes designs using surplus parts packaged (NOT
designed!) by a guy without the chops to create anything new and unique?
Hardly.

Dave Bradley
Principal Software Engineer
Engineering Animation, Inc.
daveb@...