MOTM idea

[Dan Higdon]

At 01:46 PM 9/10/97 -0500, Charlie T wrote:
>I think it's a terrific idea, it would be a gentle introduction for
>novices, and a way of spreading out the investment in time/money for other
>buyers.  I've read a couple of posts regarding panels, chassis, housings,
>etc. but my feeling is you could over-complicate trying to meet so many
>different scenarios.

Yes, I agree.  I'll second your motion to have Paul design one synth
"pattern".  It's a kit - if we want to build one, we'll get what he sells
us.  If we don't like that, we can still buy the PCBs and drill our
own freakin' panels! :-)  Having said that, I like the idea of flexibility,
so I'm gonna restate the suggestion that the module height be some multiple
of standard "rack" height.  I'd prefer to see Paul offer a choice of cases,
from 12-module wood cabinets (nice, stackable) in both single and double
row heights, and metal rack frames that hold as many as those would hold. :-)
Oh yeah, and the idea of soldering pots right to the board is appealing
for a kit, IMHO.  Nice and easy to assemble.  Sure, it's harder to replace
defective parts, but not impossible.

So, a "starter kit" that contains your choice of case and a power supply gets
you in the club.  (Different cases will probably have different costs, fwiw.)
Then, modules come one per month in whatever order Paul decides to release
them.  I would make the first few modules VCO, VCF, Dual EG and Dual VCA, so
people can get going as fast as possible.  If you get impatient, you have the
option of "accelerating" modules, and getting the next N right away.  With
this
option, you could buy a starter kit and the "core" modules up front, or get
core modules over time to defray the cost.  After the core modules, Paul
can start to mix things up a bit, and just provide whatever cool module
he wants.  As long as there is some exchange program for modules you really
don't want, things should be ok.  But I wouldn't want to get into a Columbia
House-esque arrangement - that would be too much trouble, I'd wager.

I really think this MOTM idea could be a lot of fun!  Especially later in
life, when Paul starts to kick out some really odd modules.  (No pressure,
dude. :-)  I just hope there's enough interest in building to do this.
<cross fingers>


-------------------------------
Dan Higdon (hdan at charybdis.com)
http://www.charybdis.com/~hdan

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