MOTM status & 3340s <long>

[Paul Schreiber]

MOTM is a series of analog synthesizer modules, currently offered only
in kit form. (www.synthtech.com) There have been 3 kits released to
date, with over 70 sold so far (thanks to all!!)

MOTM stand for Module of the Month, which was a tongue-in-cheek
way of saying that I was going to have a new module about every month.
Some of you thought this meant you HAD to buy one every month, which of
course in NOT the case!

Things were going along smoothly until June. Then, as we say in Texas, the wheels
came off. Without going into the whole mess in detail, MOTM development came to a halt.
I did continue to ship CEM chips, although some of you had to wait MUCH longer
than normal.

However, the good news is that as of tomorrow, MOTM is going FULL STEAM AHEAD!!
The best thing that came out of the mess of summer is that I now work full-time
out of my house, no 9-5 daily grind. So, I can MOTM much more time-wise than ever.

Also, ((shameless plug to follow)) I will be accepting repairs and mods for those of
you who wish to trust me with your babies (I'm in Fort Worth, TX).

I will now attempt to answer all of your main questions, if not, please email me PRIVATELY.

#1 - It's not fair that you are hoarding all the CEM chips for your stupid kits!

Hmmmm...no, I suppose it's not, in a way. But, they were offered for sale BEFORE MOTM,
and still are. I haven't changes the prices in 2 years.

MOTM kits are not ALL CEM-based. In fact, I'd guess that about 40% will be. Of those, I
ONLY use CEM chips I have over 1000 of. So, what does that leave out?? See #2.

#2 - It's not fair that you own every 3340 in the %$@#%#$ universe, and then will use them
in the MOTM VCO and so I can't fix my <<<fill in the blank>>.

OK, I own MOST of the &^#$&^ 3340 VCOs. Well, except for the fact I sold 132 of them
last year to SOME OF YOU!! <hee hee>. So when the pleas go out from X to please sell
me 3340s, if it's awful quiet in the response area, it's not JUST ME!! 

Yes, my inital plan was to offer a dual 3340 VCO kit for 2 reasons

a) I have the chips, and this makes the design easier for me
b) I was going to offer it without the 3340s, so those of you that have them
can use them

But....it turns out that if MOTM is to be a LONG TERM success, and not a "boutique" synth, 
this is a STUPID move.

So, I'm NOT using the 3340 in the MOTM VCO. I'm using the 3374 and 2 Analog Devices
laser-trimmed analog multipliers for the temperature compensation. Same 3340
stability/sound (sorry, Mark!), synch options, etc.

The same may be possible for the 3310 EG chip. At one time, I had 1100 3310's. I have
about 385 left. It SURE IS EASY to make a EG (not VC'd, necessarily) with one.
So I'm undecided about that. It is my policy to ALWAYS hold back extra chips for
repairs of MOTM. 

So here is what I plan to do:

I will auction off the 3340s every 3 months or so until they are "gone", meaning I'm
keeping some for my MemoryMoogs. They will be in batches of 20, 2 per customer.
Please wait for the official notice...the first auction will be first week of Sept.

Fair enough??!?!?

#3 - Why are they kits??? I can't solder, you moron!

They are kits so you can LEARN something. And, this keeps the price low.

However, due to demand I am THINKING about offering fully assembled kits
for a moderate fee.

Also, I didn't want to get in the way of some of you that have offered to build kits
for others. If I decide to offer fully assembled kits, it won't be until Jan. 

If anybody want names of "MOTM-builders-for-hire", drop me a line.

#4 - What/when are the next kits??

This is now part of the "wheels-coming-off" mentioned earlier. The reason is that
my old sheet metal supplier gave me the brush-off on future orders (I was "too small
to bother with") and so I have to find a new one. There are 2 prospects I am
going to check out by the end of the month. As many can vouch, I am VERY
PICKY about the quality of my kits. 

The next PLANNED module is a combination Moog filter/preamp/env. follower. The filter
is based on the Rogue (which is based on my design in the MG-1) except the
3046 is replaced with pre-matched pairs and the output buffer is different.

The preamp is designed (5534-based) and the env. follower is done as well (it's the DC
compensated version in Electronotes, 1 stage). The filter needs to be breadboarded
and tested, but that should be done in about 3 weeks. So, I'm guessing with the pc 
board layout simultaneous with sheet metal, we are looking at Oct 10.

Yes, this is like 2 months behind. I apoligize for this, but read the next paragraph before
hollerin'

The Moog takes lots of time tweaking to get just right. So, I decided in the meantime I
can do 2 more modules that take ZERO tweaking. So, I will have 3 new modules all
arriving in October. The 2 others are the dual 2:1 VC analog switch and the Cross-
Product Module.

Breifly, the Cross-Product Module is 2 4-stage sub-octave dividers that XOR the
stages together. In Vector algebra, this is called the cross-product (used in Maxwell's
Equations, but I digress). It is based on a Lester Ludwig design in Electronotes, with a few
surprises. The sounds that come out are best described ase "errie goa/trance drones".

Last point.

#5 - Where are the VCO/VCF/VCA/.........

Later this year, depends on Christams entropy factor. Yes, the 15-mode Xpander filter with MIDI
is on the plate. Yes, the "really big and expensive wood case" is on the plate. So, I just
need to get off my old 42yr butt and get busy!!

Sorry for the bandwidth, but I felt now is a good time as many of you are wondering just
where all this stuff sits. Thanks again for patience and your $$$. Remember, all this is
is a user funded hobby (not a bad gig!), and I want everyone to have working synths
that they can use 15 more years. I am not greedy: nothing would pleae me (and the wife,
tired of all these boxes everywhere) more that to sell all of these chips to fix every busted
synth out there that uses them.

Paul Schreiber
Synthesis Technology