Well, I suppose it may be valuable for me to weigh in here, from the unique perspective of someone who is NOT yet a customer of any MOTM product, but a (quiet) observer of this list, and overall goings-on within the world of Modular Synths.
∗WARNING! Novel-length email to follow!∗
-------------------------------------------------------------
Around a year ago, I made the decision to start to buy stuff and begin a journey into the world of Modular Synths. I came into this from a interesting angle - a drummer since I was about 10 years old (23 years ago!), as a young man I was ∗HEAVILY∗ impressed upon by sighting these esoteric synthesis machines in films such as "Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii" (in particular the scene of Roger Waters at Abbey Road playing with an EMS machine carried a ∗lot∗ of weight). I was amazed at these wonderful machines and the incredible sounds they produced. I fell in love with synth-based music, I had the embarrasing prog phase, the Devo Phase, the Kraftwerk phase, etc. As I matured, Skinny Puppy, EN, FLA and the like extended this fascination into the realm of "modern music".
Now, I always assumed this world would forever remain closed to me - as a drummer, I had no keyboard chops or knowledge at all. As a music lover, these machines were FAR too expensive for me to consider, as I didn't think I could ever "use them properly" or even understand them. The software revolution changed all that. Suddenly I could buy a "synthesizer" for under $100, and this opened the door for me. I was able to learn what oscillator tuning meant. I learned to decipher the cryptic terms LFO, LFP, VCA, EG, ADSR, and put it all into practise. I 'learned' synthesis on sub-$100 software synths (Pentagon-1 and z3ta from rgc:Audio). I was hooked.
So eventually, I came around full circle, back to the monstrous analog machines that fueled my youthful dreams. Now that I knew how to use them (combined with being financially much more flexible than at any other point in my life), I felt I ∗could∗ justify the cost of one of these machines. The "cost vs. pleasure" factor was now weighed in my favour.
My original plan about a year ago was to buy a Moog Voyager RME, to rack up with my small collection of synth-like stuff (MAM MB33 Mk.II, FR Mobius, EH Bi-Filter). I was so excited when Moog started producing Voyagers - wow! a 'modern' MiniMoog without stability problems, but real analog. My mind was racing, it was all coming together at the right point in my life.
At the last minute, scared at the price of the Moog unit, I started to look at other options. I realized I could go modular for a similar price range, and have a pretty flexible system, maybe even something that could out-patch a Voyager, for the same price, but also be able to built on top of that, all the way to infinity (or at least divorce!). My mind changed - I was not going to spend the money on the Moog, I was going to start a modular - that most romantic, esoteric of beasts, the most 'hands-on', and the most creative machine to use for sound creation. Now my mind was REALLY racing!
So this was about a year ago. The first step was to gather information, look at everything that was out there, and figure out what modular to start with as a "base" system. Suffice to say, I did not choose MOTM. I've been on this list for a while, as I want to keep an 'ear to the ground', and in fact always have (and still do!) intend to augment my base system with MOTM units, as I intend to keep building forever, and have no qualms about parts from different companies, or in different formats.
I am writing this novel length email to hopefully provide some insight into why I have not bought any MOTM products yet, even though I've spent over 4 or 5 times the cost of that original Moog Voyager, even though it's been less than a year. I currently have 6.5 frac racks filled with mostly Blacet, but also Bananalogue, Metalbox, Wiard and home-made CGS modules, and additionally 5 Metasonix TM and TX units. All of this purchased in the last 10 months. But no MOTM. Let's look at the reasons.
Please note that I do not intend any of this to be taken as an insult or in a derogatory fashion. I have NOTHING against MOTM (as you will see below), and am CERTAIN I will add many of their Frac modules in the upcoming year, once I reach the end of building my (admittedly large) 'base' Blacet system. I simply want to give the perspective of someone who is spending a few hundred of dollars a month in this space, and why none of that money has (yet) made it to Paul. Hopefully this helps Paul understand the customers a bit better (at least me) and can maybe help with future business directions. Please see these comments as constructive only.
So let's go back to the point one year ago, where I was doing my research. I looked at everything modular out there, and was amazed at the variety of options I saw. What a great time to be in the market for a modular! I have to say I quickly fell in love with ModCan, and the Wiard 300 series. To me, these represented the very best you could get, and the highest level of modular lust. I didn't want Banana cables, but the ModCan "B" system was a dream come true. Problem was the price. I started out (like you all) assuming a fixed budget, and not assuming a life-long obsession that would keep my bank balance at $0. So as sexy as ModCan was, it was priced out of my initial budget. So I looked into Wiard 300 - out of production. Seems Grant will build them for people, but slowly and for a high price.
So pricing was a major factor in these decisions, but 'ship time' was pretty important as well. I wanted to build a system with comparable specs to the Moog I originally considered, as quick as I could. I had limited funds, but high excitment and need for gratification, so I knew it would be a nightmare for me to scrape up $500-600 or so, send it to a company, and wait for months. I couldn't fulfill my modular dreams this way, and it would slow down the construction and subsequent growth of my system quite a lot. So you can see "time and money" are the two major factors. Like most things in life. My other main factors during this 'evaluation time' was the 'startup cost' of rackmount and power considerations, something that varies a LOT from one manufacturer to another. I wanted a basic system as quick as possible, racked, powered, minimum "boring" VCO-VCF-VCA/EG.
So the search went on. My next conclusion was a frustrating one - I determined that "price vs. sexy", MOTM was the #1. I ∗loved∗ the 5U height. The attention to detail and quality. The range of products. The pricing was excellent for what you get, no complaints there. My conclusion was that MOTM is the best all-around modular company, and the one that I should probably build. The best one of all. I say 'frustrating' because of other concerns. One, the web-page hadn't been updated in over a year - ancient news items with no followup. You could almost see the cobwebs on the website. This was scary. I knew I'd be ordering a module or two a month, for long into the future, so I wanted to pick a builder who I was confident would be around for the long haul, and coming out with new modules as time went on. I would be gutted to spend a bunch of money over 6-12 months, and have only a fraction of my 'imagined dream system', and have the builder go out of business. It would have been a different story if I had $5000 startup funds to order up a big complete system, but that wasn't me (and will never be me). If that was the case I'd be looking at a big MOTM system right now.
Also frightning, I was corresponding with a friend (who will remain anonymous), who was/is a MOTM user. I was informed "don't worry about the website, Paul doesn't really doesn't care about updating it, all the info is on the mailing list", so I joined the mailing list. I was also informed that your order often takes a few months to ship, and you never really know when your shipment will arrive. I was privy to many emails from my friend, week after week, waiting on packages that took FOREVER to arrive, and I saw his frustration. I didn't have the time or money or patience to play this game. So, with a heavy heart, I kept looking.
Now let's sidetrack to talk about the mailing list. I continued to witness disturbing (to me) trends on this list. Cancelled products that seemed to have been 'pre-bought' by people. Changing shipping dates. Logistical problems, communication problems, some raw bad luck. I saw the queues of people who had pre-ordered modules changing, people being 'bumped' to the front ahead of everyone else because they could make an emergency cash payment or something like this. What I've seen constantly on this list for the better part of a year is a company that does NOT appear to be solvent or well-organized, or (to be honest) treated like anything other than a part-time hobby. A company that doesn't seem to be taken seriously or have much stability anyway - for the position I'm in, I want to order a module, pay for it, and know exactly when it is going to ship. If I have to wait a bit, that's fine, but I should retain my place in the queue. Fire-sales and emergencies shouldn't let someone jump ahead of me and force my delivery time to change. It really didn't look like a company that fit my "buyer model" very well at all.
A comment was made to me that "a lot of MOTM users are old-school synth guys in their 50's, they are fine to wait and play with their huge studio". Fair enough, but not me. MOTM feels more like a club for a small handful of insiders, at the expense of a larger numbers of outsiders who get muscled around to keep the insiders happy. Fair enough, but again, that's not my buyer's model. The more I watched this list, the more confused and inconsistent the company appears to be. I have very low confidence that I could order a module and know when or if I would receive it. Not a way to slowly build a large system a few modules at a time without becoming a total nervous wreck (and I have enough stress in my life already, believe me!).
Please let me reiterate - my comments are not meant to cause offense! Paul mentioned that he wants all feedback, and people shouldn't feel the need to 'keep quiet'. I always have, because I'm NOT a customer, and my feedback isn't positive, but this current round of mails (and Paul's comments) have caused me to figure that you may appreciate my perspective. I hope it helps! I firmly believe that Paul designs the most professional, highest quality, awe-inspiring modules. He's a brilliant designer, and I don't want to hurt his feelings or sap his motivation! I just think his designer skills FAR outshine his business management and PR skills, and it would be great to see MOTM taken over by someone with the skill and time to focus on turning it into a stellar business, and free Paul to focus on doing what he does best - designing killer modules.
Anyway, this is a long story, I'll try to shorten it up here and finish off. I kept looking for a builder I could "jump in" with. .COM was really, really, really nicely priced, but I did not find the designs very inspiring at all. I wanted a moog modular crossed with a sci-fi sound lab buchla sort of paradigm. I wanted crazy, interesting stuff that I could spend years exploring and patching and getting creative with. That's not .COM in my humble opinion. Doepfer was also really nicely priced, but I'd heard that the sound quality was poor, AC hum, ground loop problems, crappy jacks. I liked the range of products a lot, but they even looked kind of cheap (plus I'm a sucker for black panels, ModCan "B" being an exceptional exception....), and the rack and power systems were very expensive.
Anyway, as you know from above, Blacet became my "getting started" and "core" system. I loved the range of modules and their flexibility and creativity. The prices were incredible. The quality was excellent from everything I could gather. Two major factors for me was that the frac-rack chassis modules, and power supply units were very attractively priced, letting me "get started" for a smaller cost than a lot of the other guys. There were other builders offering Frac-compatible modules, which was a huge plus (and this situation has gotten even better in the following months! I made a great choice!), and the final positive for me was a statement on Blacet's website that said "unlike many, we have a commitment to have modules on the shelf, ready to ship. We have a 95% 'next day' shipping record". I sent an email to John describing my situation and what I was after, and received a wonderful (and quick!) response, dispelling my fears, convincing me he would be around for the long run and was committed to his business, and ultimately convincing me to become a customer. I couldn't be happier with this decision - his modules are better than I could have ever hoped, ship immediately and quickly, are priced well, and he continues to update the line, retiring old modules and offering new ones. Plus Frac has become such a widespread format, there are so many options available.... I couldn't imagine being happier with the decision I made, all my ground work totally paid off.
Anyway, in the following 10 months, I've spent about 10X as much as I had ever anticipated spending on modules. Blacet, Bananalogue, Wiard, Metalbox. I've stared building CGS modules. I bought 5 Metasonix units. I'm going crazy. I was really, really excited to see MOTM move into the Frac space, and doubly excited that I can buy them from Analog Haven (who will also ship immediately!). I will be adding ALL the MOTM frac modules to my system in 2007, assuming Paul still provides them to Analog Heaven. I can't wait to get that Moog ladder filter into my system! And the looping ADSR! I'll need a couple of those!
I've been holding my breath for that MIDI/CV converter to hit the Frac format - a guaranteed sale!
I know most people on this list don't want to hear that - it justifys Paul's move away from kits, and his Frac business, and so many of you are romantic about Pauls 5U kit business, which is sadly drying up. From my perspective, I would feel the same way if I had been a 5U MOTM builder like the rest of you - but for all the above reasons, I could have never joined that 'club', and I think there are a lot of people like me in the market. Paul must know this as well. So let this email detail from my perspective some of the things MOTM has done poorly at in the past, how it has kept customers away, and some of the ways new customers will approach the brand in the future. Please don't take any offense at my comments - they are meant to help the business. Like you all, I'd rather see MOTM selling ∗something∗, than nothing at all.
My 2-cents (ok, probably more like $14.50 at this point - cash only! no PayPal!)
Cheers,
Mike McGrath
Ottawa Canada