(apologies to anyone who got this more than once ... thank Yahoo...)
> I think I've gotten my fill of it, and I'm sure I'm not alone. And
> if anyone hasn't, there are Bridechamber, Oakley, and others
> providing 5U thru-hole DIY pcbs. Believe me, I'd RATHER have an
> fully assembled 5U MOTM-355 Morphing Dual LFO. HOWEVER, knowing that
> you have your hands full developing and shipping modules for the Euro
> market, I'm asking, what's the MINIMUM you can do that will make most
> of your old 5U customers happier than they are now?
>
> We WANT to buy your new modules. In a perfect world, you'd deliver
> them in 5U assembled. The current reality requires buying an
> assembled euro module, then disassembling it, making a custom panel,
> and wiring it up. Is there a workable middle ground?
Adding my 2 bits as someone who wants diversity in the MOTM format and has no vested interest in the DIY aspect of it. I bought a bunch of kits as a cost-effective way of getting the modular I wanted, and I have a sense of accomplishment that I built as much of my rig as I did (about half, at this point, the rest being pre-built, second-hand, or third-party). If kits are no longer cost-effective to manufacture, then I'm totally fine with ordering prebuilt modules as long as the price is right and it doesn't take ∗years∗ for an order to trickle in.
The Kickstarter idea sounds like a valid way to judge the demand for a given module in real terms (ie, people are voting with real money, not just clamoring for something and then back-pedalling when it comes time to place an order). If you get the number of pre-orders you need and can then turn around those orders quickly, then great. If the demand falls short, then that says there isn't a real market for that module (at the moment, anyway).
Anyway, count me as 'still committed to MOTM as a format, even if that has meant giving money to Oakley/Krisp1 and various ebayers instead of Synthesis Tech in recent years'.
JN