A few thoughts prompted by the excellent comments issued by Stephen.
STS has taken Serge to a completely different engineering and manufacturing
level from the systems manufactured in the '70s and '80s - anyone with
panels from those decades can immediately tell the difference.
Arguably, Doepfer and synthesizers.com are the low-cost modular
providers today - they embody, to a degree, the same spirit introduced by
Serge, when the Moogs and Buchlas where out of reach for the average
musician. Yet there is a superiority attitude by modular owners depending
on which side of the line they find themselves on.
Serge as a system has matured during the last 15 years, thanks to STS'
effort, going from an excellent design with subpar execution to an
excellent system all around. Serge as a system has grown up.
Prices more often than not reflect the maturity of a system and the overall
demand for it. If there is little demand, then the cost of parts and labor
will go up as the product/company drift back into a true cottage industry.
Demand does not necessarily imply that someone is making money, it just
means that what can be produced is being consumed - makes no statement
re: the survivability or profitability of an operation.
Arguably, price does have something to do with such ebb and flow - from a
business perspective, the analog modular industry is NOT within economies
of scale. And then there are the issues of recuperating investment in
R&D, manufacturing process, parts management, training of technicians, and
cash flow of a business. It is not just parts.
Lastly, STS will make the business decisions necessary to ensure its
survival. If they are wrong, the marketplace will provide the ultimate
feedback.
Regards,
Bill
______________________________________________________________________
Bill Sequeira, Ph.D.
Principal, Axon Hillock
STS has taken Serge to a completely different engineering and manufacturing
level from the systems manufactured in the '70s and '80s - anyone with
panels from those decades can immediately tell the difference.
Arguably, Doepfer and synthesizers.com are the low-cost modular
providers today - they embody, to a degree, the same spirit introduced by
Serge, when the Moogs and Buchlas where out of reach for the average
musician. Yet there is a superiority attitude by modular owners depending
on which side of the line they find themselves on.
Serge as a system has matured during the last 15 years, thanks to STS'
effort, going from an excellent design with subpar execution to an
excellent system all around. Serge as a system has grown up.
Prices more often than not reflect the maturity of a system and the overall
demand for it. If there is little demand, then the cost of parts and labor
will go up as the product/company drift back into a true cottage industry.
Demand does not necessarily imply that someone is making money, it just
means that what can be produced is being consumed - makes no statement
re: the survivability or profitability of an operation.
Arguably, price does have something to do with such ebb and flow - from a
business perspective, the analog modular industry is NOT within economies
of scale. And then there are the issues of recuperating investment in
R&D, manufacturing process, parts management, training of technicians, and
cash flow of a business. It is not just parts.
Lastly, STS will make the business decisions necessary to ensure its
survival. If they are wrong, the marketplace will provide the ultimate
feedback.
Regards,
Bill
______________________________________________________________________
Bill Sequeira, Ph.D.
Principal, Axon Hillock
> From: S V G <vsyevolod@...>
> Reply-To: SergeModular@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 07:57:12 -0700 (PDT)
> To: SergeModular@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [SergeModular] Re: price increases
>
>
> Rex and Serge are two entirely different people. Yes, the spirit of Serge
> Modular is no
> longer present at STS, this is inevitable. It sounds to me as though the
> instrument which was
> once made for the domain of the poor musician is now being made for the domain
> of the university
> and the individual who can afford such prices. I had hoped to one day replace
> the system that I
> sold a few decades ago, now I don't see that ever happening. C'est la vie.
>
> Serge was (is) one of the most down-to-earth people I've ever had the joy to
> meet or work
> with. A man of great caring, concern, and compassion. His instruments seemed
> to me to carry
> those qualities into them and the music that issued forth was informed by his
> spirit. Nowadays
> things are different. Serge needed to move on and Rex came and took over. It
> would have been
> easy for the whole operation to simply fold. I'm glad that Rex has found a
> niche where he can
> exist, even though this doesn't bode well for those of us who were interested
> in future purchases.
> My sense is that the quality of this synth has only gone up in the years that
> Rex has had his
> hands on it. More power to him. Also, the spirit of the instrument has
> shifted to match Rex's
> spirit.
>
> The 60's and 70's were unique times. We will never recreate them no matter
> how hard we try.
> So in this sense, the Serge synthesizer has already passed on. While I
> appreciate the system as a
> whole (which includes the low prices and "kits", as well as the versitile
> patching layout), I have
> little faith that anything like this will come about in the next few decades.
> Music is dictated
> by economics, now more than ever. Time to move on.
>
> Stephen
>
>
>
>
>> I think prices where too high before.
>> Serge synth began as a workshop, so Serge, his students and
>> other composers would be able to teach, experiment and make
>> music, since The Buchla was very difficult -well almost
>> imposible- to book.
>> I think selling the serge synth at such prices is contrary to it's
>> initial spirit. This same spirit in wich serge designed such a
>> versatile, open, yet simple and clever modular instrument. And
>> best, it was sold as a kit most of times...
>> And, I think the serge synth is using more or less the same old
>> designs, so why it's more expensive now than before? It's crazy.
>
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