SergeModular

hello everyone, i just want to say a few things. this is from a
customer standpoint. i have owned a Serge before.i bought my system
used. once i grew accustomed to its workings, i found good and bad
things about the system. once i understood the system, i set about on
expanding it. first i was planning on how to get more functions in 3
panels to have what i needed function wise.

here is my biggest beef. once you lay out a panel, it is basicaly set
for life unless you send it to STS to have it remodelled to the way
you want it configured. i don't have to tell you about the costs
involved to do this. a Serge instrument is not an ms20 or a 2600, but
once you commit to panel design, its feels like one figuratively
speaking.

this is not an instrument which you can absorb in one or two
sittings. it takes time to develop your understanding of its
functions. a lot of people understand basic substractive synthesis,
but a Serge can give you more than just vco-vcf-vca type patches. you
need minimum 3 panels to get you started. so a potential customer who
is inexperienced in the Serge way will choose a system based on his
prior synthesis experiences. once he gets his Serge and discovers all
the possibilties hidden in the instrument, he will view his
instrument in a different way. he will see some things which he had
wished for and things he wishedhe had not chosen for his instrument
and possibly would have laid it out in a different order.

this is what happened to me after buying my system. i found the lack
of modularity in the system to be a glaring error. i was trying to
layout 3 panels with new modules and doubles of some i already had to
create my personal instrument. i found the lack of modularity to the
modules themselves annoying. here i was trying to design my
instrument but was stuck with the previous layout since i bought it
used. now imagine adding more panels to that system. the flow of the
instrument would be all out of place. the panel format is not
conducive or flexible to customize your system as it grows. i could
not have imagined buying that system new without getting my feet wet.
i am glad i bought it used, because it taught more about the Serge
way and use this knowledge with other instruments. i doubt many
people can have that much understanding of a Serge before buying one.
it is a system for the Magus and not for the uninitiated.

so i decided not buy any new Serge panels and sold my system. do i
regret selling my system? the answer is Yes. do i miss some the Serge
functions. Yes. look at John DuVal, he is constantly selling and
buying new panels to have the layout he desires. why? because you
develop more of an understanding for the instrument as time goes by.
would i want to rack my brain to design a new panel, which might or
might not be logical to my instrument? the answer is No. personally,
i don't want to buy and sell panels to get them the way i want, when
if the format were more modular, i would be able to modify my
instrument by myself. if the system was truly modular,i would have
stuck with it. i would be able to change modules around in my system
and be done with it. if i didn't need a certain module, bam on the
market it goes and i don't have to ditch the rest of the modules in
order to do so, i just order the ones i need and its done.

the issue of being a Rolls Royce or upper echelon modular is
completely false. Serge knew how to tweak designs from using the
simplest of parts. yes the Serge is hand made but it's not up there
for its craftmanship. it is up there because of its ciruits and
functions. it is made the same way it was twenty years or so years
ago. the basic circuitry of the system has not changed that much. the
comsmetic side did get a good makeover but that's it. when you look
at the TKB, it is a labourious job to build one. with the
advancements in production and the new parts available out there, the
production time of the TKB could be down considerately if STS built a
motherboard that used surface mounted pots.by doing os, you could
bring the cost of TKB down. you would save on all the wire cutting ,
and soldering and eliminate the risk for error. it is time for the
Serge to go through another transformation, just like it did in
the '70's. i am sure sure people were having these discussions
back then. so why are people shying away from the Serge's inevitable
need to change, so it can come into the 21st century.

i respect Rex's wishes to to keep it a cottage industry size
business, but i believe he is doing the Serge modular a disservice by
keeping it the same. the Serge and its production deserves to be
modernized. you can also ask yourself the question, why did Serge
Tcherepnin leave Serge the company and passed the torch down to Rex
Probe? maybe it is time for Rex to do the same, so the Serge can have
more modules available to the people out there who balk at the format
of the Serge, but actually want to buy them and can't deal with its
format. the modules and circuits deserve much better.

these comments are not ment to be harmful but rather as contructive
points which could open up the Serge to other potential users who
have some of the same issues regarding Serge Intruments. i absolutely
love the sound and functions of the Serge but feel opposed to its
idiosyncratic format. hopefully better things will prevail for the
future.

Regards,
RM

> but i believe he is doing the Serge modular a disservice by
> keeping it the same. the Serge and its production deserves to be
> modernized.

Now this I totally agree with.
As I said before though if Rex wants to run it his own way it's not for us
(the customers) to try and change him.
I suppose there are good and bad sides to the current STS situation.

>the issue of being a Rolls Royce or upper echelon modular is
>completely false.

Well I was merely trying to point to another situation where a product is
hand built with no thought to expanding the customer base or product line.
There was no implication that Serge was a luxury item with snob value.
CW