MOTM

I guess I will add in that one of the reasons I probably won't be
getting a 730 soon is that I really want to get a Cloud Gen.  I know
with a wedding coming up in June I won't be able to afford both right
now.  



Unless of course you have a wedding registry for modules... heh...



One  thing I thought of in all of this was that I've seen many record
labels survive by providing a subscription service for limited edition
7" records.  Maybe you could do this with PCB's.  It seems you have
many ideas for modules that haven't materialized.  Maybe you could do a
subscription service for pcbs of those ideas.  Paid up front this could
fund future modules.  Also you would in a way have built in beta
testing.  People would be informed that these were first adopter style
designs that may change for full module releases.  Or they may never be
properly released if not enough interest is there.



Just an idea.


Ross Stapf 

Cedar Hill TX

--- On Wed, 2/11/09, Paul Schreiber <synth1@...> wrote:
From: Paul Schreiber <synth1@...>
Subject: [motm] Comments from the rants (long)
To: "MOTM List" <motm@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 11:10 PM











    
            a) Fixed Filter Bank: I am waiting for the new pcb pots to arrive. This will 

be the end of March. I'm then going to look at the schematic/BOM and see 

what the cost would be with current prices. I will then have to decide to 

either:



- offer it as just pc board set with the pots (all the resistors/caps are 

straight out of Mouser/Digikey)

- offer it as an assembled SMT module



I am planning a Frac version of it (SMT) using current Frac pots/knobs. 

Possibly a Euro version as well.



b) Code/firmware in the '730: Written by Scott 'Old Crow' Rider, a long-time 

user/designer (he also worked on the '480 and the '485). He has source code, 

I have source code. The code has been tested by Robert Rich for over 2 years 

without any "bug reports" and by Mike Marsh (who did the demos on the site) 

for about 10 months or so. Again, not 1 single error. The CPU is in a 

socket, if there ever is a need for a 'bug fix' everyone will get a *free* 

CPU to swap out.



The code set in the '730 is probably 100 times less complicated than in the 

'650.



c) Lower cost assembled MOTM modules: I have mixed feelings about "how low 

to go". Some of this is influenced by the fact that a LOT of Cynthia ZOs 

were sold in MOTM format, at a cost 2X anything I have. Maybe it's "well a 

ZO **IS** worth 2X to me over a MOTM-XYZ". Maybe at the time (2007/early 

2008) there was more $$$ to spend. But the success of the ZO, for better or 

worse, was a factor in my new direction.



Now, finding these new pots certainly will help matters *some*. I still have 

several 100 of the Spectrols to get rid of first. I still prefer the 149 

cermet version for the VCO pitch controls. The other major costs are (in 

order)



- front panels. Not a damn thing I can do there. Unless Bridechamber wants 

to sell 'em to me for $6 :)

- jacks. I like Switchcraft, I have looked at others but they are all crap. 

What's the point of having 1000s of invested dollars in your system when a 

crap jack acts up? I suppose you can shrug it off and pop in a new one at 

$3ea or whatever high price they end up 10 years from now. But I guess I'm 

just not willing to change. The Singatron jacks in the '650 are the best 

alternative, but now the vertical Switchcraft jacks are available (RoHS 

delayed their introduction 2 years).

- pc boards. I *have* switched vendors, but at the current rate will take 

*years* until all the existing blank boards are used up. All new projects 

going forward will use the new vendor. MOTM-190s and MOTM-300s will be the 

first analog modules using the newer boards (the green solder mask is a 

slightly different shade).

- knobs. F'ing Tyco. Nuff said. I could use the injection molded Frac knobs 

but that is not part of the "MOTM look" so I'm 'stuck' unless I swap over to 

a knock-off. All of those I have seen look crappy.

- wiring/coax. The current scheme of individual wires and the coax was 

essential to the kits. Newer modules like the '650 and '730 do not use this 

approach. Rather, I use pc board mounted jacks and very short ribbon cables, 

with many ground wires (usually 1 ground per 1 signal). This is about even 

in cost but 10X faster in labor, especially high I/O (like both '650 and 

'730 are). The Frac modules have always used this, no one has complained 

about degradation of audio or CV performance because of it.

- parts. Sorry, not scrimping 1 dime there.



That leaves profit margin. Now, there IS a sure-fire way to get a very good 

idea about a module's early success, and minimize risk on *my* end. That is 

having a deposit/pre- pay. But, if there is one, and ONLY one lesson I have 

learned in 11 years, it is this: nothing pisses off people *more* than 

accepting a deposit and missing delivery dates. N O T H I N G.And since I 

cannot judge my involvement in MOTM more than a few weeks at a time, this 

would make no sense at all.



So, instead, I figure around 25-30 modules to break even, when I buy parts 

for ~75. This is sort of a "running average": I won't buy 100 front panels, 

I'll get 40 or 50. I will buy all the pc boards, and all the ICs. Even so, 

in most modules (not just the '730) it can take many months to start seeing 

a decent return.



The other 'wild card' in the previous 10 1/2 years has been the CEM IC 

"slush fund" which has gone away. In many cases, 4-5 months of CEM IC sales 

could be 'diverted' to fully fund at the least all the R&D/prototype costs 

of a new module. I could then charge less because I didn't *have* to recoup 

the up-front costs by what I call ........



d) strict module self-funding. Since Day 1, I have had a "rule" that every 

module has to stand 'on it's own' in terms of being profitable. In other 

words, the MOTM-800 sales had to fund all the costs of the '800. If I ran 

out of '800 pots (these are custom ordered from Bourns) then the cost of a 

new batch (around $1700) had to be from *anticipated* (and this is a VERY 

key point) future sales of '800s. This is why I discontinued (for a while) 

MOTM modules that had run out of their supplies, and that future re-stocking 

cots could not me covered based on predicted sales.



Currently, I am at such a dilemma with several modules (again). So now, I 

have to think of the modules together as a whole in terms of sustaining the 

line (ie MOTM-300s help pay for the pots I bought for the '800s). This is 

sort of "my problem" but it does alter 11 years of how I have been running 

the business. Which brings me to........



e) Using Frac/Euro to fund MOTM. What I hope is that the E340 and other 

modules in Frac & Euro will generate enough revenue that I can 'divert' 

(very Enron-sounding. ..) profits back into the MOTM side, so that at the end 

of the day (there is just one bank account) I don't have to worry about MOTM 

modules *individually* . Rather, that the company as a whole is OK and I can 

keep going forward.



f) Increasing the business via PCB *only* sales. Stealing a page from JH and 

CatGirl, introduce designs that only exist as a pcb, BOM and maybe an extra 

parts kit. Maybe panels, maybe assume Scott at BrideChamber will have them 

:) Now, I'm not going to sell $12 pc boards. I might sell $40 pc boards. Or, 

take it 1 step farther..... .



g) maybe offer an option for the '520 as a 'semi-kit': a stuffed pc board, 

the stuffed/soldered jack board, the ribbon cables and a panel/bracket. Save 

$100 maybe?



The bottom line is that I'm starting to worry about the economy just like 

everyone else is. And I appreciate everyone's comments/suggestion s.



Paul S.