Aurora

[Joost Schuttelaar]

I think that making it as an instrument just for yourself, to play, actually play, then to see what (can) come after, is a very smart thing. Like you mentioned, a 3500 UKP instrument is not realistic, unless it is something truly extraordinary.

120USD for 1000 boards gets you in the kickstarter range though... 100 orders, 1000 boards... 1200+300 (case)+200 (keybed)+200 assembly = a 2000 USD instrument. Add 500 for your time. 2500 USD for a 10-voice awesome polyphonic synth. Makes you 50K. That's OK for a 'hobby' project for 2 years.

-- 

Joost Schuttelaar
The Hague, NL

On 7 dec. 2012, at 20:21, Paul Maddox <yo at vacoloco.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the input, I'll try and respond to some of the questions, if I miss one, just ask again :)
> 
> 1) Why are the voice boards expensive? well basically there's a lot on each one, each is complete monosynth. and it's not just the cost of the parts that needs factoring in, there's the PCB and also assembly costs. When I last looked at getting boards made and assembled the quote I had was around $120 US dollars, minimum order of 1000. That was over 5 years ago.. Now I'm sure I could get less made, but that'll mean the PCB cost will rise. Plus prices for parts have risen in general across the globe.
> 
> 2) Expandable, start with one or two voices and expand. This is something I've been giving serious thought to. In theory, yes this could be done, it would require a bit of forethought but it ought to be possible. I'll let it sit in my mind whilst I work on the board. Hopefully by the time I come to doing the voice control part I'll have worked through any issues.
> 
> 3) Perspex cases, actually they're not that cheap. Each GorF/Tron/Zira case costs £30, 6mm perspex just isn't cheap and 3mm is a bit on the thin side.. plus I'm not sure I want to build a gleeman pentaphonic.. It might be fine for small fun products, but I'd prefer something a bit more sturdy for a professional grade instrument.
> At this stage I honestly don't think there will be a keyboard version, from memory fatar will ship orders with an MOQ of 1000.
> 
> 4) Kit options, not something I really want to do long term, counting resistors and diodes and putting them in little bags is very soul destroying.
> 
> 5) Funding, thanks for offering guys but i'm currently thinking something along these lines;
> a crowdfunding project (probably kickstarter as I believe they now accept UK projects),
> with lots of break points, starting from a few quid getting a VacoLoco mug through a single voice unit for say £800, a dual voice unit, an 8 voice unit, 16 voices and so on. Perhaps a "uber" prize of getting the original prototype and a mention on the website.
> 
> The idea of crowd funding appeals for two reasons;
> 1) I'll find out if people actually want it, if not enough people pitch in, then I know the idea is a non-starter and it saves me investing huge chunks of my money and life.
> 2) by using different options (desktop monosynth, rack 2 voice, etc) I will get a feel for price points and what people are looking for.
> 
> One thing I will be looking for, is beta testers and also peoples opinions of the feature set. what would be nice is to come to europe, meet up with you guys for a weekend somewhere and let you all have a play with it, see what you think and if you feel there's something missing.
> I can do the same in the UK with the SynthDIY meet (though I doubt it'll be ready by July next year).
> 
> Thanks again for your support and input, you guys are just awesome :)
> 
> Paul
> 
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