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Thank you for this, I haven’t thought about homestarrunner in years. NO LOAFING!
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On the Telmatronics Groovetube :
I think the metrics of measure on whether to back this are different. You know right up front that it’s more research than it is development, that some of your money is creating something else in the future. Plus your tolerance for a schedule slip is much greater. There is a purity to that, sort of like on the
Profree 4 ( thread ).
A good question on the Telmatronics Groovetube would be the source of the tubes? If it’s Russia, you might want to think about it.
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I keep thinking about the Osmose and how at ease we all were with the expanded schedule, and the relaxed communications.
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Yeah I commented before I actually looked at the page - I had just listened to the demos posted here. I really appreciate how upfront they are on the Kickstarter page - they very clearly mention that this is funding the research, with the larger pledges also (hopefully) guaranteeing a finished unit, assuming things go well. It’s a really cool project and I’m excited to see how it goes in the future.
So three ( likely there are more ) interesting projects to evaluate ( links to the threads ) :
Akuto Studio AKT-01 Chord Machine
Anyone have thoughts about any of these in terms of them being good crowdfunding risks. ? ( Not about whether they’re products you personally want and why, that is more for those threads. )
Another risk factor in my book, are projects that rack up enormous levels of pledges. While having more cash to get things going, it also multiplies the risk, if the cost estimates are off. Plus volume manufacturing can be a nightmare. Many groups while good at electronic, mechanical and software design, lack the management of manufacture experience, that fourth leg. Manufacture engineering, and quality management are not to be ignored iwith quantity.
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I have heard this about kickstarters (not just music projects) that they become a victim of their own success: they simply cannot create enough of the product and ultimately fail.
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Yeah, any benefits of industrial scaling assume you’ve got the headcount, trained assemblers, good contacts for orders that large… and without any established products to provide a float any learning lessons may rob from ability to deliver the entire product.
Indie manufacturers have a perfect space that they want and that they’re capable of reaching and it’s very difficult to know how many of them will adapt to crowdfunding success in ways that they can roll and improve on, there’s definitely going to be pains between moderate success and the need to turn side-gig hobby into full-time job to deliver, and how much the extra logistics fuck with early timelines.
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Two similar venture backed French companies, with similar backgrounds, and similar crowdfunded products.
Expressive E with the Osmose, which they got manufactured for them around the other side of the world in China. They paid dearly for that decision, upfront, though that now developed relationship may pay off for them in the long run, though many other manufacturers are hedging the China bet, and getting out.
Aodyo with the Anyma Omega. Aodyo instead has decided to near-shore the manufacture. They are doing both a keyboard and desktop of the same product. Not sure if the manufacturing is being done under contract like EE did. This is also what i access to be a manufacturing challenge, though perhaps a notch below the challenge taken on by EE.
Both companies had manufactured products before, EE the Touche’, Aodyo, the Sylphyo, and the Anyma Phi. Despite the Anyma Omega growing from an open source software base that they developed for their AP, they still have a lot more software left to do.
Another risk that EE took on was having to depend so much on Haken for their sound engine. This both benefitted them and cost them. An interesting long term question for them is do they expand their relationship with Haken, or do they expand using their cpnsiderable software synth products ?
We shall see how Aodyo does coming up, they are in the hottest part of their development right now !
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