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Post by thetechnobear on Aug 22, 2018 9:26:49 GMT
there were a couple of great thoughts on the 'future modules wish list thread', about third party modules. which I thought we could expand on: Not really a future module but I'd really like to see other companies get involved such as bastl. I've seen error instruments has made a module. If not these "big" companies maybe a space for the diyers to sell their modules. That would be nice! I guess to make it happen, we the AEM users should write the manufacturers to tell them about the opportunity. Having a slimmed-down AEM version of the Bastl GrandPa would indeed be cool. I think its a great idea to make manufactures aware, definitely a first step... but are there other steps that could be taken, to make AEM attractive to 'module' makers? perhaps we can discuss this, perhaps there are things that tangible waves ( robertlanger ) can do to help? I guess the difficulties are: - AEM is quite a small market
- Low price = Lower profit margin, means need to shift more modules
- Why support an additional format? if you already are doing Eurorack)
(these are just guesses, it would be great to hears some responses from real eurorack manufactures, perhaps this is a pessimistic view) Perhaps also Eurorack module makers are not the target, perhaps its other groups , diy'ers, pedal manufactures, noise makers. who are not already invested in Eurorack, and a simpler module format might be more interesting for them to 'test the waters'. imho, all this is a nice to have, but not necessary, as single manufacture systems have their benefits too, and I think Robert is doing a great job on module production. also I quite like the fact there are not a sea of modules to buy, so I don't have constant GAS for new modules  |
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Post by thetechnobear on Aug 22, 2018 9:39:20 GMT
so my thoughts on encouragement: Id like to see new module makers, a bit like the DIY led eurorack makers of yesterday, rather than the big manufactures today... so AEM gets it own feel for modules , rather than trying to be a cheap/budget eurorack clone. So I think it would be help to kickstart this by building a diy community for AEM. - Robert already has planned a DIY module to help this. - Im thinking of doing 'hacking DIY module' video series, to show how easy it can be. my hope is then we can discuss this and then all learn together. (Im a complete hack on the electronics side, so I need to learn too ) I also wonder, perhaps, if robertlanger, could publish a couple of 'example module designs', say a simple oscillator, (or open source the design of a couple of simple modules (2osc?)) - these could serve as examples of how to design modules, that could then be hacked by newbies into their own variations. how does this help non-diy aem users? well my thought is, encourage/grow the diy community, and perhaps a few of these, might even be willing to 'sell' their modules... it would be low volume, so you could do by hand, a kind of cottage industry... or even perhaps work in conjunction with Robert/Tangible Waves, who could do the manufacture of these modules (*), if they think its of sufficient interest. anyway, just some thoughts...
(*) this is actually a different model, where 3rd parties could design modules, but Tangible Waves who are setup for production, could manufacture, distribute others modules , kind of 'under license' |
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Post by admin on Aug 22, 2018 10:13:45 GMT
Thanks Mark, this is very similar to what I was thinking, too. I'm currently looking at the Esp32 board as the core for a DIY AE module, but the DIY module that Robert has been teasing for a while would be too small for this. Maybe if robertlanger could offer DIY kits of various widths, eg. 1U, 2U, 4U. Also even kits that target a compute platform, eg. a Teensy board. Another cool example of out of the box DIY modules is the OTTO's DIY module kit: They also offer a cookbook here: intech.studio/p/?&page=Ottos&id=1579The ADDAC open heart surgery module is also a nice thought: www.matrixsynth.com/2014/02/addac210-open-heart-surgery-eurorack.html And for noobs like myself there is this great page ... maybe a few of those examples on the breadboard could be ported over to the AE DIY kit? syntherjack.net/how-to-start-synth-diy/ |
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Post by thetechnobear on Aug 22, 2018 12:53:14 GMT
wow, thanks for that , the intech.studio and syntherjack.net stuff is very interesting. ESP32, I was ordering stuff from Farnell (big electronics supplier) at the weekend, and popped one of these into my cart too (Ive also ordered some different standoff sizes, to see if I can get something suitable for mounting pcbs) diy modules, yeah, tricky you almost need different module sizes, 1u,2u, 4u... it'll be interesting to see what Robert comes up with, and also how many people buy them, perhaps if popular more variations are viable. |
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Post by mobius on Aug 23, 2018 2:32:49 GMT
I also wonder, perhaps, if robertlanger , could publish a couple of 'example module designs', say a simple oscillator, (or open source the design of a couple of simple modules (2osc?)) - these could serve as examples of how to design modules, that could then be hacked by newbies into their own variations. I think this is an excellent idea. I've been toying with an arduino based circuit attempting to perform a similar function to Mutable Instruments' Branches and was thinking it would be nice to have an AE circuit to reference for how to go about dealing with inputs, outputs, and CV. Even just some example input/output circuits on the DIY page would be helpful and hopefully establish some conventions or best practices to ensure (or at least try to ensure) a new module will play nicely with everyone else. I'm quite new to the DIY electronics world, and I always appreciate having some 'building blocks' to reference and use as I'm cobbling something together. |
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Not really a future module but I'd really like to see other companies get involved such as bastl. I've seen error instruments has made a module. If not these "big" companies maybe a space for the diyers to sell their modules. 
That would be nice! I guess to make it happen, we the AEM users should write the manufacturers to tell them about the opportunity. Having a slimmed-down AEM version of the Bastl GrandPa would indeed be cool.
