Why have not you built MegaDrum yet?

[cwb]

Ah, now I can built the first MegaDrum in the country.

[smk666]

Errr... this poll doesn't cover one of the most important reasons... I CAN"T AFFORD IT!

[jamalpiper]

Errr... this poll doesn't cover one of the most important reasons... I CAN"T AFFORD IT!

I can't either, but I'm building one.

Ordering everything myself, scurrying around for used parts, etc etc... In short, lets just say trash pickup day is my new holiday...

[galaviel]

Hi,

I really wish someone would offer complete, pre-build finished product of this project in a nice, good looking (but
not necessarily expensive) enclosure.

And I don't mean just build 1 unit at a time, rather make a product out of it, including manual, etc. Or just setup a "waiting
list", where if you get to 50, everybody that ordered gets their unit (otherwise the units don't get built).

Frankly I don't understand why this is not happening since it looks like there is commercial justification for it.
The closest competitor (and the only one?) is the Alesis trigger I/O at around 150$.
If someone offered a megadrum-based product, that does what the Alesis does, but is complete open source and configurable (i.e. open product that you can upgrade firmware or even fix yourself HW wise) than I would buy it.

So far I am seeing only kits, and maybe a complete unit here and there; but that does not give you a good feeling, since
you know it's one of a kind, rather than a line of 50 or 100 units, that have been checked and debugged and fixed from the
input of 50 or 100 users. A one of its kind unit may have issues (that's how I feel anyway, i.e. the plastic of some nob may break, it's different when you mass produce and you know the materials 100%, rather than 1 off unit).

Since I don't have the time, a finished product would give me a working solution that is instantly usable, on the other
hand when I have some time I can tweak it to my pleasing.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this,

Just my 2 cents..

Gal.

[dmitri]

Hi,

I really wish someone would offer complete, pre-build finished product of this project in a nice, good looking (but
not necessarily expensive) enclosure.

And I don't mean just build 1 unit at a time, rather make a product out of it, including manual, etc. Or just setup a "waiting
list", where if you get to 50, everybody that ordered gets their unit (otherwise the units don't get built).

Frankly I don't understand why this is not happening since it looks like there is commercial justification for it.
The closest competitor (and the only one?) is the Alesis trigger I/O at around 150$.
If someone offered a megadrum-based product, that does what the Alesis does, but is complete open source and configurable (i.e. open product that you can upgrade firmware or even fix yourself HW wise) than I would buy it.

So far I am seeing only kits, and maybe a complete unit here and there; but that does not give you a good feeling, since
you know it's one of a kind, rather than a line of 50 or 100 units, that have been checked and debugged and fixed from the
input of 50 or 100 users. A one of its kind unit may have issues (that's how I feel anyway, i.e. the plastic of some nob may break, it's different when you mass produce and you know the materials 100%, rather than 1 off unit).

Since I don't have the time, a finished product would give me a working solution that is instantly usable, on the other
hand when I have some time I can tweak it to my pleasing.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this,

Just my 2 cents..

Gal.

As an end user I completely agree with you. As a person who developed MegaDrum I would ask you: do you have a firm business plan to acomplish this? Or maybe you know somebody who can offer one?

[Beamtreetaker]

The closest competitor (and the only one?) is the Alesis trigger I/O at around 150$.

Two problems here that I see:
1.) How much would you spend on a complete Megadrum? I mean, prices for the components alone are ~80$ and it takes lots of manhours to produce a full unit by hand. Competitive products are assembled in China masswise and by cheap workers/machines, so I don't really see a possibility to work profitable if you don't own a factory and don't want to set the price too high (btw, do you know what hand-built tube amps cost? )..
2.) There are several obligations that you must meet when producing electronic stuff professionally, and at least here in Europe those are quite hard to meet. I know of some small companies that had to quit because of e.g. disposal laws..
Also, you would have to offer waranty which would again make it unprofitable to say the least (what if you discover a small hardware failure after 50 units were sold?).

I personally would also welcome a low-price, highly configurable and capable module in the edrum market, but Megadrum is meant to be a DIY project! You should buy one of dmitris ebay units (built by the master himself...what more can you ask for? ) or ask a friend/student with electronic skills AND time to build one unit for you for $.

Just my 2 cents..

[galaviel]

Guys, you are probably right.
Warranty, legal issues, cust. support, printed manuals, web site, ... I see your point.
I'll probably go ahead and as you say buy a unit from the master himself for starters ...

I'm really busy this year, however maybe next year I'll look into this issue more closely. Maybe there is a way after
all to get product-like or near product like results... it doesn't have to be a full-blown product like you buy from a commercial company (and indeed I probably have no intention of setting up a company right now ...)
rather maybe sort of a non-profit org. that produces "evaluation boards" and doesn't have to meet the full
standard, yet still produces near complete product. I think users would be willing to relax the standards
a bit in order to get something that is not one of a kind unit thing.

Thanks for this wonderful project!

Gal.

[RayF]

I appreciate many of the thoughts in this thread. #1 is the answer to the poll for me. I'm afraid if I got a kit(s) I'd fry something in the process of construction.

To this issue of mass production, these guys would have to consider market conditions, and then business factors each nation operates under. I'm a dedicated DIYer for lots of things I can do, or try to do. I just know my limitations and electronics is one of them.

The answer does seem to be to find a person into electronics to put one together for those who can not. Either that or step by step instructions with the kit. They may come with that, I don't know at this point. But, I know the megadrum is a definite answer to the DIY situation I am in. Just need to come up with a builder.

ebay? Did I see ebay in this thread?

[gastric]

At this time the "easiest" method is to buy a complete kit from Synthex, a chassis, and then hire someone with electronics experience to assemble it for you. This certainly wouldn't be the least expensive, and would likely cost more than a Trigger IO. But still significantly less than any of the higher end Roland units.

[trigger]

Primarily, ... though I have a fair amount of experience with electronics and a soldering iron, ... my biggest concern would be making a mistake and damaging a component or worse off, the board.

I think having a good pictures of the board (completed) and a "step-by-step" instructional video (full assembly process) would set a lot of peoples minds at ease. (Including mine.)

There are some advantages that I don't see others posting about much when comparing to the Alesis Trigger I/O. Most importantly, is the number of inputs. I currently have to run TWO Alesis Trigger I/O's to run my 15pc kit.... (Hat, Snare, Kick, 7 toms, 4 crash and a ride. All from "RET Percussion" if anyones curious..) Another issue is, the Trigger I/O does not offer MIDI-Thru capability. (Output only, ... no input....) So, if the software you are using does not support Multi-MIDI In (which most don't,) then you have to use a MIDI-Merge device (Which in many cases adds latency, not to mention gets confused from time to time and ignores inputs all-together..) (Also, ... if the software doesn't support Multi-MIDI, you can't use more than one USB MIDI device, either...)

I think if the guru's around here "are" interested in building some of these, they should decide how much it is worth "to them" for the time they will have involved, set a price and post it. Myself...... I'd be willing to spend over $200(US) for a completed kit (ready to use) so long as the build quality was good.

-Jeff

And yes, ... hand made tube amps ARE rather expensive, .... buy they're also typically hand built by guys who have 20+ years experience building tube amps, too..