Assembled DIY gear interest

Recording, Mixing and Producing Recording Toys and Tricks
#1

For a while now I have been running an online store providing circuit boards to audio guys with a DIY itch:

http://www.ramshackleaudio.com/

This is largely for 500 series gear such as SSL & 1176 style compressors and a Helios style EQ.

I’ve got an electronics friend on board now so we have the capacity (ie time) to potentially start offering these units fully assembled. Things we are considering to start with:

  • The ‘MixBuzz’ compressor (2 slot 500 series compressor inspired by the SSL bus compressor)
  • A new version of the ‘HE69’ EQ (Helios inspired passive EQ for 500 series)
  • Assembly service for the very popular D-U87 microphone
  • A racking service (500 series to 19" rack)

Before we bother putting any time into this I wanted to try and get a feel for the interest, since this (obviously) won’t be targeting DIY guys so much…
So this place seems like a good place to ask?

1 Like
#2

Maybe. Depends on the pricing.
I’m a very lazy DIYer. If someone can do it for a reasonable price I’d rather let them do it than spend my time I could be trying to record.

#3

Do you only supply the PCB and the DIYer must source all of the components ?

I personally would rather assemble the units myself, but wouldn’t want to have to hunt down all of the components.

#4

This is currently how it is yes.
Offering component packages is another possibility, I suppose.
I had figured that with assembled units we can avoid a big upfront cost by having a lead time (which a customer would expect for a hand built unit) and then basically use the funds as they come in to purchase the parts.

With a ‘kit’ the expectation is more that they are ready to go immediately. Although perhaps this isn’t such a big problem if we have a 3-4 week lead time to provide kits aswell.

The other consideration is saving costs by buying in bulk, but in general, the more estoric parts are generally the most expensive and don’t typically offer any/much bulk buy savings. E.g front panels, transformers, fancy meters.

#5

So an example of a (very) rough price would be something like
250-350 EUR for a MixBuzz parts kit
D-U87 would be around 400 EUR for a parts kit

And then for an assembled unit (again rough guide), it would be something like 125-200 EUR on top of the kit cost depending on the unit.

#6

I see the links to the BOM, but was wondering if the pcb comes with assembly instructions as well as expected voltages at test points, etc ?