2015 - Put in your requests

[thesameage]

That's exactly what I'm describing. Mouser has a feature where you can save whole "projects" or at least the parts that they carry. Here's a thread with many projects already saved in it: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=5703.0

I get what culturejam is saying, though. Whenever I use the BOM's in that thread, many components are out of stock or missing and you have to go hunt for them, which is even harder on Mouser. Now that Smallbear has an upgraded site, it would be awesome if they had a module or feature that they could engage with their system that saved whole project lists.

[dont-tase-me-bro]

Bi phase

[lincolnic]

I feel like I should put a disclaimer at the start of this post -- Brian, my comments below are meant not as criticism, but just as observations from the past year or so. In general, I think you do a fantastic job, and the entire DIY community is better for having you. MBP is truly great, and I want it to be even more so if possible.

I do think that more transparency would be welcome here. Aside from a few sporadic updates, most of the time we're in the dark regarding new/upcoming projects. We tend to either get a random picture of a circuit board with no context every few months, or a new project will just appear overnight. I'm not saying that you should be live-tweeting your development process or anything, but think about how many projects have missed their planned release dates in 2014. Most of the time, there wasn't any explanation given when a project was delayed. I think keeping us in the loop about why these delays are happening would go a long way towards preventing frustration in your customer base; this would also probably prevent some frustration for you too, as you'd have fewer people asking "y u no releas dirtbag3??" on a daily basis. Even for the majority of us who are waiting patiently, it'd be reassuring to hear more about how things are developing. It's a little disappointing to hear "It's coming soon!", and then be told "It's coming later!" with no other explanation. More than once, we were told that this fall would see multiple PCB releases every month, but that didn't happen.

I know there are a million reasons for development to stall or be delayed, and that you're incredibly busy -- just keep us in the loop. I really think it'd make things a bit easier all around. I understand your general hesitance to even assign release dates to anything at this point, so maybe the answer is to keep up a steadier stream of info as you work, and not announce a release date at all until you're ready for it. Or if you do announce one and it slips past, let us know why. We'll understand.

My other request is similar to one you mentioned in your earlier State of the Union post. For 2015, I'm going to propose that you clear out the backlog of projects that have been promised and delayed for some time before working on new designs. I think the entire forum is frothing at the mouth for the DBD 3 and Attack Decay projects, and the Dig Dug 2 has been in development for several years at this point. Is it cool that you designed a Bluesbreaker PCB this year? Yes. But it might've been better to have spent that time getting one of the long-awaited projects out the door instead. (At this time, I'd like to acknowledge the release of the Moodring, after its own lengthy development.)

I understand that it's difficult to work on the same projects for a while, and that sometimes you need to do something else just for a mental break. But it seems like 2014 had too much of "something else".

Again, I think you do an amazing job and have nothing but respect for you. I've been a Madbean customer ever since it was only a monthly mailing list, and I look forward to being a Madbean customer for years to come -- I've just been thinking about this stuff for a while, and I'm glad you've asked us for our input. Thanks for listening!

[Cortexturizer]

so many great requests already, I'm with stereo in and out thing, the donate button, the pre-order stuff, and more of the included mods on the build docs.

I would like to see some sort of a musical collab happening though. It really would be easy, we are all proud of our builds and toanz and sometimes pressing the record button and just noodling around can feel a bit taxing even before you begin, because it's...sort of pointless in this regard that you're not really making any music. So, and this kinda builds on Cody's idea of incentivising people to do audio/video demos, we could take an existing (or member made) backing track and just lay riffs and melodies on top of it. This could be a monthly, or bi-monthly thing or something, and the participants to each track could be chosen at random. For example, five guys get chosen at random and then they complete a song using a build they've made during that month (or in the last two months if bi-monthly). This could build on top of the quarterly contest idea as well, where we get to hear the top 3 or 5 voted builds in action. It wouldn't at all be some sort of a competition thing in a way where guys with more skill on the instrument would slay the ones who are less skilled, no, absolutely not, we could even put a ban on solos. Dunno, I think this could be really fun, and a chance to hear those striking looking builds in action and in the context of a "song" and, most importantly, right next to the build of a fellow stompbox brother in the sonic realm of awesomeness.

That, and less dirt boxes being developed. Keep the ones that are in offer right now, restock, there are always guys that are coming for that sorta thing (I am the first that will buy the Danger Zone once it's restocked) but generally speaking, who needs another OD, let's do more modulation effects, and as somebody stated, more envelope controlled effects that are not auto-wah type of things and more (the first?) control voltage controlled circuits.

Thank you for everything you do and God bless.

[morganp]

Icecycle96 mentioned an OSHpark shared project subforum, I think that's a great idea. I don't really know how to navigate that stuff, but I just know there's all kinds of cool builds waiting for me to find them.

I know this won't be popular, but I might suggest no release dates, implied or explicit. That removes false expectations for us, and I imagine takes the pressure off for you. We'd still like to hear what you're working on, but you could release as fluidly as you like without folks feeling like they're missing out.

I sort of like the pre-sale idea, but I could also see it adding more work in terms of organization. The trade off is having a feel for how much interest a project has. I don't know where the break point is in that equation.

[m-Kresol]

Naked chicks and kittens together.

Let's face it, they're the two most looked at things on the internet yet no one has combined the two...

My idea is flawless!

Just to prove you wrong and because it's a very relaxing video.

DISCLAIMER: You need a google account to prove your age, so this should give you an idea already, but don't necessarily watch this with your little child standing next to you. Nothing spectacular here, just to make sure no one gets in trouble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF_YEFJpHX8



As for requests, I'd second group-buys for to-be-released products if that helps you with financing. And I found the idea of a "subscription" awesome. Pay amount xy and get the next few pcbs that are to be released. Gives us the opportunity to support you, ease your finance stress and get all the goods without hassle.

[micromegas]

And I found the idea of a "subscription" awesome. Pay amount xy and get the next few pcbs that are to be released. Gives us the opportunity to support you, ease your finance stress and get all the goods without hassle.

I suggested that, and was ok with it, but I understand why Brian said what he said:

It is not the right model for MBP. I would not be able to keep up with the demand of satisfying a subscription-based service.

[raulduke]

->

What about a "work bench" forum for talk on tools & everything related?

I love this idea.

Maybe incorporating parts sourcing as well. There are always plenty of questions along the lines of 'what iron do you use', 'where did you buy those knobs', 'how did you do that etch' etc.

I think we all also love talking about tools that can make the frustrating/time consuming parts of the hobby easier.

[flanagan0718]

->

What about a "work bench" forum for talk on tools & everything related?

I love this idea.

Maybe incorporating parts sourcing as well. There are always plenty of questions along the lines of 'what iron do you use', 'where did you buy those knobs', 'how did you do that etch' etc.

I think we all also love talking about tools that can make the frustrating/time consuming parts of the hobby easier.

I like the workbench Idea as well. Some of the other stuff might fall under the "Tutorial" subject but the "Whats on your bench and why" is cool.

[madbean]

It's going to take me a while to review and comment on everything here so I won't try to rush out responses (but I will do so in the next few days).

Once again, you guys know what's up. So many comments here are spot on. lincolnic - I pretty much agree with everything you posted. That's very healthy feedback! I will address one point though about the BB PCB since you mentioned it: sometimes it is good to grab some "low hanging fruit" to ensure that the money train keeps rolling. Without that, none of the big stuff can happen. That's just to give you a little of my perspective on why some things might suddenly appear when other long promised projects are not put first. If I can turn a project over fairly quickly (and it is a good one that I believe in ((the only kind I do))) I can keep a little cash flow to fund other things.

Anyway, keep it coming. This stuff is gold.

[alanp]

Icecycle96 mentioned an OSHpark shared project subforum, I think that's a great idea. I don't really know how to navigate that stuff, but I just know there's all kinds of cool builds waiting for me to find them.

I'd suggest retooling the Cadsoft EAGLE subforum for this one.

The danger of all the subfora being suggested is a possibility of fragmenting the MBP userbase. (Not saying it shouldn't be done, just playing devil's advocate )

[RobA]

...
A damn donate button. Sometimes I don't want to buy anything but I want to just give you money.

Yeah, the forum itself is a great resource and it would be nice to be able to contribute to it directly.

[Justus]

->

What about a "work bench" forum for talk on tools & everything related?

I love this idea.

Maybe incorporating parts sourcing as well. There are always plenty of questions along the lines of 'what iron do you use', 'where did you buy those knobs', 'how did you do that etch' etc.

I think we all also love talking about tools that can make the frustrating/time consuming parts of the hobby easier.

I like the workbench Idea as well. Some of the other stuff might fall under the "Tutorial" subject but the "Whats on your bench and why" is cool.

I'm glad I read all the way to the end of this thread before commenting, because these last few posts were the first thing I thought of.  What makes MBP better than other DIY sites, from a newbie perspective (I only started building pedals this summer), is the amount of help on the forums.  Most other places people are told to simply "search" or "read this 500 page novel on the theory of a subject" when, in reality, a newbie just wants to have a fast-start method to get in there and get their hands dirty.  The Members Projects and Tutorials forum is great, but it's pretty disorganized.  Streamlining that, with a "Workbench" forum as suggested, and maybe a separate subforum for "Tutorials" would make that information much easier to access.

And your build docs are the best. I especially like the commentary about each project, discussing how it differs from this or that circuit and why.  I wish every project could have a build doc like yours.

[madbean]

I like the workbench idea. We can have that. For tutorials, I am imagining something bigger. A dedicated area outside of the forum for tutorials with some video compliment. Also, an area for user-sbumitted tutorials.

How about a member page section on the site? As in - if you wanted to have a small bio about yourself and a personal gallery. Completely voluntary, of course. My hope is the re-designed store will include personal accounts with an order history, so perhaps there is a way to integrate both things into a seamless experience.

[selfdestroyer]

How about a member page section on the site? As in - if you wanted to have a small bio about yourself and a personal gallery. Completely voluntary, of course. My hope is the re-designed store will include personal accounts with an order history, so perhaps there is a way to integrate both things into a seamless experience.

oh, I like this idea. Also us posting photos should give you rights to use them as "finished product photos" if you want to use them to show a finished product of your PCBs.

Cody