[Harp-L] re:volume control

[Greg Heumann <greg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cletus wrote:

Subject: [Harp-L] Re:volume control product offering
> too expensive in my opinion
>
> if it were half the price i'd probably order several,  and i don't 
> imagine i'm alone in  that appraisal
>
> cletus

I make the control, so I'll tell you why it costs what it does. If 
there were a market for 100,000 units or more, I could probably have it 
made in Taiwan very cheaply. This would require however a large upfront 
investment - say, $50,000 or more, which would have to be amortized 
across the units sold. But the market isn't that big. In fact, it is 
downright tiny. So these units have to be built by hand, by me. They 
are very labor intensive.

1) There is precision machining (tolerances have to be maintained 
within .001  for a good, strong press fit between the end caps and the 
barrel.) Again, due to low volume, it doesn't pay to do this with CNC 
machines, which wold make sense if they were to be made in the 1000's. 
CNC set-up costs need to be amortized across large numbers of units. So 
- they are done by hand. Not cheap.

2) Search all you want, you'll find there is no such thing as the 
female version of the 2501MP panel mount connector. You can't just 
screw a ring on a 2501MP - it won't "float" above the threads. So I 
have to machine each 2501MP for this purpose. You'll also note you 
can't buy the retaining rings separately - I have to buy ungodly 
quantities at a time to get them at all.

3) That is a 3/4" barrel. The pot has to be inserted and maneuvered so 
that the shaft comes up through the hole. The shaft on those pots is 
too long to fit inside the barrel, so I have to cut every shaft down. I 
could build them with bigger barrels, and in fact I have-  but they're 
UGLY, and they won't allow a stick mic like a Shure 533 to be placed  
in a mic holder.

4) Every pot has to have 3 wires cut, stripped at each end and tinned. 
Then they must be soldered to the pot, shrink wrap cut and installed, 
shrunk, and the other ends soldered to the connectors.

5) The connectors have to be press fit into the ends, secured with nuts 
and loctite. Then the ends have to be pressed into the barrel, again 
secured with loctite.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea. I am very proud of the 
product, which I think is functional, aesthetically pleasing and of 
very high quality. Of course, each one has to be tested, marketed, 
packaged and shipped. And distributors need a piece of the pie.  If it 
is too expensive for you I understand - and  respect your opinion. I 
just wanted to explain why a product like this doesn't follow the same 
laws of economics as something mass produced in a factory.