The Parasites

[expanoncolin]

I've been meaning to post this for a while.  Steven over at the squarewave parade came up with a pretty brilliant idea a while ago - kits of basic circuit building blocks that can be interfaces to make synths, controllers, etc.  It's nice to think of circuit in terms of the building blocks, but it can be a pain when one type of circuit doesn't work well with another.  Para has done the work for you and made circuit boards for it too.

They're called parasites.  I was surprised to find out recently that he has some available in his store (TSP stuff tends to go very quickly).  With the two kits available (shudder and falter) you could create a pretty sweet frequency modulated tone generator, for example.  For more info, see also his post on the board about them.

-Colin

[para]

wow thanks colin. i was going take the last 5 of each of those sitting in the store and stuff them into something. there are a handful of new parasites on the way in a few months. res filters and stuff.

steven

[dach]

Isn't this approach exactly what's done in a modular synthesizer?  Or are these modules aimed at a lower level?
I always thought it'd be kinda neat to have a lot of interface modules in hardware that interface neatly with max/msp and connect together in a rack format (my prototypes used Lego and were kinda cool

[dach]

by the way, if the squarewave parade stuff sells out so fast, you'd think his highest priority would be working on sorting out his manufacturing, rather than making new designs?... Could it be that a whole lot of the products are total bluffs, and marked up as 'sold out' just so the store looks fuller?

[expanoncolin]

Isn't this approach exactly what's done in a modular synthesizer?  Or are these modules aimed at a lower level?
I always thought it'd be kinda neat to have a lot of interface modules in hardware that interface neatly with max/msp and connect together in a rack format (my prototypes used Lego and were kinda cool

Not exactly - they are indeed lower level.  It's the same idea though, same approach - modules making the whole anyways.

by the way, if the squarewave parade stuff sells out so fast, you'd think his highest priority would be working on sorting out his manufacturing, rather than making new designs?... Could it be that a whole lot of the products are total bluffs, and marked up as 'sold out' just so the store looks fuller?

He's one guy making handmade boxes, he can only make them so fast while researching, developing, doing customer support, updating his website, etc.  I don't doubt that he wishes he could make more pedals to fill demand.  Of course some products sell better than others, but he definitely sells his stuff.

-Colin

[para]

no my main priority is my personal happiness. after the life i've lived i try to not let anything else matter. which is difficult, but i try

i'd rather spend my days designing new shit then just rebuilding the same fucking thing over and over and over regardless of how many people want them

the parasites were originally intended to be bender utilities that fit inside of toys and shit, super simple and cheap



"Could it be that a whole lot of the products are total bluffs, and marked up as 'sold out' just so the store looks fuller?"


and it looks like i’ve been caught by the best. i pretend to sell 10 boxes rather then the one or two that i actually sell so that little kids and housewife’s think i'm cooler then i really am. fuck i guess i have to turn in my super hero costume

who wants to spend every day just building the same thing, not me. building is a necessary evil, i'd rather be designing new shit. so guess what.... thats what i do.




here is a fake picture of the fake shit i just made for this last fake batch http://thesquarewaveparade.com/images/fake.jpg i usually take one of every batch if you want me to dig them up


oh and thanks colin,
steven

[dach]

What a rude reply!
Why don't you get your boards manufactured somewhere if the demand for them is so high?

[jacobyjd]

What a rude reply!
Why don't you get your boards manufactured somewhere if the demand for them is so high?

One would think that a rude reply would be warranted in response to an equally rude open insinuation that he is taking part in shady business practices.

If you're that concerned about the way he does things, then perhaps you should open your own business in competition.

Some people aren't necessarily interested in providing a consistent business that acts in traditional ways. It would seem that TSWP has an amorphous business plan that is less focused on making the operator a living and more focused on making a couple bucks on current projects to fund the development of others. There's nothing wrong with that.

I'd be pissed if you started criticizing a business I ran without reason. Why would you want to damage someone's reputation without cause? Are you a paying customer that has a legitimate complaint? If you have no association with a business as a customer, investor, regulatory committee, or supplier, you have no reason to make off-hand speculative comments.

[salamanderanagram]

"Could it be that a whole lot of the products are total bluffs, and marked up as 'sold out' just so the store looks fuller?"

nope. tsp is legit and his gear is kick-ass. none of the products are bluffs, i can personally verify having seen every single one of them for sale at one point or another.

in fact, if the guy was really all about money, he would just crank out teaspoons non-stop and sell them all on e-bay where they often sell for $400+. instead he sells them for $150.

i have mad respect for TSP and am a little jealous that he can actually do this and make some $$ off of it too.

[dach]

I didn't mean to be rude, and I wasnt insinuating anything. I was just asking, but if it came off that way then of course I'm sorry. Chill out you guys.