From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Sun Jun 04 11:04:46 2000
Subject:RE: [Voce] more about voce service

Bruce (and group),

> I did get a response from the maker of the IC I needed and they said
> that they sold the specified IC to VOCE, Inc (now out of business)
> and last sold to them in 1995. (I purchased the unit in 1998).?

This is very common practice in the electronics industry, especially for
small companies like Voce, Inc. The production of IC's involves a lot
of setup and manufacturing costs, which are better spread out over
large-quantity builds. Also, as production processes improve, IC
manufacturers try to phase out older processes, usually by offering a
last-time-buy to the current users, often with financial incentives.
The IC manufacturer probably made it attractive for Voce to buy
thousands of parts in 1995, and since the Micro-BII was a respin of the
successful Micro-B, it probably seemed like a safe decision at the time.

> Is the Micro BII being manufactured at this time? DR said they were
> "back ordered".

I was told that they were, but I don't know anyone who owns a new Micro
B-II. The Voce-DR arrangement appears tenuous at best; the V5 took much
longer to release than originally expected, and the Electric Piano is
only beginning to come out in serious quantities. "Why?" is anybody's
guess -- funding issues, production problems, lack of parts, and lack of
orders could all be likely reasons.

> Is Amels or Alonso aware of this group? They could offer some valuable
> input. (I met them at the 1995 NAMM show - booth #2427. They seemed
> like nice guys.)

It's possible that they are, but if so, they have never been public
about it. I never met or spoke with Mr. Alonso, but I agree that Dave
Amels was a very friendly and helpful guy. I sent several e-mails to
him after the breakup of Voce, Inc., though, and none of them were ever
answered. My understanding is that he is now heavily involved in some
software projects with Microsoft (and others?), and is quite busy. If I
were in his shoes, I might wish to put my Voce days behind me, given
everything else that's going on.

During the 'old-school e-mail' days of this list, there were several
members with unusual aliases who declined to announce themselves to me
or the group, despite numerous requests to do so. I often wondered if
one of them was Dave Amels or Al Alonso ...

> Does DR Music know about this group?

Yes. In fact, most of the Voce dealers listed on the website are
courtesy of the New England DR Music sales rep. DR has never chosen to
be an active participant in the forum, though, and despite several
requests from this author, they have never added a link to The Voce Page
to the official Voce website. I told them of our HTML V-3 manual, but
the Voce website still has the HPPCL-only version.

> Does anyone have any broken VOCE gear they might want to sell? I can
> usually fix anything or use spare parts.

A valid suggestion, IMHO. As the years go on, this method may be the
only way to keep Micro-B's and V3's running -- the same way that players
use to keep their Rhodes, Wurlitzers, Clavinets, Minimoogs, CX-3's,
Prophet 5's, Vox Continentals, and Farfisas running.

Best regards,

-BW
 
--
Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions™
www.ashbysolutions.com
Voce Support Group moderator
978.386.7389
bruce@ashbysolutions.com
 
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