Designers vs. Customizers - a little philosophical observation

[Doc B.]

I sometimes enjoy watching the HD Theater channel, which should really be called the "expensive car channel". Last night I was watching Street Customs, the show about Ryan Freidlinghaus' West Coast Customs car customizing business. They do some pretty wild stuff  - for example last night was a chrome paint finished Audi R8 with a "Tron" style light job in the wheels and upholstery they did for none other than Mr. Monster Cable, Noel Lee. It was a very cool looking car when complete, and Freidlinghaus was very willing to express that he and his crew were the wildest designers out there.

A while later (after a really silly show where Friedlinghaus' crew painted a very nicely restored military hummer flat black and installed a stereo in it for a big clothing designer and called it a custom) there was a fascinating show about Ford's brightest young gun designer and his design of the Cobra coupe concept car. This guy didn't just take some Mustang and make some new wheels and a flashy paint job, he started with a drawing so sensational that his boss immediately said "do it", and then a crew of four amazingly skilled artisans spent weeks building a full sized clay mockup so precise that fiberglass molds for the actual show car body were made from it.

Now both of these endeavors are totally cool, I admire both guys for their passion and I envy a bit their success. But when it comes to who in my mind is the real designer, I gotta go with the guy who creates a concept car from a drawing and a couple tons of clay over the guy who buys a megabuck car, paints it a different color, adds a bunch of LEDs and custom wheels.

How does this relate to the topics here? Well, one of the reasons for our success I think is that we have always welcomed and supported our customer's modifying our products. Just as I like to watch Ryan and his crew do amazing paint and upholstery work I love to see what you guys come up with in terms of finishes and mods to our kits and even more so I love to see the custom chassis and such that are more radical departures. Some of these even end up influencing future kits.

We also see huge long threads about which tube and which capacitor to use. This is great and we encourage everyone sharing their results, but I think sometimes that people might be led to believe that this kind of thing is like re-designing the amp, where it is really just customizing. It is definitely a great first step into the realm of what goes on under the hood. I hope that we will continue to see more of and I also hope that more folks take the notion further than parts swapping and really start to dig into how these things work and cook up some more radical electronic redesigns of our stuff.

Keep the DIY flame burnin' folks!

[InfernoSTi]

Doc,

Your comments have made me think a bit about things and since I have both BH and DIY audio equipment and two cars both of which aren't stock, I figure this post was aimed right at me.  

It seems there is a third perspective that could be added to discussion.  You mentioned the "customizer" and the "designer" but I would add to it the "user."  The user can be someone who is either a customizer or a designer or someone who is OK with "off the shelf" equipment (be it audio or cars or whatever).  The intent of the user is critical and most people just want something reliable, that is fun/useful/easy, and to a certain group is prestigious.  Those people are really missing out because the fun is figuring out what you like and finding ways to achieve that within your particular constraints (often budget but sometimes time or space). What is most interesting is that because each goal is unique to that user, unique designs or customization is needed to achieve success.  Rarely does an off the shelf design meet the goal.

The other side of the equation is the greater satisfaction in the outcome (i.e. achieving the goal) rather than the object (i.e. the peak satisfaction is at the moment of purchase).  This is no small thing: it isn't the purchase of the capacitor that is enjoyable, it hearing if you achieved the audio outcome you were seeking and you enjoy it with every song you hear).  

My Subaru is set up for road racing track use and I have a whole new suspension, brakes, and power setup that makes it a "custom" Subaru.  What is enjoyable is that I can perform on the track in a certain manner that suits my driving style, the tracks I frequent, and the run groups I drive with.   The setup wouldn't be right for someone else in a different situation even though it is perfect for me (and is the result of doing this with two other Subaru's and one Acura prior to this car so I was able to apply what I learned from each that came before).  

My stereo has DIY amplifier, speakers, and room treatments.  It is set up for the type of music I enjoy, the particular room I use, and the source material I have available to play.  The setup wouldn't be right for someone else in a different situation even though it is perfect for me (and is the result of doing this with several other amplifiers, speakers, etc prior to this stereo system so I was able to apply what I learned from each that came before).

See how parallel this is?  I do, and I also have so much respect for the designer and the customizer even if they don't put together exactly the car or audio equipment that suits me.  I know that with enough thought and effort, I can meet my goals for both cars and stereos.  The key to the user is setting your goals so you know what you are trying to achieve rather than just buying the newest model or making changes to have something different.  Goals are what allows greater satisfaction for the user.

John

[RayP]

This topic has really made me think about what category I am in.

I don't do too much in the way of kits these days, largely because they work first time and I enjoy a certain amount of frustration and suffering. Neither do I tube / cap roll. So I suppose I am not a 'customizer'.

Neither am I really a 'designer'. Nothing I have built has not been done before in one form or another.

I have decided I am a Frankensteiner. I take bits of circuits and put them together in some sort of container, turn on the power and then see what happens. Sometimes it sings, sometimes it croaks. Sometimes it needs to be destroyed, but not the following monsters.

http://829b.com/6v6lumiere.aspx

http://829b.com/russianlinestage.aspx

ray

[Jim R.]

Interesting discussion.  To my mind, in some sense I think even if you're still building a stock or modified BH kit, there is still a pretty large aspect of this that is still in the realmof design, and that is what's involved in putting the system as a whole together.  Now for some, this means just getting the basics together -- source, amplification, speakers, and connections, and leave it at that (which is perfectly acceptable, btw.), but for others of us that means, for lack of a better word, tweaking and/or "voicing a system" to our tastes and what we want out of a system.  This always seems like the most work, potentially the most frustraating, and ultimately the most rewarding -- when you get everything working just as you want it and working with the room you are in, or other overruling considerations, such as a headphone system if that's what you prefer or can manage in your living situation.

As for me, I like it all, from choosing the amp and speakers as a starting point and then filling in all the other pieces from there, building the components, etc., and then finding/building/modifying the parts to achieve the whole.  It's often an interative task, is not for the impatient (or those who simply have other priorities) and can cost some money, though that too can be managed with some sweat equity when you have the appropriate skills and/or are willing to try and learn.

Anyway, I'm rambling, buut I hope I've made the point that even if you stick with just stock BH gear, there is a system design aspect that is still there and can be a large part of the process.

-- Jim

[Mikey]

Keep the DIY flame burnin' folks!

Hi Dan!
Great topic....I agree 100%.

John,
Terrific reply, well said.

Mike

[porcupunctis]

I thoroughly enjoyed Doc's philosophical musings and all the follow-ups so far. 

Whether you tweak, mod, customize, personalize, design, rebuild or just discover a new way to start a fire, I think we're all on the same journey.  Which path we choose probably depends on a lot of factors like skill level, resources, and interests.

I was reminded of two things while reading the discussion so far.  First was the myth about Theseus and his boat.  During his sea voyage he ended up replacing every single part on the boat with a replacement part presumably stored on the original boat.  So the question is, when he arrived in port was he sailing the same vessel he started in or another one altogether? 

The other thought was open-source software.  Someone will write an original routine.  You could call them the "designer".  Then the community checks it over and either finds a tweak that will benefit everyone or maybe just bends the code to their own needs.  I sort of see the BH kits as working along this model.  The amps are pretty awesome in their stock configuration but you have this whole community working like a massively parallel computer to find little improvements here and there.

On top of that, we get to talk philosophy as well.