A column devoted to answering your questions about PAIA, electronic music or any area which might be of interest to our readers. We've started out here with a few composite type questions which are typical of what is most often asked. We've opened the forum now so let us hear from you. If we don't know the answers to your questions we'll find out.

DEAR PAIA, I would like to contact other people to arrange some discussion groups or Synthesizer Ensembles. Could you give me the names of people in my area who have purchased PAIA equipment?
John Q. Synthesist

Dear Mr. Synthesist,
It would be highly unethical to indiscriminately distribute our customer lists; however, if you're game for such a thing and have a den, practice hall, recording studio or even a tree house and would like to host a few fellow synthesists we will give you a listing in our "Local Happenings" column in the next issue. We'll print your name, address and phone number so that other synthesists in your area can contact you to arrange times and meeting places. Once you've established a group be sure to let us know what you're up to so that we can let everyone in on various activities occurring across the country.

(In point of fact, our mailing lists are completely confidential and are never sold, leased or loaned to any other organization - though we may from time to time forward offers that would appear to be of interest to our customers. - J.S.)

DEAR PAIA, Why is your equipment so inexpensive?
Budget Minded Customer

Dear Budget;
There are a lot of reasons. Probably the biggest is that it's sold directly to the end user without a middle man taking a big chunk. A typical music store works on what they call a 50% mark-up. To them this means that of the price they receive for a piece of equipment, 50% is gross profit. Normal people would call it a 100% mark up since it doubles the price that a customer pays for the merchandise. This isn't a rip-off. A merchant in a normal in-house sales environment has a lot of over-head cost to contend with. He's got sales personnel to pay, insurance, building costs, interest on loans, taxes and all the other costs that any business has to pay. In many cases he has losses through theft and someone has to pay these - it's sad that it has to be the honest customer but that's the only way the system will work. The point is that you've got a lot of people making money from that one piece of equipment: the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the distributor and so on. With us, only one organization has to show a profit; PAIA Electronics, Inc.

The second biggest savings is that the equipment is user assembled and in many cases that's a time consuming, though hopefully pleasant, operation.

DEAR PAIA, Last summer a very nice lady named Rhonda helped me get an order re-shipped that had been lost by UPS. When I called to order a new module last week I was informed that she was no longer with you. What's the deal?
a friend

Dear Friend;
On October 17th Mrs. Rhonda Fleming our former customer service clerk, gave birth to a 7lb. 10oz. son. She's currently at home getting John Michael off to a good start in life but she hopes to rejoin our staff sometime in the future.