Hardware Isn't That Hard — A Software Engineer's Take After Shipping 2500 MIDI Recorders

Chip Weinberger, a software engineer by trade, set out to build Jamcorder — a fully automated MIDI recorder for pianists. After selling 2500 units, his biggest takeaway is that hardware is not as hard as the saying goes.

The Surprising Ease of Hardware

Weinberger expected hardware to be the hardest part: electronics design, plastics, manufacturing, fulfilment, component shortages. Instead, it was smooth sailing. He hand-assembled the first 500 units in four days with zero issues. No scrapped production runs, no sourcing nightmares. Even Trump's tariffs were a close call but didn't derail things.

The real pain point? The software. Roughly 200K lines of code across firmware, app, and manufacturing tooling took over three years and many long nights — all in a pre-LLM world.

Simplicity by Design

Weinberger acknowledges that Jamcorder is intentionally simple: a single PCB with 25 unique components, one screw for assembly, no complex injection molding. He cut features like low battery detection, ambient light detection, a power button, and even USB-C to keep it simple. But he argues that even for more complex devices, the hardware side would have been manageable.

He's not claiming 2500 units is massive scale, but his point stands: hardware is as hard as you make it. If you protect your margins and keep the design lean, it's not the nightmare it's made out to be.

Practical Advice for Shipping Hardware

Weinberger offers ten practical takeaways for medium-scale hardware success:

• Keep your BOM simple; avoid single-manufacturer components.
• Avoid complex assembly and calibration.
• Partner with a Chinese assembly house; Alibaba is your friend.
• Aim for at least 70% gross margin.
• Keep your company lean; scaling hardware is slower.
• Have a strong anti-counterfeit strategy.
• Do final QA in-house and hold finished inventory locally.
• Request samples before every production run.
• Write a step-by-step manufacturing and assembly guide with pictures.
• Keep your packaging small; value-dense products make everything easier.

The bottom line: if you're a software engineer thinking about building hardware, don't let the reputation scare you. The hardest part is still the code.