This "software oriented talent" should be motivated enough to contribute to MIDIbox that they don't mind a tiny bit of soldering.
Just like the electronic musicians here who are motivated enough to build a MIDIbox don't mind a bit of soldering (and often learn how to solder in the process).
There is no expectation for newcomers to learn advanced electronics theory... just solder some parts.
I agree that pre-built Cores would be more inviting, but not really required, all I see is a lot of effort to help a few hypothetical people. If the idea of doing some soldering and the result possibly not working is enough to send people away, oh well, that attitude isn't really ideal, is it? Much better is the attitude of someone who is willing to give it a go, even when it isn't their strong suit. This is a DIY electronics community! It's not unreasonable to expect people to know (or want to learn) basic electronics skills like soldering, avoiding blue smoke of death, and not electrocuting yourself.
Similarly people new to electronics are encouraged to continue when they solder their Core module and it works. Or it doesn't work first time and maybe with help from the forum they get it working. As I said before, at some point you need to do some soldering to "finish" a MIDIbox project, and for many people, the process of building a MIDIbox project is a learning experience in electronics, soldering, programming, case design.... if it was a university course, the first "lesson" would be solder the Core and upload your "hello world" app.
I will bypass your vague assertions that MIDIbox Core modules should be more Arduino-like... because it's like saying an apple should be more like an orange, thus making apples more attractive to orange-lovers and tasting like shit to apple-lovers.
Oh, her's a flower (cos nILS seems to think trolls eat flowers): :flowers: