It's a sad day when a much-loved music-making company can no longer make the numbers stack up in ever-more trying times. And today the number is up for WMD Devices, makers of popular Eurorack modules and effects.
I don’t want to call this “goodbye”. Hopefully, it’s a “see ya later”. We’ll just have to see what the world has to offer down the road.
WMD statement
Despite garnering praise and fans around the world for their Metron, Axxent, Voltera, Fracture, Crucible, TRSHMSTR and more, the current business climate – with electronic parts ever harder to source – is forcing WMD to shut up shop.
At least for now.
But it's not all bad news. While informing fans of its demise via its website it also announced the release of the further (final?) three new modules available today.
They are: Subway an 8 input, 1 output scanning crossfader in 6 HP.
Legion, an analog oscillator with individual waveform outputs and CV inputs
And Orion, an analog phaser effect module in 4HP.
While the company blames the global parts shortage as the principle reason they're shutting down, they have secured enough parts to create these final three modules in a limited edition run of 600 each. Lead times for these new modules are 3-10 weeks.
"Once they are gone, they are gone," they say.
We wish them all the best with future endeavours and hope for a successful return.
The company's full statement is below.
"Times are tough for everyone. The state of the world has destroyed our sales numbers while operating costs continue to rise. We have many new designs in the pipe that unfortunately cannot be made due to the global parts shortage.
"Our company is reliant on the development of new innovative products in the hardware realm and we have watched our lead times for parts get pushed back from months to years, and there is no telling if some will actually come. This makes planning for the future impossible, and new product development unfulfilling.
"With the risk of going further in debt with no “end” in sight, we have concluded that the only option is to wind down our production facility, with the plan to close by the end of 2022. We wish that we could keep things going, that we could see another path, but the stress alone has been harmful to our mental health, and our lack of incoming cash is only making it worse.
"We have three new products that we’re announcing as available for preorder today. They are all on our site now and can be purchased. Lead times for these new modules are 3-10 weeks.
"They are all currently in production with parts secured. Each module will be a limited run of 600. Once they are gone, they are gone. We are extremely proud of these modules and feel that each one is a valuable and useful tool for the Eurorack ecosystem.
"To keep cash flow moving and make this transition as smooth as possible for our employees, we are going to be liquidating all in-stock items starting today (excluding Performance Mixer, Metron, and our three newest products) at WMDevices.com at 30% until they are gone.
"If you have been waiting for a sale to buy a module, now is the time. Purchases made today will have a huge positive impact on our ability to keep our employees for the end of these production runs, helping in their transition to what is next for them.
"As for WMD, I don’t want to call this “goodbye”. Hopefully, it’s a “see ya later”. We’ll just have to see what the world has to offer down the road.
"Thank you again. We value every relationship we’ve made through this journey more than you could ever know. We’ll be at Velocity and Knobcon showing off the new modules and hanging with old and new friends. Come say hey, and have a drink with us.
"I know there will be questions, so I’ve tried to answer a few preemptively below. If I don’t answer yours, or if you’d like to send some positive vibes (we could use it), please reach out to us at info@wmdevices.com
Much love, WMD."
