Synthesizers.com, the Synthesizer company specializing in Moog 5U clone/replicas and new 5U module developments is for sale
The last two years have hit the music world hard. Musicians couldn’t tour for two years, we sat at home, many developments stood still, staff were laid off… In addition, there is a chip crisis which has also heavily shaken the music tech sector.
Delayed deliveries, production stops… mainly because specific chips or other components are missing. The result is clear: no income, no financial resource for new developments, etc. Plus there is also a hefty inflation, which makes everything more expensive, including music gear. Now the situation has hit a well-known boutique company.
Synthesizers.com For Sale
In a new Facebook post, the American modular synthesizer company Synthesizers.com has announced that it is in financial difficulties. As reminder: Synthesizers.com is an US-based company in Tyler (Texas), founded by engineer Roger Arrick in 1996, which manfactures analog modular synthesizers.
More precisely, they are specialized in cloning/replicating Moog Modular systems and modules but also in the development of new 5U modules. In the post they say:
As everyone knows, the past couple of years have been difficult for families and businesses alike, both financially and emotionally. The crew and management at Synthesizers.com have weathered through it so far, but now we are at a difficult point financially, and are staring at an unknown economic future.
In order to be able to survive financially, Synthesizers.com decided to put the company up for sale. A difficult and emotional decision to sell your company, which you have been running for almost 30 years, from one day to the next. They write:
If you, or someone you know, would be interested in purchasing Synthesizers.com we are interested in talking with you.
For those who still have orders at Synthesizers.com, don’t panic. This will not affect the activity until further notice and we will continue to produce and deliver. To this they say
Note: this does not affect current orders. We WILL continue shipping orders, but we will have limited products available to purchase
Sad news. I hope there will be a buyer who can continue the well-known Synthesizer manufactory. The synthesizer world needs a great variety and this includes not only big players but also small manufacturers like Synthesizers.com who build high-quality analog instruments.
Interested parties should contact James Allen over mail. Check the picture of the article for the e-mail address.
More information here: developer website
Uli to the Rescue?
Behringer could buy them to get hold off their engineering expertise!? Or maybe the 5U market is that small and Moog itself is somekind of “back” in it to serve the demand?
Sadly, 5U is a dying breed. Behringer would be crazy to buy this company – they already have ton’s of comparable IP in all the synths they reverse engineered, and a customer base where ‘good enough’ is good enough.
we’ll miss you DOT COM.
John, I think a path forward for them is perhaps consolidation? I cannot see another company purchasing them considering that much of their IP are the individuals (founders) and not any particular proprietary technological asset. I have said for years that there will come a day that euroack makers will have to consolidate in the event of an economic downturn. Well, we have arrived.
agreed Sarah! 5U was in the process of trying to absorb eurorack IP into the formfactor as a way to revitalize it. too little too late for the old guard to catchup. in the end, eurorack was more space and cost efficient than 5U.