Jan 2024 note - leaving this up for posterity, but obviously a lot has changed since this announcement.
Hey fam,
We at WMD are so thankful for the support you have given us over the past 17 years. We’ve been making gear that has pushed the boundaries of electronic music, that’s made its way into the rigs of incredible people we respect, that has allowed them to make music that we cherish, that inspires us to make more gear. A beautiful circle of inspiration and gratitude. So we thank you for helping us manifest our vision.
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
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What does this mean for support?
We will continue to support our products for as long as we possibly can. We will be offering repair services and replacements (when necessary, and while supplies last) for all products covered under warranty. We unfortunately no longer have the bandwidth to repair modules outside of that window.
What does this mean for Metron, Voltera, and Axxent?
We have one more run of 500 Metron coming. These will be sold through dealers and through our site WMDevices.com. This new run will feature a new set of custom designed buttons that are much more durable and reliable than the previous version. We spent over a year developing these new buttons, replacing the switches with a “click dome” technology that should be much more able to take the abuse of a constantly used sequencer. The aesthetic is slightly different, but makes for a much longer lasting product. It will continue to work with all versions of Voltera and Axxent.
We have one more firmware release planned that should fix any remaining bugs, and add the features that we feel are the most important. After that, we will consider the suite of products “finished”. Our design team may continue to release unofficial firmware with feature additions as their time allows. We love these products and don’t want to see them completely abandoned, but unfortunately, we cannot keep a staff on the payroll for updates to a product that is becoming harder and harder to build.
Will there be a liquidation of products?
Yes, we are having a 30% off sale on our website for all in-stock items, excluding the three newest products.
As time goes on, we will likely be finding random modules, panels, and miscellaneous gear. We will be putting these items on eBay as they are discovered. Follow @wmdevices on instagram for announcements of when these items go up.
As for parts and equipment, we will cross that bridge when it comes. If you are interested in buying a bulk selection of electronic parts, soldering and testing equipment, or any infrastructure from our warehouse, please contact us at Info@wmdevices.com