Synthesis Technology - Home of the MOTM Modular Synthesizer

Preface - Please Read First!
The first thing I want to say, because this is what some people will think (and I'm sure what will turn up across the net) is that I am NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS OR SHUTTING DOWN THE BUSINESS.
What I am doing is restructuring the business and changing the products I offer and how these products are brought to market.

Part #1 - Phasing out of some MOTM modules (both kit and assembled)
MOTM is now a mature product line, having been in business 8 years. I am approaching 7000 modules shipped (over 7000 have been sold) to almost 600 different customers around the world. The biggest sellers as a group are the filters. This is what MOTM is known for and we are fortunate to have the best analog filter designer on the planet, Juergen Haible, allowing me to license his work. The MOTM-480/485 work by Scott Rider has been my biggest selling modules the last 18 months.

However, as in any business, there are some modules that recently have been in decline. It's not that they are a bad design, or the pricing is too high. It's just that most people need only 1 module per system, there are many other alternatives, or the function is not that popular. Therefore, I am going to build one more batch of kits, set aside a certain number for assembled modules (reserving pc boards and front panels) and when these modules are sold out, they will not be restocked.

The following modules will be discontinued when stocks are sold out:

MOTM-120 Suboctave Mux
MOTM-380 Quad LFO
MOTM-510 WaveWarper
MOTM-700 Dual 2:1 Mux
MOTM-820 VC Lag
MOTM-850 Pedal Interface
MOTM-890 MicroMixer

The MOTM-510 WaveWarper will be offered in Frac Rack later this year.

Part #2 - No more MOTM kits after Dec. 31, 2006
MOTM was founded on providing high-quality kits that were better than any commercially produced synthesizer. Over the years, the kits have outsold the assembled modules 94% to 6%. Some of this is cost, some of this is delivery times. But mainly it was addressing a market segment that no one else covered.

Around kit #5000, the task was just too much for me to handle. One of my customers, Paul Haneberg, stepped in and took over most of the kitting and shipping. He charged me a low (too low) fee for each kit shipped, bought all the parts, paid all the bills. It was never intended to be a money-making proposition. Paul did this because he wanted to help. He even went out on his own to buy a used turret punch for making Stooge panels one day.

However, several months ago, Paul suffered a stroke. He has recovered greatly, but the last thing he or his family needs is to be stuffing resistors into little plastic bags as a favor to me. However, I want it to be very clear that this is not the reason I am discontinuing kits sales. The reason is purely a business one: the market has shifted to assembled modules from over 12 suppliers. For the first 6 months of 2006, my kits sales are down 44% and my assembled sales are up 75%.

Therefore, at the end of this calendar year, I am discontinuing all MOTM kits. Starting Jan. 1 2007, all MOTM modules will only be available in assembled form. This is the part that will upset the most people, and cause all the speculation. Again, this does NOT mean I am quitting and shutting down! Quite the opposite: I have at least 10 more modules I want to release. But these modules will be assembled only, and they will all be SMT.

Part #3 - MOTM is moving to SMT technology for all new modules
Synthesis Technology is currently selling, through Analogue Haven, a series of SMT modules in Frac rack format. Due to the success of the technology (thanks Shawn!) and the ease of manufacture, all future MOTM modules will be SMT only, and not sold as kits. This is true even for new modules released this year.

Please read this part carefully, because again this will get misquoted all over the web. I am NOT going to redesign existing modules into SMT. The modules that will remain for sale of the existing line will remain through-hole. However all NEW DESIGNS will be SMT. Essentially, the modules will resemble giant Frac modules internally. I will continue to offer the remaining assembled MOTM modules exactly like they are today.

The new MOTM modules, beginning with the MOTM-730 VC Pulse Divider, will still use the same panels, paint and graphics. When you look behind the panel, what will be different is how they are put together. If you have one of Encore's wonderful Frequency Shifters (and if you do not, get one!), that will give you an idea what future MOTM modules will look like. Am I reducing quality? NO!

Lastly, moving to SMT technology assures that customers in Europe will be able to receive them due to RoHS laws (SMT allows easy RoHS compatibility).

Part #4 - Delivery times: past versus future
It's no secret that delivery times on assembled modules have been embarrassing. But look at the statistics above: it's hard to justify spending a lot of time for 6% of your revenue. So it's reasonable to think that MOTM going to a fully assembled model in 2007 is a huge mistake.

Actually, it will make things much easier to deal with. For older modules, there will be a controllable expectation of orders, and I will be able to stock. The current assembled module backlog is 43 modules, and all 43 of these modules will be shipped by Sept. 1st. In fact, over the last 2 weeks I have shipped 19 assembled modules (not including MOTM-650s). I want nothing more right now that to get all of these modules into the hands of waiting customers.

Future modules, being SMT, will be able to ship in volume the day I place them for sale. I will not take pre-orders or down payments. I'm going to build 75 to 100 of them all at once, place them in shipping boxes with instructions, and ship them starting the next day. This is how the Frac business is run, and this is how MOTM will be run. Over the last 8 years, the expectation of service has risen not just for me, but for everyone. Customers want their stuff now and the reality is, the market for kits is over. I cannot sell to musicians, who in many cases are facing a deadline, if they have to wait or build them. I have lost untold dollars because of this. Well, no longer.

Part #5 - Stocking Levels and the BIG SALE
It will take me a few days to do inventory of panels and pc boards and figure out what stocking levels I will use for the rest of the year. I will send out an announcement when these have been loaded into the shopping cart database. I will also at that time place all of this information on the website for public viewing. I have always believed in full disclosure of what I am doing, and giving 6 months of time before the phase-out.

In order to help move the modules out the door, I am going to have a sale beginning July 10th and running to Sept. 1st. All modules will be 15% off. Kits or assembled. The shopping cart can be set up for this automatically (I just have to figure it out!).

I will load the shopping cart this week with the kit inventory for the entire year. This will allow you to see if a module is about to go 'vintage'. If I sell out of MOTM-380 in October, then that's it. If I have 11 kits leftover on Dec. 31st, then they go into the assembled inventory (I know some of you are hoping for a fire sale in December to flush out all the remaining kits. Nope.) The inventory today, if you look at the cart, is just what is in stock today. But beginning July 10th, the numbers in the cart are for 'real' for the entire year , and gone will mean just that: gone.

Part #6 - New modules
The first SMT assembled module will be the MOTM-730 VC Pulse Divider. I'm starting CAD pcb layout tomorrow. I have all the parts, I will order front panels next week. I expect to be shipping mid-September.

After that will be the MOTM-810 VC Looping ADSR EG. This is a 2U wide MOTM version of the MOTM-1800 Frac Looping ADSR with added VC inputs. This will ship in mid-October, early Nov.

I have hired an outstanding Xilinx FPGA programmer to assist in the MOTM-520 Cloud Generator. In about 6 hours of code time, he demonstrated a 4-voice Blacet Mini-Wave type module (quad VCO with programmable wavetables). And this uses 7% of the IC (the Xilinx part can easily do 256 individual wavetable VCOs at once).

What the 2 of us are developing is an AudioEngine sub-module, that can be used in all sorts of things. This credit-card sized module can be plugged into a main pcb and be programmed as needed (it has FLASH, just like the MOTM-650). The point is not to make a 'Universal Do Everything' MOTM module. The point is to have a common hardware platform that I can use in different modules. Stay tuned for more AudioEngine announcements.

Summary

By now emotions are running all over the map. Take a deep breath and read the summary:

Synthesis Technology/MOTM is not shutting down
Synthesis Technology/MOTM is changing the product mix
MOTM kits are being discontinued Dec. 31, 2006
Some MOTM modules will be discontinued as stocks are depleted (both kits and assembled)
Future MOTM modules will be assembled only, and will be shipped from stock (zero wait time)
Existing MOTM modules, that will be offered only assembled beginning 2007, will be shipped from stock (zero wait time). There are no plans to discontinue these modules.
The AudioEngine will allow unheard of (literally!) modules to exist that combine CV/MIDI control with 32-bit RISC processors and vast digital logic.

Please feel free to call me at 817-281-7776 or email me (not the list) synth1@airmail.net if you need clarification. I want to personally thank everyone for reading this and selecting MOTM as your modular supplier. All of these decisions are designed to improve the MOTM family of modules, and to continue MOTM's standard of excellence.

Paul Schreiber
Synthesis Technology