Coronavirus Pandemic May Lead To Synth Shortage, Shipping Delays

Sequential has shared a message about impact to their synth production from the Coronavirus Pandemic, noting that their manufacturing is temporarily shut down and shipping of existing stock may be delayed:

In these difficult and uncertain times, we’d like to encourage all of our musical friends and family around the world to stay safe, stay healthy, and please look out for each other.

Because Sequential is based in San Francisco, we are currently under a “shelter in place” order until at least April 7th. Fortunately, since we’re a small, nimble, decentralized company accustomed to working remotely, this won’t have a significant effect on our day-to-day business of designing instruments and providing customer support.

However, because our products are also built here in San Francisco, our manufacturing facility will be temporarily closed, and this will likely affect the quantity and speed at which our products can be shipped. We ask for your patience during this time.

In addition, we are very aware of the effect that world-wide safety measures are having on members of the global music community, particularly those who depend upon live performance to make a living. As you know, large gatherings are now prohibited, venues are closed, and concert tours have been postponed or cancelled. Some musicians are coming up with clever ways to work from home, such as streamed concerts and Skype lessons.

Please do what you can to help support these efforts. And please don’t forget our friends in Nashville who are dealing with the virus in the wake of a very destructive tornado.

With best hopes and wishes to all of you,

The Sequential Team

Like the early announcements of event cancellations, the impact to Sequential is likely the tip of the iceberg, in terms of the effects the Coronavirus Pandemic and social distancing will have on companies making electronic music gear.

33 thoughts on “Coronavirus Pandemic May Lead To Synth Shortage, Shipping Delays

  1. Realistically, most of us already have more gear than we need. We just shuffle around instruments and buy stuff to keep ourselves entertained.

    1. “Realistically, most of us already have more gear than we need.”

      Never!

      Only half joking. Most of us are not doing this to get a record deal or because we perform live, we’re doing it because we enjoy exploring sound and making music.

      Thinking of Maslow’s pyramid – getting to the point when you can do what you’re into is the whole point of living.

    2. i immeadiately started a mental list of synths i own that have been severly neglected and now we can have beautiful reunions

    1. Absolutely! People don’t need synths like they need food and medical help. The world has to focus on what’s important, and not petty BS.

  2. looking at it at face value is like yeah we really don’t need more synths.
    but these are people unemployed and the way our system runs creates a snowball effect.
    im not a fan of the whole capitalism thing but the way things are set up in the usa at least is a big deal if people are out of work and this does effect other countries a bit.

      1. People who hate capitalism seem to equate it with free enterprise. But they love to get paid themselves, with lots of benefits. How is that not possible if the big ass-corporation or bureaucratic agency they work for doesn’t have income? Oddly they want everything for free or at cost, including music and musical instruments, even when that means those doing it won’t be able to make a living.

        At these small instrument companies, and even at a lot of the big ones, no one owns private jets, drives Ferraris, or lives in mansions.

        Bob Moog lived in an old farm house with a moldy wet basement in a modest neighborhood and that was the nicest place he ever lived. Select for other synth companies, a lot of these modular boutique companies are actually being run out of their parents basement because they have yet to even break even.

        But these are the bad guys according to you lot. Evil capitalists! You say you hope the virus will kill them all. So then what? You commies are going to make synths for free and give them to me? I sure hope so man.

        The reality is that independent creative craftsmen and artists are reviled and discouraged in our society by marxist types, most who are either parasites living off someone else, or are working for big corporations themselves. Few contribute anything to society because if they did they would know how hard it is to do this stuff and even break even much less make a living at it. But those who try are disparaged by the torch bearing crowds of useless eaters shouting “burn the rich”, shouted at the actual working men struggling to make do with their own artisan small business.

        1. Most “marxists” are simply grumpy Guses jealous of anyone with $100 more than they have. But they sure love their own private property. Logic and common sense on the intranets are getting rare. These brain trusts really should stick to discussing synths and music, assuming they know much of anything.

          As for a new synth from Dave Smith and company, heck yeah, what’s not to love? Especially since it’s a clear and great sounding alternative to that B pirate company.

  3. Isolationistic country wake up call….this situation is global and hits all economies…give Mother Nature time to adapt….the manufactures n shipping folks n post in all countries have family to…we’ll probably get the synths by the end of the fall 2020….more important things to do like taking care of loved ones, neighbors, n oneself

    We’ll survive!!

  4. OK – first world problem, but the reality is that we’re all going to be spending a lot more time in home studio this spring and it would be perfect time to learn a new synth.

    It’s also another example of the current regimes rewarding companies that outsource everything. This will hit companies with manufacturing in the US and Europe harder than companies that have outsourced their manufacturing to China, because of stricter safety standards.

  5. It’s already delayed the production of MPC Live and One units. I ordered a Live in the first days of February, and it won’t be here for weeks still. I would expect a lot of these delays for many reasons on a wide range of products.

    1. The Live might not even be in production anymore – AKAI have filed an FCC for a Live MKII that is going round the forums. Looks like they may have been planning to launch as early as April, but that will definitely be pushed back a bit. May want to reconsider your order and see what else develops.

  6. OMG! I just rented a U-Haul and emptied out all the synth shops in my area! Order one and it will come with a free container of Purell. I promise the mark-up will be less than 500%.

  7. Delays won’t be the issue. Demand will be the issue. Synth market about to go into full free fall exactly as every other materialist bubble is crashing as people attempt to convert their synths back to cash in order to survive while being unemployed.

      1. The action Mnuchin is talking about is more trillions of bailouts for the rich. Federal Reserve and the Plunge Protection Team have already blown about $3 trillion in the last 3 weeks created via inflation (printing money) to try to manipulate the stock market.

        We are not making masks or respirators or field hospitals. That’s what is needed. Instead people who obviously have the disease are being denied testing. We have had two months to prepare and have done nothing. Mnuchin talks about “lack of action” he doesn’t mean anything that will stop this disaster. He is talking about your money going into his pocket as “action”. Don’t be fooled.

    1. I think a lot of this is on the assumption that China will recover exactly as it says it will, but, if we pay attention, we’ll notice that WSJ, NYT, VOA, TIME, have been expelled from Beijing. Therefore, there is no cause for anyone to trust any of China’s info. If China is wrong about its recovery, then it could be good for US wages, thus actually tighening, for example, the used synth market, severely. Of course, the synth companies will go broke, since they were based around China’s manufacturing. Well, time will tell. Maybe China’s telling the truth, for the first time ever. But recently China was claiming that the US created the pandemic in its labs and unleashed it on China. Since we know that’s false, why trust anything else they’re saying?

      1. no more than any other industry – pretty much every industry has a supply chain in china from walmart to apple to any number of other companies. Unless you are a farmer or a miner you likely have part of your supply line in china – and even those in ag industries rely on china for equipment who have their supply likes in china.

  8. On the upside, people also don’t have jobs or money anymore so they couldn’t afford any synths in the first place.

  9. Great time to shop for >>software<< instruments! There have been some impressive new ones in the last year. Gold stars to Sequential for making a supportive, rational public statement. And yeah, practically speaking, I'm covered up in gear. I think I'll survive.

      1. There is a local 12D for $400 on Craigslist here. Too much menu diving for me, so I will not pick it up.
        I am at the point now where I just avoid synths that have too many of the functions hidden away on menus and not on the control panel.

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