Trump Tariffs Threaten To Double Electronic Music Gear Prices

President Trump introduced new import tariffs in early April.

The last week has been a bumpy ride for anyone following the Trump administration’s plans for increasing taxes imposed on imported goods.

President Trump announced a wide range of import tariffs in early April, driven by his goal to get greater cooperation on fighting Fentanyl abuse in the US, and to address administration concerns over trade imbalances with countries around the world.

Tariffs are taxes that US companies and individuals pay when they purchase goods from targeted countries.

As of today, it appears that the administration is reversing course on its plans for high ‘reciprocal tariffs’, and instead setting tariffs on imports from most countries to 10%. Meanwhile, they’ve raised tariffs from on Chinese imports to 145%.

Unfortunately, the high tariff rate threatens to double the cost of synthesizers and electronic music gear imported from China, and to dramatically increase the prices of US-made gear, too. 

Uli Behringer displayed several new polysynth designs at the 2025 NAMM Show. US tariffs of 145% threaten to double the cost of synths imported from China.

Synth prices jumped notably earlier in the year, when Chinese import tariffs were around 30%. Since then, tariffs on Chinese imports been raised to 84%, 104%, and now a total of 145%.

While this promises to more than double the cost of electronic music gear imported from China, it also is forcing US manufacturers to raise their prices.

US synth makers get most of their parts and PCBs from China, and they’re seeing their parts cost jump 145%.

A related issue is that US manufacturers can’t predict what their costs will be in a month. One manufacture noted that they’d made a PCB order a month ago, and now that it’s about to ship, their cost will be more than double what they’d planned, because of the higher tariff rates.

This unpredictably is leading some US gear companies to pause manufacturing, because the new tariffs will make their pricing too high for their customers. Some manufactures plan on taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, hoping that the administration’s tariff plans will settle down, so that the companies can do long-term manufacturing and marketing planning.

The administration has also announced plans to increase taxes and duties on ‘de minimus’ purchases of $800 or less:

Sec. 3.  De Minimis Tariff Increase.  To ensure that the imposition of tariffs pursuant to section 2 of this order is not circumvented and that the purpose of Executive Order 14257 and this action is not undermined, I also deem it necessary and appropriate to:

(a)  increase the ad valorem rate of duty set forth in section 2(c)(i) of Executive Order 14256 from 30 percent to 90 percent;
(b)  increase the per postal item containing goods duty in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256 that is in effect on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 2, 2025, and before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, from 25 dollars to 75 dollars; and
(c)  increase the per postal item containing goods duty in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256 that is in effect on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, from 50 dollars to 150 dollars.

Are the administration’s evolving tariff rates changing your buying plans? Share your thoughts in the comments.

205 thoughts on “Trump Tariffs Threaten To Double Electronic Music Gear Prices”

      1. China manufacturers will absorb this when they sell less products.
        If you Google, “What is the trade imbalance with China,” this is what appears:

        The United States has a significant trade imbalance with China, meaning the value of goods and services the U.S. imports from China exceeds the value of goods and services it exports to China. In 2024, the U.S. trade deficit with China was $295.4 billion. This imbalance has been a source of tension between the two countries, with the U.S. government citing it as a reason for imposing tariffs on Chinese goods.

        So, your solution is that China should continue on with sticking it the USA with significantly higher tariff percentages on US goods than the tariffs we had on goods manufactured in China? The solution is to continue having a massively lopsided trade imbalance in China’s favor? Yeah, we need more billions from US consumers funneling over to China.

        1. its a lot of blah blah
          Europeans simply dont want to buy American cars.
          They are to big & heavy, need to much energy and have poor build quality.
          American food is even worse. We dont want to eat/drink that garbage either.

          So the orange man lets the American ppl pay more taxes on European cars … ,
          and hopes Americans buy the American junk instead because they cant afford the good stuff anymore, and Uncle Sam gets the extra cash if they do.

          What to say?
          Enjoy your junk, America?

          this isnt bringing jobs/factories back to the USA either,
          who is going to invest in an country that changes its mind daily?
          thats comercial suizide. 😉

          1. No jobs or factories? Ummmm….it’s literally working. Give it like 5 minutes eh?

            Apple
            BMW
            Campari
            Compal Electronics
            Essity
            Honda
            Hyundai Motor
            Inventec
            Lavazza
            LG Electronics
            LVMH
            NVIDIA
            Stellantis
            Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
            Volkswagen

            1. mr cook had to call the orange man to stop the nonsense with chips & semiconductors, I read ^^
              this government has no idea what its doing.

              USA lost its friends.
              you’ve been told America first, now its America is alone.
              Canada & the EU are fed up with the nonsense.

        2. This is nothing but a bunch of faulty logic. Since that’s where the majority of electronics and chips come from of course there’s a trade-in balance. The United States doesn’t manufacture or anything. Why in the hell would there be balance trade when the US started pushing manufacturing out of the country in the 1980s. We did this to ourselves and now it’s supposed to suddenly be in balance? Don’t be ridiculous.

          1. Faulty logic? This isn’t just about electronic parts. Pushing manufacturing out of the US? You obviously don’t understand how China rolls. Let Nancy Pelosi explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg\

            Let PBS/Frontline explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n224P8snMkA

            So, the answer is to continue maintaining trade relations that heavily favor China and continue to grow China’s economy via funneling billions of US consumer dollars to China annually? That’s the best path forward for the USA? Is that what you’re advocating, because that’s what you’re tacitly saying. Just keep going the way we’ve been for decades, now with a nearly $300 billion dollar trade deficit in China’s favor. But hey, yeah, don’t do anything about it.

          2. Faulty logic? This isn’t just about electronic parts. Pushing manufacturing out of the US? You obviously don’t understand how China rolls. Let Nancy Pelosi explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg\

            Let PBS/Frontline explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n224P8snMkA

            So, the answer is to continue maintaining trade relations that heavily favor China and continue to grow China’s economy via funneling billions of US consumer dollars to China annually? That’s the best path forward for the USA? Is that what you’re advocating, because that’s what you’re tacitly saying. Just keep going the way we’ve been for decades, now with a nearly $300 billion dollar trade deficit in China’s favor. But hey, yeah, don’t do anything about it.

            1. What most people dont seem to think about is that loads of western companies have made and still are making billions of billions making stuff much cheaper in China than in their own countries and of course those companies gladly have been pocketing the extra profit instead of lowering end prices…

            2. TimS: It’s not about denying that certain trade issues exist (although no nation is simply entitled to have a positive trade balance with anyone) but the ridiculous go-to-war-with-the-entire-world way of dealing with it.

          3. China has four times the population of the US, so eventually they were bound to make more stuff. But their GDP per capita is one-seventh of the USA’s, which tells me I’d rather be in the country buying the Nikes (or Behringer Waves) than the country making the Nikes (or Behringer Waves.)

            At any rate, the US still manufactures more than Germany, Japan and Korea put together, it’s just that it doesn’t make toasters and counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags.

        3. You do realise why there’s a trade imbalance in the first place, right?
          Most countries have a trade imbalance with China, because stuff is mostly made in China.
          The USA is worse because it has a larger population than most othrr Western markets, therefore the overall imbalance will also be larger.
          That, and the fact that the USA doesn’t really have anything the rest of the world wants to consume.
          US food is awful. US cars are awful, and far too large for European roads.
          The only thing that the USA exports that people actually want and consume is it’s entertainment industry. Movies and music.

          1. Faulty logic? This isn’t just about electronic parts. Pushing manufacturing out of the US? You obviously don’t understand how China rolls. Let Nancy Pelosi explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg\

            Let PBS/Frontline explain it to you:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n224P8snMkA

            So, the answer is to continue maintaining trade relations that heavily favor China and continue to grow China’s economy via funneling billions of US consumer dollars to China annually? That’s the best path forward for the USA? Is that what you’re advocating, because that’s what you’re tacitly saying. Just keep going the way we’ve been for decades, now with a nearly $300 billion dollar trade deficit in China’s favor. But hey, yeah, don’t do anything about it.

            2. So you ignored the main part then?
              “China has not / does not treat the USA equitably”.
              What have you got that China want?
              What have you got that the rest of the world wants (apart from movies / music and money services)?
              Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
              That’s the point.
              We don’t want your shit!

        4. just a fact about those raw numbers: this is not how inetrnational commerce works; Usa buy goods from china (electronic components in this case) then american companies resell finished product all around the world. Comparing just the balance between two single countries is nonsense in globalized economy.

            1. We will just whip up the massive infrastructure needed to make mass US manufacturing work with the click of a button, just like a video game. Im glad you have it figured out.

            2. Tim, you are quite incorrect. You are reading that article that you quote all wrong. The useful question would be, what percentage of US manufacturing product costs are materials or labor that are imported from China?

              Open up a current Moog or Sequential and tell me where those components come from? Hardly any are from the US.

        5. A trade imbalance just means one side buys more than the other one does. No one gives a shit except the idiot in chief who thinks a deficit is the same thing as a loss.

              1. Again, another ad hominem comment. Apparently, when there is nothing of substance, but someone wants to lash out in anger, you write derisive comments. So, if anyone disagrees with you, they’re automatically a, “…Trump cultist…” huh, is that it?

                Explain to us exactly what was/is the net job gain? What did/does this entail? We’ll wait.

                Nancy Pelosi must have been a Trump cultist precursor. But, hey, yeah, the same argument against China is wrong if it comes from Trump or a “Trump cultist.”

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg

                I’m not a “Trump cultist”, whatever that means, but I do respect the office of the President of the United States and whoever holds that office. This isn’t about Left or Right, Conservative or Liberal.

                So, the answer is to continue maintaining trade relations that heavily favor China and continue to grow China’s economy via funneling billions of US consumer dollars to China annually while our debt continues to go sky high, currently at 36.22 trillion dollars? That’s the best path forward for the USA? Is that what you you’re advocating? China is more than happy to take US consumer billions that have been funneled their way and loan it back to us at interest, often via purchasing U.S. Treasury Bonds. The USA owes more money to China as part of the US national debt than any other nation. But hey, yeah, let’s just continue to funnel more and more of our money over to China.

                1. TimS

                  The Biden Administration inherited a complete shit show from Trump, and completely turned things around – adding 14 million jobs, dropping the unemployment rate to the lowest rate in decades, increasing the labor participation rate and even raising the S&P 30%. If a Republican did any of these things, you’d be crowing about it.

                  Since labor participation were high and unemployment low under Biden, Republicans complained that ‘Nobody wants to work anymore!’. That’s the crux of it right there – when people have good paying jobs, they’re not going to want to work the drive-through, or making widgets in a factory.

                  Sadly, Trump cultists can respond to facts, so they whine and change the subject.

                  2. With all due respect, what world do you live in. The Biden Administration WAS the sh*t show. Why do you think President Trump won the popular vote, the Electoral College points and all seven swing states.

                    Biden did not create 14 million jobs in the manner you portray:

                    https://budget.house.gov/press-release/fact-check-biden-misleads-on-job-creation-statistics

                    https://www.factcheck.org/2024/02/bidens-job-growth-chart-ignores-impact-of-pandemic/

                    “Sadly, Trump cultists can respond to facts, so they whine and change the subject.”

                    I’m assuming you meant to write can’t instead of can. Although, can would be the correct modal verb. Is Nancy Pelosi a, “Trump cultist?” Which of Nancy Pelosi’s facts are wrong?

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg

                    1. TimS

                      It looks like you’re mindlessly copy and pasting the same propaganda over and over.

                      I gave you four factual statements to pick apart, and you got no response to any of them.

                      Looks like you’ve left more comments on this post than anyone, but you’re just repeating the same blather with each comment. I guess its efficient and you don’t have to think much, but it makes you seem pretty tiresome and low energy.

                      Bless your heart!

                    3. they won because of voter suppression of course. it’s a famous republican strategy, and ballot challenging, and poll harrassment and political violence…

              2. trump is a zero-sum game transactional ‘strategist’ (being kind there), economics and trade today isn’t a zero sum game, mercantilism is a zero sum game. he’s taking us back to to frggin the 17th century. he’s not well, and his method of strategy is all wrong.

                I like manufacturing; as long as there are fair wages and benefits, and regulations protecting the public. I grew up working in high tech factories. they were very, very well run, i earned respectable money, and learned rapaciously enough not to need a college education to advance to the top of my field. factory jobs are a wide spectrum of activites with enormous opportunities for engineering.

                trump will never get us there. he will wreck us with his perceived persecutions and mad retributions.

        6. China’s trade-to-GDP ratio is 37 percent. The USA’s trade-to-GDP ratio is 27 percent. I don’t see a huge imbalance here.

            1. I have a 100% trade imbalance with my barber. I’ll survive.

              The point is, in the 1980’s American manufacturers moved their plants to China to save money on labor to increase profits. Those jobs are NEVER coming home. America doesn’t have the patience or willpower to build new modern facilities for manufacturing that won’t come online for 5-6 years.

              What we traded was low skilled jobs in return for low-cost products. So while some people worry about the trade imbalance, most Americans love their low-cost flat screen televisions. However, the flip side to this is America must find a way to create good paying jobs so that the majority of Americans can continue to buy cheap stuff from China to keep our economy going.

              When we pull the plug on the American economy, the entire Global economy will fail — for a while. That is, until foreign nations build new supply chains that do not require America and our stupid tariffs. What we’ll end up with is a lack of trading partners around the world, as our dominance diminishes and we’re treated as a pariah nation — which is already happening now, with China stopping 90% of American Oil imports, shifting to Canada instead. We are screwed by these dumb decisions made by the least-educated people who don’t understand how a global economy functions when it was the best economy in the world just prior to the tariffs. Unbelievable ego and stupid behavior.

        7. A trade imbalance isn’t a negative. I have a trade imbalance with my grocery store; I buy more than I sell to them (which happens to be nothing). It actually shows the opposite – that we are a richer country. China is still a manufacturing dominant economy vs the USA (and most advanced nations) is a service dominated economy. The USA chose this path more than fifty years ago, so we could have poorer countries make our stuff for us to buy cheaper than we can afford to make here. We cannot, on a dime, switch our economy to have more manufacturing anytime soon; it takes years of planning and building. China will not suffer loss of sales, because so many goods are made there that we simply don’t have the capacity to make here.

          1. We are a richer country with a $36.22 trillion dollar debt?

            After US consumer billions are funneled into China each year, China is happy to loan some of that money back to the US with interest, primarily via buying US. Treasury Bonds. The US owes China nearly 900 billion dollars. But hey, yeah, let’s continue to funnel even more billions into China while they buy comparatively little from the USA.

            https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080615/china-owns-us-debt-how-much.asp

            1. Trump just gave away all of our soft power to China. This tradewar is a loser from the start.

              I am not opposed to tariffs if you have the industrial policy to back it up, but there was no pre planning, no stockpiling, no alternate deals made.

              He expected China to just come kiss his ass, and they didn’t. That is all this was ever about. So he is cutting our nose to spite his face.

              Once again the CCP wins by doing almost nothing. China has already made great inroads to Africa, with us abandoning Europe it’s likely they will create an alliance there as well. Even if this is reversed tomorrow the damage is done. It’ll just be the US and whatever genocidal warlords it supports. The hostory 21st century is going to be written in Mandarin.

        9. Nope, companies like sweetwater, etc in the US have to pay it and they just raise the price of the instrument. Every cost has to be passed on otherwise companies go out of business.
          A trade imbalance isn’t a bad thing. All it indicates is that the US is well off enough to be able to import lots of goods. Besides $295 billion is chump changes when it comes to the US economy. That’s like $20 to you and me.
          Besides its easy to prove trade benefits everyone. The only goof’s that think these tariffs are a good idea is the brainwashed maga crowd.
          But hey, if you think the president is doing a good job by throwing away an entire years worth of the US budget in only 3 months I can’t stop you from making other foolish decisions. Trump is clearly an idiot when it comes to economics. He’s bankrupted 6 companies and has failed at almost 20 others like his vodka, board game, etc etc. etc.
          All this is doing is making america poorer by having to spend more for the same thing. What do you think is going to happen when US companies can’t sell products in Europe and China because of the response tariffs. I’ll tell you, lots of layoffs. Your also aready seeing a lack of confidence in the US dollar. As that continues to progress the government will have to spend far more for every dollar they borrow and at some point the US government will either have to shut down or print tons on money sending inflation through the roof. In either case the dollar will no longer be the international reserve currency and when that happens things will get really really bad.
          But hey, go ahead and keep believing the BS coming out of the daily white house lets make a deal nightly TV episodes.
          You can be a stubborn and hold onto the nonsense or be a better person and admit you voted for the wrong guy and help the rest of the world fix the nonsense. All Trump has accomplished so far is losing. Failed to stop the war in ukraine, failed to stop it in gaza, made the US military look like the 3rd strongest military in yemen, failed at the stock and bond markets, started a recession in record time (this is really why some prices are going down, no one smart is willing to spend any money right now), put 75,000 people out of work which also will not spend any money speading up the oncoming recession. Pissed off every US ally, many of which are now making deals with China, made the richest country in the world look like a$$holes for not helping with natural disasters in poor countries where now China and russia show up first, and trump is forcing your retired grandparents to have to go back to work until they die since he is destroying their retirement that they worked hard for 40+ years to build. Clearly anyone that supports that sort of treatment of out elders is a heartless jerk.

        10. YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND BASIC ECONOMICS, LEAVE THIS SUBJECT TO OTHERS, I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS SINCE YOUR DEAR LEADER DOES THUS I AM HOPING IT MIGHT PENETRATE THE THICK LAYERS!

        11. This argument is tired. The US is a service economy. We provide things that are not products. This trade imbalance narrative is used incorrectly to make you think what you think.

          1. “The US is a service economy. We provide things that are not products.”

            That isn’t the case. The USA is second only behind China in worldwide manufacturing. China overtook the United States as the world’s largest manufacturing nation in 2010. Prior to that, the US held the top spot for well over 100 years.

            https://www.safeguardglobal.com/resources/blog/top-10-manufacturing-countries-in-the-world/

            For most of its history, the USA led the way in just about everything. The USA lead the way, and everyone else around the world followed. But you are correct in the sense that we are becoming more and more of a service economy.
            Why is that? What happened?’ Why do we keep growing the now $36.22 trillion dollar US debt, with the USA owing more money to China than any other nation?

            This documentary hit the nail on the head as to why trade imbalances with China that do not work in the USA’s favor are turning the USA more and more into a service economy that relies on China to provide cheap goods (referred to by many as Chinese junk) that you buy at places like Walmart, Target, etc. and via an untold number of online retailers. As this documentary explains, US manufacturers often can’t compete with China, in large part due to trade and tariff imbalances:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n224P8snMkA

            But yeah, let’s acquiesce to China and keep making China wealthier and build their economy.

        12. There are better solutions to this, that are less harmful to consumers and small businesses. One is go back in a time machine and ensure ronald reagan is never elected, by any means necessary. Another is to severely tax the profits of any business that offshores. By taxing profits, you avoid them passing the cost on to consumers, which is what will happen with tariffs. Tariffs hit harder the poorer you are.

          1. “There are better solutions to this, that are less harmful to consumers and small businesses.”

            Really? We’ll skip the “solution” that requires time travel. Yeah, let’s go back in time and make sure Bill Clinton is never elected so he can’t sign NAFTA. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that nearly 4.5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost since NAFTA took effect:

            https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/nafta_factsheet_deficit_jobs_wages_feb_2018_final.pdf

            Severely tax the profits of any business that offshores? Why do companies offshore? Sure, they do so because of the trade imbalance and the profits that can be made from imbalanced trade and tariffs, but in many cases, companies are forced to move manufacturing to China and elsewhere overseas because the trade imbalance requires them to do so if they want to stay in business. PBS/Frontline nailed this long ago in this excellent documentary:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n224P8snMkA

            Many countries that rely on billions from US consumers funneling into their country are now negotiating trade and tariff deals. China is playing hardball because they believe US citizens are too reliant on cheap Made in China goods at place like Walmart and Target and love their iPhones too much for the US government to not acquiesce to China. China wants and relies on billions of US consumer dollars to continue to funnel into their economy annually. Heck, China loans that money back to us with interest as part of our national debt. Something is finally being done about it, and China doesn’t like that. And after decades of an immensely lobsided trade imbalance, China wants to keep the massive trade imbalance going with the US and other countries because that is how they are becoming the strongest economy on earth, while simultaneously weakening others. Unfortunately for the synth world, China made synths and synth parts are some of the millions of items caught in the trade imbalance crossfire; higher synth prices are a First World issue.

            1. Your premise seems to be that offshoring is caused by cheap goods from china etc. but it’s the other way around: the cheap goods came because companies wanted higher profits. They were making stuff in the USA and saw that overseas labour was more easily exploited than local labour, so they could increase profits by offshoring.

              And yes, clinton sucked. When you have two parties, one right wing, and the other center-right, you’re gonna have a bad time with either choice. Unless you happen to be owning class.

          2. Another option would be to add tax incentives to businesses to manufacture domestically if their headquarters are in the USA. For instance:
            – headquarters in USA, workforce outside = high corporate tax rates.
            – headquarters in USA, workforce inside = low/er corporate tax rates.
            – headquarters not in USA, workforce inside = medium corporate tax rates.
            – all external = follow established trade agreements.

            With a tax policy like we could get affordable Minimoogs and you Americans can have your warm & fuzzy feelings of supporting domestic businesses.

        13. The idea that Trump’s erratic economic whims will bring any significant manufacturing back to America is pure insanity.

          The US is now a service economy, unemployment has been historically low, and nobody in the US wants to work in a factory.

          We have a trade surplus in services, which Trump always ignores. We should be doubling down on high-paying service work, not trying to get more people to do low-skill, low-pay factory work.

          And factories already can’t hire enough workers. Where are they going to get the bodies? People make way more doing service work, and Trump is trying to discourage immigration!

          As others have noted, Trump is a terrible businessman, with no clue about economics and, at best, a grifter ripping off America.

          1. and this is the point. whether you think china or tariff’s or manufacturing is the answer, trumps not the one to fix it. he’s a loser, and anyone following him is a sucker, conman, or toady.

    2. Tariffs will do nothing for ending slave labour in places like Xinjiang. The lives of Uighurs are nothing to the CCP.

      BTW – Nice attempt at deflection for bad policy.

    3. This kind of fallacy is known as ‘poisoning the well’, introducing a false claim designed to put anyone disagreeing on the defensive – in this case, the false claim being that anything made in China is done with slave labor.

  3. This is just insane. $150 per parcel containing goods? 90% duty on de minimis, if I’m reading right?

    What this does is completely destroy the ability of anyone without a bottomless bank account to get obscure parts that no one is ever going to make in the US because there simply isn’t and will never be a market large enough to support it. Large businesses like TVs, smartphones, cars, etc. will find ways to deal, mostly. Smaller operations like most synth manufacturers? Good luck.

    There’s a reason we don’t make some things in the US. It doesn’t make sense and it isn’t feasible for every single country to make every single obscure part or product. Returning some manufacturing capacity is a fine goal, but no one’s going to do that anyway when the policy changes every other week with zero notice. Invest a few tens of millions in a new factory today, and by the time it’s up and running in a year or two, who knows if it will even be profitable under whatever rules happen to be in effect? Who knows if your new business plans will even make sense next week?

  5. I work for a eurorack company and this is devastating. All synth companies rely on parts that aren’t being made domestically.

    1. youre thinking short-term… the idea surely is for the tariffs to help US local manufacturing to ramp up moving forward so then you WILL have parts made in the USA?

      1. That’s a really naive thought. Where do you want to find people working for $3 per hour to produce your chips in the states to keep the prices compatitive? Prices will increase even more when produced in the US.

      2. No, you’re the one thinking short-term. It takes a long time and a lot of capital to stand up a factory to make something like electronic components such as transistors, resistors, etc. etc. Even leaving aside the capital-raising and obtaining business/environmental permits, do you really imagine you could get a factory operating to manufacture such devices at commercial scale in less than a year, more likely 2 or 3? Meanwhile large numbers of your potential customers are being driven out of business by crippling import costs, so every day it takes to open your factory your potential market is shrinking.

        Meanwhile, the rest of the world, not subject to those tariffs and not locked into a trade war with China, is doing business as normal and exploiting the newly opened gap in the market from reduced demand for and supply of American products.

    1. Canadian here. No. We have to declare the country of origin on shipments going into the USA. As of May 2, the $800 de minimis exemption goes away for goods made in China.

    2. Inside every US citizen is an Canadian trying to get out, It’s a hardball world, son. We’ve gotta keep our heads until this tariff craze blows over

        1. Still <50% of eligible voters. A win like that is a great argument for compulsory voting.

          Ask an Australian about how out compulsory voting works in reality. We hold elections on weekends & give everyone working an hour or 2 hour off to attend a voting station (or vote early). Nobody checks or cares if you submit a dud vote. If you’re truly lazy, not voting is like a $20 fine but voting registers aren’t thoroughly checked for non-voters (double voters are a concern & is super rare). Simple & easy.

          Pluses include our political parties have to lean to the sensible centre to win. Charities, schools & community groups open for voting also get to raise funds with barbecues etc.

    1. PLEASE don’t sanewash this; it’s a demented old fool taking retribution on everyone because we tried to hold him and his weird party to the principles of law and order.. he’s told he was going to do it. and here it is.

      THIS IS NOT NORMAL.

      and precisely why i canceled any preorders or future purchases. i’m not feeding this beast.

      1. Yeah it is wild to me that now that Trump is doing it, it is bad….but Dems screamed about doing it for years…now ot is finally being done and they are against it because “orange mam bad”.

        That being said, yes I voted for it and yes I will eat the increase in proces, my pedals that I build and sell will not be gling up in price at all.

      2. Yeah it is wild to me that now that Trump is doing it, it is bad….but Dems screamed about doing it for years…now ot is finally being done and they are against it because “orange mam bad”.

        That being said, yes I voted for it and yes I will eat the increase in prices, my pedals that I build and sell will not be gling up in price at all.

      3. Its long term pain for no gain. But hey, maga people are not known for their intelligence. They just believe whatever they are told during the nightly lets make a deal episode out of the whitehouse.

        1. Nice ad hominem comment with no substance.

          So, explain to us why China should continue on with sticking it the USA with significantly higher tariff percentages on US goods than the tariffs we had on goods manufactured in China? This has been going on for decades. The solution is to continue having a massively lopsided trade imbalance in China’s favor? Is that what you’re advocating? We need even more billions from US consumers funneling over to China?

          Is Nancy Pelosi Maga? Let Nancy explain it to you:

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyMyyenz4gg

      4. TimS, people are already boycotting your fascist country and your orange leader is upending trade relations and supply chains worldwide. When all is said and done you’ll be isolated like North Korea and Russia.

        And people like you have enabled that. Is that what you truly want?

        1. Again, nice ad hominem comment with no substance.

          So, your solution is that China should continue on with sticking it the USA with significantly higher tariff percentages on US goods than the tariffs we had on goods manufactured in China? That’s the best path forward for the USA? The solution is to continue having a massively lopsided trade imbalance in China’s favor? We need more billions from US consumers funneling over to China. Is that is what is best for the USA?

          1. Take it from someone who lives outside the USthere is a strong international move against America and its produce. Check Tesla sales outside America for a simple example. Next you’ll have to convince people Trump isn’t moving the country further to the right. First they came for……..

          2. Of course China will react. They know they have leverage, so they’ll use it.

            You can’t build factories overnight. It will take years and needs skilled engineers, which the US just doesn’t have. This is only hurting low and middle income workers and small businesses.

            You don’t understand the seriousness of your insane comments. I feel sorry for you as you’ll suffer long enough for your choice. But I’ll just give up on people like you and keep shaking my head.

            1. “You don’t understand the seriousness of your insane comments. I feel sorry for you as you’ll suffer long enough for your choice. But I’ll just give up on people like you and keep shaking my head.”

              Exactly what are the, “…insane comments?” We’ll wait.

              What exactly is insane about wanting less US consumer billions funneling to China? What exactly is insane about wanting to stop growing China’s economy via US consumer billions and leveling the playing field with China? What exactly is insane about what Nancy Pelosi said on the House floor way back in 1996? And the imbalance with China has only gotten much worse since. What is insane about what PBS/Frontline exposed many years ago regarding China’s negative impact on the USA? Ignoring all this and letting things continue to go on as is with China, growing into an ever-increasing imbalance and ever-increasing US national debt (with China as the USA’s biggest creditor), is the insanity.

      5. Nancy Pelosi isn’t exactly a beacon of leftist thought. But if I understand the video correctly, she’s arguing for matching chinese tariff. Not more.

        If you actually think outside of the neoliberal box for 2secs, you’ll notice there are plenty of other ways to fight a trade imbalance than tariffs.

        As an example, there is literally one place in the world that makes top of the line semiconductors (tsmc in taiwan) – tariffing those as they are doing won’t make a US semiconductor factory exist all of a sudden – but it will harm individual consumers, and small businesses.

        But most importantly, none of this is about fixing trade imbalances – it’s about making corporations swear loyalty and pledge money in order to get tariffs lifted or eased on their company.

        1. “But if I understand the video correctly, she’s arguing for matching chinese tariff. Not more.”

          Oh, you mean a reciprocal tariff. Now, there’s a novel idea.

          The only reason it’s become more than a reciprocal situation with China is because China is playing hardball. China believes that US citizens are too dependent on cheap Made in China goods at places like Walmart and Target and love their iPhones too much for the US government to not acquiesce to China. China wants and relies on billions of US consumer dollars continuing to funnel into their economy annually.

          1. They are calling them reciprocal tariffs, but they are not. They’re 10% or half of whatever the trade deficit is, whatever is higher :

            “Still, those factors don’t explain how the administration came up with such high numbers for other countries’ tariffs. Instead, the White House says it did a simple calculation: It took the size of each country’s trade imbalance on goods with the United States and divided that by how much America imports from that nation.”

            https://time.com/7274160/trump-reciprocal-tariffs-questions-answered-explainer/

            That’s not reciprocal tariffs. Anyways, looks like he dropped them today, so even if these did work US businesses can’t invest the millions needed to set up factories if the rules change every 2 days. So I’m forced to assume that’s not the point of this chaos.

      6. So what does the USA stand to gain by doing this? They’ve never really made this clear. As an Australian this just looks like bullying to manipulate stock markets & extorting trade partners. Neither actually change what’s made where.

        This tariff policy also contradicts the administration’s goal of reducing the cost of living. Does this trade war help Average Joe’s ability to buy food and pay medical bills?

      7. Lol. Gosh you MAGAs are jumping through some crazy hoops to convince yourself you didn’t vote for a fascist who is destroying the USA

  9. Great news all around I’d say. Hopefully It puts behriginger and tiptop etc out of business and keeps synths in the hands of the moustachioed

    1. Nah bro, it’s just for you guys to pay more: the rest of the world will do just fine. Everybody’s signing no-tariffs agreements with the all major non-US markets, this would redistribute the production you can no longer afford to buy: rich people in your country would buy what’s left at higher price, driving your inflation up. The rest of the world would do just fine if your commander-in-chief doesn’t go for a full flagged armed invasion of your neighbors and allies.

      1. exactly, republican party has gone rogue. they’ve destroyed so much already. do not trust america! we are not to be trusted!

  10. “President Trump … driven by his goal to get greater cooperation on fighting Fentanyl abuse in the US,
    and to address administration concerns over trade imbalances with countries around the world.”

    So you drank the cool aid too?
    Its unbelievable how brainwashed Americans are.
    I give you a hint, ignore what the orange man says, just watch what he does.

    2. He is the best president we have had since JFK.

      Of course I don’t agree with everything he says or does, but I do with around 3/4ths of it.

      1. Worst president ever. He obviously didn’t read the history books on the great depression and his chief economic adviser is someone every other economist considers a nut case.

      2. Trump is great at wrecking the economy, ruining alliances and friendships that had been strong for decades, sabotaging the federal government through the illegal activity of Musk and his DOGEbros, undermining research to cure cancer and failing to uphold his duties to follow the law. Just great if you want an authoritarian state run by a doofus who only cares about his own power and wealth.

      3. “Of course I don’t agree with everything he says or does, but I do with around 3/4ths of it”

        lol WTF?
        “…around 3/4ths of it.”

        You basically just gave him a 75% rating, that’s a “C” average lol…
        but you proclaim he is the greatest president since JFK?
        Greatest at what, mediocrity? lol

      4. Was it deporting people without evidnece or trial you supported? Cutting off funding for child cancer research? THe right for women to choose? Not ending the war in Ukraine? Reducing tax for the wealthiest resulting in an increase in the national debit, giving him enough of an excuse to DOGE? To allow Musk access to your personal data and set himself up for more government contracts? Greenland? Say America first but bomb people in other countries? Put people in charge or your military and security who dont understand either -Signalgate? Cancelling DEIA? Allowing discrimination? Not allow free speech? THats off the top of my head and I am not American. You’ll have to help us with the good stuff

      5. Does the 25% you disapprove of include disappearing and deporting anti-israeli-genocide protesters? Does it include trying to overthrow the results of a free and fair election? Does it include taking bribes? Does it include mocking veterans? Cutting the weather service and air traffic controllers? At what point are you basically saying you support the throwing people into a woodchipper as long as it helps the stock line go up? Oh wait he’s not been doing great at making stock line go up either…

      6. @For The Love Of Noise – bit premature there mate, let’s let history be the judge. You haven’t even had your mid terms to see if he dodges being lame-ducked.

      1. You realize the US is heading towards allowing child labor, repealing minimum wage, discriminating against workers for any reason at all, eliminating OSHA, on and on. So are Tariffs the answer or is equalizing the playing field by employing more slave labor? Sadly the GOP’s answer is BOTH and the end result for most citizens is wait for the riches to trickle down. Yeah, you fell for that one again…

      2. Beyond tariffs and price increases, the US should be concerned about the blow to its democratic system. Judges are being questioned, the Capitol attackers are being pardoned, and so on. The US is defending itself like a cat on its back to avoid losing its world position, which is bound to happen. In the meantime we (Europe) will continue to trade with all countries and avoid EEUU products until this nonsense is over. The markets are speaking. Little by little, American citizens are realizing that what they intend to punish is themselves, their pension plans, and their industry. Especially since China is the leading buyer of US debt.

        2. The American democratic system otherwise known as wagging the dog. At this point I am simply glad that I have recently finally purchased just about everything I ever wanted in a studio. My GAS is sated. I can let money accumulate in the bank. I can sit in my apartment a.k.a. spider hole and while away the remaining years as the view out the window becomes more and more entertaining.

    2. Slave labour? The US has slave labour. People in glass houses something something.

      The goal of de-globalizing manufacturing is one that makes some sense. Doing it via tariffs does not. First because they harm you more the less money you have.

      Second because they won’t work for *most* things. PCB production is almost 100% offshore (and there are no accusations of slave labour associated with it that i know of) – bringing it to the US at a reasonable price would require investing 100s of millions to set up factories at massive scale. Who is going to invest 100s of millions when the tariffs change like the weather, and could be gone in 4 years?

      If you actually want to re-shore manufacturing, tax the PROFITS of companies that offshore. If you make your thing here you get to keep the profits, if you make it overseas your profits are taxed 50%. Taxing profits means companies can’t just pass the cost on to consumers.

      But orange mouselini won’t do that, because this is actually not about re-shoring manufacturing – it’s about getting major corps to come kiss the ring and donate a few mill to his 2028 re-election campaign.

      1. Christ man, you brought the flame thrower and grenades, and for good measure you have a portable nuclear device! Well done SIR! However do note that the likes of these are like zombies, being brain dead still allows them to vote and believe in this nonsense.

      2. Yo, I agree with the sentiment but “taxing profits means companies can’t just pass the cost on to consumers” is just bullshit. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tax or a tariff, if it affects the profit, they will raise prices, simple as.

    3. ah yes, slave labour IS bad.

      btw, run a quick check for me here; are there any exceptions in the 13th amendment for slavery?

      …ofc there is, but it’s keeping the US prison industrial complex afloat so…

    1. Literally all electronics will go up. The US makes virtually zero components, chips, pcbs, and does almost zero pcb assembly. Even synth and pedal enclosures are going to be mostly made overseas.

    2. I agree with Cory that it is inevitable that at least some electronic components used in the manufacture of Sequential products will be sourced from China. Tariffs will affect imports from all other nations too. I believe that all Sequential synths use a keybed manufactured in Italy by Fatar. That’s a fairly substantial ‘component’ so a 10% increase on that must have an effect on the overall pricing as well. Trump’s narrative is rather fluid, within hours it was announced that certain electronics would be exempt followed quickly by an announcement that these electronics would follow a separate tariff regime. This highlights a major problem for US industry, it makes forward planning impossibly risky. The outcome is stagnation which holds back new product development and investment. I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that Sequential is, in fact, now a British company (Focusrite). I believe that Oberheim is also now owned by Focusrite. One unintended possible long term outcome could be that it would be cheaper to assemble Sequential (and Oberheim) synths in the UK (for the rest of the world) and only manufacture in the US for the US market and this could lead to some job losses in the US.

  14. I am all for the tariffs. We just lived through years of COVID lockdown and brain-dead, CCP-run anti-American White House. Now Trump is fixing the damage that has built up over the past decades, and if there is any problem, he is going too fast. Too fast is fine for me as long as I live through the speed bumps, and that is all I ask.

    I am working on an advanced synthesizer project that has NO CHANCE of succeeding if we go back to the pre-Trump situation. But if we get off of dependence on China, and get our manufacturing base back, someday I may be able to produce an amazing product. It will be built in the USA, and have components made in USA or countries like Japan or maybe Taiwan that are friends with us and have values similar to the fundamental American values of Liberty and Justice, supported by Truth. Not tyranny, which is supported only by lies and deceptions.

    For anyone who thinks Trump is a problem: Grow up, wake up, educate yourself in American, European, and World History. Go look on YouTube for “The Money Masters” documentary and spend the best 3 1/2 hours of your life learning about the actual source of the problems. You have been lied to and deceived all your life, but you can gain clarity at any time.

    1. “We just lived through years of COVID lockdown and brain-dead, CCP-run anti-American White House”.

      Which timeline/alternate reality did you visit us from?!

    2. “We just lived through years of COVID lockdown and brain-dead, CCP-run anti-American White House”.

      Which timeline are you from?! Can your tardis get you home safely? Sorry if this is a double post, but I just really want to know (the previous one hasn’t got through the mods yet).

    3. Fair play play dude. That is some exquisite trolling.
      The sarcasm is strong with this one.
      It is sarcasm, right?
      Right?

    4. You know tariffs on Japan and Taiwan are going up? How about the tariffs on Australia where there is a trade surplus and there was tariff free trade. Not forgetting the strategic partner next to China. How much will the penguins pay?

    5. Please let us know what “advanced synthesizer project” you are working on, so I at least can avoid ever supporting it. I can’t imagine any logical product being realized with your level of intellect.

  16. People from former Soviet countries are laughing their asses off, because, unlike them, way too many Americans actually believe the propaganda fed to them. It’s quite a sight to behold.

  17. Addressing the trade situation with China is a good thing. It’s the approach that is flawed. First of all, there was zero need to slap additional tariffs on all these other countries BEFORE attempting any negotiations. Second, framing this as some sort of way to crack down on the Fentanyl market is ridiculous. There will always be drug trade as long as there is demand. I Fentanyl becomes harder to get, something will replace it.

    All this manufacturing is never coming back to the U.S. OK, maybe not never but not for a long long time. Half of those jobs are already done by machines and more will be automated in the future. AI is coming for another slice of jobs. Plus, companies already refuse to pay living wages for those jobs.

    A trade war with China will not be good for the American consumer. They’ll see this soon enough.

    At least I have enough synths to keep me busy for a long long time.

  18. The reason “manufacturing” seems like an appealing thing to bring back is because unions fought to bring dignity and fair pay to those jobs.
    Manufacturing under MAGA will be no collective bargaining, child labor, erasing safety and environmental protections, and executive gluttony.
    but you get to screw in those tiny little screws

  20. Looks like this buffoon has already backed down and is “pausing” the tariffs. What an idiot. I hope there’s no lasting damage done and manufacturers & developers can get the parts they need and our whole market doesn’t have to crash and burn.

    1. The lasting damage is already done. There is a lot that isn’t made at all in the US and with the lack of stability nobody is going to build factories to make it. You can also always count on greed. China prices go up 150% just means every other company raises their prices 140% even if the product is made in the US.

  21. What else can you expect from a group mental illness where numerous Congressional Republicans are wearing gold pins of King Dong’s image? Its a raging cult of c***s. I’m a bit ashamed to be an American right now. I’m also snickering with schadenfreude as 401Ks evaporate. You morons asked for it, but I didn’t. I heard the rattle on the end of that snake. I’m glad I bought a new computer before the tariffs kicked in. I’d say “Eat the rich,” but I don’t snack on reptiles. Oh, the jocularity!

    1. agreed. i have a muuuuuuch longer fuse to burn than magats. i’ll be fine. did you miss the AR15 pins? these people need to be beaten severely. in a politcal sense of course… yeah i like that.

      4. @For The Love Of Noise – there’s no need to bring your kinks into the convo.

        No shame intended, you do you. The rest of us just aren’t into it.

  22. let’s look at trumps failures, and ask ourselves “is this a guy that can run an entire economy, if he can’t even get a business right?” i know my answer.
    Trump Failures:
    Trump University (2004-2010)
    Trump: The Game (1989, 2005)
    Trump Vodka (2006-2011)
    Trump Airlines (1989-1992)
    Trump Steaks (2007)
    GoTrump.com (2006-2007)
    Trump Mortgages (2006-2007)
    Trump Ice (2004-2010)
    Trump Magazine (2007-2009)
    Trump Tower Tampa (2006-2007)
    Trump SoHo Hotel (2008-2017)
    Trump Taj Mahal (1990-2016)
    Trump Marina (originally Trump’s Castle)
    Trump’s World Fair at Trump Plaza
    Trump Baku Hotel (Never opened)
    Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (1984-2014)
    Trump International Hotel and Tower Dubai (Never realized)
    Trump International Hotel and Tower New Orleans (Never realized)
    Trump Tower Palm Beach (Never realized)
    Trump Tower Charlotte (Never realized)
    Trump Institute
    Professional Football and Social Media Forays
    Trump Foundation (Fraudulent Charity) (1988-2018)
    Trump Winery (2011-)
    Trump Cologne (2004-2015)
    Is Marriage A Business?
    oh, and he’s an judicated rapist too.
    and please, no more this trump click bait. once was enough to weed out the magats and libtards. geeeez.

  23. It’s crazy how many delusional trump voters post on these forums. When the global economy hits rock bottom and they can’T afford to buy bread they’ll still be saying that this is all part of some brilliant plan and not the insane delusions of a madman. If trump pooped in your mouth you’d say he was a genius and thank him. You are in a cult bro! Wake up! I hope the worst for all of you MAGAts.

  24. You’d be paying the same amount for a USA made synth as you’d pay for a Chinese made synth (with tariffs)…what is a “free” market anyway? No such thing…there has always been some form of “slave” labor throughout history…it will never change…it’s a game of oneupmanship…..through and through…HUG YOUR CURRENT CHIP LAYDEN GEAR! YOU MAY NEVER OBTAIN THE EQUIVALENT EVER AGAIN AT YOUR CURRNT RATE OF PAY!

  25. I saw this coming a mile away. Gear prices are already jumping off the charts, not only for new stuff, but in the used market too. Thankfully, my studio is in good shape to ride out the nightmare. I baked in redundancies, so I can swap out gear, if something breaks.

    The only ‘business’ skill Trump has is bankrupting companies and profiting from the scam, enriching himself at the expense of his investors, contractors and the fools to bought into his scams. So it is here. He is driving America into the dirt.

    He will engorge himself on kickbacks from the Chinese, as he will for every other country he shakes down with tariffs. He is a criminal. A convicted fraudster. A pathological liar,. Violently minded. Mad as a hatter and a fascist. When he loses control, thanks to his totalitarian, incompetent, anti-Constitutional reign of misrule, he will turn US military guns on the American people and fill his buddies private prisons, with innocent Americans who dared to exercise their Constitutional, 1st Amendment rights.

    He will betray everyone, including the fools who voted for him. But he will fail, because he is the worst President in American history and a faithful servant of Vladimir Putin. America has been a Constitutional Republic for 250 years. This jackass is just our biggest test since the Civil War. He will not succeed. He will just cause enormous and lasting damage.

  26. Considering the trariffs for everyone are up and down in some random order, it isnt just the business between the US and China that is causing problems. Obviously Trump backed down once the bond markets got shaken down and the financiers had a word in his ear.

    Of course there is a trade imbalance with America and a lot of coutries. The poor sweatshop worker in a few $ a day isnt buying iPhones, Moogs and stupid trucks but americans are buying cheaper goods made by them. That’s capitalism, deal with it. From what i see in surveys Americans get upset when their cheap petrol goes up but forget they pay over the odds for a lot of other things. Make things in America and labour prices will greatly increase their costs, this causes inflations etc. I am sure many here would support local industry but across the country people want cheap.

    Enough Americans voted for him and the world suffers. THen again to many Americans wont get themselves proper healthcare or gun control so should we be surprised? Dont worry, I know plenty of Americans do want these and want sensible governement and to get on with the world and want to support local manufacture etc

  28. I have heard that the Constitution will be amended to require any presidential candidate to have declared bankruptcy at least 6 times and have at least 30 conviction counts. A true sign of future financial and economic savvy. I’m glad I have everything I need synth wise for the time being. Now, about my imploding retirement savings…….

  29. That’s so dumb… If their price increase (and they are already quite high), Your president is so obviously dishonest, but americans elected him twice… To me, you act like spoiled brats. Really. I hope you DIE. Lol no, just joking. But I hope Luigi gets freed. Time for a new mission.

    1. Not much immediate unless you sell something to the US. It’ll have a long term effect of slowing down the global economy and probably raising prices a little everywhere, but i don’t think the Portuguese economy is very tightly linked to the US.

  33. Give Trump a damn SYNTHESIZER so he can keep his hands busy with that rather than keeping his hands busy with all this hell and BS that is helping nobody and doing nobody good other than crooks

    Just a thought

  35. The smaller you are the harder it will be to survive this chaos. A test run of pcbs went from costing $50 to costing something like $150-200?? Yeah hobbyist moustachios can’t afford many of those without raising prices, sending more sales behringer’s way – even with their raised prices.

    Also why are you including tiptop in the same sentence as behringer? Tiptop is a small company. Big by eurorack standards, but hardly behringer scale.

  36. plasma1: I’d go one step further. Give him the Spinal Tap synthesizer that explodes halfway through the first song. That’s why they went through so many drummers. A synth will emit better fireworks.

  37. Thank you for letting some of the more contentious comments pass. You give great synth coverage that helps me keep abreast synth news. I do click and have purchased from articles on here. Synthtopia is appreciated!!!

  38. Personally I’m not affected. I got more than I actually use… but I am deeply worried about the industry and how this may affect innovation.

  39. I wonder how many things will be made in China but have printed “Made in USA” on them moving forward. If they can make a whole fake badged BMW car you think they wont print “Made in USA” on a hair dryer?

  40. Well, tariffs are lifted for semiconductors, mobile phones, computers and other electronics now…
    I wonder how will that affect musical instruments though…?
    PS; Mind you, Trump being Trump it might change again…

  42. I don’t know how this idiot got elected! Their isn’t THAT much :white trash” in America to vote for him. This country is going to be f@)<ed up for a long time in so many ways. Forget about hardware synthesizers .

  43. Well… I’m Canadian and I love my U.S. synth companies like Sequential and Moog. I hope they as well as the smaller manufacturers out there are able to withstand whatever the impacts of these changes are.

    Obviously if the price on U.S. synthesizers skyrockets, I won’t be getting a 3rd Wave or a Muse anytime soon. We are in new territory so we’ll have to see how this plays out.

    1. Sequential is now Focusrite/Novation/Sequential, a UK brand.
      Moog is not Inmusic/Moog, a Rhode Island brand. But Tariffs may force them to relocate their HQ to one of the many other countries where they do business.

    1. Wrong. Most people are comfortable now and complacent. They have have junk food, fast food, television, internet, a cell phone. Even if things get bad, as long as they have their distractions and comfortable lifestyle, no change will ever happen.

  45. the tariffs will help balance things out.
    I think Americans need to realize they don’t have to buy shit they don’t need every
    month. there’s enough used items in the country to last for years im sure

    1. It’s undemocratic and anti-capitalist to have Trump deciding what you can buy and taxing things so high that most people can’t afford them.

      And the tariffs are killing American businesses.

      If the admin wants to increase manufacturing, why not just require the government to buy only American-made products? That would force the issue VERY quickly, without screwing up America’s economy and your retirement.

      The fact that Trump won’t try options like this just shows you that the real point of these tariffs is to raise your taxes by an estimated $5k/year, without MAGA types realizing it.

  48. Why is this news?
    You knew what you voted for…

    Welcome to your New World Order… according to your new MAGA buffoon.
    = with us or not
    = us and them
    = separate from the rest of our planet
    == reap what u sow
    -= treat others as you want to be treated

  49. Anyone remember the ‘midnight movie’ “Scanners?” There’s a classic scene where a man’s head explodes in a mass of practical-effects hamburger, due to a violent sci-fi mental attack. The first time a court tells Prez Rump “NO” and makes it stick, that’ll be HIS head. It’ll be the first time the giant toddler didn’t get his way. I plan to use the POP sound as part of a percussion track. 😛

    1. yeah, that’s a good one. my favorites though were the creature double features on saturday after the morning cartoons. gog magog, satan bug, voyage to the prehistoric planet of women, the time travelers. great stuff.

  50. A 150% tariff may as well be a 4000% tariff on physical musical instruments, because the economies of scale just won’t work when gear hits a certain price-point where consumers say, “fuck it, I’ll just buy music software instead”. Donald Trump did this. He’s a career criminal and a moron, and it’s shameful that no one has figured out how to remove him from power prior to kidnapping innocent victims and shipping them off to secret prisons in foreign countries.

  51. I can certainly understand the frustration from the Trump administration. The ”vengeance” theme .Send politicians to the sandbox, give them a bucket, sand and a shovel. Let them have their “wars”. The history is repeating again… So sad.
    Let us other be.

  55. Trump ran for president with a clear platform, and agree or disagree, he was pretty transparent about what he wanted to do. The people voted and here we are, after all, democracy in action. It’s been only two-three months into this administration and everyone (in the minority, me included) is going bananas. We may need to learn how to accept and move on, because hearing about the US paying for gay turtles in Bolivia is not something taxes should be prioritized on.

    When Moog got bought by the Chinese it did feel like there is nothing ‘made in USA’ left. Unfortunately, corporate profits prevail and Moog could not compete in this type of market and global economic system. Imho, it would be fair to have the playing field a bit more leveled and protect US synth makers, even if it is with tariffs, and such. I’m not an economist, but I’d hate to see developers, such as, Grove Synthesis for example, sell their technology or move production to China in order to survive.

    I do think that the majority in the US believe that things were not working out and a big change was needed. Our political system does have the ability to auto-correct and the mid terms are fast approaching and people will speak again. So, let’s take a breather and during this economic shift, support American synth makers — or pay the taxes / tariffs and move on. Hopefully, the administration will use these taxes / tariffs on things that urgently matter.

    Happy ending:
    There’s always tax / tariff free plug-ins… lol

  56. Keep in mind, part of the stated strategy is to fight fentanyl abuse.
    Which is down in some areas, and being replaced with meth.

    Perhaps instead of defending make-believe economic assault tactics from a bygone era, we look at the underlying causes of this abuse.

    It is possible that if our culture was more thoughtful we wouldn’t be so vulnerable to the foreign manufacture of tantalizing, yet heavily addicting poisons. Or the ones manufactured in our backyards.

    Also, I like synthesizers. Probably will not acquire any in the near future.

    Big Deal.

    1. Sadly it appears that stopping fentanyl imports was a misdirection as part of making Canada & Mexico compliant to Trump’s impulses.

      You’re right, if they cared they would’ve looked into improving health services for millions of addicts & better social outlets (community support, jobs) to help break the cycle of addiction.

  57. 1837, 1893, and 1929 were economic depressions in the US. All three were caused in large part by extreme tariffs. Ignoring the past is a specialty for the right wing and they love to prove their stupidity by trying the same failed policies over and over again while deflecting the blame. We can add a fourth depression if these tariffs hold.

    Lot’s of deluded fools and MAGATs think other countries pay the tariffs. The truth is no major corporation is going to absorb these for long. They will pass them on and add a profit margin to them to raise prices further. They don’t care about your problems. Product selections will narrow and companies will fail due to high prices and low demand. Small companies who actually value their customers will get hurt first. Then we will get deflation and economic depression as discretionary spending slows to a trickle.

    The US has moved from a primarily manufacturing based economy to a services economy now. It’s not going back. Millions of college educated workers will not step down to manufacturing jobs and the drastic pay cuts that will come with them. Not to mention harsh work environments. Now you expect everyone to flock to repetitive boring manual labor jobs? Plus there won’t be enough manufacturing jobs after the mass layoffs start due to declining business from the tariff damages.

    Facts are facts no matter the spin. We’ll see who’s right if he keeps the extreme tariffs in place while he’s in office. Why anyone would trust a 6 time bankrupt, 34 time felon, with over two thousand lawsuits against him for various frauds is beyond me, but I guess the republicans thirty year war on education has paid off for them.

  58. Could any good come out of this? Dunno, but maybe – just maybe – one could get a better price floggin’ that used Behringer clone?!

  59. Does el salvdor have tarrifs?if you hold opposing opions You just might be lucky, and be forcibly disapeared to a tarrif free zone 😉

  60. Why is this post pinned to the top on the home page ? It makes it look like there have been no new posts after this one..

    Edit: I just saw it’s done on purpose. But it would be nice if it was made clear with a “Pinned” flag or something. Readers might miss other recent posts.

    Thank you!

  61. Thanks Synthtopia, I’ll bait at the repost bait.

    If the administration weren’t so short sighted, they could’ve kept their federal public service & had experienced, professional adults advise them on tax policy, economics, international supply chains, diplomacy & basic arithmetic.

    Just how many bad choices they’re capable of making is actually impressive

    But no, let the rich people make all the decisions because rich = right because the rich people in charge told us so.

  62. Email from Sonicware this morning:

    “Important Notice for USA Customers

    Unfortunately, new U.S. customs regulations will impose a 145% duty on China-made products, including these items.

    Starting in May, the additional import charge will be over $578 for a $399 item, and over $622 for a $429 item.

    We recommend ordering within this month to avoid the new duties.”

    1. It’s good that Sonicware is being transparent about it.

      It won’t be as obvious with US-made products that use Chinese parts (which is just about everything made in the US).

      The laughable thing is that people like TimS and the MAGA cult think that this will bring manufacturing back to the US. It doesn’t make any financial sense for corporations to do that, so it’s not going to happen. Republicans like to pretend that manufacturing moved overseas because of other country’s trade practices, when it’s really corporations moving the work overseas so that they can maximize their profits.

      The only way that they could bring that manufacturing back to the US is if companies could pay American workers $3/hr. They’re much more likely to do what Moog ended up doing – move more of their manufacturing overseas.

  63. I have plenty of synths. But!…if I was stuck with just the very first one I acquired (in my case, an Arturia MicroBrute) I feel that my skills would have to make up for my material poverty. I do NOT see this as a major disadvantage. Once I’d “fully explored” the MicroBrute’s capabilities, I’d be forced to fully explore my own capabilities. Spiritually and personally this can become a distinct advantage overall. My potential for virtuosity could nevertheless (at least in theory) still exceed Keith Emerson’s.

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