Moog (New) Etherwave discontiued?

Posted: 7/8/2023 2:10:47 AM
DreadVox

From: The East of the Netherlands

Joined: 6/18/2019

I was just browsing the Thomann website, and found out they are no longer selling the (New) Etherwave theremin. "The product Moog Etherwave Theremin is regrettably no longer available", it says. Is it just that Thomann is not selling them anymore (hard to imagine), or has the Etherwave been discontinued without any prior notice in the year after its introduction? Anyone here have any information about this?

Posted: 7/8/2023 7:58:54 AM
Martin21

Joined: 3/25/2020

I was just browsing the Thomann website, and found out they are no longer selling the (New) Etherwave theremin. "The product Moog Etherwave Theremin is regrettably no longer available", it says. Is it just that Thomann is not selling them anymore (hard to imagine), or has the Etherwave been discontinued without any prior notice in the year after its introduction? Anyone here have any information about this?

Same at other reliable shops... The product is not aviable for now.

New owner of Moog decided like that?

Edit: I see those shops don't offer even Theremini or Claravox, so it's maybe just for a while, maybe they need to deal with new laws etc. 

Posted: 7/8/2023 1:38:20 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

It's still at Sweetwater:  https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Etherwave--moog-etherwave-theremin

Only $700, wonder when the price dropped?

Posted: 7/8/2023 3:31:36 PM
bendra

From: Portland, Oregon

Joined: 2/22/2018

It would not surprise me at all if InMusic cancelled theremin production altogether at Moog. They bought the Moog to make money, not to loose money and the Theremins have never been a source of profit AFAIK

Posted: 7/10/2023 8:20:03 AM
André

From: 30 km south of Paris (France)

Joined: 12/23/2022

Energyson in France have a few in stock.
They also are at a discount price.

https://www.energyson.fr/etherwave-theremin.html

This is the shop where I bought my Etherwave standard.

Posted: 7/13/2023 6:03:54 AM
JPascal

From: Berlin Germany

Joined: 4/27/2016

I ordered now by just music and within two days it was delivered from stock. 

Posted: 7/13/2023 8:50:11 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

"It would not surprise me at all if InMusic cancelled theremin production altogether at Moog. They bought the Moog to make money, not to loose money and the Theremins have never been a source of profit AFAIK" - bendra

The Cvox was likely a net loss.  I suppose the newest EW isn't too expensive to manufacture, but it must have rather high support costs.  I've said it before, shipping an IF transformer tweaking tool with any product to the average consumer is a recipe for disaster.  Moog did try to make them easier to access, but the one I fixed needed repair because the plastic cover strip was stuck in the holes, and minimal clearance to machined sharps inside led to PWB damage at disassembly / reassembly.  I believe Thierry is one of the very few people walking this earth who can actually tune the thing.  Profit or not, if I were in charge I'd probably drop it like a hot potato, there are less fiddly solutions.

Posted: 7/17/2023 4:31:38 PM
Yngvox Moogsteen

From: The Middle

Joined: 9/23/2021

Sweetwater is back-ordered but taking orders. I would think this means Moog is still making them.

Posted: 7/17/2023 8:49:00 PM
Thierry

From: Colmar, France

Joined: 12/31/2007

I guess that even on Moog‘s side, they might not be sure if they can continue producing the Etherwave. Everything depends on if they can overcome component sourcing problems, especially the required 2.5mH, 5mH, and 10mH antenna series inductors. Hammond has definitively stopped producing these and already the last „old“ Etherwave series and all the „new“ ones which came to market were equipped with clones made at a well known address in China.
These clones are not bad „per se“, but they have a lower SRF, partly a higher DCR and seem to have more tolerance straying than the originals. It‘s not longer the constant and reliable quality we knew from Hammond and, still earlier, from J.W.Miller.

Another factor might be the market. Thanks to SMD components and the plastic corpus, the production cost is (my rough estimation) only about a third of the old Etherwave. I personally found it thus highly offending that the retail price of the new Etherwave is even higher than before. But do they sell enough instruments at this much higher profit to find favor in the eyes of the company which just acquired Moog music inc? 

Many questions, many incoherences, many factors in the game = many possible outcomes. Let‘s see what the future brings. It might be that Uli Behringer will be more successful with his announced $99 theremin, thus killing the last agonizing movements on Moog side.

Posted: 7/19/2023 6:23:11 PM
bendra

From: Portland, Oregon

Joined: 2/22/2018

Sweetwater is back-ordered but taking orders. I would think this means Moog is still making them.

Shipping them at least. Or not communicating clearly with retailers. Thierry is right I think, we'll have to wait and see

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