Is chip shortage affecting synth production?
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- KVRAF
- 14303 posts since 20 Nov, 2003 from Lost and Spaced
I swear I went online today and read news that Kemper was discontinuing the Snow because of the chip shortage. Someone commented that they were having trouble finding a TI2. Sweetwater has only 2 for sale, and someone else commented that Kemper was using the remaining supply of chips for their guitar products. I go online and I see the Snow news verified, but can't seem to find anything about the TI2. I hope this isn't true because it will just push the price through the stratosphere. Anyone know more?
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- addled muppet weed
- 111329 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
yup, has been for a good few years.
different products are pulled or postponed till chips turn up
different products are pulled or postponed till chips turn up
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- KVRAF
- 12256 posts since 7 Sep, 2006 from Roseville, CA
The TI2 has been dying a slow and miserable death for 10+ years. They stopped giving it much attention long before the chip shortage began. It hasn’t even been compatible with OSX since Mojave.
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- KVRAF
- 3428 posts since 6 Nov, 2006
i know at least one eurorack modular manufacturer who was only able to keep going because they found stashes of certain chips. the chips were still available but became stupidly expensive. to the point where they thought about selling the chips because they'd have made more money than making modules and selling the modules. they made the modules.
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- KVRAF
- 8088 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
I don't know anything about Kemper in particular, but the general answer is "yes," chip shortages and shipping problems and general economic mayhem has hurt the industry, killed off some products and some companies.
And yeah, it hit Eurorack really hard -- most of those companies are small and can't absorb that kind of setback, and it's still a nightmare for those that can. (Mutable Instruments and Synthesis Technology retired for personal reasons, but personally if I got told there was a 3 year lead time to buy parts at 5x the usual cost, I might consider retiring a little earlier than I'd planned.)
And yeah, it hit Eurorack really hard -- most of those companies are small and can't absorb that kind of setback, and it's still a nightmare for those that can. (Mutable Instruments and Synthesis Technology retired for personal reasons, but personally if I got told there was a 3 year lead time to buy parts at 5x the usual cost, I might consider retiring a little earlier than I'd planned.)
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- KVRist
- 45 posts since 8 Aug, 2007
As I understand it, the specific chip that drives the Virus range has been marked for discontinuation by the manufacturer. So, yeah, chip shortage, but not the chip shortage that we saw a couple of years ago. I suspect that the Virus would have to be completely redone if they were to try to substitute another processor.
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- KVRAF
- 16873 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Blog: https://synthmorph.com/blogs/news/acces ... -virus-ti3
From 2017, but not outdated at all! Virus TI2 is a design from 2009. Way past shelf life, imho none should be sold brand new any more. (although Sweetwater still has 3 in stock)
If I were to design a Virus TI3, I'd use a RISC / ARM processor with that neat Motorola DSP 56xxx emu code, or bin the existing design and start from scratch on a new platform. Or just throw in the towel and call it enough days.
From 2017, but not outdated at all! Virus TI2 is a design from 2009. Way past shelf life, imho none should be sold brand new any more. (although Sweetwater still has 3 in stock)
If I were to design a Virus TI3, I'd use a RISC / ARM processor with that neat Motorola DSP 56xxx emu code, or bin the existing design and start from scratch on a new platform. Or just throw in the towel and call it enough days.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- addled muppet weed
- 111329 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
ftfyBertKoor wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 8:22 pm Blog: https://synthmorph.com/blogs/news/acces ... -virus-ti3
From 2017, but not outdated at all! Virus TI2 is a design from 2009. Way past shelf life, imho none should be sold brand new any more. (although Sweetwater still has 3 in stock)
If I were to design a Virus TI3, I'd use a RISC / ARM processor with that neat Motorola DSP 56xxx emu code, or bin the existing design and start from scratch on a new platform. Or just throw in the towel and build amps instead
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35520 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
I kinda feel that its a bit odd to be asking this particular question now, as the chip shortage is gradually being recovered from.
not sure about big name synths and their DSP chips, but in Eurorack space I think things are recovering; the pi4 is consumer-buyable in quantity again, and the pico has become popular, so I expect to see that stuff flourish again.
not sure about big name synths and their DSP chips, but in Eurorack space I think things are recovering; the pi4 is consumer-buyable in quantity again, and the pico has become popular, so I expect to see that stuff flourish again.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRian
- 1344 posts since 8 May, 2018 from Sweden
The TI Snow was discontinued in 2016. As mentioned the DSP chip the Virus range runs on is End of Life. The supply of all TI2's will probably dry up soon.
There's also a general chip shortage which is why many synths are out of stock or only available in small quantities, prices have been going up and some releases of new synths have been delayed. There were also other issues like a lack of shipping containers, causing shipping costs to skyrocket. The situation is improving however.
There's also a general chip shortage which is why many synths are out of stock or only available in small quantities, prices have been going up and some releases of new synths have been delayed. There were also other issues like a lack of shipping containers, causing shipping costs to skyrocket. The situation is improving however.
Last edited by AdvancedFollower on Thu Aug 31, 2023 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Take a single oscillator, producing a drone. Send it to the wave shaper, altering the tone.
This can be a triangle, Sawtooth or a square. Modulate the pulse width, nobody will care
This can be a triangle, Sawtooth or a square. Modulate the pulse width, nobody will care
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- KVRAF
- 3428 posts since 6 Nov, 2006
Paul is getting up there in years and wanted to chill out and enjoy retirement. people forget he's been at it a long time w/5u and frac formats before eurorack.
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- KVRAF
- 5257 posts since 13 Jul, 2004 from Earth
I would not buy a new or used Ti/Ti2 these days.
No more Chips made means no more repair if it breaks + The ongoing lack of support for the software integration Killed the Virus dream for me.
No more Chips made means no more repair if it breaks + The ongoing lack of support for the software integration Killed the Virus dream for me.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 14303 posts since 20 Nov, 2003 from Lost and Spaced
I know some of you think it's theft. I don't care. But the guy who did the Osirus emu was in contact with Kemper, and Kemper said he was running the (unreleased) TI emulator on a system with an ARM chip, so I suspect maybe a TI3 could be somewhere. Kemper said he was looking for coders, but everyone thought it was odd he didn't offer him a job. So it's back burner as he goes full on guitar.