Wiard 300 Series Back in Production

Via Grant Richter on the Wiard list:

"I'm have put the 300 series back in full production.

The 1200 series is still available until I use up the existing parts. I plan to port the 1200 series design into 300 series packaging eventually. The Joystick and JAG will stay just as they are. It would make no sense to have those in 300 series cases.

The 300 series was never completely out of production, but I had switched my main efforts to the Frac-Rac format. I now think that was a mistake. I didn't want to go head to head with Don over the 200e, but now the Buchla product is mature enough that I feel OK placing my emphasis on the 300 series again. I wanted Don to succeed with the 200e. Musical instruments is a field where if one company "defeats" another company, the whole culture loses out.

John Simonton intended the Frac-Rac format to be economical. John Blacet has done a absolutely brilliant job of executing designs in that format. But the Frac-Rac doesn't have the inherent infrastructure for the highest grade professional instruments. That is not to take away from the great modules already designed, or question the quality of those instruments. A Blacet instrument is a superb economical instrument.

In my opinion the Frac-Rac aluminum is too light weight and the lack of fully shielded enclosures keeps them from achieving extremely low electrical noise. Because of that, I don't feel Frac-Rac modules should cost over $300 tops. That price point places a limit on the complexity of designs. To summarize, I like the Frac-Rac format a lot, and I admire the instruments already in that format. But it has become a limitation for new Wiard designs.

I am hoping for some customer feedback. The goal of the 300 series is to have 12 unique module designs, there are currently 8. These 8 modules already do almost every kind of synthesis known to mankind, so designing 4 new modules is no easy task. The Envelooper is one new design for certain.

What additional features would you like to see in the 300 series? Feel free to speculate, there are no stupid ideas. (Well, adding a Moog style transistor ladder filter is a stupid idea, the Boogie filter already blows that thin sounding design away)."