Yes, the company is young. And we're a bit overwhelmed right now and trying to learn the whole marketing thing. I (as in my fault) didn't predict that the product would be so well received and now we're caught trying to meet demand. We don't outsource the manufacturing but many of the parts are built by CM's as is the case with most small-to-medium companies. Even most large companies now outsource their board production as it simply isn't cost-effective to maintain a surface-mount fab if you don't have the volume.
I started the company a few years ago after getting fed up with corporate America. I created all these cool products for this small sonar company in NH and the company took off, sales went up tenfold in five years. The company then got bought out by a large corporation and in thanks for everything I'd done they took away my bonus, eliminated my pension, froze my pay, reduced my benefits, made me punch a time-clock and cut my office in half.
So I quit, took my life savings and bought a bunch of test equipment, computers, software and various vintage amplifiers and set out to create the best modeler / effects unit I could because I thought the time was right and the tech was ready to do it right. I averaged over 100 hours a week for 3 1/2 years developing the Axe-Fx. I developed tendonitis from writing so much code. The unit has nearly 50,000 lines of software and countless hours of analysis that have gone into it. The modeling was done with painstaking detail.
If a unit needs service we would do that in-house. Once we get a dealer network that might change. Many distributors do repairs themselves.
The MSRP is $1495. Considering what you get, that's a deal. And that's really what we need to be charging based on our costs. We don't make thousands at a time so we don't get the volume discounts. And all the manufacturing is done domestically. If we had them made in China we could surely charge less. It's not a mass-market product. If it were it wouldn't sound as good because the accountants would be pressuring to reduce costs. We use top-of-the-line converters. Why? Because they sound better. The op-amps cost 10x what other companies would use. But they sound good.
I do it because I love it. I'm not in it to make a killing and then disappear. My fiance' and I live a very modest lifestyle and aren't into the whole material possesions thing. Fractal Audio is a way for me to do what I love and make a modest living. For me happiness is creating something and witnessing the
Satisfaction others derive from it. I simply don't want to compete with the big guys because that means selling an inferior product. The Axe-Fx is what I as a guitarist have always wanted. I use it in my crappy little cover band and I have a blast with it and get tons of compliments on my tone.
I hope this has answered your questions.
CC
