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Average Price: $26,068
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$500
$1501+
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Description
The Waldorf Wave synthesizer is a legendary instrument renowned for its 32-voice polyphony and advanced wavetable synthesis capabilities. This powerhouse of sound creation is a staple for musicians seeking both versatility and depth in their sonic palette. Designed for professional use, the Waldorf Wave offers a comprehensive array of features that enable intricate sound design, from lush pads to cutting leads. Its intuitive layout allows users to easily navigate through its complex architecture, making it suitable for both studio and live performances.
The synth is equipped with an expressive keyboard with aftertouch and velocity sensitivity, providing dynamic control over your performances. Its large, high-resolution display ensures easy access to parameters and waveforms, while the extensive modulation matrix allows for detailed sound sculpting. The Waldorf Wave is revered for its ability to produce rich, textured sounds thanks to its multitimbral performance capabilities, which let you layer multiple patches simultaneously.
Whether you're an electronic music producer, film composer, or sound designer, the Waldorf Wave offers a wealth of possibilities. Its robust build and premium components ensure reliability and longevity, making it a worthy investment for any serious musician or producer.
Key Features:
- 32-voice polyphony
- Advanced wavetable synthesis
- Multitimbral performance capabilities
- Large high-resolution display
- Expressive keyboard with aftertouch and velocity sensitivity
- Extensive modulation matrix
- Robust build with premium components
Product specs
| Brand | Waldorf |
| Model | Wave 61-Key Synthesizer |
| Finish | Black, Blue |
| Year | 1993 |
| Made In | Germany |
| Categories | Digital Synthesizers, Keyboard Synths |
| Analog / Digital | Digital |
| Key Size | Full Size |
| Keyboard Action | Synth Action |
| MIDI I/O | MIDI Input, MIDI Output, MIDI Through |
| Number of Keys | 61 Keys |
| Polyphony | 16 Voices |
FAQs
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What type of synthesis does the Waldorf Wave use?
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The Waldorf Wave employs wavetable synthesis, allowing users to manipulate and morph between different waveforms for a versatile and rich sound palette.
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Is the Waldorf Wave polyphonic?
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Yes, the Waldorf Wave offers 16-voice polyphony, enabling complex layered sounds and full chordal playing.
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What kind of keyboard action does the Waldorf Wave have?
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The Waldorf Wave features a synth action keyboard, providing a responsive and smooth playing experience suitable for expressive performances.
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How many keys does the Waldorf Wave have?
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The Waldorf Wave comes with a 61-key full-size keyboard, offering ample range for both bass lines and high melodies.
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Does the Waldorf Wave support MIDI connectivity?
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Yes, the Waldorf Wave includes MIDI Input, Output, and Through, ensuring compatibility with other MIDI-equipped instruments and devices.
Videos
Perfect Circuit
Waldorf Wave Demo
Reviews
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Waldorf Wave.
Features and functionality
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The Waldorf Wave could import 16-bit WAV files via 3.5" floppy and extract wavetables, although it struggled with complex sounds like distorted guitars.
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The Waldorf Wave has 16 voices, expandable to 48, along with an abundance of analog ins and outs, offering greater flexibility than its Microwave counterparts.
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Unique to the Waldorf Wave, users can create wavetables directly on the synth, a feature not commonly found in other synths of its era.
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The Waldorf Wave offers a unique blend of lush and liquid tones that are also capable of sounding sharp and frizzy, giving it a versatile sonic palette.
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Build quality
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The Wave's analog filters are described as lush and squishy, providing a rich sonic character.
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Setup and maintenance
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Owners report maintenance issues due to failing display, encoders, switches, and gas shocks, with parts becoming increasingly hard to find.
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Comparisons
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The Waldorf Quantum is seen as a worthy successor to the Wave, offering modern features while maintaining some old-school charm.
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The Waldorf Wave is noted for having digital oscillators with artifacts, and while it excels in usability due to its comprehensive knob layout, its sound quality is often ranked below the PPG Wave and Blofeld.
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The Argon 8 is seen as a more aesthetically pleasing and easier-to-control alternative to the Blofeld, offering similar capabilities without the complex interface.
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The FLAME MÄANDER offers replaceable wavetables and an analog filterbank, appealing to live performers with its user-friendly sequencer.
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User experience
Value and pricing
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The Microwave 2 is a more affordable alternative to the original Wave, priced around $800 but lacks analog filters.
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Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 0 Reviews and 3 Ratings
Artist usage
Add artist
At 4:33 in this studio tour with MusicTech, Ulrich says "On top is another one that I can't move just by myself because it's too heavy, so that's why it's permanently set up - the Waldorf Wave - which is usually, I think, considered as probably the ultimate wave table synth. It's quite lucky actually, I bought two of these in a very very bad state, completely broken. Sent them to Germany to a technician who had worked for Walforf previously and out of the two broken ones, he assembled this working one."
In a Facebook post, Leftfield refers to the Waldorf Wave as their "dream machine," highlighting its significance in their music production.
The Waldorf Wave can be seen in the left side of this photo of LFO in the studio.
This synthesizer never fails to amaze me. Listen to the chords and solo's i play as i adjust a few parameters and add a bit of modulation to a few things. The sound morphs into something completely new, and becomes very rich and colorful.
This is what i like about this synthesizer. It is suitable for any style of electronic music, or production. I try to push its boundaries towards deep house and techno.
But you gotta know your SH*T in order to get sounds like this from the wave. This is the big boys club.
This is a grown man's sport.
taken from mike's you tube channel... intro remarks in the upload comments of his demo of the synthesizer he owns and loves.
Source: Interview with Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti about SNAP! in mu:zines.co.uk from 1994.
"SEA WITCH VS THE ALIENS" by Drew Neumann c2010 Droomusic ASCAP
"The story so far--fresh from their easy victory over the brainless Zombies, the Aliens dive into the Pacific Rim of Fire to raid the earth's resources and steal Methane Hydrates. They encounter something deep underwater that can actually fight back, and she is on her own home turf...
This cue features the Euro and Frac system set up in this simple patch--the one on the left is called Morbeus, it is an Emu/Paia homebrew made from Emu SSM evaluation boards and Paia EKX series boards. On the right top to bottom is an Encore Expressionist, Analogue Systems modular, Blacet, and Doepfer A100 modulars. Below that is a Powertran Digital Delay and an Alesis Quadraverb. These synths are backed up by 2 Waldorf Microwave 1, WAVE, and Q+, a Minimoog, 2 Minimoog Voyagers, Studio Electronics Omega 8, 2 Oberheim SEMS, a Tom Oberheim New SEM, Access Virus B and C, Arturia Origin, 2 MacBeth M3X, Jomox Sunsyn, Alesis Andromeda, and the 5U Knob Grotto. Mixed live off of all of the synths, this used 63 tracks and a couple of hundred voices. It probably should be titled the battle against noise floor and ground loops, but I won that battle!"
Album Usage
The Waldorf Wave has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Waldorf Wave, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
Community setups
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