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Waldorf returns to its wavetable roots with the Microwave-inspired M hybrid synth

Ahead of Superbooth 2021, Waldorf has announced that it is bringing back classic Microwave and ‘modern’ Microwave II instruments with their M wavetable synthesizer, a new desktop synth, but offers plenty of new features, as well.

Classic tone generation in a next-generation instrument.

Waldorf M is a hybrid eight-voice, four-part multitimbral synth with two wavetable oscillators. These can be switched between Microwave and Microwave II modes, behaving differently in each.

Features:

• Two oscillator modes:

1. Classic Microwave I mode, where 16-bit wavetables are bit-reduced to 8-bit and a 240 kHz non-anti-aliased sample rate is offered.
2. The Modern Microwave II/XT mode offers a 40 kHz sample rate with band-limited wavetables, although both oscillators — OSC 1 and OSC 2 — offer the same panel parameters.

• Two LFOs are available, with adjustable frequency Rate and Shape, that can be used for modulation purposes.
• Lowpass 24 dB/Oct VCF (based on the SSI 2144 Improved Ladder Type), with resonance and analog saturation.
• Four programmable envelopes
• True stereo analogue VCA with panning option
• True hard Sync (when working in its Modern Microwave II/XT mode)
• ARP with 16 preset patterns & ability to sync to MIDI clock
• Chord mode
• MIDI-syncable global LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator).
• 45 knobs and buttons for quick editing
• Full-metal housing
• 2,048 presets (divided into 16 banks, each with 128 sounds, including all of the classic Microwave sound sets, such as MW1 Factory Sound Set, MW1 Soundpool 1-5, the fat-sounding Analogue and Bassco, as well as PPG Wave 2.3 sounds converted for the original Microwave.
• Connections:

1. Six (rear panel-positioned) stereo analogue outputs — arranged as MAIN OUT (L/Mono and R) and AUX OUT (A, B, C, and D), the latter of which can be used to route each of the four Multi (multitimbral) parts to different outputs, if desired;
2. A stereo headphone output (with an associated Volume knob in addition to the topside Master Volume knob);
3. 5-pin MIDI IN, OUT, and THRU DIN connectors, complimented by a USB 2.0 MIDI port (for computer connection to transmit and receive MIDI data);
4. An SD Card slot (for updating M’s firmware, importing/saving sound patches, and importing/saving M-specific data, such as user wavetables); and
5. Kensington-compatible security lock slot.

The official intro video:

(Voltage Controlled Filter), complete with resonance and analogue saturation feature, and a true stereo analogue VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) with panning option. As such, M has hybrid digital/analogue synth status.

There are 96 factory wavetables and the option to import your own, while hands-on control comes courtesy of 45 knobs and a selection of buttons, all nicely-spaced across the all-metal housing.

Other features include two LFOs, an arpeggiator, and four programmable envelopes. On the connectivity front, meanwhile, you get six stereo analogue outputs, a stereo headphone output, MIDI In/Out/Thru/USB, and an SD card slot.

The Waldorf M costs £1,879. Find out more on the Waldorf website.

Superbooth 2021: Arturia has introduced SQ80 V, a new virtual instrument for Mac & Windows that is based on the Ensoniq SQ-80 from 1988.

The original Ensoniq SQ-80 is a hybrid synth, which offered more waveforms and a better keyboard, and now Arturia has revived this in the form of the SQ80 V plugin.

With SQ80 V, Arturia has recreated the sound of the original using hardware modeling. But they’ve also expanded on the original’s design with a variety new features, including:

• The arpeggiator – including arp direction, sync, octave range, and hold.
• Unison – SQ80 V offers up to 16-voice polyphony – twice that of the original hardware instrument – plus ann 8-voice unison option for creating massive sounds.
• Dispersion – subtle variations and inconsistencies in the behavior of its emulated circuitry that mean no two notes will ever be exactly the same,.
• Envelopes expanded – Arturia included 2 additional envelope modes: DADSR and MSEG. The former adds a delay stage to the traditional ADSR for staggered strikes and interesting rhythmic patterns. The latter is a fully-customizable looping function generator.
• The Mod Mixer – Combine any 2 modulation sources, from envelopes to keyboard controls, to distort, mangle, and refract your patches in interesting and unexpected ways. With 6 different modes of modulation mixing, the combination possibilities are enormous.
• MPE compatibility – SQ80 V supports MPE-compatible controllers for advanced expression.

Features:

• 3 digital oscillators based on the original DOC chip
• Over 400 waveforms across 4 unique banks
• Amplitude Modulation and Hard Sync
• 4 analog DCAs; 1 for each oscillator, 1 master output
• Analog resonant low-pass filter based on the original CEM chip
• 4 polyphonic envelope generators with 3 modes; SQ80, DADSR, MSEG
• 3 LFOs with 6 waveforms
• 8 MIDI sources
• Modulation mixer for combining 2 modulation sources
• Built-in 7-mode arpeggiator
• Up to 16-voice polyphony with Unison mode
• 4 FX slots across 2 busses, configurable in series or parallel]
• 15 master effect types
• Advanced Brightness, Timbre, Time and Movement macro controls
• 200+ factory presets, including 40 from the original SQ-80 instrument
• MPE compatibility

The official video overview:

Billed as a digital/analogue Frankenstein synth that’s bursting with grainy character, the SQ-80V emulates all the features of the original – including the three digital oscillators and analogue filter and amp – and brings the instrument up to date with modern enhancements.

These new features include hundreds more waveforms, an arpeggiator, MIDI modulation, 15 built-in effects with two busses, and MPE compatibility.

The SQ-80’s crunchy sound has been recreated by emulating its 8-bit DOC chip, while the facility to combine wavetables, instrument-style transients and hidden waveforms means there’s plenty of sound design potential.

This is designed to be a “quick-fire” synth, too; although the SQ-80’s architecture was pretty complex, thanks to the new streamlined workflow, the theory is that you’ll be able to get hands-on and make the sounds your own pretty easily.

Speaking of which, those sounds include resonant bells, vocal-like formants, crushed basses and delicate strings. In fact, Arturia claims that the SQ80 V’s sound is unique, being “unlike anything you’ve ever heard”.

To mark the release of the synth, the company has also put together two soundbanks. Dust Factory focuses on smooth, saturated patches, while Raw Machinery is grittier, with a distorted edge. The SQ80 V also ships with 100 presets as standard – 40 from the original synth, and 60 created by Arturia.

The SQ80 V is available now for PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats, and is currently priced at $99, a 50% discount (this offer runs until 5 October and includes the two soundbanks).

Find out more on the Arturia website.

At Superbooth 2021, SoundForce is announcing 2 new Eurorack Modules: a 2021 version of the DCO, with added built-in MIDI interface and new Juno-themed colors (shipping October 2021) and the uVCF 6, a compact Juno low-pass only version of my VCF/VCA 6 (shipping November 2021).

The SoundForce DCO, above, is an oscillator for Eurorack based on the architecture of the Juno-60/106 oscillator section. They describe it as “a modern homage to that sound using technology from the future.”

It provides true analog waveforms with digital stability. The new updated 2021 version includes a mini-jack (either type A or type B) MIDI interface for even better tuning and allows you to avoid lossy digital -> analog -> digital conversions. The tuning has been improved further with little more stability at both extremities of the VOCT range. The audio path is the same as the original DCO and you can expect the same pleasing sound quality.

Whereas, the uVCF 6 is an upcoming Eurorack module from SoundForce, a Eurorack interpretation of the Juno 60/106 VCF section. It is the little brother of the VCF/VCA 6, without the VCA and HPF in a compact(er) 6HP format.

If you are visiting SuperBooth, you can stop by the Soundforce booth and see the new modules.