37 replies to this topic

[hps909]

ok had some time playing with this thing and i gotta take my hat off to waldorf they've squeezed one hell of a synth in to a box a little bit bigger than a video cassette ...

3 osc's 2 filters 3 lfo's 4 envelopes and an arpeggiator ...

osc 1 + 2 have VA, FM and wavetable oscillators , Osc 3 is VA only but you have a ring mod section aswell if anyone has played with a waldorf  wave product then you'll know the wavetables. and the standard saw triangle square with PWM and sine ... i would say this synth is more gritty than warm and fuzzy you can get some decent cone flapping out it though which i'm pretty happy about.  there was one patch in the presets called porno bass that really make my speaker cones pulsate ..

this thing can very nasty very quickly industrial style cheese grater abrasive digital harshness  crank the drive on the filter and she makes some noises i didn't think existed i actually bought this coz i wanted something left of field i didn't just want a VA i wanted wierd i wanted uniqueness and the blofeld fits the bill .... an awesome mod matrix you can route pretty much everything to everything

scratching the surface i found 3 different env types i will explore these later the same with the arpeggiator .. the lfo's get stupidly fast so much so that they start to become voice oscillators 2500hz i think they get to you get a bit of aliasing with it though but great for the above mentioned wierdness.... 

things that aren't so great is midi is done over USB for a computer but only has a midi in to plug a controller keyboard ....  no physical out and no through altogether .... 1 stereo out for a 16 part synth sucks but i guess for the price you cant complain .. the encoders are too fine would like a button to hold for fine editing as it is to get the filter from fully closed to fully open requires you turn the knob about 5 or 6 times no good for quick changes, although you can assign a different controller to it and bypass the front panel knobs. they send midi also

my favourite feature though is tucked into the system menu is a randomize function instant bent noises with out getting your head around the FM section or wavetables ..


I'm so glad i got one it can be a work horse multi synth aswell as a sound design dream machine and under a grand you really cant go wrong

[Spectrum]

http://www.waldorfmusic.de/en/home

http://www.waldorfmu..._user_interface
http://www.waldorfmu...ound_generation
http://www.waldorfmu..._specifications

[Spectrum]

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there was one patch in the presets called porno bass that really make my speaker cones pulsate ..

Is that right?! ;D


Awesome review...

Gotta love left-of-centre (nothing bores me more than booting up a same ol' simple subtractive soft synth)...

Such amazing value for AUD$750 (where from, may I ask?)...

I so want one!

[hps909]

intermusic in bondi junction

[archietech]

you have made me want to get one hps. damn you!

i've always liked the waldorf products, spent ages with the vsts they put out. damn you!!

prime price too!

cheaps heaps for the review, always good to read what someone you know thinks about something.

woop woop time to steal a handbag or two

[hps909]

editing is very straight forward and i'd say fairly fuckin easy for a synth with a matrix and only 6 knobs the UI is very easy to understand and navigate .....

there are no user slots to save your edits you have to overwrite factory presets to save your own patches which i'm a bit annoyed at

[Spectrum]

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editing is very straight forward and i'd say fairly fuckin easy for a synth with a matrix and only 6 knobs the UI is very easy to understand and navigate .....

there are no user slots to save your edits you have to overwrite factory presets to save your own patches which i'm a bit annoyed at

What's the story with editing via computer? I've been assuming that its USB connector was for exactly that? But then I've not seen a single Blofeld Editor screenshot floating about anywhere... is there one? And if so, can you post a pic or two? Cheers.

re: preset slots being over-ridden. Yeah, I too hate writing over presets, especially given that when you're needing to save a patch, one can't pre-listen to the patch that's about to be written over without losing the patch in progress.

But if the hype/price/performance of this thing soars, then I reckon there's gonna be a few tracks with some distinctive Blofeld presets hitting the interweb waves, so perhaps not a bad thing to rid the box of 'em.

[hps909]

no software editor ... yet .... usb is solely for midi i/o the way it's set out is pretty nifty though you turn a knob and the screen automatically goes to the edit screen of that function there is only 2 "shift functions" say you turn the cut off knob it automatically goes to the filter curve ui and you have 6 pages of filter settings that you flick through... you turn the resonance knob it goes to that edit page you go back to filter and it starts on the page you last viewed ....  the lfo and env have quite a few pages though but you never get lost in it it's very user friendly


darko does a bear shit in the woods i only got it saturday arvo gimmie time to fully understand it and connect with it ..

[Captain Terrific]

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gimmie time to fully understand it and connect with it ..

no.

want


noises


now!!



STAT!

[neo]

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re: preset slots being over-ridden. Yeah, I too hate writing over presets, especially given that when you're needing to save a patch, one can't pre-listen to the patch that's about to be written over without losing the patch in progress.

Something I'm really loving about the Evolver Keyboard over the desktop: 1. Named patches, and 2. Compare button which lets you listen to a patch before overwriting it. Problem solved!

[dec0n]

Welcome to hell!

[hps909]

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(unofficial) Waldorf Blofeld VST editor

saw that this morning but it's windows only dude   + there's another french one that is a little more indepth but again windows only no OS X

[hps909]

I don't promote swarm i'm only like a resident but the next gig is the 31st oct ..  i haven't heard anything beyond that i know chris liberator is coming more towards dec .. so i can't confirm nor deny Henry being in sydney

[wisefox]

just noticed this custom rack on ebay for you guys who have a blofeld - looks pretty nifty...



http://cgi.ebay.com....p3286.m63.l1177

[skiesbleed]

I picked one of these up a couple of months ago, because I'd been eying one, read some great reviews, and found a used one, on sale even, at a local music store. I played it for an hour and a half, loved it, and brought it home with me.

Quote

Something I'm really loving about the Evolver Keyboard over the desktop: 1. Named patches, and 2. Compare button which lets you listen to a patch before overwriting it. Problem solved!

It is frustrating having to overwrite presets; I hate it with a passion. However, this compare option is available on the Blofeld. I think it's been there since near the beginning, because my manual talks about it, and it works nicely. At least I can try to pick a preset I like least, and have it backed up on my computer if I ever feel like I need it. It's always just a SysEx dump away.