Update, 25-Jan-2017: Post has been updated to reflect my recent insight that the “self-lubricating” encoders in the Blofeld use a contact oil which should be replaced to avoid abrasion and wear. My sincerest apologies!
I like my white Blofeld. A very versatile VA synth with a good programming concept, and I am simply smitten with its look and feel. Solid metal, not too bulky or too heavy though, a big friendly graphics display, and a very good keyboard, with very good aftertouch sensibility. Got it really cheap, too.
I'm thinking hard about adding a digital synth to my collection. I like some of the pure tones that the Blofeld appears to have. Download waldorf blofeld license sl crack » com-k2.ru download soft & movies for free V is capable of delivering up to 256 voices of polyphony, depending on the host computer. Raze - Break For Love talismangroove. So, if you were to upgrade firmware and Spectre then do a sample update, it would do the usual blow away the old and take forever.
As with the E-MU ESI32 that needed a new backlight, a steel casing means solid build quality – for the mechanical parts. BTW: To take it apart, you have to remove all the screws on the synth’s underbelly – 18 of them, casing screws as well as the ones holding the keyboard. No need to remove the wooden side panels or the rubber feet though. Then, remove all screws holding the electronics board – one of them is under the power switch so it is necessary to remove that switch from the housing by applying gentle pressure from the inside. In short, be warned: it’s a real pain in your lower backside to get the electronics dismounted, so if you do not have a good reason to remove Blofeld’s brain, just don’t.
Jumpy encoders being a very good reason, of course.
One thing that seems to plague the Blofeld, keyboard and desktop versions alike, is that the encoders are likely to behave eratically; they tend to become jumpy an unrealiable. Achim at stromeko.net, who has loads of insight into and experience with Waldorf synths and their tech, recommends soldering in buffer caps, but to make a long story short, I think you might be better off cleaning, lubricating, and bending rather than only soldering. I’d suggest addressing the mechanical problems first.
Jumpy? Greasy.
My Blofeld did indeed suffer misbehaving encoders. The two under the display were the worst, the ones that you use the most in tweaking sounds. This type of behaviour is not new to me; I fixed a Micro Q once, the Blofeld’s predecessor that had suffered from the same erratic encoder behaviour – after years of use. They still use the same kind of encoder – and these are easy to open and clean.
Once again, it proved that most problems in electronics are mechanical by nature – in my Blofeld, the encoders had been greased to ensure smooth operation, but a surplus of grease had seeped into the contacts. Update: Or so I thought – in fact it may be a special kind of grease to protect the contacts; you may use Kontakt-61 or a similar lubricant intended for contacts.
To fix the mechanical problems, carefully bend the pickup contacts on the rotor just the tinyiest bit higher to increase pressure After cleaning the encoder, and after re-applying the contact oil, encoder operation is now flawless.
- To get to the encoders, the buttons have to be removed. Just pull them off.
- The Blofeld’s brain – that’s all there is: one tiny chip does all the work.
- The encoder is held together by four metal tongues fixing the top part. Carefully wedge them away with a small flat screwdriver. Warning: the metal is easy to bend but will tear when bent repeatedly.
- The top of the encoder, removed. This is the rotor. Clean carefully and, with even more care, readjust the feather contacts to compensate wear of older encoders.
- I am usually not too keen on chemical solvents like Kontakt spray, but it did good work as a degreaser here. Spray the solvent on a Q-tip rather than onto the encoder shaft – the grease is needed here.
- A bit of degreaser applied to the base of the encoder. Clean and dry with a Q-tip, put the top part back, and bend the metal tongues back to hold it in place. Use a bit of force, or the encoder will tend to clatter.
The encoders are held together by four metal tongues from a very soft metal. It is very hard to bend it back into position so that it closes the encoder without play; a drop of hot glue holds the top in place and is easily removed if the encoder is due for maintenance again.
One final note: The main encoder left of the display is of a slightly different type where the metal tongues have to be straightened to pass through a hole in the top part of the housing. Extra care needed with that.
Verwandte Artikel:
- Blofeld encoder fix revisited – a correction. (And apology.) (Wednesday, 25. January 2017; Schlagworte: contact oil, contacts, encoders, Kontakt spray, Repair, Waldorf Blofeld)
- Bitte nicht nach einer Kalibrierung für das Pitchbend-Rad beim Blofeld suchen. (Macht er selber.) (Sunday, 27. January 2019; Schlagworte: Pitch Bend, Potentiometers, Synthesizer)
- Waldorf Blofeld Mod Concept (Thursday, 21. March 2019; Schlagworte: MIDI Controller, Modding, Waldorf Blofeld)
(Redirected from Waldorf synthesizer)
Waldorf Music is a Germansynthesizer company. Best known for the Microwavewavetable synthesizer and Qvirtual analogue synthesizer lines developed and released by Waldorf Music AG, the original company declared insolvency at a German court on 5 February 2004. In Summer 2006 a new company Waldorf Music GmbH was officially established, although it is not a legal successor to the original company.[1]
WAVE (1993) atop yellow Q (1999). MicroQ keyboard (2001) left
Waldorf XTk (1999) above Waldorf Q+ (2002, with some special made multiple memory card expansion)
- 3Products
History[edit]
Waldorf Music AG was founded in 1988 by Wolfgang Düren, who at the time was the German distributor of PPG. The Waldorf name refers to the German town Waldorf (near to the former capital of West Germany: Bonn) where the company was founded. The company was headquartered in Schloss Ahrenthal.
Personnel[edit]
- Wolfgang Düren, Managing Director
In alphabetical order:
- Christian Bacaj (software, iOS development)
- Holger Bahr (administration, network infrastructure and business software)
- Ralf Bächle
- Andy Busse (software R&D in the early days of Waldorf)
- Jürgen Fornoff (software)
- Wolfram Franke, developer
- Florian Gypser, production & quality management
- Axel Hartmann, industrial design and corporate identity
- Chris Mercer
- Frédéric Meslin (software, hardware)
- Niels Moseley (software, hardware)
- Martin Neideck, central buying & organisation
- Frank Schneider, production manager
- Holger 'Tsching' Steinbrink, Product Manager
- Stefan Stenzel, R&D Director
PPG Wave 2.x series (1981-1987), designed by Wolfgang Palm, was a predecessor of Waldorf The WAVE and Microwave.
- and some freelancers working in and outside the castle:
- Claudius Brüse (product manager and manual of the WAVE)
- Albert Huitsing (software)
- Jörg Hüttner, (product support)
- Thomas Kircher (circuit design)
- Michael Marans (WAVE Manual Production and Design)
- Oliver Rockstedt (Writer, Microwave 2 Manual)
- Wolfgang Palm, designer of original PPG technology and the resulting 'Waldorf ASIC' used in the Microwave and Wave synthesizers. Not an employee of Waldorf Music!
- Joachim Flor, sales
- Jay Metarri (notable user)
Products[edit]
1989[edit]
Waldorf Microwave II (1997-)
- Microwave. Rackwavetablesynth and developed from the PPG Wave.[3][4] Built in two different hardware revisions: the first ones had a backlit LCD. The later ones a lit character display. They use a different Curtis CEManaloglowpassfilterchips. Later called Microwave I due to the 1997 introduced Microwave II
1990[edit]
- Midibay MB-15. RackMIDIpatchbay and merger[5]
Waldorf WAVE (1993)
1991[edit]
- Microwave Waveslave. 1 HE voice extension for the original Microwave (adding another 8 voices)[6]
1993[edit]
- WAVE. A wavetablesynthesizer. This was a deluxe extrapolation of Microwave technology, with additional features for wavetable creation and resynthesis that even today is not available on any other synthesizer. Available in 4 colours. 61 or 76 keys. 16, 32, or 48 voices and expandable to 120.[7] Retail price in 1994 was $9000.00 with less than 200 made. The WAVE was used by for example Depeche Mode, Hans Zimmer and The Orb.
- 4-pole. Table top analog filter box.[8]
- EQ-27. Compact (table top) programmable and MIDI controllable stereo 7 band equalizer.[9]
1994[edit]
Waldorf rackAttack (2002) in the earlier blue/gray color combination above Waldorf 'Mean Green Machine Microwave I (1994). A bit of a WAVE (1993) panel is visible here too.
Pulse (1995) atop 4-pole (1993) atop EQ-27 (ca.1993)
- Microwave I V2.0 ROM upgrade, which added additional wavetables,[10] a facility to algorithmically create custom wavetables, a speech synthesizer, and numerous other improvements. The Waveslave was not compatible with this upgrade, but a trade-in program was offered where the user could upgrade to a full Microwave for a small fee.
- A limited edition Mean Green Machine was released at the same time as this upgrade, being a Microwave with a new 'Nextel' rubberized finish in a green color, a certificate of authenticity, special cone-shaped metal feet, and comical silkscreening (the power switch was labeled Life, and the card slot was labeled Food.) Normal Microwave units from then on featured the Nextel finish in the usual blue color.
1995[edit]
- Gekko Chords and Gekko Trigger: Very compact passive powered MIDI tools[11]
- Hohner Adam[12]
- Pulse: Monophonicanalogracksynth[13]
1997[edit]
- Gekko Arpeggiator. Very compact passive powered Midi tool[14]
- Microwave II. MotorolaDSP driven wavetable rack synth, containing many features of the original Microwave with improved mixing, modulation, effects processing, and multimode filter.[15]
- Pulse+. Monophonic analog rack synth with additional audio in and MIDI / CV/gate interface[16]
1998[edit]
- x-pole. Programmable stereo (in/out) analog filter in a 2HE rack module. With full MIDI, CV/Gate and ACM support.
- Microwave XT. Microwave II with 44 knobs and audio input, in 5HE package with bright orange color.[17]
- Microwave XT Limited Edition. Microwave XT in charcoal gray/black color scheme, in a limited edition run of 666 units.
- d-pole. VST filter plug-in[18][19]
- Terratec Microwave PC. Synth module for the TerraTec EWS sound cards, featuring a fully functional Microwave II in a drivebay package.
- Wavetable Oscillator for Creamware Modular
Waldorf yellow Q (1999)
1999[edit]
- Q. DSP driven virtual analog synth. 58 knobs! Colours: bright yellow 'sahara' and WAVE blue, the latter became popularly known as the Halloween edition.[20][21][22]
- XTk. The Microwave XT with a 49 key keyboard[23]
- Q rack. Rack version of the Q synth.[24] Fewer knobs. Yellow and dark blue.
Waldorf Q Halloween version
Waldorf Microwave XTk (1999)
2000[edit]
Waldorf microQ yellow (ca.2000) Waldorf microQ keyboard (2001) | Waldorf Q rack blue (1999/2001) Waldorf RackAttack (2002) |
- PPG 2.VVST plug-in synthesizer to emulate the blue PPG. wave 2.x wavetablesynthesizers[25][26]
- microQ. Even more compact and affordable Q rack with only 7 knobs and different DSP. Differences: 25 potential voices compared to the original models,[27] due to shared operation and effects chip. A 75 voice expansion is available. The upgrade must be done by Waldorf or licensed repair center. Typical usage depended upon complexity of patches, unlike the Q or Q Rack which feature 16 note polyphony, upgradable to 32 voices. The microQ did not include the step sequencer.[28]
2001[edit]
- Attack. VST drum-synth plug-in[29][30]
- Color of the Q, Q rack & mQ changed to the classic (Microwave) blue
- microQ keyboard. 3 octave keyboard version of the mQ. Classic blue coloured
2002[edit]
Waldorf Q+ (2002, with some special made multiple memory card expansion)
- D-coder. A TC Powercore synth and vocoder Plug-In
- RackAttack. The VST in a microQ housing
- Q+ A red Q featuring up to 100 dynamically allocated voices and 16 analog lowpass filters[31]
- A1 VSTi software synth for Steinberg Cubase SX and Nuendo
- Waldorf Filter for Halion
Musik Messe 2003: PC running ROT Analog Filter Step Sequencer. AFB-16 (2003) below. rackAttack (2002, here in the later color combination of blue/yellow) and microQ (2000, classic blue) below the speaker on the left. Q+ (2002) in the background
2003[edit]
- AFB-16. 16 analog filters to be used via USB for VST instrument and effects.[32]
2004[edit]
- On 5 February Waldorf Music AG declared insolvency at a German court.
2006[edit]
- In April 2006 Waldorf Music GmbH formed. Even though during August of that same year the website experienced intermittent availability resulting in multiple pronouncements of its demise, in November the Waldorf user mailing list/forum was resurrected.
2007[edit]
Waldorf Blofeld (2007)
Waldorf Blofeld keyboard (2009)
- Blofeld (released December 2007)
- At the start of 2007, Waldorf announces their new line of synths and electric pianos. These include special editions of their famed Q, Q+ and Micro Q line relabled as the Phoenix Edition and the introduction of brand new synths the Blofeld and the Stromberg. This is also the first time that Waldorf have ventured away from synths and produced an Electric Piano with the new Zarenbourg.
2009[edit]
- Blofeld Keyboard (released January 2009) - The Blofeld Keyboard is a Blofeld housed in a compact metal case and features a four-octave semi-weighted keyboard and 60MB sample memory in addition to the Blofeld module.
- License SL - Blofeld License SL Sample Upgrade, is a software license that expands the Waldorf Blofeld desktop module with 60 MByte sample memory
- Largo - a software synthesizer that works as a VST and AudioUnit instrument.[33]
2010[edit]
- PPG Wave 3.V (released December 2010) - a software version of the PPG Wave keyboards that works as a VST and AudioUnit instrument.[34]
2011[edit]
- Lector - a software vocoder that works as a VST and AudioUnit plugin.
2013[edit]
Waldorf Rocket (2013)
Waldorf 2-Pole Analog Filter (2014)
Waldorf Streichfett (2014) string synthesizer
- Rocket - a paraphonic hybrid synthesizer.[35][36]
- Nave - a wavetable synthesizer for the iPad.[37]
- Pulse 2 - a paraphonic analog synthesizer.[38][39]
2014[edit]
- 2-Pole - an analog filter.[40]
- Streichfett - a string synthesizer.[41][42]
2015[edit]
Waldorf nw1 (2015)
Waldorf mod1 (2016)
Waldorf dvca1 (2016)
Waldorf cmp1 (2016)
Waldorf vcf1 (2017)
- nw1 Eurorack Wavetable Oscillator - a digital Wavetable oscillator designed to be used in the Eurorack modular system.[43]
2016[edit]
- kb37 Eurorack - a eurorack based modular synthesis system that contains a 37 key keyboard with a mounting surface for modules up to 107 hp.[44]
- mod1 - a eurorack based analog synthesis module that offers three types of modulation parameters.[45]
- dvca1 - a eurorack based analog dual VCA circuit with input summing and parallel control of separate parameters.[46]
- cmp1 - a eurorack based analog compressor module that offers both RMS and peak modes of operation.[47]
2017[edit]
- vcf1 - a eurorack based analog multimode filter module with distortion.[48]
2018[edit]
- Quantum - Waldorf's flagship analog/digital hybrid synthesizer.[49]
Distributed products[edit]
- Emes Studio Monitors
Developed for Steinberg[edit]
- SMP 24 (for Atari ST)
- SMP II (for Atari ST)
- Midex+ (for Atari ST)
- Topaz (Harddisk recording, Mr. Wolfgang Palm was involved too)
References[edit]
- ^http://www.waldorf-music.info/en/
- ^https://www.docdroid.net/5H1Magm/waldorf-staff.pdf.html
- ^'Waldorf Wave'. Sound On Sound. July 1994. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014.
- ^'Waldorf Microwave'. Music Technology. Vol. 4 no. 2. January 1990. p. 64. ISSN0957-6606. OCLC24835173.
- ^http://till-kopper.de/midibay.html
- ^http://till-kopper.de/waveslave.html
- ^http://unofficial.waldorf-wave.de
- ^http://till-kopper.de/4pole.html
- ^http://till-kopper.de/eq27.html
- ^'Waldorf Microwave 2.0'. Sound On Sound. August 1995. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Gekko'. Sound On Sound. April 1996. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
- ^http://www.till-kopper.de/hohner_adam.html
- ^'Waldorf Pulse'. Sound On Sound. February 1996. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
- ^http://waldorf.synth.net/gekko.html
- ^'Waldorf Microwave II'. Sound On Sound. July 1997. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Pulse Plus'. Sound On Sound. February 1997. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Microwave XT'. Sound On Sound. October 1998. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
- ^http://www.waldorfmusic.de/en/archive/d-pole.html
- ^'Waldorf D-Pole Filter'. Sound On Sound. November 1998. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015.
- ^http://waldorfmusic.de/en/products/q_keyboard
- ^'Waldorf Q'. Sound On Sound. May 1999. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Q'. Sound On Sound. December 1999. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Microwave XTK'. Sound On Sound. March 2000. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014.
- ^'Waldorf Q'. Sound On Sound. June 2000. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015.
- ^http://waldorfmusic.de/en/products/ppg_wave
- ^'Waldorf PPG Wave 2.V'. Sound On Sound. September 2000. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf Micro Q'. Sound On Sound. February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016.
- ^http://waldorfmusic.de/en/products/micro_q_rack
- ^http://waldorfmusic.de/en/products/attack
- ^'Waldorf Attack'. Sound On Sound. February 2002. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
- ^http://waldorfmusic.de/en/products/q_plus
- ^http://waldorf.synth.net/afb.html
- ^'Waldorf Largo'. Sound On Sound. November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
- ^'Waldorf PPG Wave 3.V'. Sound On Sound. April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- ^'Rocket Synthesizer'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Waldorf Rocket'. Sound On Sound. July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
- ^'Nave advanced wavetable synthesizer Overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Pulse 2 analog synthesizer Overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Waldorf Pulse 2'. Sound On Sound. February 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
- ^'2-Pole analog filter Overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Streichfett string synthesizer Overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Waldorf Streichfett'. Sound On Sound. December 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- ^'nw1 overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'kb37 keybed specifications'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'mod1 specifications'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'dvca1 specifications'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'cmp1 specifications'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'vcf1 specifications'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
- ^'Quantum Overview'. Waldorf Music GmbH.
Further reading[edit]
- 'Waldorf Microwave II'. Future Music. No. 59. Future Publishing. August 1997. p. 32. ISSN0967-0378. OCLC1032779031.
- 'Waldorf Pulse'. Future Music. No. 41. Future Publishing. March 1996. ISSN0967-0378. OCLC1032779031.
- 'Waldorf Microwave XT'. Future Music. No. 77. Future Publishing. December 1998. ISSN0967-0378. OCLC1032779031.
- 'Waldorf Q'. Future Music. Autumn 1999. ISSN0967-0378. OCLC1032779031.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waldorf Synthesizers. |
- Waldorf UserFAQs (faq.waldorfian.info)
- Archive containing manuals as PDF files, as well as all public OS versions of their products.
- Stefan Stenzel Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2011)
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