Microwave 1 by Waldorf Music, a faithful emulation of the iconic Waldorf Microwave synth, is now 40% off at $99.

  

Microwave 1 by Waldorf Music, a faithful emulation of the iconic Waldorf Microwave synth, is now 40% off at $99.

35 years ago, Waldorf released its first instrument, the Microwave. It touched the hearts of musicians and producers of the '90s. Its vivid, unique sound elevated the wavetable sound of the early '80s into the electronic dance music of the following decade. Now, with the release of the Microwave 1 plug-in, this magical instrument is back on digital workstations around the world.

Its heavy basslines, enigmatic wavetable modulation, intense attacks, and silky-smooth pads have inspired generations of musicians. Microwave is the pinnacle of hybrid synthesis, a unique fusion of wavetable synthesis and analog filters.

The Waldorf Microwave 1 plug-in was painstakingly crafted to faithfully recreate all the distinctive features and uniqueness of the original hardware. This multi-year project was a true labor of love. Waldorf analyzed and modeled every aspect of the original hardware, down to the last detail. Its unique sound was based on its own digital and analog designs, long before the DSP-based instruments that followed were even conceived.

Only the first generation of the Microwave and Waldorf Wave were based on a custom-developed integrated circuit called the Waldorf ASIC. Combined with the legendary Curtis filter chip and a very unique 68k CPU-based controller software, this ASIC defined a very unique wavetable sound flavor that is unlike anything else. Wolfgang Palm, the inventor of wavetable synthesis in the 80s, was the man behind the design of this unique chip. Waldorf went to great lengths to analyze this integrated circuit and recreate it in the plug-in. Like the original, the plug-in performs its internal synthesis at a super-fast sampling rate of 250 kHz, regardless of the DAW's sampling rate. The reproduced digital waveforms were compared bit-for-bit with the originals and found to be 100% identical. Digital noise was reconstructed with all its glorious artifacts.

The original hardware's outdated D/A converters are also faithfully reproduced, with their nonlinearity and tone-shaping characteristics. These characteristics are also reflected in the two Curtis filter chip variations used in revisions A and B of the original hardware. The plug-in also allows for artificial detuning and recalibration of analog components.

A strong attack, a light decay and a wealth of transients characterize the first generation Microwave sound. Its vitality, never mechanical, always different sounding, is based on a unique architecture of envelopes, LFOs and modulations, painstakingly reproduced by the plug-in down to the finest detail.

The Microwave 1 plug-in goes one step further. The modern and attractive graphical user interface reveals many aspects of the synthesis engine that were hidden by the plain and difficult-to-use interface of previous hardware. The fully scalable modern interface with easy-to-read high-contrast fonts supports an intuitive sound editing process by graphically representing wavetables, envelopes and filter response curves, with animations of modulation and playing positions.

But Waldorf's announcement didn't stop there. For the first time, it revealed the internal structure of Microwave. Users can now easily edit existing wavetables or create new ones using the internal control table. All original wavetables are available with their control structure and the complete waveform catalog. In addition to user wavetables, user waveforms can also be created within the plug-in. The added randomization mode makes wavetable editing a more fun and sonically surprising experience than ever before.

The multi mode is a powerful weapon in sound design. While the multi mode was traditionally difficult to edit from the panel, the plug-in UI allows you to quickly layer single sounds and create complex and exciting sound structures. The easy-to-use mixer page allows you to fine-tune the relationships between sounds. Advanced features such as tuning and velocity tables are also implemented and can be changed within the user interface.

Until 21th July. 

Microwave 1