Vintage Synth Explorer

Waldorf • MicroWave

The MicroWave rack-mount module is a very popular and powerful little synthesizer despite the fact that it is a slimmed-down 'micro' version of Waldorf's megalithic Wave synthesizer. The MicroWave is a modern digital polyphonic wavetable synth module that can emulate classic analog sounds as well as create new and unique sounds through digital wavetable modeling. It's got 8 voice polyphony, 64 memory patches, full MIDI implementation and sounds very good! There are tons of waves / wavetables for shaping all kinds of sounds, flexible resonant filters, a noise generator, a ring modulator, a programmable rhythmic arpeggiator and effects!

A few years later came the anticipated MicroWave II (pictured above). Polyphony was increased up to 10 voices and it became a completely digital wavetable and FM synthesizer - the original had analog filters. Patch memory was also increased from 64 to 256 user patches and from 64 to 128 performance patches. Most recently in 1998 came the latest incarnation - the MicroWave XT, an incredibly advanced new take on the MicroWave series. Microwaves have been used by Nine Inch Nails, Hardfloor, Jimmy Edgar, Vangelis, and Crystal Distortion.

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bill

Posted 172 days ago

i am pretty sure the waldorf micro wave was the first waldorf synth. the lager wave came after this since.
the mw1 is not really done proper justice by this site.
my mw1 was produced in 1989 .

pete m

Posted 206 days ago

i think the mw1 should have its own page, and mw2 put with the xt. just sold my mw2 for £50, didnt like the thin dsp sound. should have looked for the original in the 1st place

Twiddler

Posted 462 days ago

It's the PPG Wave, not the Waldorf Wave. About PPG this site says:

"Although PPG fell apart in the mid-late 1980's, their technology found its way into fellow German music company, Waldorf. The Microwave series represents modern day PPG technology..."

The PPG Wave was made from 1981.

Jamie B

Posted 471 days ago

I'm a little confused. If the Microwave is a scaled-down verson of the original Waldorf Wave synth, how come the Microwave was released in 1990 while the Wave wasn't built until 1993?
Can anyone clarify?

bill

Posted 590 days ago

there really needs to be two seperate pages for these two synths. they are completely different sounding from one another. the microwave2 is completely digital where the microwave1 is a mixture of two worlds.
so yeah the two are totally different sounding.

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