The Microwave XT is a great big orange polyphonic rackmount synthesizer. While combining the power of the Wave and the compact design of Waldorf's Microwave II, the XT adds a bit of knob-laden heaven. At first glance the top section completely resembles the 2-space rackmount version of the Microwave II. And then there are three more rack-spaces full of knobs and lots of knobs means lots of control.

As far as enhancements, the XT model has 20-bit DSP functions but that's about it. Its true power and features lie in the 44 hands-on knobs which make editing in real-time quick, easy and perfect for performance and studio work. All of the knobs transmit MIDI information as well!

The Synthesizer engine is relatively the same as the Microwave II and Wave synths that came before it. Digital wavetable synthesis and FM synthesis in which there are 64 waves that are mixed and combined into new sounds. The Microwave XT can easily emulate the sounds of the PPG wavetable synths as well as create squelchy acid-303 lines or boomy Moog bass. Also onboard is a nice arpeggiator, digital effects and more. The Microwave XT is definitely a powerful rackmount synth that can generate some highly unique and quality sounds. It is used by Astral Projection, The Crystal Method, Mirwais, and Cirrus.

mistormusic

January 22, 2013 @ 7:44 pm

This is a sound designer's dream. I've had mine for 1 year now and it's fantastic ! It sounds so rich and complex at times. It doesn't cut through the mix like an analog poly, but then again, it's not trying to be one. I use this to make everything from bass drums to deep house chords to arpeg screeches. Got mine for 501EUR off ebay.de. If you find one, i suggest you don't let it pass.

synth73

January 16, 2013 @ 11:49 am

WOW I just got an XT and let me tell you I cannot stop playing with it. I have tweaked every single preset and its amazing how some of the sounds change so much in texture with simple tweaks. The chorus and flanger are useless but the delay and amp chorus are beautiful. The presets are all garbage, you need to get in there and play around. Some sounds change a lot some not so much. I wish there were more than 2 banks, I already almost ran out of room!

NB

August 27, 2012 @ 5:54 am

@Groovizm :
The XT was MADE and BEGGS to be tweaked, rather than a preset machine! Presets are simply great starting points for serious sound design! There's a reason and purpose for 44+ knobs and can hardly see having to go into a preset to change very simple parameters on a machine that's SO MUCH deeper than that as being a perceived negative. I know people that have owned XT from release that STILL are discovering new sonic possibilities and very often by happy "accidents". The mathmatic modifiers alone take the XT to alien soundscapes!

Groovizm

July 9, 2012 @ 9:44 am

This is a great, and unique sounding synth, and it's extremely well build.

I do have a major issue , though: I would like to sync the LFO's to external midi clock and thiss can be done, but you have to change it manually for each and every preset. I wish there was a way to do this globally. And while we're at it: I'd like to turn those effects off globally too. They sound crap.

namnibor

May 18, 2012 @ 4:50 am

Must add that there's nothing wrong with the XT's filters, especially the unpredictable Waveshaper Function. However, I found that for SOME sounds, running XT's output through Curtis Amalog Filters simply adds to this classic's versatility!

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