The Frankfurt-Musik-Messe Flyer 1993 transfered to electronic medium without permission -------------------------------------------------------------------------- waldorf The WAVE Advanced Modular Wavetable Synthesizer with the most intuitive user-interface avaiable today The WAVE by Waldorf represents the logical refinement of Wavetable- synthesis, with the utmost consideration for a clear, concise and intuitive user-interface. In addition, the WAVE has been conceived to be completely modular in its hardware as to cater for various needs the best possible way. Options for soft- and hardware extensions allow for an even greater flexibility, putting the WAVE, as its predecessor, the MicroWave, into the best position to become a classic. COMPREHENSIVE SYNTHESIS The WAVE refines the Dynamic Spectral Wavetable synthesis by Waldorf. Right at the unit *User-Wavetables* can be created and edited, putting the potential to realise an undreamed of host of innovative sounds at everyone's disposal. A truely unique function to extract single spectra or spectral groups from sampled sounds, including their timbral evolution over time, will stand out in the creation of new sound-colours. The modulation-capabilities have been improved enormously as well: for example, MIDI-clock, playspeed, keyboard-status, and more can now also be utilized as modulation sources; modifiers can be turned inside-out by new, special modules such as *Control Delay*, *Control Mixer*, *Control Shaper* or *Control Comparator*; additional modulation inputs allow for even greater expressive capabilities than before. Finally, there is a new, assignable four-stage Time/Level envelope, new LFO-Waveforms and -parameters, advanced voice-allocation algorithms, plus a whole lot of other beneficial improvements. CLEAR HIERARCHY For simplicity, the WAVE always is in multitimbral mode, thus offering up to eight Sounds simultaiously in each *Performance*, which can be used in split- or layer- combinations as well as for sequencer-use or combinations thereof. Each Sound is defined by its own virtual *Instrument*, which determines key- and velocity-zones as well as MIDI-channel, volume, panorama, detune, transposition, plus the level of two independent auxiliary sends for controlling effect-pathes. Comprehensive makro-functions simplify the task of arranging complex split- and layer-arrangements. A total of 256 Performances and 256 Sounds are internally avaiable; an optional memory expansion board increases this number by a factor of three. EXPRESSIVE MASTERKEYBOARD FUNCTIONS The 61- (or on demand 76-) key keyboard is ideally suited as a MIDI masterkeyboard. Each Performance of the WAVE holds up to eight additional key-zones for controlling external equipment; thanks to two independent MIDI-Outs up to 32 different MIDI-modules can be addressed, not only by channel, but also by name. Extensive performance-controllers guarantee extreme and manyfold expressiveness: besides pitch- and modulation-wheels there exists a programmable *Freewheel*, two *Playbuttons, an a *sustain-* as well as two definable *foot-pedals*, all assignable seperatly to each zone, and even with individual scaling for the pitch- and modulation-wheels. To round things of, the eight faders are available as additional realtime performance-controllers for both the internal instruments or external MIDI gear. PC-COMPATIBLE DISK DRIVE All data, Sounds and Performances of the WAVE can be saved on the built-in HD floppy disk drive. All dataformats can be stored and recalled separately, and naturally sys-ex data of other MIDI equipment can also be archived. As a reference, date and time will be stored along thanks to the built-in battery-backed realtime clock. As the icing on the cake Sounds and Performances can be archived on disk by means of their own respective databases, which of course, offer subgroups, as well as several search-functions. The disk format is MS-DOS compatible and thus can be read or written to on most standard computer systems. INTUITIVE USER-INTERFACE The most important feature of a synthesizer today is not only its sonic variety, but its user-interface as well. ONly functions that can be accesed quickly and efficiently will stand up to the day-to-day workload of the professional musician. Therefore, Waldorf did not allow for any compromise in designing the user- interface of the WAVE. Almost all sound-parameters can be accessed by their respective single-purpose knob, button or dial. On top of that, _the_largest_display_implemented_in_a_musical_instrument_to_date_ shows all information of the status of each sound-module. With related faders and buttons each depicted display-parameter can be manipulated immediately as well. Additionally, a range of unique edit-modes offer even more refined edit- operations: - MULTI-EDIT: several Sounds of diffenrent instruments can be edited at the same time in relation to each other. If, for example, the release time of the filter shall be changed for all Sounds of a eight-part Performance, a single twist of a knob does the job. - GROUP-EDIT: a single parameter of all Sounds/Instruments can be edited in parallel using the eight faders. Thus the finetuning of the Instrument volumes, for instance, becomes child's play. - QUICK-EDIT: several related parameters of a single sound will be edited relative to each other to attain a large change of timbre. Additionally, makro-functions for envelope- and modulation-settings can be exerted. This way, a Sound can be perfectly finetuned or changed dramatically all within seconds. To never loose one's head, the WAVE puts extensive copy-, intialisation- and compare-functions at your disposal. Also, each Sound comes with its own edit-buffer, never leaving you crying over a lost original or edited version of your preciously crafted textures. And to top it off, you even may audition sounds from disk, try Quick-Edit makros or send MIDI sys-ex dumps to the WAVE - still none of your Sounds, be they originals or edited versions, will get lost. FUTURE EXPANDABILITY By consequently employing a modern computer architecture, the WAVE can be expanded in software as well as by hardware curcuit-boards. You can, for example, increase the number of voices from 16 up to 48 by simply plugging in two Expansion-Voice-Boards - and, of course, each voice still comprises two Wave-generators. Furthermore, two option-slots are available to hold upcomming hardware- modules that will make the WAVE even more universal and colourful. Any way you look at it, the WAVE is armed for future expansions and extensions, putting it on the cutting edge of technology. THE FEATURES 8 Modebuttons: - Performance - Intrument Edit - Xtrument Edit - Wave Edit - Global Edit - Quick Edit - Option A - Option B - Permanent Sound-Edit mode Numbers of voices: - 16, 32 or 48 - 256 Performances - 256 Sounds - up to 8-part permanent multitimbral mode - 3 Stere-Outputs - 2 Aux-Outputs - System Volume Controller - Power-switch - 61-key Keyboard (optional 76 keys) - Channel Aftertouch Performance controllers: - Pithcbend-wheel - Modulation-wheel - Free-Wheel (freely definable bipolar modulation-wheel) - 2 Play-buttons - 2 Transposition-buttons - Sustain pedal - 2 freely definable foot-pedals - 8 Performance-faders Sound-modules (per voice): - 2 Oscilators - 2 Wavetable-generators - Noisegenerator - Mixer - Multimode-Filter - Amplifier - Panorama - 2 Aux-sends - 2 LFOs (6 Shapes each) - ADSR Amplifier envelope - DADSR Filter envelope - 8 Stage Time/Level Wave envelope - 4 Stage Time/level Free-envelope - Controll-Mixer, -Shaper, - Delay, -Sample&Hold, -Comparator User-Interface: - 1 Display, 480*64 Pixel (four hundred eighty * sixty four) - 8 Display-buttons - 8 Display-faders - Mute button - Group-Edit button - OK/Cancel buttons - Page Buttons - +/- buttons - 12-key Numeric keypad (program-selection) - 4 Storage buttons (store, recall/init, compare, copy) - Disk-access button - 27 Sound-Edit buttons - 53 Sound-Edit knobs - 9 Sound-Edit increment-dials -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can tip up the front-panel a la MINI-MOOG. The WAVE they showed in Frankfurt had eight additional buttons right above the keyboard for control of the onboard sequencer. The knobs were of greater diameter than last year. The three wheels are now black. Wave good-bye to those transparent wheels you all came to like about the PPG Wave 1.0. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- + Georg Mueller, Darmstadt, Germany + georg@nlp.physik.th-darmstadt.de + ----------------------------------------------------------------------------