The Blofeld Site Is Up

pix · Post by **pix** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:26 pm

sweet!!!!!

sequence · Post by **sequence** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:38 pm

Yeah MAN wavetable hardware synth is back baby.

Hang on Fizmo, help is on the way...

RobotHeroes · Post by **RobotHeroes** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:51 am

Interesting. Hopefully they worked out that nice unplug-replug reboot method on the video, and what ever caused the crashing. I liked the sound at the beginning of the bloland demo, before it went into yuckland.

I've never owned any Waldorf gear so this would be interesting to try, I don't own a poly at the moment. If it had more knobs it would be even better, but of course it wouldn't for that would not be price effective to do so. The Stromberg looks appealing as well.

West_Berliner · Post by **West_Berliner** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:38 am

im in on this one. i was thinking about picking up an XT or a Microwave II to add a waldorf to my gear (since i once had one, and regret selling it), but i think itll be the blofeld now!

Cerebral Infect · Post by **Cerebral Infect** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:36 am

Am I rigth or wrong ? I thought the Blofeld was supposed to be able to use like a softsynth like the Virus TI with the USB connection ?

I would have passed on this unit, but since it contains all the Wavetable of the waldorf xt, it's getting interesting.

Carbon111, can I ask you a question ? Knowing you digged alot with the Waldorf XT and comparing with the Blofeld, do you see major differences between these two synths ? Like something the Blofeld doens`t have but does make a major difference on the sound architecture of the XT ? All I see at the moment, is the filters poles are different. I remember seeing 24\12\6db filters on the XT while they are 24\12 on the Blofeld.

Thanks for answering my question !

haricots · Post by **haricots** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:52 am

So how much is this going to cost and when is it being released?

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:13 am

Cerebral Infect wrote:Am I rigth or wrong ? I thought the Blofeld was supposed to be able to use like a softsynth like the Virus TI with the USB connection ?

IIRC that was never planned so probably no.

I would have passed on this unit, but since it contains all the Wavetable of the waldorf xt, it's getting interesting.

Those are my thoughts as well.

Carbon111, can I ask you a question ? Knowing you digged alot with the Waldorf XT and comparing with the Blofeld, do you see major differences between these two synths ? Like something the Blofeld doens`t have but does make a major difference on the sound architecture of the XT ? All I see at the moment, is the filters poles are different. I remember seeing 24\12\6db filters on the XT while they are 24\12 on the Blofeld.

I think the Blofeld will be very different than the XT...the demos make it sound a lot closer to the Q/Micro-Q but with more wavetables!

The distortion sounds so much better than the filter drive in the Q series though - at least it does in that "pickup" demo...
I'm interested in hearing the effect of the wavetable "brilliance" parameter, maybe it can sound a little bit grungier like the old XT

In the end I think there will be similarities to the XT but I have a feeling it will be a bit smoother and more "Q-sounding".

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:15 am

haricots wrote:So how much is this going to cost and when is it being released?

I think its supposed to street at around $600 but I'm not totally sure...call Novamusik or Analogue Haven for a quote.

I've heard late Dec. / early Jan for U.S. release...all unconfirmed sources, mind you.

Entropy Farmer · Post by **Entropy Farmer** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:44 am

The XT has a 6db high/lowpass as its second filter in series.

XT filters from the manual:
24dB LP 24dB low pass
12dB LP 12dB low pass
24dB BP 24dB band pass
12dB BP 12dB band pass
12dB HP 12dB high pass
Sin(x)>LP Sine waveshaper followed by a 12dB
WaveShapr 12dB low-pass filter with wave shaper
Dual L/BP Parallel 12dB lowpass/bandpass filters
FM-Filter 12dB low-pass filter with frequency
S&H>L12dB Sample-and-hold in front of 12dB
24dBNotch 24dB notch filter
12dBNotch 12dB notch filter
Band Stop Parallel 12dB low and high pass

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:02 am

...and thats quite a few good reasons right there not to sell your XTs anytime soon.

The XT's filters are wonderful! Plus, because of its audio input, you can route external audio through them

Still, it will be wonderful to finally run some XT tables through those Q-style comb filters on the Blofeld!

GeneralBigbag · Post by **GeneralBigbag** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:47 am

I tell you this Carbon - the XT through an EuF is sheer delight.
Seriously though, I think it's the waveshaper filter that really makes me think I won't be trading in the XT...although I think I like the Blofeld architecture more.

Any idea on whether they intend to include user wavetable editing?

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:22 am

This is from the other Blofeld thread but I think maybe more people are looking here and since the question is about a recent addition to the Blofeld...

sequence wrote:And james whats this upper wavetable from the ppg being included? can U explain that?

I think so. It looks like all the wavetables on the Blofeld will be 128 waves long.

The two wavetables from the Q/Micro-Q are already 128 waves long.

However, the Microwave XT tables are only half that size, being 64 waves long, so wavetable positions 65-128 on all the XT wavetables are filled with the "Upper Wavetable", basicaly an "extra" wavetable available at the upper region of all the regular wavetables. The Upper Wavetable has the same waves in all the XT tables...adding a little extra flexibility just as it did on the original PPG Wave. I hope that explains it a bit.

As each Waldorf wavetable synth came out they added to the already existing wavetables so the XT and now Blofeld have all the wavetables going all the way back to Wolfgang Palm's original Wave synthesizer...somewhere along the way the Upper Wavetable was discarded. Now it's back

Combining the Upper Wavetable with the XT tables and the PPG filter is bound to produce some very nostalgic PPG-type timbres!

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:25 am

Also, someone asked about dimensions...

Its about 9.5" X 5.5"

Tiny!

Post by **carbon111** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:39 am

GeneralBigbag wrote:Any idea on whether they intend to include user wavetable editing?

I believe not. That is probably why you should get a Stromberg!

GeneralBigbag · Post by **GeneralBigbag** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:47 am

carbon111 wrote:
GeneralBigbag wrote:Any idea on whether they intend to include user wavetable editing?
I believe not. That is probably why you should get a Stromberg! :wink:

I swear, these manufacturers are colluding to take my money!
This all makes me wonder what wonders shall lie within the Stromberg's sleek hide. My line of thought goes as follows:

Blofeld ~ $600
Stromberg ~ $3500

The $2900 difference is not entirely explained by its external shape and extra polyphony

=> It's probably going to do some neat stuff that is beyond the Blofeld