calling all blofeld and XT owners!

[mytee2.0]

I once owned an XT and loved it JUST for its insane grittiness. Instant NIN goodness

 

I sold the XT ( ) a while back and I find myself missing that sound. I want it back..... I want it bad!

 

so for those that have experience with both, do the RAW wavetables on the blofeld have that same inherent gritty character ala XT?

:poke:

[sizzlemeister]

It seems the common verbiage used to described the two is "they don't sound quite the same".

 

I would imagine this is due to modern converters and an increase in bit depth (and possibly a greater sample rate? IDK about that). To me, this difference would be welcome because it probably goes a long way in reducing digitial/VA synth-induced ear fatigue.

 

That's just a guess, though. I'll get back to you when the Blofeld Keyboard is available in the USA.

[droolmaster0]

I don't have either around, but from recollection, I'd say that the Blofeld doesn't have the grit - on the other hand, I think that overall it sounds better. Certainly smoother, though smoother doesn't = better. I'd rather have the Blofeld, but then again, I also prefer the Q to the XT.

[raffor]

I only have the XT. All people I talked to think that the Blofeld is less aggressive and sounds smoother particular with the wavetable synthesis. That was already a complain with the Virus TI. I am an old PPG fan and for my taste the XT is already pretty smooth.

 

The most important part for me is the Wavetable ringing that is a very typical PPG artifact. You can create this effect with the XT even it sounds less dominant than the original. As far as I heard, you cannot do that with the Blofeld.

 

To me the Blofeld is much more geared toward the Virus than the XT. Also, the Virus gives me more ear fatigue than any other synth in my rack, even it is known to be a smooth operator.

[renegadebliss]

Wasn't there just a thread about this on the Waldorf list.

 

I believe it was indicated to use the Modulation Matrix's "Modifiers" to

change the sound of the 16 bit wavetables, down to the 12bit sound of the

earlier versions.

 

I can't rememember if they indicated to use the + or - or * or /

 

 

Not sure if they have archives, so I'll have to check my personal archive

to see if I kept the email....

 

Boele....care to comment?

 

Cheers,

Dave

[MarkShovel2]

I'm using a Microwave II XT.

 

DocT recently released a Blofeld demo with a NIN type sound. It is very cool.

 

http://www.trippler.net/files/blob/blovessel2.mp3

 

 

 

Mark

[DocT]

If there is grittiness in this demo, it doesn't come from wavetables.

IIRC there's just on WT sound inside, all other sounds were made with standard waveforms and one of the drive curves.

Most times it were even sine or triangel waves sent through the wave shaper.

 

I've sold my Microwave2 soon after I had the Blofeld. I am not sure if they sound identical, but I don't care. The Blofeld's UI structure is so easy, it's fun to program and I am pretty fast in getting the desired results. And I have scarcely scratched the surface, so much to explore yet im terms of FM, crossmods, drive curves and all that stuff. You could fill a complete soundbank with the sine shaper alone. So there are so many new sounds to discover that the aspect if it can emulate the MW2 is of minor importance for me.

I kept the MW1 however because it's sound character is much different from the other synths I own.

[J3RK]

If you're still running a Euro system, you may want to take a look at the Analogue Systems RS370. A bit expensive, but it's a Polyphonic wavetable synth in a module. Just a thought...

[raffor]

 

If there is grittiness in this demo, it doesn't come from wavetables. IIRC there's just on WT sound inside, all other sounds were made with standard waveforms and one of the drive curves. Most times it were even sine or triangel waves sent through the wave shaper. I've sold my Microwave2 soon after I had the Blofeld. I am not sure if they sound identical, but I don't care. The Blofeld's UI structure is so easy, it's fun to program and I am pretty fast in getting the desired results. And I have scarcely scratched the surface, so much to explore yet im terms of FM, crossmods, drive curves and all that stuff. You could fill a complete soundbank with the sine shaper alone. So there are so many new sounds to discover that the aspect if it can emulate the MW2 is of minor importance for me.

 

 

The waveshaper filter was part of the XT as well. Actually, you can use the sinus waveshaper and freely chose one of the thousand waveforms in the XT for that matter.

[carbon111]

 

If you're still running a Euro system, you may want to take a look at the Analogue Systems RS370. A bit expensive, but it's a Polyphonic wavetable synth in a module. Just a thought...

 

 

That looks pretty damn cool!

...but it's still pretty crude at just four partials per waveform in each wavetable. The XT in comparison has 64 partials per wave I believe.

[synthboy]

I think the preset in Blofeld are quite bad and probably not showing its potential. And unfortunately not many of them even uses the wavetables.

It would be nice to have a software that could convert MWII/XT patches (there's plenty of them on the net) to Blofeld ones, of course not 100% identical but with some adjustments probably pretty close sounding?

[raffor]

 

I think the preset in Blofeld are quite bad and probably not showing its potential. And unfortunately not many of them even uses the wavetables. It would be nice to have a software that could convert MWII/XT patches (there's plenty of them on the net) to Blofeld ones, of course not 100% identical but with some adjustments probably pretty close sounding?

 

 

The presets of the Blofeld are straight from the uQ. The problem with the wavetable sounds is, that they are not compatible with the MWII series due to certain restrictions. To recreate them it would have taken time. Once the fanbase grows there will be better presets around. Same was the case with the Virus.

[synthboy]

 

The presets of the Blofeld are straight from the uQ. The problem with the wavetable sounds is, that they are not compatible with the MWII series due to certain restrictions. To recreate them it would have taken time. Once the fanbase grows there will be better presets around. Same was the case with the Virus.

 

 

That's quite bad because I never liked the VA-sound of uQ but liked the MWII. Bought Blofeld because of the small form factor, nice GUI, specifications and a good price (300 Euros - almost the same as a used MWII).

Well I have to wait as you said for some better presets or maybe trade it for a MW XT.

 

Obviously the "re-born" Waldorf was in hurry releasing this product and sacrified the presets. Many times the "randomize function" even sounds better.

Or to quote their manual: "Use Randomize as much as possible, this is how most of the Blofeld's presets are programmed ;)"