since I’m bound for this week to my bed because of a terrible cold i decided to plugin my Blofeld and creating some patches. So far so good…
this synth is now more than a decade old … it sounds really good but i think it could probably benefit from an updated version in terms of sound-clarity and definition…
i guess Waldorf’s new flagship is in this territory but not in range of my empty pockets
i’m wondering if the Quantum will have an offspring
Blofeld #6! Wow!
All I have is 4! lol.
If you own them concurrently, then you have me beat. I’ve never had more than one at a time.
Cheers!
Yep, I have 4. 3 keybeds and 1 module.
Even after 5 years, there are things I have yet to explore in detail on the Blofeld!
Experiments with keytrack and 01WT/Smp come to mind,
or unisono v to 01WT/Smp as well.
I’ve never been a keyboard player, relying more on sequencers. But since getting to know the Blofeld desktop I’m thinking a keyboard with at least 49-61 keys would be fun.
Any opinions on whether it’s better to upgrade to the Keyboard version of the Blofeld, or get a decent standalone MIDI keyboard? Thanks.
Kyra
With a dedicated controller you’ll get more choice and perhaps encoders/sliders/pads etc - or even a nice sequencer with a small colour matched keystep which is a nice compromise
But the keybed of the Waldorf is supposed to be good and for me the key things to tick in the plus boxes are that the Keys version has the Sample play upgrade as standard (if you don’t have that) and most usefully if you use e.g. an Octatrack with it that the Keys version has a physical DIN out, so the connections work bi-directionally - changes to the Filter on one device will be reflected on the other if you have CC direct connect enabled - without this you’d need to have either a usb host for the desktop Blofeld or forego the updating (and direct real-time parameter locking from the waldorf interface) - It’s a small thing that makes a difference depending on how you like to interact
The waldorf has aftertouch, but it won’t be as flexible midi wise as most dedicated controllers, not an easy one to answer
Thanks @avantronica
I do already have the SL licence, when I bought it I never imagined being in the market for a keyboard.
I have been sequencing with the OT, so that’s a good point re: MIDI in/out. I think the USB host I have only works when connected to a PC but I’ll double check that.
I used a blofeld with an akai controller for a while, and it was really nice having a few extra parameters mapped out and available on the akai’s controls. And it was a lot cheaper than the $500 difference between the blofeld desktop and keyboard.
I’m recently back in the blofeld game. Had one about 10 years ago but ditched it out of frustration with the lousy encoders and buggy multimode. But the sounds it makes. Oh the sounds it makes. All those wavetables through the comb filters with all the modulation possiblities. I’m happy to say my new blofeld has encoders that work great and since i’m using it with my OT i’m no longer so concerned with multimode. It’s just an awesome sounding little synth.
Overall the Blofeld UI is really not bad given the small amount of knobs but there is one thing that annoys me a bit - wonder if anyone has a solution. The scenario is if I am editing e.g. Env 3, then I jump to the Osc settings using the Matrix button - when I press the Env matrix button again it has jumped back to whatever the nearest “main” page was (e.g. Amp Env) and I have to scroll through the pages again to get back to Env 3. Makes tweaking complex sounds quite painful. Any ideas?
No simple solution I know of, except if your external controller (keyboard/sequencer) has assignable MIDI control for those ‘hard to get to’ parameters.
Ah well, not to worry, not a huge deal. May be where an iPad editor comes in handy.
Was inspired to turn on my Blofeld for the first time in a while and make some patches. Hadn’t really appreciated until now just how great and unique this thing sounds. FM on the oscillators and the filter drive can take you to wild places, but it’s easy to tame it back to being musical. The presets are honestly pretty crappy, I’m tempted to wipe them all off and start from a blank canvas as it sounds amazing once you program it to your tastes.
Aside from what I mentioned above about jumping to “deep” pages it’s pretty much a joy to program despite the small set of controls. I had a Virus B for a while and I actually think I prefer the Blofeld, anything that involved menu diving on the Virus was a nightmare due to the tiny screen and clicky little buttons whereas the Blofeld has a nice screen and encoder based system that works well. I actually quite like this page based way of working (same as the A4) as I feel it makes me think more about what I want to achieve and helps me learn in a way.
Waldorf have a 50% off sale on software and soundpacks for the duration of Superbooth using code SB19, this includes license SL…
Can anyone comment if the SL licence is worth getting? I can’t really imagine using it, I’m not a huge fan of messing around with the computer to upload samples etc. and I already have a Digitakt and Octatrack. That said, some good examples of uses for it could tempt me… I haven’t really thought what having samples in the Blofeld would mean.
Are there any soundpacks people would recommend? I’ve heard the Don Solaris Analog one is meant to be good?
I think it is a bit iffy on Waldorf’s part to charge extra for unlocking the sample memory. It’s almost not worth it on principle. But being a lax moralist I did give in when they had a 50% sale in the past.
For straight out sample playback, probably not worth if you have an OT.
The main reason to get it IMO: it is fun to use samples as modulators for FM synthesis, or as the mod for scanning a wavetable.
When you have thought some more about what having samples in the Blofeld would mean for you, please share your thoughts 
Spectre is a little bit awkward but it’s OK once you work it out.
Putting kits of drums samples on there (as key mapped programs, which you can do with spectre) has been good for me - mostly because of the filters, drives etc. Setting up the multimode means each drum voice can be tweaked separately too. Good having 8 easily-switched drum voices sequenced from OT with well chosen CCs
Switching out oscs on random patches with random samples is always interesting, but then really you just feel the need to actually sample rather than think/guess ahead and upload
Things to do with the SL license:
But… the software is not very good, so if you’re not ready to dive in it I’d say skip it. Better put your money on the Don solaris soundset. It’s really good, and should be the factory bank imo.
Yeah tbh not sure I need the SL, got enough sampling in my lift but I’ll pick up the soundpack 
thanks!
I don’t think that helps with sample management, does it ?