Oh man, that UI/UX is really badly done when it comes down to changing parameters even on the same page. Iāve had quite some flashbacks to the late '80 watching Cuckooās tutorial.
A single value knob and two cursor buttons doesnāt cut it anymore. I guess the fluid and fast operations of Elektron machines with multiple encoders has for ever spoiled such barebone UI/UX for me.
3 Likes
Reading the last days posts ā
To buy or to wait?
Crystal balls are cloudy (always). But if history rhymes following the Minilogue came higher end, higher cost machines with more nice features (so perhaps more layers, more voices, user samples, and an editor) followed by an improved original, followed by a really stripped down version (the NuTekt ā whatās the NuTekt version of this???)
Using imagination, that should be real fun with the WS product line!
Now iām back to Buy or Wait?
Wait. Namms Not started yet, right?
Music Radar did a nice short video, with some interesting sounds,
4 Likes
The Wavestate is really impressive but I also wonder whether complex 4-layer sounds are really useful in a musical context. For many multi track compositions I prefer simple sounds per track. I maybe would use the wavestate more as a four track multi timbral synth then as a monster pad machine. I especially see no use in those preset sounds with a pad and four to the floor beat underneath.
2 Likes
This is a very insightful question. This truly could be a problem, but the WS is also capable of doing the simple sounds too, and with itās filters, can do subtractive analog sounds too, and sound like a much simpler synth. (Youāre not going to see the simpler sounds as much in the demo, and review videos though.)
BTW the filters on this thing sound really great to my ears!
ADDED: To improve on what i said. You donāt have to Wave Sequence, you can pick just one Wave, and the WS has a category of just Synth wave forms to choose from, building block kinds of sound, that can be used to do what you might on a simpler synth.
3 Likes
You are right, it offers a lot of flexibity and possibilities.
Dang it. I noted in the NAMM 2020 thread about how nice it is that Korg put both a USB Host and Device plug on their two new low cost consumer products the i3 and the EK-50 L.
Looking at the back of the WS
thereās only one USB connector! Fie!
ADDED: Part of the reason i say this is ā I have two very nice poly-aftertouch keyboards that generates waves of MIDI data, and it would be very nice to just plug them in without having a computer in between. The WS specifically takes PA.
I seem to be way off the GAS wave on this one.
Given all the tech on board and the far better use it could have been put to: the idea of holding down a single or multiple notes and hearing a sequence of non-user waves cycled through is a little unexciting.
Evolving pads make a little bit of sense for that genre, but are people getting a little ānew product = Iām inā about this?
Some seem to be saying - but you donāt need to use it for its actual core design purpose, you can use it as a regular synthā¦ if so, whatās the point?
Sorry if Iām being a bit Emperorās New Clothes here, but this seems like a quirk from the past that never really took off and is now even more dated.
11 Likes
You articulated very well what I was thinking.
2 Likes
Very legitimate take on this mokomo. There is always the black hole of a new product to be resisted.
I know you werenāt talking about me, with the quote iāve got here, but itās always good being able to do a wider range of things too ā when what you are primarily looking for is the core sound and function.
1 Like
It actually shines when not making those arpeggiated type sounds. Layered pads etc are lush.
3 Likes
NAMM 2020 is January 16ā19 
1 Like
The Wavestate has some nice demoās. Not amazing but ok digital weird sounds. The sequencers give you a modular rhythm.
But I got tired after the video of Cuckooā¦ so many menuās and clicking on the next slot previous button. That is a huge turn-off for me. I donāt mind being in a menu so now and then. Just to polish something deep in the machine. But on this one it looks like all I am doing is being in a menu. So to set up a personal patch it would take a lot of time. Sure it has those macros that could tweak your life performance, but to find the sweet spots takes you even longer.
For now really a no go. Perhaps some day on the 2nd market when they are cheap.
3 Likes
yeah, i was more so talking about myself because I do like the look of this thing, and am a korg fan - easily my most purchased brand between volcas, old multi-track recorders, sequencers, still have a radias, wavedrum and other bits n bobs. Had a triton extreme + moss that I bought when living on the other side of the planet, and managed to sell after 7 years ownership. Great machine, but weighed a tonne and didnāt have that sizzle.
Never got a microkorg, minilogue or XD, but growing interested, But here Iād be buying it for something that isnāt its core gimmick., to try to use as a wave synth ā¦ Iāll keep watching vids but think their XD is more my thing if I go for a small keyboard synth.
2 Likes
From very deep into the Sweetwater demo video with Daniel Fisherā¦
I agree wholeheartedly with thatā¦ as a source for happy accidents and starting points for more outrĆ© explorations itās a really cool feature. And goes someway to rebalance the majority of the demo which focus on presets that feel a bit dated (except SkiJam2.0 - itās forever a classic). Plus, I love that Daniel is channeling his inner Walter Sobchak!!
Anyway, more generally Iām in the āyesā camp for this synth. Give the complexity of the synth, I think the UI does a pretty decent job of making that power accessible. I totally get that it isnāt for everyone but itās definitely up my strasse. And, as someone who spent five years tackling my old FS1r before finally getting an editor that would workā¦ well. This is luxury for a synth so complex.
I also understand that some folk find the lack user waves frustrating and, sure, it would be cool to have, but there is so much wave data on there and with such variety that I can imagine being more than occupied for a good old while with it.
However, for this year, Iāve set myself the goal to go deeper (not wider) with my gear and try to get through the year with nothing else at all (not even no-brainer plugins!!) so I guess there will 11.5 months to see if a desktop version makes an appearance before I splash any cashā¦
4 Likes
Think Iāve now watched all the promo vids ā¦ time for bed with a Steve Reich mixtape
2 Likes
Not going to speak for anyone else but as to why I have GAS for this:
- Compact keyboard synth that is lighter than my Korg M3, and no vulnerable touchscreen, for playing out. Piano is not my main instrument so less than 61 key size is ok w/ me.
- 32-voice polyphony in stereo and effectively at least 4 part multitimbral which gives me a lot more options than the other little poly Korg on my mind (Minilogue XD) - so using it only for pads and simple keyboard parts is not a waste to me.
- Wavesequencing 2.0
- Modeled filters sound good to me.
Oh, and the UI, based on the Cuckoo video, doesnāt look any worse than patch tweaking on a Monologue. Unlike the serious sound designers on the forum I will probably never go deeper than tweaking filter and envelope knobs - ok some FX settings too - and those params at least look straightforward enough.
7 Likes
I thought the modeled filters also sound good.