Waldorf Micro-Q

Latest software as of this review date.
Manual is good.
Editing is parameter-based intensive but workable.

See other reviews.

I really like the sonics of this unit. I've been a rompler and analog and digital synth guy for a while, but this this baby has sent me in new directions. I always thought these thypes of units were for dance, trance, industrial etc. I was wrong! It has a strong bottom end, rich middle, and a crisp high end.

It's worked for the last three weeks:-)

They're defunct or close to it. Yes, very sad. I finally get on board and the bus has broken down. Alesis managed to get through bankrupcy, but they were in CA during DotCom boom - good luck W.
Lots of good support on the web from Fans and ex-employees.

It's only been 3 weeks, but I'm pretty sure I'd buy another even 5 years from now. It's a swiss army knife of sound. Currently (XV88, QS8, DX7IIFD, Juno106, HPD15, DM5, CZ1, Wavestation EX, S550 (x2), D70, lots more blah, blah, blah. A friend bought one and raved about it. Most of the knobs protrude an inch or so, and I'm worried that someone will snag one, but they are great to grab and twist and it's hard to have your cake and eat it too.

The August 2002 issue of Electronic Musician has a good comparison chart and article on analog modeling synths that includes the MicroQ. That's what I used to decide...along with a trip to the music store to listen.

I wish it had a bigger display. Small displays are dumb and unforgiveable. Even a free phone with a cellular plan has a bigger display. A synth with an original retail price of 1K should have a decent size TFT. I'm not much of a tweeker anymore, but it's important for setting global parameters and creating multi-timbral setups - this is a minor gripe and there are plenty of synths that cost more and have equally small displays.

BOTTOM LINE: Swiss Army Knife of sound for less than four bills used.

simple to use except for the different modulation grade system

lots of features for the price.
nice mod matrix
ample supply of filter types, lfo's, looping envelopes, and a couple wavetable type oscillators in addition to the standard types.

would be a 10 except for the effects, which i don't care for.
most sounds are better dry.

no problems.

never had to use - currently the company is out of business - better hope you don't need support.

i no longer own it, but would buy it again if the company can get back on it's feet.
i've got enough other gear that i don't really miss it.

OS 2.20
the factory-presets are ok in a way. they show you how 'clean' the oscs work even in the higher registers and hint at the depth hidden in this deceivingly small synth.
the real fun starts when tweaking the patches, tho. i got used to the matrix-style editing (as in Pulse, not Neo) pretty quickly and i now can work with it w/o probs. good choice of controls, and , man, i LOVE the encoders and the way they feel. expensive, precise, classy.
on top of that there are a few patch editors available, and one proggie that is unique in its concept, i believe.

it is the mQ/Q Patch Scrambler, what it does is this :

you load up to 16 patches into it and then mix up the 19 sonic modules (better word?). for exsample, Osc1 from patch #2, Osc2 from patch #6, Filter 1 from patch #11... and so on.
the selection of these modules can be randomized, but since the modules themselves already have useful settings the results are WAY better than with a patch-randomizer per se.
its on the waldorf ftp-site and freeware, so go get it.

the manual is excellent.

i'll give it a 9, since the QRack and the 'big' Q are even easier to work with.

25 voices max.
uses a dynamic voice allocation method.
have't run out of voices or into voice stealing yet.
great VA Oscs modeled from the Pulse, plus two Wavetables each one twice the size of the 'standard' wavetables from the MW.
2 Filters, serial or parallel, awesome!
combfilters, holy sh*t!
a lot of FM possibilities!
Modulation Matrix and the Modifiers put every other VA to shame.
(the only exception being the Nord Modulars, but that's not a fair comparison)
FX do exactly what they should and fit very well to this synth.
upgradable to 75 voices... wow...
and the arpeggiator is a dream come true. very musical results, great programming depth, reacts nicely to playing nuances.

AWESOME!
every sound has a classy touch, sits well in the mix, and makes it a joy to use.
anyone who can't get a very good or great sound out of this box should go back to roland JV romplers. no offense, but if you don't program this puppy yourself, you miss out on A LOT!
I wonder why a lot of ppl complain about the fx. maybe years of zoom and cheap alesis multifx boxes have changed the way fx are perceived.
the chorus isn't spectacular, i agree. but it is clean, thickens the sound without going whoosh and warble. its a clinical fx section, i give you that, but thankfully the mQ doesn't need fx to shine, although the 'unique' reverb (think old cubase wunderverb, hehe - nah its better...) has a sound on its own and i sometime record the mQ with it.
it does basses so thick, evil, and funky its nor even funny.
the pads and leads are expressive and offer a really wide sonic spectrum, and to my amazement i could program some beautiful kicks and snares (even hihats...) electronic perc is no prob.

so far everything's fine (knock on wood), its build like a tank and i don't see any points of critisism contruction-wise.

i would never use MIDI on a gig.

waldorf guys are present in the forum and answer questions politely.

1st thing i did was to dl a OS update from the waldorf site. i don't *expect* a new OS since i'm very happy with this one, but i'm sure Waldorf will release few more...

Waldorf being a small company deserves respect for releasing the Q in this form alone, therefore a '10'

I'd buy it again in a sec.
the price i paid was a joke, its worth more than twice that easily.
i'm making music for 15 years now, studied in Boston and Vienna and make a living these days from music. and this little blue synth boosted my creativity (synth-wise), output and production standard quite a bit.
compared it to the virus, which is too boringly old-school analog for me, and the novation, which is to awfully 80s synth pop. : )
i love the FM, the Wavetables, the combfilters, but also the very raw and fat sound it can produce with just 1 Osc and a LP.
I wish I wish it had the ability to change smoothly between the serial and parallel filter routings, as the 'big' Qs can.
but having used this synth in a few productions i'm seriously thinking about getting the Q keyboard, or even the Q+.

OS 2.18
Most original factory presets are really great. I haven't tried the 2001 version of factory presets though...
I would not call Micro-Q user-friendly - it takes time to get used to its user interface. The manual is well-written and very helpful.

Polyphony is up to 25 voices!!! I have the keyboard version and the keys quality is very high, keyboard action is very nice as well. It does have built-in effects which are OK. OS 2.x added some interesting new effects like reverb and surround delays.

The sounds are AMAZING!!!!!!! This thing is really DEEP!!!! I have for only several days and I am still drowning in its sound. There is something special about Waldorf synthesizers... The sound is so unique and SOOO GOOD.... Oh... I would give it 11 just for the sounds.

Built like a tank.

n/a

If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another one. I bought by chance at a local Guitar Center. I think I would pay twice as much just to buy another one if it were lost or stolen...

OS 2.14
Editing sounds takes time but it's not too hard.

25 Voice is enough for me. I like the effects and for the price it has enough features to keep me busy.

Some of the best VA sounds I've heard, fat and thick to agressive and bright, I love it!!

Built great with love and care, go Waldorf.

Never need them.

For the price these are going for used these days only a fool would pass it up!!

I currently own and use daily:

Akai MPC 4000 w/ about 100 CD ROM's
Akai MPC 2000XL
Ensoniq ASR X Pro w/Urban card
Korg Triton w/Moss & Vintage ROM
Korg MS 2000R
Novation Super Bass Station
JP 8080
Waldorf Pulse
Waldorf Micro Q
Roland XV 5080
Korg M1R
E-mu Proteus 2000
E-mu Virtuoso
E-mu XL 1 w/ Techno con. Yard ROM
E-mu Mo Phatt w/B-3 ROM

Currently I am using 1.34 and I have an editor on PC, but never need to use it. The hardest thing to get your head around is the Mod Matrix with 16 slots divided into 8 for fast and slow modulations.(Make a Template e.g 3LFO's, 2Env, Velocity, Key Follow, Aftertouch).
The Manual is concise. Can get tedious.

Mine is the lite version, and has ample amount of polyphony for the way I use it (Tweak it to perfection, and convert it to audio ASAP). I am considering upgrading to 25, but unsure. It goes to an unprecedented 75. The Effects are reasonable, but given my methodology, they function only as a guide to what the full production will sound like and in the case of delay, to preserve timing. The Presets sadly give a diminished account of his little squelchers possibility.

You can make good of this synth for any form of electronic music, but of course it cannot be the only colour of paint used. That mentioned, with Sampling covered via whatever means you deem adequate, this is the only V-A Synth you'd need, bar Absynth. The Filter on the Virus is better from memory, but I still love filter, lots of Simon Posford double filtered fun to be had. The possibilities the modulation matrix affords you, bar the unfair comparison of the Nord Modular (Nord is More of a component rather than a centerpiece), is unprecedented. Those who want to rearrange neurons without surgery would know that the Mod Matrix has the X factor required. Example; I have assigned velocity to LFO Speed w/ a square wave chopping the amplitude and reduced it's effect on dynamics to preserve the chopping on lighter key presses via Mod Matrix. I can now, with the precision of a surgeon, make the most warped rhythmic sequences. Furthermore, I have another LFO on the pitch, it sounds like your 3rd eye rolling uncontrollably inside your pineal gland, it took 2 seconds to do it. This is why you'd buy this synth over a Nova or whatever. The only gripe is that the outputs are a little low, but not low enough to render this synth an inferior choice.

It crashes & freezes occasionally, an update of OS should rectify this. It also suffers from hung notes as well albeit is rectified in the stroke of a key, but I have found all synthesizers can.

Joerg has been good, and has also been prompt. They desperately need to upgrade the OS to allow for these bugs, which I am marking down for as it has been a few months and I am starting to get a bit upset.

If it were lost/stolen, I'd Claim everything and hopefully get close to affording an Andromeda :) Otherwise, I'd spend a little more and get a Nord Modular, and get Linplug's Delta III, which is similar, and if key follow & velocity/aftertouch were implemented into the design, look out. I only wish it did osc sync like the Nova did, which is the Nova's strength. My advice to would be purchasers is a) Use another synth first to get the basics down and b) Get a template re: Mod Matrix. It has been amazing to watch the development over the last 4 years from Nord Lead 2 to Nova to mQlite in terms of features/possibilities. Nord & Waldorf are the rulers of neo-analog. I mostly make what can vaguely be described as Psychedelic Trance, with a focus on timbral complexity, having a deep quality; what I would imagine aliens would sound like in interaction with each other, But I digress. It was a hindrance at the start, but now, It is accomodating to my more creative moments (of which there always could be more).

I've been at this game for 5 years & my Studio consists of;

HARDWARE
Pentium 4 1.5Ghz/512 Mb Ram/9gb & 20gb H/D (Will get D/P AMD 2k+, Double the Ram and triple the 20gb b4 Xmas)
Motu 828
Waldorf MicroQlite
Evolution Mk-249c (14 Assignable knobs, best budget keyboard :)

SOFTWARE
Cubase VST 5.1 (Soon to be SX, yay. VST 5.1 is shit for surgical precision, get SX to avoid disappointment)
Halion (soon I'll cross to Kontakt as there is a good rate available, I use Halion because it came with Cubase when I bought it)
Absynth

The only three things on my desk are the computer and associated peripherals, the rack containing the synth and 828 (Brilliant BTW) and my controller keyboard and I have so many options.

it seems to me pretty easy to use.
anyway i don't like so muck matrix concept (i prefer Novation interfaces full of knobs also on rack models as the A-Station, ONLY for the knobs, not for the sounds).
you slaughter sounds acting on filters, so the usability is at high levels.

mine is the 'lite' version, so i have 12 voices.
i don't care about 75 voices, i'll never use a synth in that way; 12 are more that enought; they seems to decrease a bit if you act hard on DSPs etc....who cares, they'll go to 11 or 10;
i use mostly 2 or 3 parts max, i'm not into the 16 part thing.
FM is great; 128 x 2 wavetables oscillators too; the filters are the best digital ones i ever listend, they cut of the sounds adding not wanted noises and sub self oscillations that are great to fix new strange sounds.
really powerful, i changed my opinion on this synth: first i thought it was a sort of toy; now that i program it a bit i can say it's one of the most powerful things i ever had in my hands.
arpeggiator is great, with patterns etc, but i'm not into this thing, so i almost use preset arpeggios.

GREAT!!!
the sonic range is impressive, you can do really thousands of things with this synth;
definitely a personal character in the sounds, very Waldorfish, from digital metallic noises, to drone sounds of every form (ambient, sperimental), to screaming leads, pads, all....
all sounds in waldorf way, not realistic but pure synthtetizer.
the strangiest v-analogue on the market cause it doesn't sound as a normal v-analogue...: too much digital wavetables reminds, too much aggressive, too distinctive.
it's pure heaven for people into industrial music, tekno, sperimental, ambient drone, and also commercial stuff, the range of sounds it can reach is enormous.
it reminds me many times to NIN.

yes, now i'm addicted.
i use it in all my new tracks.

good, great.
a have to admit: Waldorf is a great company; you send a mail and the day after you have a response.

i pair it with my Nord Modular.
great couple of synths: the Nord sounds PURE, Waldorf no, but it can reach some frequencies that the Nord is not capable of.
for my music it's great; i owned an FS1-R and i still think it's better respect MicroQ, but it's pretty impossible to program, so i sold it and i'm really satisfied with this new one.
i repeat: the randomic sub self oscillation and noises that come out sometimes are the main reason why i think this is so powerful, so i suggest it to everyone cause the features/sounds/price.
peace, and make some fucking NOIZE.

Pretty easy, but you will want the manual for reference into some details that are hidden.

This baby is packed with features that only way more expensive synths have. Amazing!!

oh my God!! This thing sounds like however you want it to. Its really a blast to sport around with and you can really impress yourself with what you can creat sonically.

Very heavy duty --tank type of constuction. Ive never seen another board like this in this price range. SOLID as a ROCK!! Does not crash or glitch up at all.

Im sold on waldorf cuz they are some of the coolest dudes around. I have dealt with many mfrs who treat you like a stranger, but these guys are BROS!! Waldorf is 110% in the customer support realm. They make others look SICK!

This is a real cool keyboard that I will never ever sell. i love how small the footprint is and yet it can really scream and growl. You just have to get one and see. The rack version is cool too, but the keys are a yummy delight for me and well-worth the extra $

O/S Version 2.14

Very Easy to use. From what I understand, the Micro Q is like a Q, only with less knobs and no step sequencer. I was able to familiarize myself with the matrix styled editing panel in no time.

The Micro Q Keyboard impressed me from the first time I saw and touched it. Kudos to Waldorf for the user-friendly controls, the nice rubber wheels, the INTERNAL power supply, and nice feeling keyboard. More importantly, this unit is built like a tank. Good design all around, everything on the Micro Q screams quality, including the sounds.

What?s really interesting here is that you have a basic Minimoog style layout in terms of components, but thanks to the built-in modulation matrix, you can create the kind of patches you would normally expect out of a well-featured FM synth, or even classic Oberheim machines such as the X-Pander etc. The sounds are loud and deep, and have incredible range, from short aggressive percs to lush endless clouds of drones. Furthermore I really enjoyed tweaking the arpeggiator, which gives you more options than usual, including rhythmic structuring, and programmable glide.

I was quite impressed with the onboard polyphony. 25 voices is a lot, way more than the Q from what info I could find, and the unit is expandable to 75 voices via a firmware upgrade. Very nice indeed.

I'm taking away one point solely for the fact that a step sequencer would have been a nice add-on, even using the four knobs, or the arpeggiator edit menu.

The effects in O/S 2.14 are a vast improvement over those found on the previous incarnation on the Micro Q. The reverb is good enough to add dimension to the sound, and I?m sure I?ll enjoy the 5.1 delay if I ever make my studio a real film post production facility. The search engine is a nice addition, although most of the sounds I have made using the Micro Q are in the ??? category.

As far as preset sounds are concerned, I?ve never been a fan of them, but there are exceptions to this rule, and Waldorf?s factory patches are the exception. They were right to add the initials of the programmers next to the sound names, as each sound reflects that a great amount of care has been taken in creating it. As a huge John Carpenter fan, I was pleasantly surprised to find a patch called ?The Fog?. Although I may not end up using the presets, most of them are great staring points to create my own sounds, and they have been a great help in figuring out the machine?s possibility.

Another really interesting feature is ?Random Sound?, which, as the name implies, allows you to randomly generate patches, which do not follow any kind of logic, so therefore yield interesting, and sometimes inspiring results. I use this feature instead of initializing a patch, and while that may seem like cheating, it?s actually a great way of unlearning what has now become part of my synth programming routine. One thing to keep in mind though is the unusual amount of times the glide parameter is "on" in a random sound. I stand by and disable the glide every time to hear what the sound is really like when played from the keyboard, or arpeggiator; otherwise you'll get a lot of patches that sound like they are coming from a slide whistle.

I've never been a true keyboardist, but I'm quite satisfied with the feel of the Micro Q's keyboard. I do not think the keys will break off, and I find the placement of the pitch and mod wheels to be ideal for a synth of this size. It's nice to see this type of build quality in a small synth.

One of the key factors other than the sound of the unit itself for my purchasing the Micro Q keyboard was its construction. Compared to Novations' great sounding but badly built K-Station keyboard, I found the Micro Q Keyboard's build quality to be refreshing, and I will definitely take it out of the studio.

Waldorf have a very good website, which I believe is important in this day and age. I was able to download the new O/S, and the English manual in no time, and got a very prompt reply to an email I sent the company, which did not even have anything to do with a technical question. They have also set up a mailing list so you can exchange info with other users, the programmers, and whoever else runs Waldorf. Judging from the number of revisions of the Micro Q's O/S, and the accompanying support material, I'm inclined to think this is one company that cares about its customers.

If this unit were lost, or stolen, or broken beyond repair, I would save my beans for a new one, or may two of them. Yeah, that's right, I think I'll start saving for a backup now, after all, you can get two Micro Qs for what would be the price of a Nord Lead 3. (Sorry Clavia) Waldorf have proven that you can make a high quality great sounding and intelligent synth and keep it affordable.

Most sound creation parameters are easily accessable on the front panel. It's not difficult at all to navigate and get it to do what you want. I rated it an 8 here because it really needs to be able to double as a desktop module as well to be easy to edit. The fact that it has to stand horizontal makes it difficult to see what you are doing unless you have it rack mounted at eye level. I'm going to build a slanted desktop case for mine though.

This thing is incredible. It doesn't have the multitude of waveforms that the Access Virus has, but it has so many other sound sculpting capabilities, modulation routings, and it has two wavetables that can be modulated via the "pulse width" setting. It's FM capabilities - excellent. It's dual filter with comb +/- filtering is also very very cool.

Of course having more effects capability would be nice, but at the price point, it's unimportant.

I really love the sound of this. It's not for everyone though, it has a very distinctive sound. Filtering and FM and other modulation can be harsh and a bit over the top, but that just means you can make it do what you want. It can be harsh, but it can also be soft. You just have to tune your settings accordingly :)

OS Reliability is Good. The metal casing and nice buttons/dials are of very high quality. Where it lacks is in the outputs. They are made of plastic and mounted directly to an I/O board inside the case.... not mounted to the case itself. I broke the main mono out the third day I had this thing because I was editing it in my lap (as it's difficult to edit stuff in any other position). It dropeed (less than 2 feet mind you), some pressure was put on the cord I had plugged into the output and the plastic casing of the output basically shattered. I wouldn't have minded paying the extra $2 it wouldn've taken to put metal outputs mounted to the case in this thing. It's poor design as far as I'm concerned.

Overall, I love the sound of this module, and that is what is important to me. Try it out at the store of check out the sound samples at Waldorf's website.