Waldorf Micro-Q

Using the latest o.s. (as at 6/7/01)
Ease of use, as with anything, depends on the situation it is used in. I'm using the micro-Q predominantly in a studio setting and I find it pretty easy to get around. I'm not using a patch editor, instead using the matrix/edit screens to change all parameters. In all honesty, I don't find this any more time consuming than having a dedicated knob for each parameter. It makes the approach to sound creation a different process though. I feel that I think out patches step by step on the micro-Q wheras with an analogue piece of kit there seems to be more "twiddle a knob, twiddle another knob- oh THAT sounds nice".
Presets are OK, I have kept a couple for use, but I'm really more into making patches from scratch.
Manual is fine- even amusing at times. Everything is covered.
Some parameters seemed to be located places that I wouldn't have expected but within a week that was not an issue. My only quip with the interface is that to enter an edit screen, you must (in the matrix) be in the right section and then press 'edit'. To go to another edit screen you must once again move in the matrix and press 'edit' again. I would have found it easier if the edit screen changed without having to press 'edit' a second time.

I originally thought I would be hanging for the poly expansion (25 dynamic voices to 75) but have since decided that I will not buy the expansion. My reasons are that
(a) the micro-Q has a very distinct sound. To many parts will characature this distinctiveness.
(b) the micro-Q is better suited to monophonic sounds
Even using four quite complex monophonic parts I have not yet run out of poly. I really don't think I am going to use more than four parts in the future.
Best Feature? the modulation matrix. The possibilities are virtually endless. You have 16 slots (divided into 8 standard modulations and 8 fast modulations) where you can choose a source modifier (LFO, EG etc...), amount and destination. Using just four slots you culd therefore have LFO 1 modulating the speed of LFO 2, LFO 2 modulating the pitch of OSC 1, OSc 1 modulating the frequency of OSC 3 and LFO 1 also modulating the cutoff frequency of a filter. Just an example off the top of my head, but the possibilites are endless.
Comb filter is pretty usefull. Other filters are pretty smooth. Generally not too steppy. There are two non-allocated EGs with multiple modes. These are fantastic to have in a synth. Use the mod matrix t allocate them to pitch (of the whole sound or just one oscilator) or anything else you want to.
I have a slight quip with the midi. When sending/receiving midi cc messages in multimode and while receiving midi note data, the parameter values can jump dramatically. eg: switch a filter type from comb- (last in list) through to LPF12 (first in list) and the machine will not stop on LPF12, it will flick right back to comb-??? just a bug. I can live with it.

I think this synth sounds great. Not analogue, but if I'd wanted an analogue sounding synth I would have bought an analogue synth. The micro-Q does digital sounds fantastically. From bright pads to basses that literally make my speakers move, the micro-Q can cover a lot of ground. The only onboard effect I use is the delay as the others are kind of weak. The modulation matrix makes this one of the most expressive synths I've used. Responds to velocity, aftertouch, modwheel etc... You could use this synth in almost any type of music.

Seems reliable. Hasn't crashed on me. I wouldn't ever use anything at a gig without some sort of backup. I always have a pre-recorded song ready to be played in case anything goes wrong, although I've very rarely have to actually press that play button.

Haven't had to deal with Waldorf

Using with a an MPC 2000xl, Yamaha AN1X, Korg N1R, Ensonique Mirage, Korg Mono/Poly. Fits well into the mix. Gives me sounds the other things can't. I don't think that the micro-Q is going to suit if you want to sit down and make a track, but if you have your sequences ready, being able to sculpt a sound to suit your riffs is incredibly rewarding. Endless fun from sitting creating patches as well.

OS 1.14. The presets are fine, I guess, if you're into making techno or trance, which I'm not, so they are starting points for me in programming my own sounds. Several of the sounds are useable though and are quite creative.

Editing patches isn't that difficult once you learn your way around the interface. After that, it's pretty simple, really. Nothing to pull your hair out over. A patch editor would probably make it easier.

The manual is decent. Better than anything Roland published after the JP-8 or JX-8P. Filled with corny humor, at least it's not overly technical.

25-note polyphony is quickly used up when you add f/x or layers. The f/x are ok, but I really would have liked to have seen a couple of basic reverbs as I don't want to haul my reverb unit around to shows with me.


I'm hoping the next software rev includes reverb.

This is always the most debatable part of any review. Yes it does have what some have described as a digital edginess IF YOU PROGRAM IT THAT WAY. However, since digging deeper, I'm replicating my old analog and VA sounds with ease and am finding lush textures everywhere as well as some classic PPG emulations. I really like the sounds and am very happy with it. I can't think of an area which I can't cover with it. It covers a lot of sonic ground for a small bit of cash. What more could you want?

I use mine with my band, which is next-wave, so it's perfect as it captures the essence of a lot of the sounds I've always wanted very well. I think it could really be used for almost any style whether it be rock, experimental, electronic, etc.

I will be using it once my band starts gigging (in Dallas) this summer. I hate the power cord, but that's my only real bitch. It hasn't given me one spot of trouble.

I haven't had to deal with Waldorf so far, but since being on their e-mail list, I've seen them respond fairly quickly to questions as well as be very helpful to Waldorf newbies like myself.

I would miss the MicroQ, but I am in need of another keyboard for live gigs, so I might go with a NordLead 2 or Yammie An1x if my mQ were stolen. I'm not selling it anytime soon, though.

I'm currently controlling it from a JX-8P and am also using a K2VXs, which covers my samples and other textures as.

I love the sound, but hate that there are no reverbs. However, I just run it through my MPX-100 and I'm good to go. More knobs would have been nice, but the price would have been jacked up as well. That's why it's called a "Micro Q."

I chose this over an Access Virus A and have no regrets. I have to say I prefer it over the M2K and JP8K as well. Those are nice synths, but I just prefer the sounds of my mQ. I miss the ribbon controller of my An1x, but prefer the sounds overall of my MicroQ.

During the first few months I had it, I was frustrated by the interface, but I'm now used to it, and consider the mQ to be a useful tool in creating not only sounds with my expressions in them, but in writing actual music as well as I've been inspired by several sounds I've tweaked.

I think this really is an underrated synth that people have overlooked (because of hasty first impressions and lack of knobs). Oh well, it's their loss.

Software Version 1.14
The unit is fairly easy to navigate, the functions are not as quick
to access as a Nord lead rack or Novation Nova laptop (which
I compared this unit to) since the space is limited to a 2U rack.

Essentially, there is a column of buttons on the left that activate
a particular collection of parameters. The user selects either
the oscillator or filter or envelope or LFO (etc) button on the left
which activates the row of knobs to manipulate the parameters.
(for example, if the user would activate the "filter" button, then
the knobs would control the filter frequency, resonance, filter
type, etc)

This is not as quick as having dedicated knobs for filter/env/lfo
like the Nova or Nord Lead II Rack, but the unit is also $300 to
$400 cheaper (at the time of writing)

The operating system is easy to upgrade (using a sequencer
to upload the file) as is the Novation Nova.

The drawback to the Nord Lead II was that the operating system
is on EEPROM and cannot be upgraded without getting a new
EEPROM chip.

Also, using the micro-Q with a sequencer (Cakewalk) was
fairly easy as well (but I personally had to read throgh the
manual since it was not very intuitive going into multi mode)

The display was the average two line LCD display as with the
Novation Nova. The Nord Lead II rack has a pitifull
two digit LED display.

I have not tested the extremes of the polyphony in depth, but
there is definitely some note stealing if you start to stack too
many voices.

The unit has the basic two effects at one time combination.
I believe there is one global effect that is applied to all patches
in a multitimbral setup and one program effect that is applied
individually. I have not tested this as I don't remember being
terribly impressed by the effects.

And I don't believe there is any reverb on the unit which I find
a little odd.

The Novation Nova has an impressive 7 effects at once for
each patch in a multitimbral setup. I haven't seen that on too
many other samplers/synths. The quality of the effects are
probably around the same as the micro-q which is not saying
much. The Nord lead II Rack has no effects.

Depending on the budget, I would recommend an external
effects processor for any serious recording. The internal
effects on these units can sometimes really kill the dynamic
range of the sounds.

So, the Novation Nova has more effects but is only 6 part
multi-timbral while the Micro-Q is 16. The Micro-Q is 25
voices (supposedly) while the Novation is 16 (with the new OS)

The routing capabilites are pretty nice and you have FM and PWM and Ring Modulation (as like the other VA's)
There are three LFO's and they are
syncable to MIDI (as like the Novation Nova, didn't test
with the Nord) the Novation Nova has only 2 LFO's. Sometimes
it's convenient having an extra LFO (for additional modulation
capabilities)

The arp. is better than the Nord Lead Rack, but not as extensive
as the Novation Nova. I have to give it to Novation for having
the most comprehensive and flexible arp. out there. Still,
you can define user patterns on the arp. for the micro-q.

In conclusion, they features are very abundant for a module
in this price range. However, the effects are mediocre and there
is no reverb. (the delay is syncable to Midi, though)

It is difficult to be objective in something that is really a matter
of personal taste. However, I will try to be as neutral as I can
on the subject.

The dynamic range of this unit did not seem to be as good as
that of the Novation Nova or Nord. However, this could also be
due to the fact that the Novation may have more of a bottom
end to it's sounds.

The unit is very gritty. It is actually quite similar to the Waldorf
Microwave II/XT, even if it uses digital oscillators (primarily)
instead of wavetables. There is a characteristic non-linear
souding periodicity to the oscillators that can be especially
heard on the pads. This could be good or bad. Bad in the
sense that one could say that the oscillators are not very
smooth and rather digital sounding. Good in the sense that
this non-linearity, this built in 'imperfection' gives the micro-q
it's own character.

Personally, I noticed that this sonic characteristic of the micro-q
inspired me and I found myself spending more time with the
micro-q than with the Novation and the Nord (I was evaluating
all three for an entire week)

The Novation sounds very cold and sublime. The Nord sounds
pretty smooth, but is very outdated (the Nord Lead II) with
respect to it's LED display, 99 patches, no midi through, no
flash upgrade of the operating system, etc.

All the VA's sound basically the same, not as good as the real
thing, but more advanced in the midi/lfo/modulation department
which attempts to make up for the fact that the basic
oscillators/envelopes/filters cannot (as of yet) reproduce their
analog counterparts.

Having said that, if you will agree that Waldorf's unique sonic
color differentiates itself from the rest in a positive manner,
then you will come to the same conclusion as I did. In the
virtual analog world, Waldorf's sound stands out above the rest.

I don't believe I have had the unit long enough to evaluate this.
The unit is very small in dimension. It is almost a 2 unit
cube having a depth of almost the same size as it's heigth.

Never had to deal with customer support. The manuals and
OS upgrades are easily downloadable from the web.

The micro-q is a very good buy for the money with many
great features and a unique sound. It is a matter of personal
taste, but the micro-q has a sound that differentiates itself from
the rest of the virtual analogs. (which I would suggest someone
listening to first hand)

If virtual analog is the way you wish to go and you can get your
hands on a decent effects processor, seriously consider the
micro-q

Do not know the software version. Tested it at the store.

I have been testing and evaluating VA synthesizers
for 2 months now, seeking an instrument to replace my
Roland JP-8000. I have evaluated the Virus Indigo,
the Nord Lead 3, the Novation 2, and the Waldorf Q.
The Nord Lead 3 has no effects and a mediocre arppegiator-
no interest. The Novation 2, although has the best specs
on paper, the combo sounds reveal this machine as
having the inablity to produce sound programs with
sufficient variety and harmonics. Too many of the multi's
sound the same, and I listened to ALL of them. No interest.
The Virus Indigo has virtually no distribution in the
Midwest of the USA; I am unable to play or hear a decent
demo of its capabilities; however I have not heard
a consistent chorus of bragging about the sound producing
abilities of this synthesizer. So my final evaluation
came down to the Waldorf Q and the Xtreme Lead 1.
Guess what? Oh, I forgot to say that the JP-8000 p[roduces
only shrill sounds with little depth (only two layers).
If you want your ears reamed out, buy the JP-8000.

The uQ tested excellently at the store. It does have the
capability to produce a wide variety of sounds. It can
produce sounds which are analog and have uniqueness.
Since it has a vocoder, arpeggiator, relatively good
sound Fx's, it, in my opinion has to be at the top of the
list for people like myself who have the constant
need to create new, imaginative, captivating sounds.
After saying all this, I have to be a little bit
critical of Waldorf for only programming 100 multisounds
on this machine. They should have put it on the market
with al least 1000 sound programs and 500 multiprograms.
That would blow everybody away. Because the available
multiprograms are so low, I have to purchase the
Xtreme Lead 1 for film work. I can't spend days
programming just a few stunning multilayered programs.
I need an arsenal. Composing for film requires
a huge, humongus variety a sound with depth and
imagination.

I can't give it a 10 because of the low number of
onboard sound programs and multi-layered programs.
However, that does not take away from the excellent
sounds on the MicroQ. However, this VA synthesizer
is probably one of the best, if not the best sounding
machines on the market, with a relatively low price. I
know I can make this thing sing if I had the time.

software: 1.14
A truly awesome synth worth far more than the $740.00 I paid for it. The presets are great, and are excellent starting points for bringing the growl out of this little yellow beast.
Patch editing is fairly easy through the front panel, but for deeper programming I recomend using mQknobs from Mixed Mode Music ....url:http://www.mixedmodemusic.de/index.htm

Polyphony is supposedly 25, but that quicly dimminishes with how much DSP power you eat up with effects, etc. To get the realy phat sounds I've come up with, I'll still have to multitrack it.
The built in effects are decent. Fortunatly most sounds are good enought that they require few effects. Definitly make use of the 5fx option as much as possible to reduce DSP drain.
A 75 voice expansion should be offered soon. The expansion will make this THE definitive module to own.
MIDI implimentation is good...no problems yet
By far the most flexible, best sounding synth I've ever owned.

Not the synth for realism, but that's not what it's for.
It could easily enhance anyones's rig, no matter what genre they're in.
I use it for Dark Glam Rock, Industrial, and sythpop. It easily provides all the sounds I need from aggressive-in-your-face-leads and basses to the most lush, rich pads I've ever heard.
Expression is amazing. You're only limited by your imagination.

So far it's been very reliable, and I've had only one bug show up (hanging notes). This should be remedied in the next OS revision.
I plan to gig with only my CS1X (used as controller anyway) and sampler as backups.

Waldorf seems to respond well to customer issues and has a decent user forum on their website.

If my uQ were ever lost, stolen, or dammaged, I'd first bawl my eyes out, then slaughter anyone responsible, then work 4 jobs if necessary to buy another.
I looked at all of the similarly priced VA's including the Waldorf Microwave XT, Virus Rack, Novation Nova, Korg MS2000, Roland 8080, and Nord Lead. Though all those synths rocked in their own way, the uQ had the best sound, versatility, and features for the money.
It's been the shot-in-the-arm my rig and sound needed.

OS 1.14 (latest one at the moment)
This little yellow beast was a dream come true.
I always dreamed about that yellow sound...
The presets sound good, and with a little work they can sound excellent!
About editing... It's a simple but powerful machine, anyway it's hard to edit on a little lcd screen.The freeware editor makes the difference!
The manual is good

Poliphony declare: 25, but it will go less and less if you use complex sounds...
The built in effects aren't that great, except the vocoder, that works better if you use a compressed and hi-eqed line signal.
Midi is really powerful: every sound control correspond to a midi control message.
The modulation matrix is fantastic!
It has a great arpeggiator too, with lot of features, and with the possibilty to use chords too in the arp line (not only single notes... useful for trance music).

It's powerful, and with the latest os, stable.
Really German sound (compared to the "american" Virus)
It reakts really well to playing, and has one of the best modulation matrix I have ever seen!
I'm using it both for rock and electronic music.

Had some problems with the previous os.
Now it works perfectly!

I can't say nothing about...

It's great, worth buying!
It integrates perfectly with my system, and with my sounds:
Pulsar/Scope (with sts 4000), Virus Indigo, Tx81z & Akai s900, Fruityloops Reason & Logic Audio Platinum.
I compared it with some novation stuff: they are great but costs too much. And I was searching for that sound to complete the "rainbow" of my sounds
It helps a lot in my music, Xpecially for sound design!
Fantastic machine!

Os 1.14. I'd guess this one is better than the previous version that elicited such complaints. There are still a couple of small bugs Ive been told, but I have not had any problems really.
Despite its pared down knobbage I have found this synth extremely simple to comprehend and edit. The manual is well written, and its just a very easy to operate system. Obviously there heave been some compromises made in the interface department compared to the q rack, nonethess less a fun unit.

Looking at the boom for buck continuum this unit has eclipsed my expectations.The presets hardly hint at all thats in this thing. Program like theres no tomorrow.

Well, this has been well explained. It seems whats missing between this and Q sr. are a few filter routings, and an onboard sequencer. I think since the q costs so much less you could take the money you saved and get another va, or analog filter or sequencer or whatever. The features are very generous for a synth this price.

Dont expect analog out of this machine. It has spectacular sounds that behave similarly to an analog synth, but it has its own distinct sound. Theres a digital character to it. I think it sounds incredible. Just start programming and omfg you will enjoy. I mean it sounds REALLY good....I mean REALLY good.

If at first you doubt this machine and simply start programming it and see what it can do, i wasnt dissapointed. It does have a digital sound though due mainly to its filters. This unit I give a 9, if it had the analog sounding ppg filter thats been aded to the Q in os 3.0 Id give it a 10. STill for the price difference between this and the big q I could just as easily find a real analog synth to do analog.

I mean besides the oscilators modeled off of the pulse theres also the wavetables...that makes this baby a fully bonafide monster. And if you ever got bored with that there's a modulation matrix to keep you occupied.

Been good for me so far.

never had a problem.

This has been a great addition to my small studio. Its a blast playing this with my gr 33 and guitar. It does have a distinct character however. The sound whatever it is, its not "earthy"...its shimering and liquidic. Even programmed to be raunchy theres still not that dirt of analog in there. This is a beutiful synth, even when it tries to be ugly beutiful. When programmed to be ugly more like an incredibly attractive woman making an ugly face, its just not ugly. Ugly is the wrong word, theres a silkyness to it. This is not an "earthy" machine.

How this instrument works for you depends on how you'd use it obviously. For me I have to be careful and not over use it. There is a slickness to it, it can make quite the bubble bath, however its not quite an analog bubble bath. Id still like to get something like a korg mono/poly to really get the analog bass...this has phat bass as well though, but again it doesnt have THAT sound of other synths..its a Q sound.

I wish this thing had like modeled efx of analog delays and spring reverb( I dont think any synth has this), also the ppg filter that with 3.0 the big q has would be nice. Even without these things Im not complaining.It is a great musical instrument. Its versatile enough to be used for anything from percussion to noise to smooth as silk pads and bass with a bounce. Its inspiring.

If the ?Q were lost or stolen I would surely replace the unit.

OS 1.14 hardware 1.10 - Unless you're a moron you won't have any problems. Plugged it in, routed some MIDI and was playing in about 2 minutes. Editing patches is not as easyas on the biq Q with all the knowbs and buttons but I'm will to live with that considering it's $2,000 US less. The freeware/shareware patch editor helps. Havn't had to look at the manual yet.

25 voices - a little less in real world terms - all depends on CPU load. Don't look for this unit to do it all in one pass. It can handle 2 maybe 3 parts nicly. 75 voice expansion board will help with this although I would still rather just get a second unit.

The built in apreggiator is one of the best I have played with. Much better than E-mu's line up - Audity/Xtreme. It's very usable even when you have key changes.

Sounds are out of this world. Everything you would expect from the big Q. Basses so deep and punchy that my Alesis M2 monitors were ready to jump off their shelves and start dancing -- all with no distortion! Very rich, wide pads. Expressive leads and those filters are wonderful smooth. It's been a while since I have had a synth inspire me as much as this. If you like electronic, and you know how to play (not you mp3.com Acid freaks) you'll love the Q.

Seems solid enough. It will only sit in my rack so as the saying goes... if it doesn't break in the first two weeks it won't.

I havn't had to deal with Waldorf directly. Their web site is kept up-to-date. No complaints

The latest crop of VA machines is really exciting. I personally like the European machines over US or Japanese ones. They seem to have a better handle on my style of music (Delerium, Enigma, Jarre) and create more musical machines out of the box.

OS1.12
The Micro Q is a breeze to use, the matrix setup is excellent and very intuitive once one gets used to it - usually in about an hour or 2. Occasionally patch editing can be confusing, hence the 9 rating, but overall not a problem. The manual does a good job explaining the ins and outs of the uQ as well, an excellent reference.

The cost to benefit ratio is quite high, but I reserve the right to change my opinion. The polyphony is 25, the effects are beter than average given the cost of the unit, but one VERY bad thing in my book is the vocoder is useless. Each of my vocoder patches pop and crackle, even without any signal into the unit. I even exchanged my uQ thinking it was defective, but the second one did the same thing, I can't use it at all. I tried a few times and what should normally have been a simple take with the vocoder, i.e. a one-liner, took 30 minutes because I had to keep re-recording the phrase and edit out the pops and cracks in my wave editor on the computer. It would be useless live.
The arpeggiator is very flexible, no sequencer though, but for the money not a big loss.

The sounds on this thing are great! I enjoy the wavetables and the odd sounds this unit can create. I create ambient/experimental music, and this is a great machine for this kind of music. I could give this unit a 10 on this if it weren't for all of the bugs.

Here's where it gets sticky for me. I really love this thing, but I am contemplating selling it. There are just way too many bugs that drive me crazy. On top of the vocoder being virtually useless, patch saving doesn't always work, there has been some complaints by others about midi timing, a lot of the patches have distortion that has to be edited out, notes stick, and more.

As someone else mentioned before there is a lot of interaction on the Waldorf users group e-list, but I definitely don't feel the concerns regarding bugs, OS updates, etc. posted to the list are adequately addressed by Waldorf techs, nor are they fixed in subsequent OS releases! It seems to me a lot of people are frustrated with the promises of upgrades and bug fixes, but never get any potential release date or even update note to the e-list of what has been fixed so far while in their development of the new OS to at least tide over some of the anxious yet patient folks. I really didn't want to say anything bad here, but this is my view on this.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd call up my insurance company and get the money and buy something else. I like the overall sound and design of the Micro Q, but it has caused endless amounts of frustration and inconvenience that I would pass on replacing the unit.
I own a lot of gear, been playing for about 15 years and while it's not the worst piece of gear, it has a LOT of way to go before it can be truly reliable in my eyes (and ears).
I chose the uQ because it is a diverse sounding unit, and I own an XT. The XT has its bugs too, but overall is far more solid than the uQ.
The only thing I wish the uQ had was reliability.
I will admit it definitely helped me create some great tunes, but only in its most simple form of use.

I think a lot of people would love this unit and be quite happy. It seems some of the bugs might vary between machines, in other words a bug I have may not be the same someone else with a uQ has. Not sure how that could be, but some have not had the same complaints as I and vice versa, so I am presumptive of this conclusion. The bang for the buck isn't bad, but again, given the bug-dollar ratio I would say it would be worth more like $400.00 NEW.

OS 1.12. The interface is cumbersome. A lot of button pressings to do one little thing. The endless rotaries are useful in editing, but they come with great trade-off because if you tweak your knobs in real time, you will have to practise a lot to get the same result as normal rotaries. If you are a live/real time knob tweaker, I'd say use something else to tweak this synth in real time.

The minimum guarantee is 6, but usually you don't run the most complex patches at the same time so you will have more polyphony than 6 most of the time. Built in effects are useless. Chorus, Flanger and ever Phaser sound the same on this thing and they don't sound like conventional ones either. The Phaser is especially horrible. If you were in a blind fold test, you wouldn't have guessed it was phaser. The delay is horrible as well because it's not true stereo. The delay wet/dry value of 1/127 is like 32/127 on other synths. I mean it's just like other parameter ranges on this synth. They are so coarse that you can't get any fine programming with delicate subtle difference. (This is also why most people think this synth sounds digital.) Most parameter values have to almost no effect at low levels and the effects jump badly between +/-1 value in high levels.

Expansion is to 75 voice, but not available yet as of now. According to Waldorf's history of getting things done. Do not expect it to release in 2-3 years.

MIDI capabilities are less than standard. In OS 1.12-1.14 (current), the freely assignable MIDI CCs won't work. Panning works on part 1-4 only. CC10 for panning won't work. No complete sysex document for this synth available.

No sequener, but there is a very programmable arpeggiator. This is the only thing that I see it as superior than most VAs in the market right now. Cumbersome to program though.

Because of the bad jumps of value/effect mentioned above, this synth sounds very digital and unhumanized. The Low pass filters can't give any warm effects. The overdrive sounds very cold and digital. Don't touch that resonance knob too often. Micro Q will distort inside its signal path and headroom (with out distortion FX on).

I think the Micro Q is great for robotic, classic rock and weird self-indulged experimental music, considering how coarse, harsh and overly bright the sounds it produce. Even when you use its flexible modulation matrix to try to modulate things to sound less robotic and digital, you run into the value jumping thing again, so the mod matrix doesn't humanize the sound much.

Do not buy this synth if you are expecting to use any of its built-in effect. Only its vocoder that works nicely. Chorus, Flanger, Delay, Distortion, Phaser and 5FX are a joke.

Considering a lot of bugs and their possibilities to get fixed, I won't depend on it. There are note hanging in OS 1.14 as well. You don't wanna to rely on this synth in live situation.

Their supoort forum is pretty active. They can help you fix your silly goofy mistakes, but not the synths'. I think it's ridiculous sometimes that they would say I had to wait for this thing's bugs to be fixed because they are now working on other synths in their product line. Why do I have to care about their other products? I don't even own one share at Waldorf. I bought one synth and expect to at least work averagely (I can't pan on every part of this synth!!!).

I have owned this things for 6 months and I already feel like it were lost or stolen. It doesn't really work. Subjectively I don't like the robotic nature of its sounds either. I would move on to other synths if I lost this box.
I thought I'd wait for the Virus Rack to come out, but I chose this one because it had phaser. But the truth is the Micro Q's phaser sounds crappy. At least if I got the Virus Rack, I knew that it would work like a normal chorus, not like the Micro Q's so called Chorus.
If you aren't a huge fan of overly bright or distorted sounds, I'd suggest you pass this synth no matter how fabulous the word of mouth on this synth is. (I've been there.)