Waldorf Micro-Q

Man, oh man. Where do I begin? I am using software v 1.12, updated with relative ease using cubase (cakewalk 8.xx doesn't support the update because the sysex file is too huge, but I hear that v9 does). Updating to v1.12 is a must - if you don't notes will drop, stuff will be poppy when you switch instruments, and various important parameters won't function.

The presets sound like someone carved them from jade then embellished them with gold (mainly). Of course some suck, but the ones that kick ass do it most seriously. All I can say is that if you have access to one to play with, go to B067, hit a note, then the pitch bend wheel. I bought this because of that preset. Anything that can warp a note that smoothly and wildly is, well, IMHO worth more than 800 bucks. The oscillators on this puppy are the smooooothest VA's that I have heard, but more about that in a bit.

There is a sound diver thingy available for it, but I think it is more complex than using the hardware interface. Editing is so, so easy when you balance it out against the complexity of this synth, that I feel guilty giving it a "9." It would earn a ten, but for that I think you'd need a real layout like the full blown Q. It has been argued on the mailing list, however, that all the knobs of the bigger version are a tad bit more confusing...

The manual is well written and covers everything. It gives a primer on synthesis and explains how to use additive synthesis to get certain waveforms (although this technically isn't an additive synth). I think the best thing about it is that it includes tips on how to achieve certain sounds, or what might happen if you tweek a parameter a certain way. The best thing to do is to read it a couple of times, then get to it, man!

The microQ (uQ) has 25 voice polyphony using a dynamic dsp engine. That is: the greater complexity of the sound, the fewer voices. A very good feature is that the user can literally shut parts of the sound engine off when not in use to maximize polyphony. Eventually, there are plans to release a voice expansion, to 75 max. My guess: 400 more bucks will yield 50 more potential voices.

Effects are pretty good for built in. As usual for onboard, don't expect t.c. electronics reverb. As a matter of fact, don't expect reverb at all. There isn't one. Delay, chorus, phazer, flanger, and something else...oh yes, overdrive. Think of this as a modular synth of yore: no reverb as it is a digital creation, not a feature on an analog synth.

Midi is excellent: sends/receives cc's from all parameters, but I think that with the current OS there are some bugs with cc reception in multimode. Don't panic - Waldorf is busy working them out (I hope for my sake). Of course it responds to all of the quintessential stuff, like aftertouch, etc.

No onboard step sequencer or effects morphing. For these things, you need to purchase the Qrack or Q. I played with the full blown Q for quite a while at the store and was amazed at the sound. I bought the micro without playing it first, but only after reassurance from one of the developers at Waldorf that the micro is 99% sound compatable with the larger versions. He wasn't kidding. No effects morphing doesn't change my admiration for the noise this produces. I use cakewalk 9 for sequencing, so I don't miss the (by comparison) limited step sequencer that comes with the Qrack or keyboard.

Buy this synth if you are wanting to experiment with modular synthesis. It is so patchable and modulatable, that it should be called VAM. Virtual Analog Modular. The uQ blows away the MS2000's little pussy four option patch routing thing.

OK, now the fun part. Jesu Cristu, this mutha sounds better than ANY VA that I have laid hands on. I took it to a buddy's house who owns a Virus b, and it won an "oscillator smoothness" contest. The virus does better crunchy leads, but the uQ's sound is more versatile. It does luscious pads and driving leads very, very well.

I have to say, tho, that this is definitely a VA synth. One can hear a world of difference between this and my venerable poly 61. Analog is analog - fat and warm. This synth comes close with a little bass boost from the mixer, but it is still VA.

If you don't have access to a uQ, don't hesitate to travel somewhere far away for a test drive before deciding on a different piece of gear. This machine is that inspiring and worthwhile. It is easily worth 1000. Thankfully, Waldorf likes all musicians, even us relatively poor ones.

Please don't buy this expecting a Kurzweil piano. Purchase this if you want to spend time either learning synthesis or using your knowledge to create something beautiful or something ugly. Regardless of your aim, with this machine, it will be unique.

The only drawback that I have found is just a hair of aliasing on some of the presets (but on nothing that I have programmed, knock on formica) when I use the mod wheel. I could be imagining it tho - it doesn't really happen too much since updating the OS. Because of this, I have to give it a 9 in this category.

The Vocoder is really sharp. Comb filter vocoder with looping envelopes modulating the pulse width. Wow. Pipe in your other synths through the filters. Wow. It breathes new life into old gear.

Well, last week I used it to club the dust out of the couch, then it doubled as a wheel chuck while I jacked my car up to check the... WHAT? It sits in its rack and does what it does. If you like to have trouble with equipment, then keep it uncovered and be sure to drink beer with your buddies around it and smoke a bunch of stuff in the same room.

Yes, it is physically dependable. The "endless rotaries" are sturdy and firm. They feel way better than most of the cheap ass knobs on, say, the MS2000.

Yeah, I'd use it on a gig if I weren't so anal about smoke damage. it seems like a well built unit, but the power adapter plug is a loose fit.

Waldorf is notorious for incomplete operating systems. They have worked ardently to make the uQ work well, but until the system is debugged to a greater degree, I will remain skeptical of 100% error free operation.

The Waldorf crew is about as great as they come. They answered all of my pre-purchase questions, plus tried to help me out of my stupidity when I was having MIDI problems. They didn't even call me trite names like "midiot."

People on the user forum say that it is best to buy the gear with factory installed expansion as post-production expansion may take a while to accomplish.

The user forum (email group) consists of software developers for major corps and regular users like yours truly. Unless you ask the same question about thirty times, the people really try to help one another. The Waldorf support team participates on an almost daily basis.

Before purchacing this, I played the MS2000, Z1, the Oberheim Matrix 12 (whatever their newest VA is), the Roland VA crap thing (jp something so bad that I can't remember), and the Nord Lead 2. The Q series sounds warmer than any of them. It isn't quite as crunchy as the virus (which is barely colder), but still does incredible leads.

This is the Creme da la Creme of my gear list. I have a Wavestation, Poly 61, DX9, and an EX-800 in the hardware synth department. It balances with all of my other gear extremely well. I don't recommend buying it if you own a Nord or Virus (or Novation for that matter). There would be a lot of "overlap" of sound type. But, if you are a gearhead...

I love the yellow color. I can find it with minimal lighting. The superbright red LED's stand out so well that they give an eerie glow about the room when it is on. Perfect ambiance.

For a bit (about a second) after buying it I thought that I would regret it. I have a limited budget that I work with to support a very expensive hobby. Once it arrived and plugged it in, all of my fears and doubts were dispelled. If it were to be stolen, I would buy either this or the Qrack to replace it. Lost? How would I lose it? Forget where I put it one evening?

If you want a VA that is constructed at every step with the premise of modelling an analog synth, instead of showing off how great it is to have digital technology, this is your synth. Other brands, IMHO, spend lots of effort giving you some 40 odd effects per voice or whatever, but one has to ask: can an analog really do that? The more stuff that you cram into a VA, the farther away it goes from it's goal: analog emulation. It is apparent that this synth has been designed to maximize the sound and character by enhancing the basic analog modelling functions instead of lumping together fifteen million effects and ring modulation for every available parameter. Don't get me wrong tho - there is so much to this it'll take you quite a while to get yer head around it. 3 LFO's and 4 looping envelopes... Whew!

Purchased with 1.00 software, downloaded and installed 1.12, it's a beautiful thing being able to download the OS. Presets range from lame to great. You can write over them so it's not a big deal. What is a big deal is the ease of editing on this fairly complex synth. Without cracking the manual the editing matrix made sense.
The presets do not do justice to the Micro-Q's abilities. A patch editor/librarian would be nice but not immediately necessary.
The manual is good, not the greatest but readable and informative.

Polyphony is 25 notes expandable to 75. You have to take into consideration how much DSP power is used but this is still a major breakthrough for a $780 VA module.
The effects are simple but useful. The 5 in 1 is weak, probably a bonus rather than a feature. Reverb is remarkably processor hostile. You get the feeling there was some room left but not enough to do anything substantial. The flange and chorus are good, the delay would be better with more control over it but is useful.
It will be interesting to see what the 75 voice option costs. It will make this synth one hell of a work horse.
It would have been nice to have the step sequencer and extra effects of the Q Rack but at this price it's a good trade off.
The arppegiator is astonishingly good. Because you can animate the sound it is possible to set up rhythmic patches that have a good groove and change a bit over time while keeping the intent of the patch.
A very easy to use synth with what will undoubtably be a great user community if it's populated by anything like the other Waldorf buyers.
For what you pay you get a lot of synth, kind of a drag you get it off the backs of Q and Q Rack users but they wanted their equipment ASAP and here in the Micro-Q everyone else gets to take advantage of the maturing of the Q series in general.

The Micro-Q as stated elsewhere is not going to displace sample playback synths for that perfect sax solo. If you're buying this synth you are looking to create sounds, not imitate them.
And you have a lot of sonic fire power. One thing that was of enormous value to me were the two wavetables. I like the Microwave synths but have had terrible luck with them. Getting a limited but still quite abundant set of tables is a big plus. It's a smoother sound than the Microwaves which may be to some people's likes (it is mine) or dislike.
Good for electronic music of all sorts from wild experimental to the most basic techno. There is a broad sonic pallate here. The most impressive features for me are the arppegiator and signal routing capabilities.

I have a fear of Waldorf but I'm hoping the Micro-Q will change that.
There are some issues such as thumps when changing between certain patches. I do use it at gigs. I'd love a backup but for now that's not happening.

Waldorf has always been a good company to work with. They have a good crew of users and they pay attention to their mailing list. If they did nothing else that would leave me all warm and fuzzy. But they work hard at fixing problems when mentioned, excellent.

I've been using software synths, mostly Reaktor. For the synthesis side of things the Micro-Q reminds me a lot of Reaktor but with more oomph and less hassle.
If lost I'd buy the Micro-Q again without question.
The sound is great, very clean but very powerful, sophisticated but able to screech. I was considering a Nova II tabletop but didn't care for it with FX off. The only VA I liked (and bought) was a Korg MS2000r which is a role player kind of synth.
The Micro-Q should put pressure on the industry from a price and function standpoint which is great for users. Hope Waldorf gets a nice slice of the synth market. They deserve it.
The Micro-Q creams the JP8080, Nova II, et al. It doesn't have all the controllers and for some this will be an issue, but if you have anything that can send midi you should be in luck and this rack should be the ticket. It is that good.
Wish it had the sequencing capabilities but for it's price I can live without it. I'm using it with a SY99, Nord Micro Modular and MS2000r along with softsynths. It is displacing many of the Reaktor synths I've worked on. Consider that a major compliment to the Micro-Q.
Others have said it is an inspiring synth and I agree. When you don't have to wade through menu after menu or convoluted button pushing and terrible manuals it's easy to feel inspired. But the sound is really the most inspiring thing about the Micro-Q. For such a simple interface it's incredible what's beneath it and how easy it is to tap into.

One of the easiest synths to edit. No problems whatsoever to find the tweak you need at the moment.
Updating the OS is a breeze, (i'm using it with a rm1x sequencer), and setting the whole thing up is not a problem either.
Right now i'm using the latest OS 1.12, wich had some bug fixes like with the effects and other stuff. (Check waldorf site for all info on this)
The presets just blew me away. If you're looking for good presets check these out! Killer basslines, phat evolving pads, and screaming leads. This machine does em all and if you're not happy just edit them or layer them as you please. Everything is right on the front so even a total beginner can't go wrong here.
Manual is okay but could have been better on some areas, like setting the device up with cubase and logic for instance. I imagine a novice user could have had use of this.

25 notes!! And the upgrade soon coming will give you 75 voices. Man i'm sure gonna get that one. You could easily make the most advanced sounds out there as it is, but imagine with the 75 notes upgrade!
Effects on the micro q is good. As mentioned by the other reviews here the need for a reverb for instance isn't that important. The sound is that warm and good.
5 fx. isn't really what I'd hoped it to be. Wish it came with a more advanced delay instead. Cuz the current delay works, but would have been better (and more fun) with a multitap delay for instance.
MIDI wise....well i'm using it with a yamaha rm1x and it is a great combination. Have made whole songs directly with this combo and not a problem som far. Rm1x 8 knobs (another 8 if you switch a button off) control a hell uva lot more, wich makes the setup and incredible live setup. You could tweak the knobs and change the sounds until you turn blue!
Arpeggiator is great, very complex indeed.

This is the most fat sounding device i have in my setup. Incredible basses&leads&pads, you name it. With the randomise function you can create the most bizarre, strange noises you can think of so easily.
Sounds can be controlled alot with aftertouch and velocity, filters, effects and more. Haven't done this yet so much so i can't really tell you about it. Read the manual on www.waldorf-music.de for more info on this.
Suited for all kinds of music, but of course if you're an electronic musician it can do it all, ambient/house/techno/trance and so on....perfect!

With the new OS 1.12 i haven't had any problems at all so far. But i'm just beginning to get deeper into the machine. But so far no probs.
Depend on it fully....would use it without hesitation in a live gig, and already have done it.

Free OS updates...
Never really got in touch with the company either by email nor phone. Can't really tell u.

If it was lost i would buy it again without hesitating. This is the most cool sounding and advanced synth for a low amount of money. 25 notes, 16 parts, great sounds, good effects, extern in for some cool vocoder and sound manipulation stuff for this price! Unbeatable!
And it's YELLOW!

Paid: 1649 DM. Now in the stores for the original price of 1789. Just in time.
Software version 1.0, updated ASAP when it was there from the site.

The presets... well. they're quite ok. Do not really show the power in
this little beast. I make trance and techno, the Knurrhahn sound is
EXCELLENT for bass, and the WideWarmWash with the attack put to zero
features the original "Cygnus X - Superstring" sound. Furthermore,
the promised compatibility with the Q and Q rack sounds isn't that great.
Actually, I didn't get them to work at all.

What's neat is that there is a Patch Randomizer. My SY-35 also had one, and
instead of tweaking for ours this thing produces sounds only appearing in
Aphex Twin's wet dreams. Bad thing is the DSP overloads sometimes and you get
you get a 'blast' sound. It blows your speakers apart. Or you scare the hell
out of your pets. For safety reasons, I have the volume low when being on a
randomizing trip.

Editing patches is easy if you get around with say, 4 sliders. Since this is
my first piece of VA, I'm not that bothered about it. Althought the MS 2000
(not counting the extreme lack of poly) has really something to tweak with.
Not really endless dials, but whatever. It's all very easy, and i didn't need
the manual for the Mod Matrix.

Patch editors would be surplus. Totally not necessary, unless you're a
Generator kind of person. Maybe it'd be cool to make a software version
of this one, they did that with the virus too.

The manual I have is printed with a laserprinter. Conventional if you
don't like reading them. It's very replaceable.

25 notes. And I'm sure going for the 75 voice expansion.
The effects are all very ok, but the 'dry' sound of the synth is so
fat and warm you don't need a reverb. The 5-FX is the only effect
I'm not satisfied with. They could've replaced that one with a reverb
for the thin sounds, or a complex delay. Chorus can be simulated with
detune. Distortion with Filter Drive. Flanger with a BPF.

All endless dials can send whole waves of Midi-data. Although I
couldn't get my XP-30 to send controls except for Pbend and ModWhl.

The arpeggiator is a dream. Forget every tedious programming on 16-
step sequencers, the horrid MC-303 and a TB303 that's being a bitch.
You can get things done with this thing... Instant triggering
effects, woozy gliding lines... grrreat.

Sounds: with the randomizer I got the sound in Fatboy Slim's
'Right About Now'. (the rising sound when the song slows down). Wicked.

Suited music : Electronica in general, techno in particular. Could do
miracles with a sampler.

It crashed a few times on me - I'm trusting the patch memory above
all though. I updated the OS and no sounds were lost. Groovy.

You have to program the multies thorough, still. A good gig option
is the Inst. # (# = 1 - 4) for quick switching.

Waldorf's a friendly company to deal with. Free OS updates, and I'll
ask the dealer (Musik Produktiv) to give the 75 voice update.
Great quick feedback.

Due to it's size it could be easily lost. It's a 2U rack, with about
the same depth. I bought it when I wanted a Virus Rack (the RACK, not
the B), but the Micro offered similar and better qualities. Maybe the
effects were better on the Virus rack, I don't know, but the
polyphony offered was only 16 (exp. 24) was noticeably lower on the
Virus. That, plus the great price (1649 DM) made me order it
immediately. I got a letter on 7th December acknowledging that the
Virus Rack was delayed until February 2001. Bad move, Access. It's
worth every cent.

I had several synths. Started in '90 with a Juno-60, then moved on
with plain keyboards (yeuch), had a JW-50, an SY-35, a W5 v2 and
I currently have a modest studio with the W5, an XP-30 (swapped for a
N5ex, lack of techno sounds) the Micro Q, an ESI-4000 sampler, and a
Drumstation.

Only thing I wished was that it had a more complex delay (multi-tap)
and maybe some sort of reverb.

It helps me making music. It adds the warm sounds to the digital
sounds of the W5 and the XP30. It offers the realtime control and
complements my setup.

I'd recommend this one over the Q and the Q rack. Both have 16
voices, exp'd to 32. I don't know if the poly drops when making
FM sounds (the Micro Q does, but it's not that much of a prob).
The step sequencer and more dedicated buttons make the Q(rack) a
better choice again, but the Micro Q: it's small, less expensive
(5000 DM for a Q!!!) and offers the same fat sound.

I am using software version 1.1, it shipped with 1.0 and I upgraded it with my sequencer (Logic), without a hitch. The presets are unbelievable! They offer a very wide range of tones, and the sound quality is spectacular. I was concerned that with the fewer knobs, I would find editing and sound creation a chore, but nothing could be further from the truth. The front panel layout is so logical and intuitive, editing is a breeze. The manual is fine. This is my ninth synth, so I didn't have to read much (yet) but it appears to be more than adequate. It has a substantial section on analog subtractive and FM synthesis basics, so this wouldn't be a problem for a newbie... I can't say enough about the front panel layout. You can actually see where whatever parameter you need is located and get right to it in a second. Brilliant.

The Micro Q has 25 voices of polyphony, upgradeable to 75!!!! It has six outputs (three stereo pairs) and one stereo input for processing of audio throu the terrific filters and EG or for Vocoder use.The effects are excellent. I love the phaser and vocoder. The arpeggiator is very nice, too. Please note: If you need the step sequencer, spring for a Q rack. This one needs an external sequencer (I use Logic, so this isn't a problem for me). Responds to aftertouch. There are obviously features one could want that you wouldn't get in this machine, but I am factoring price into the equation to arrive at the rating I'm giving.

As with any non Rompler/Sampler/PCM playback synth, you don't buy a MicroQ because you want realistic Piano sounds... You buy a Micro Q because the Waldorf Q sound is THE most versatile tone generator on the planet, and with the MicroQ's price point, it's a must have! If you need the digital out and step sequencer, better spring for the Q rack, but I didn't need these (for almost twice the price). I own a fair amount of cool VA, FM and real analog gear (Virus B, Nord Modular, Yamaha FS1R, SCI Pro One, TeeBee 303, etc.) but this unit pretty much delivers an across the board picture of what's available... From the harsher Virus and Nord type of virtual analog tones to the smoother Novation sounds. Don't get me wrong, I love the Nord and you'd have to kill me to get the Virus B, but I just feel that the Q is capable of more diversity. The Micro Q also does FM very well. Not just DX piano sounds, but the really wild stuff. I think this module would provide great tones for just about any musical style where synthesizers are appropriate. The sound pallette is diverse and stunning and I find it to be very inspiring for my music. The onboard effects are excellent, good enough to record with and certainly good enough for live performance.

I have only had this for four days, but it seems pretty solid.

I have had several contacts with Waldorf, just general questions and when they finally shipped from Germany to the U.S. and in every case they were very helpful. The Waldorf egroups mailing list is also a great rescource and several Waldorf employees regularly participate.

I am absolutely convinced that Waldorf has raised the bar for what a sub $1000 synth should offer. As of this writing, no hardware synth even comes close to the sonic excellence and diversity, sheer number of voices (not to mention upgradeability -75 voices, UNREAL!) and features for anywhere near the price. This unit puts a Waldorf within just about anyone's budget.

Software version 1.10

Polyphony is up to 25 voices dependind on the number of filters, oscillators, effects and any DSP-intensive modules.
In practice, this means about 10 to 16 voice polyphony. The built in effects are 24bit with a very high sampling rate so they are very clean...they are not accessible in the mod matrix though :(
The Micro-Q can be expanded to 75 voices but it must be sent in to a service center. The onboard OS resides in flash ram so it can be updated easily. Waldorf has a great record of adding new features and quick bug fixes.
The onboard arpeggiator ix fairly flexible with room for user-defined patterns. I give it a 9 instead of a 10 because the effects should have parameters that are modulatable in the patch...maybe the next OS update?

This machine really shines here! With up to 5 oscillators per voice
this thing can be really FAT sounding. A voice consists of 3 oscillators,
each with a waveform selection of saw, square (w/ ajustable width), triangle,
sine and two complex wavetables consisting of 127 waves each. There are two
filters that can be routed either in a serial or parralell fasion and set
at 12db or 24db lowpass, highpass, bandpass, bandreject or notch. There
is also a comb filter type for physical modeling of plucked strings or
blown tubes! 4 envelopes and 3 lfos , a modulation matrix and a multi-fx
generator round out the sound engine. The Micro-Q can do most analog-style
sounds: sweet strings, spacey pads,thundering bass ect. The sounds this
thing makes are animated and ALIVE!The real power is in the amazingly
deep modulation routings you can get on this synth. The only thing I have
that even comes close to its power and flexibility is my Nord Modular.

As of now, this is my main machine. The construction is real solid and has an amazing finish that seems like it would be hard to scratch. Plus - its yellow!

Waldorf has been very responsive to me with my pre-purchase questions and one small problem I had with set-up.

If you're looking for a VA synth (and much, much more) and you're on a budget, there's nothing else in its class. This is one of the SWEETEST synths I have ever owned!
If it were lost or stolen, I'd replace it in a heartbeat!