Waldorf Micro-Q

The parameter matrix is not so easy to handle, and when you want to make a patch from the scratch is very difficult. Unless you have to much experience in sound synthesis, the parameter matrix will be a problem. The other side of the parameter matrix is that you can handle a lot of parameters with only a few knobs, what makes the device cheaper.
The user manual is good.

The Micro Q has some unique features, like three oscillators, what makes it different from others synths. It has a good arpeggiator. You can edit everything with the MQedit software.

The overall impression is that the sounds is metallic and very heavy, with a very good and precise high and low end, and beautiful, beautiful filters; I could listen those filters all day. Sometimes it is heavy in a very good way, sometimes it is metallic in a bad way.
Good: the arpeggios, the bells and the plucked shine, CS80 emulations are OK, some brasses are beautiful, some basses are useful but not cool, some pads are useful if you change them in drones. Bad: everything else; the sustainable sounds (strings and pads) are horrible and almost unusable, the leads are weird in a bad way, the organs, electric pianos, acoustic emulations and the especial effects (UFOs, wind, rain, etc) aren???t good also. I know this is a virtual analog, but the problem is the sustainable sounds. It can???t emulate 303 and 808 well.
It produces a lot of noise, you must use eq to handle the noise. The effects (reverb, flange, phaser) sucks. Do not expect a Virus or a Nord..

It stopped working four months after I bought it, what can I say?! It couldn???t be repaired because the chips couldn???t be replaced! If someone take off a broken part, you may damage the Micro Q for good.

It doesn???t exist in Brazil, and this is an old synth.

It doesn???t sync very well with the recording software (!?!), it gets slightly out of phase, then in phase again; I was handling this problem recording with a very low buffer latency (5 ms) in my software.
It???s good if it???s your third or fourth synth, and if you like different (out of the mainstream) sounds. You must buy it cheap, or buy a Blofeld (Blofeld can read Micro Q banks).
Despite this problems it can make a beautiful contrast in mix with wavetable, or FM tipe sounds. This thing can produce a very unique sound.
Since my Micro Q is broken, I intend to buy a Blofeld someday.

at first is a bit much but overall it is simple and gets pretty intuitive. not a slider and knob ladden beast but not a burden either.
the presets are not my thing but it is a very nice sounding synth.
manual is ok but kind of stilted in its translation.

well it is a pretty basic layout allthough capable of very complex sounds. enough polyphony for me for part muti timbral.
this box has a good arpeggiator well excellent actual and you can even get some nice slides out of it.
endless rotary encoders adequate screen and nice metal chasis. effects arent the best but not the worst either.

the sound engine on this synth is amazing.

i cannot stress enough if it was just the sounds you were basing this unit on it should get a ten.
it is its own thing and i can say after owning a micron nord and ms2000 as well as a an1x this is a amazingly good sounding synth.
it can sound extremely analog and big warm and pumping. it can also shimmer with the most mettalic noise as well.
fm is nice some people say it sounds tinny and crappy well it can and its not a bad thing.
programmed properly tho this synth just gets so deep.
it can layer sounds nicely. fits with so many different genres even some of the current nintendo glitchy stuff can be had out of this box.

so far so good.
the powersupply looks sketchville tho dont know about that to much

dunno

it bloody slays. i mean get to programming it and you can do lots no other synth can do with this one.
that being said if you still are hauling tons of boards to do your live set if you program this properly you can probably slim down your live set.
one of the best synths i have ever owned.

Prety easy to use. Mq's manual is good for beginner & some good tricks...

Apr is prety good, mod matrix can be firt odd to use.

Sounds are just unbelievable! Only problem is external signal to vocoder

10 really solid work. Knobs can be only hard to find.

Waldorf as a company isn't dead, just chance of owner right now. Really heplfull e-mail forum.

I would buy new one if this been stolen. Makes fine sounds & easy to update sounds. Can be expaded to up to 75 notes poly beast as mine is!

I'm using OS 2.14. I like the interface. It's way better than Pulse if you've ever used that. I hear a lot of people $%^&* about having to go through menus, but if you know how to program you don't need 500 knobs, and if you do get the full size Q :) At least it has a nice lcd compared to the crappy 3 digit display on the Pulse. I like the endless rotaries too, and they added an on/off switch! Wish it had an internal p/s though. Presets are somewhat lackluster, but presets shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of a synth's features anyway.

I have the blue rack version (the yellow ones are hideous, lol), so I can't comment on key action. Mine's the standard 25 voice poly version, which is plenty for me. MIDI implementation is good. Plenty of i/o options. Built in fx are decent, but outboard are far superior, as they are with most synths. Tons of routing options and envelopes make it very versatile. Plenty of memory locations too. Vocoder is good but i prefer my MS2000 for live use.

The Micro Q, as well as the Microwave series, have a sort of love-it or hate-it sound. I personally love it. This is a very unique sounding instrument and is really an inspiration to play. I get bored playing synths that all try to sound the same. If you want your synth to sound like a moog, prophet, or jupiter, then go buy the real thing. The Micro Q can do mostly any type of sound, and do it well. It's great for leads, bass, pads, sweeps and wierd bleepy bloopy noises and fx. Great for industrial, dance, or pretty much any electro-style. The filters are especially awesome, (try the comb filter) and there are LOTS of them. The fx aren't really that good, but thats what we have outboard processors for. A lot of people say it has a 'clinical' sound, and it's true it's not as warm as some of my other gear such as the JP-8080, but it's flexibility and unique sound more than makes up for any shortcomings.

I've never had a problem with OS 2.14, but I've heard Waldorf are notorious for their unstable early operating systems. I've also heard that some units overheat, but I've never had that problem with mine. Knobs and buttons feel sturdy. I'd use it live without hesitation.

Waldorf no longer exists, but there are plenty of user forums online.

If it were lost or stolen I'd get another one for sure. They are easy to find on ebay and an excellent value. I wouldn't use it as my only piece of gear, but if you are just starting out it makes an excellent choice for a 1st synth. I mostly play industrial, and it's right at home in that style of music. I've got a lot of other rack gear, including a K2500RS, Microwave XT, Jp-8080, Pulse and Virus XL, and this synth compliments them quite well.

I would not say the unit is easy to use - contraire, just need to
take the learning curve into consideration.

The criterion is of only 3 areas; number of ocillators, types of filters and quality of waveforms. Most of the other features are
secondary or tertiary.

This is why I bought the unit - twice. The sound is really high end
in terms of complexity and texture. I would say it sounds digital
and/or analog. It also sounds unique. I mainly use it for lead via
a Yamaha KX-5 but use it for ambient shading as well.

Seems to work fine - both units.

n/a

I did replace the unit so there you go. In a subjective sense
I do favor Waldorf. It's a sort of liquid quality through which
I can really express. Coooooooool!!

Not bad. The routing system on the front is a bit confusing at first, but when you are used to it - it's a big help.

Good set of features. The arpeggiator is... heaven. No doubt. If anyone thought the Virus C arpeggiator is cool, wait until you've tried the Micro-Q arpeggiator. The downside, it looks a bit frightening at first, but it's both easy to use and to program.

Absolutely terrible. I can't understand what people see in the MicroQ. The sounds are lifeless and metallic in some unpleasant way. Believe me, I've programmed many synthesizers and I'm used to make sounds myself - the MicroQ may look like a beast on the paper, but it's not. Take a look at eBay and ask yourself... why is so many people selling their MQs if they are so good as they say?

Avoid.

The latest OS is OK, but has to reorganize every now and then when loading new sounds to it. Can bve pretty annoying if you're trying to clean out all the presets you don't use.

Well. Waldorf are gone, but the community isn't that bad. It's easy to get proper help.

Sold it, will never replace it. A shame though... the MQ keyboard looks so nice...

V2.14

Presets sound awesome... fat, thin, random... everything has some level of 'warmth' to it. There's many options, I know, but even compared to the nicer workstations (Triton, Motif, Phantom), these MicroQ had a 'richer' quality.

This is where it's quicker than the workstations. Doesn't have the same extent of knobs but very quick to edit on the fly.

Looking for a manual.

Keyboard action is awesome considering its not weighted. It's quick and dynamic enough to do some interesting rhythmical grooves. Please refer to the other reviews for technical details... it's got it, so move on.

Let's just say that's it a deal for all the features that's offered by the Micro Q.

Since this is a VA (not a workstation), yes, it's realistic in emulating FAT analog synth tones. Don't expect it to do great grand pianos.

Look, its great for rock, trance, pop... but it's awesome for kick ass R&B, funk. You can do some updating and sick on some ol' Parliament tunes.

For digital / analog tones, it's definitely dynamic.

Built like a tank.

Unfortunately, Waldorf went under due to severe competition from soft synth. The only problem with those soft synth is that there a main in the butt.

Micro Q is immediate.

If you factor the size, it's absolutely the best value out there for a sweet VA synth. I looked at the rack version but the keybaord is worth it.

Using OS 2.14, I found this to be rather more easy and intuitive to use than I expected going through 4 or 5 knobs and buttons! The only part I had some confusion with (and for which the manual isn't as helpful) is navigating through the main Global settings and OS menus with the red knob; tweaking all patches is easy and straightforward, though (now made easier through my Oxygen 8 controller)

For the money, I couldn't ask for more. I looked around at a lot of other VAs and small synths ... microKorg, Micron, K-Station, X-Station, you name it... something was ALWAYS missing. microKorg has a decent vocoder (a plus for me), but the keys are too small and polyphony low; Micron has great sounds and full-sized keys, but more geared for classic-rock style leads and such... plus, the vocoder sucks, and it only has 3 KNOBS for tweaking sounds! K-station seemed the best bet for the money, but its monotimbral and low polyphony, X-station fixed some of this and has USB interface... but dropped the vocoder!

SO, with 16 part multitimbral, 25 voices, sweet vocoder, virtual analog capabilities AND nice digital filters, this synth has everything I wanted other than a keyboard (but at $80 used, my Oxygen 8 easily solved that problem)

I have not had a chance to use the onboard effects yet, so that may be a drawback from what I hear, but the arpeggiator, preset soundbank patches, and variety are incredible. I would say it sounds best for lush basses, thin/airy/fuzzy sweeping pads and strings, and watery-sounding modulator transformations... if you're looking to make trance, this thing is awesome. I personally am trying to use it for some glitchy rock stuff, so it may not be the best for that, but I feel confident that with as many filters, oscillators, etc. that this thing has, I can make it achieve any sound I am going to want.

It feels dependable. To be honest, this is my first rack synth, so I'm not really sure how these things hold up... plus I will be taking it on the road and gigging with it. I'm only a little concerned about the jacks in the back, which are apparently connected straight to the motherboard but not secured to the case at all! But that's okay, because I ended up buying two of them (used)! I considered reselling the second one since I don't need it... BUT I would have a heart attack if the one I'm using suddenly gave out.

So I foresee having two of these, one of which will be stowed away as a safe and reliable backup, just "in case" Even if I never need it, I'm willing to bet these babies will be hard to come by in the near future since Waldorf went kaput and they are still in high demand.

Company is dead.

Maybe if I'd spend the original $800-1000 on this baby I wouldn't give it a 10, but for what you can get out of it at a little over $300 used, it blows my mind. Between this and a sampler keyboard for more realistic sounds (I use the Alesis QS6.1), I feel like I will never need to buy another keyboard again (unless it's a better controller board)

Like I said, I have two of them, and I'm now thinking of holding on to the second one because I think I would literally break down and cry if mine broke and somehow I couldn't replace it.

Good manual. Preset editing difficulty is average; the matrix editing is fairly efficient but of course, not as good as having dedicated knobs for all parameters...an OK trade-off though since that would increase the size and price considerably.

The Wavetables and Bass/Lead/Pad template initial patches are nice touches. Very well spec'd. in terms of LFOs, envelopes, and filters.

When I first got the Micro-Q about two years ago i thought it had an overall digital quality to it (...not necessarily a bad thing as some would imply) but I've since changed my mind and think that the Micro-Q can also have a pleasing analog quality to it e.g. smoooooooth pads.

I agree with the last reviewer in that the build quality seems good but the AC cord has a loose fit in the socket.

When Waldorf was still in business they were great but now....well, I haven't had occcasion to even try to contact them but you can't expect support from a defunct company.

I agree with pretty much everything the previous reviewer said. MO the Micro-Q is a very worthwhile synth for electronic/synthetic sounds; it can sound digital or analog.

Easier than I expected for such a small rack-mount synth. OS 2.22, "25-voice" version (see below). The editing matrix is not as easy as one-knob-per-function, of course, but it's not really hard. Just a little slower. I've never used a patch editor. Presets are absolutely fantastic. Mind-blowing. The manual is pretty good...it even contains a couple examples of German humor.

You only get 25 voices if you have a simple sound, like maybe one oscillator and one filter. A complex sound can bring polyphony down to 10 voices or so, but so what? The Jupiter 8 only had 8 voices, and people still lust after it. No keyboard, effects are good but not as good as multi-thousand dollar Lexicons (that's OK with me), no expansion, MIDI functions are great. The Q's step sequencer has been dropped, as has the ability to morph patches and filter settings. Morphing patches on the Q never amounted to much for me (only continuously controlled parameters morphed, not selectible parameters), and the filter thing is no big deal. There are still two filters per voice here, and they still sound great.

The synth engine here is one of the best ever made. 3 oscillators (with smooth, smooth, smooth wavetables), 2 sub-oscillators, 3 LFOs, 2 filters, ring mod, FM, overdrive, gobs of envelopes, a genuine mod matrix, arpeggiators, etc. etc. A programmers dream.

Can I have a witness!? This thing is amazing. I play synthesizer, not oboe, so I don't care about acoustic instrument replication. The MicroQ is a fantastic synthesizer. Most of the time you can tell it's digital, but digital is just as exciting as analog to me. Plus, in a dense orchestration or a live band, it could easily pass for analog. Very expressive. There's a hard edge to many of the sounds that give this synth a definite, unique character that I truly love, but there's huge variety so it doesn't always stand out like a sore thumb. Between its fantastically complex sounds and its straightforward, punchy ones, it would work perfectly for any music that called for a synthesizer or for unconventional sounds. A real classic, and much more than a simple "virtual analog."

Seems great. The plug for the external power supply feels a little loose to me, but Waldorf stuff seems to be rock-solid and to hold up very well. They're German, after all.

Tragically, Waldorf is gone. I've heard that Access has hired some former Waldorf employees, so even if Waldorf resurfaces, it probably won't be the same. I live in a small town--trying to get the service manual for the Q keyboard was pretty hard, and the only synth repair place nearby had never even heard of Waldorf (in 2003). I basically consider myself to be without tech support for this synth. If it ever malfunctions, I'll have to drive hours and hours to a major city, then hope for the best. If you live in a big city and use Waldorf synths, you might be better off.

Easily, EASILY, the best $350 I've every spent. It's worth over $1,000. I would definitely replace it if I had to (with the blue one, not the ugly yellow one). If money were no obstacle, I'd get the Q Rack instead, but the few extra esoteric features are not worth doubling or tripling the price. I'm a serious amateur who's been playing for 8 years or so. I've owned a ton of different synths, and I currently use a K2661, a Supernova II, and a Microwave XT. No soft synths! They're too demanding of computer power, too tempramental, and they'll all get flushed down the toilet eventually by computer OS upgrades. I play synths that will be around for decades and will reward all the effort I put into programming them. The K2661 is capable of cool sample mangling, but it's difficult to use; the Supernova is a breeze and a pleasure to program, and it sound more analog but also more limited; the Microwave has deeper wavetable synthesis and some weird and cool filters, but it doesn't sound as lush and enormous as the MicroQ. If the MicroQ allowed me to make my own wavetables, I'd sell the XT. Overall, the MicroQ is as close as I've seen to the perfect synthesizer. Tomorrow's Minimoog. If you see one for sale, get it.

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.

I really like to use this machine because of the parameter matrix which helps You to reach most funktions very fast. Some preset sounds are useful but they are getting more interesting if You start to tweak the parameters. I never felt the need for a patch editor with this device.

I use it as a solo synth and therefore the polyphony is enough but it can also be expanded by a special card. The onboard effects are ok and easy to use if You play only the first four multi instruments which have their own effects (I personally don't use more instruments). Otherways You have to rout the additional sounds through the first four effect blocks. Full midi capabilities in both directions.

This instrument can play very strange sounds but also nice arpeggio themes. I can really recommend it for all kinds of electronic music.

I never had a problem with it.

I never needed support.

I would buy it again because it is not too expensive and it really a Q synth in a little box but with a very intelligent user interface.

Its not the best, but then I would have got the Q if I wanted more nobs and stuff. It does however have enough controls to do a good job on budget

I like the Mod matrix, its very versatile. There is a certain lack of data input, I don't think that using MIDI SyEx data does the trick very well, also it might just be me but it loses synch on transfer sometimes. But for the price I paid I got more than I expected.

Unsurprisingly it does a german house style very well, but then Waldorf do do good hard sounds. It can produce very good sounds when you work at it and find all the little things in the menus.

Mine has a tendancy to throw loads of Delay on everything from time to time, this can be solved by turning the delay to bypass and touch the power then restore the original sound. It only does it when I have been editing, and only once in a while.

Sorry, never used it.

I use OS 2.14 (latest at the moment) and the menu and knob matrix makes it easy to handle even with those view knobs. The presets are very mixed styles but there are quite some nice soundsets downloadable at the Waldorf page. Creating or editing patches needs some synth knowledge and for newbies (but also pro's) I recommend the very good mQknobs editor from www.mixedmodemusic.de - it makes editing much better and provides a great overview of all settings. The mQ manual provides lots of infos also for newbies and there are addendums available for later OS versions.

The polyphony is enough for everyday use. At least 5-7 sounds can be played at the same time (using a normal song). When using unisono sounds or thick pads you rather go for the 75 voice upgrade which should be available soon (hopefully). The FX section is georgious! Chorus, Phasers, Overdrive, Delay and a great sounding reverb. Unfortunately only available on one FX routing (the mQ has 2 FX routings). The mQ is expandable to 75 voices and OS uprages are available frequently. The overall features are very good imo.

Dont expect realistic sounds from the microQ! But the synth sounds are very, very fat and it goes perfectly for dance! (maybe check out the dance soundset at the Waldorf page) But the factory sets show that it can do lots of other styles as well. (hiphop, jazz, pop, rnb, etc.) The modulation sources are very sophisticated and lots of expression aids are available (aftertouch, modwheel, and many more)

The overall sound is great! It is comparable with SuperNova, Virus, JP8080 and other VA synths but imo the microQ is a little beast that can do very fat sounds.

Absoulutely reliable, never let me down.
> Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
Would you drive a formular 1 racecar without a helmet?

Their user forum is unique! People help out quickly and there is even help available from Waldorf staff.

Upgrades are available online.

If I would lose my whole studio the microQ and my sampler would be the first things I would buy at the first day. My studio exists for a few years and I own SuperNova, Virus, microQ, JV1080, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Waldorf Pulse, BassStation, some other synths and drummachines and lots of FX.

Facit: If you have an editor like mQknobs it makes the fattest sound you can imagine.

Hello gang. I'd just like to say, this micro Q is fairly easy to use once you get a grip on it. It's not the mindless pleasure of twisting knobs on a nord lead or jp 8080 though, it requires some thought.
I wonder if this is due not because of the interface but the deep architecture?
Once you find where all the functions lay you can get quite artful in integrating FM and Wavbetable's and Combfilters with traditional analog subtractive sounds. Figuring out how to do this effectively requires a slightly steeper learning curve of course.
Beyond that the matrix editing is a snap. Though its one more thing to think about that in the heat of the moment can be a drag.

The synthesis offered here is unbeatable at this price currently.
This synth has 25 voices, but if your like me you used the comb filter and FM a lot and that amount of voices can get dynamically allocated into a more humble 12, or the lowest possible amount...6.
It is 16 parts multi timbral, that is excellent
Its architecture, with all those cool filters, lfo's, modulation matrix, Analog modeled and wavetable oscilators, fm, 3 oscilators and 2 sub oscilator, 4 envelopes, 3 lfo's yada yada on and on...
This is the big daddy. Its modulation capabilities are beyond both Novations and Accesses synths.
What this thing sorely lacks though are quality effects. if you want that all in the same box you might want to check out Novations synths wich are very nice as well.

This can certainly sound like an analog synth. It was modeled on waldorfs pulse, and if you build up a patch just using the low pass filter and analog modeled oscilators doing a garden variety bass or lead it will sound analog.
But many of the presets, and my own patches as well make use of some of its other things, namely the comb filter and FM.
Subtly integrating these and messing with the mod. matrix you work your way to more digital sounds.
The effects are there, they are disapointing and I never use them.
If you want a synth with effects look elsewhere.
And also if your buying this without trying it extensively first(shame on you ;-)
Make sure its what you really want. It has its own unique identity and some people may not like it.
personally I prefer the Q over most synths.
To me its oscilators are lively, its filter is silky smooth with a liquidic sheen.
As has been mentioned it can sound uncannily like a waldorf pulse...though this synths sounds are more clean then an analog sound.
Its sonic integrity really cant be touched, you wont find any aliasing here.

Its certainly a sturdy piece of gear. I havent really had much trouble with bugs either. I would use this anytime anywhere any place.
But as far as the voices dynamic allocation goes, that can be a pain.
Its nice to know no matter what sound you use that you have 16 notes like on the big q, so you dont have to worry about that when working out an arrangement.
But I really havent had any problems with it overall. I cant complain.

Waldorf has support with a human touch. Check out their mailing list on the waldorf homepage. They seem like a great group of fellows, and have a positive presence on the list.
Os updates are frequent, and they are not some evil corporation that abandons their product line of crappy groovebox's, these guys care about quality synthesis.

I love this synth. I only wich I would have waited and gotten a Q rack instead.
If you think your going to fall in love with the Q wait and get a Q rack.
But personally I am not rich, and this was the best bargain I could find for a great sounding instrument.
if you want a synth thats the heart and soul of your set up... the Q is it. The micro Q offers much of what the Q does, at a fraction of the price.
And sometimes I am lazy and wish I had a synth with built in efx, this has them, But theyre not even worth using.
Overall I'd buy this again, sure, but as a Q rack...

0S 1.0: This was my very first hardware synth and I barely new much of anything about the VA's when I first picked one up. Havingspent some time with it, and learning a great deal about synthesis all the while, I can honestly say its very easy to program even with the 4 knobs. The layout on the front panel (parameter matrix) is contructed very intuitively, so as the user can access any parameter he or she wants with just a touch of scrolling. Editing is fun once you spend a couple days with it and figure what button does what, and the manual is detailed and VERY well written. Programming is definetly NOT a concern for this synth.

25 voices soon to be expanded to 75 but why? 25 is most certainly enough for even the most complex of patches. The effects are a little dull and OK at best, best to have an onboard effects proccessor with this if you really want them...Flanger isn't to bad though, the chorus doesnt have enough kick to it though, very dull, but this makes no difference as a good effects processor will probably be your best choice for any of the analogue synths. Arpeggiator functions seem fantastic although I have barely used them. 16 part multi timbrality is all you'll need, midi in out thru is pretty much standard...Built in 25 band Vocoder just makes some other synth users who didn't get this jealous! Haven't delved into that yet as well but here its top quality. If the effects were somewhat powerful I would have definetly given this a ten but.

Don't buy this machine trying to emulate a real piano or anything even semi real for that matter. The presets on this baby are a delight to the ear, some are probably very useful as well. 20 drum kits provide VERY NICE electro/trance drums, good hi hats, bass drum, etc. etc. Bass can get very fat and very very punchy indeed. Soaring darkwave pads, warm sweeps, filters are just a delight to work with on this as well...Can get cold, dark, strange,bright, chimey, whatever you want it to be...the modulating capabilities are virtually endless, great sounds for techno/industrial darkwave...sound quality is top notch...

Very solid synthesizer, haven't had a problem, very reliable.

Haven't dealt with any Waldorf people yet but judging from there web site and Manual they seem very down to earth and customer oriented people.

I sold mine because I'm a synth newbie and needed something with a sequencer, I miss it very much so and plan on buying another one in the relatively near future. The word here is Versatile, and this synth is just one quality beast in providing you with everything you could possibly want at a low low price...The wavetable synthesis it introduces is quite amazing and very respectable, if your a VA kid like me you can't afford to not have this in your line up... A very inspiring synth, if you have trouble with its lack of knobs just get a knob box...