Waldorf Microwave 2

The synth is a little more complex than a normal virtual analog ,if u want to use the machine at 100% you need a pc editor (soundiver or soundtower).
It's also the best solution for to manage the wavetables and import new waveforms in the users locations.

Rack version, poliphony 10 voices , effects and arpeggiator sections are basilars but efficients.
The filter section is very good and powerful
...13 modes, 24 db/12db lp , bp ,hp waveshaper, fm filter and more.
The filter resonance are excellent and sweeping.
The keyboard response is good and fluid.
Some problem using the pc editor via midi or using pc sequencer when
u try to overload Midi channels.
(the Micro crash down or petrify!).

The sound make great this machine!!
No realistic sounds (excluded organs ,bells ,guitar and others sounds emulable with fm synth tipical taste )but the possibilities of wavetables are very huge.
You could emulate analog synth mix down the waveform that u could
create from yourself or import from samples or create unimitable strange sounds and efx.
The machine is perfect for electro, ambient , trance , progressive and more.
It required some notions about waveforms ,harmonics and frequencies for to use at 100% the possibilities of the wawetables syntheis but the results are notables.
The flavor of the sound is clear, crystalline, sometime metallic
but the emulations of vintage synth could be unexpected warm and full.
The waveform or wavetable that u use for to generate the sound
can have a big range of frequency combinations.
This is the power of this machine and the reason that ake this synth inimitable.

metallic case ...no problem!

no thanx!

The machine sound great and is really a "must have"!
But the 10/10 is only for xt version! knobs and delay effects make the difference!
(sorry for my little shit english! ;o) )

The interface is ok. You can edit or create patch easely. I use a midi realtime controler but also work without it sometimes. The presets are not really good. It's a lot better when you create your owm. The manual is not bad but not for beginers. This synth is not for beginer anyway.

I get exactly what I need. The + are the modifiers and the modulation matrix if you know how to use it. The sequencer is usefull for editing. No headphone jack and the wall wart sucks.

It sounds great, unique. You can reproduce the sound of a cat locked in a firehouse or a broken television within a few minutes. The filters are excellents. This thing has a very large audio bandwidth so you can create very low or high frequencies. I use it for experimental music and it is perfect.

Will buy the xt version if broken or stolen. The software has bugs. It needs a headpohone jack. A great buy for the price.

Within the first 10 minutes of having this unit, I was on my way to programming my own sounds!! The preset patches within the MW2 are already killer, too! The manual is pretty comprehensive.

No keyboard on the 2U rack unit, polyphony of 10 voices, nice effects. My unit was already maxed when I got it. The MIDI In and Out were all I needed to get this bad boy up and smoking!! The knobs feel great too, and it is easy to navigate through the parameters.

Great sound quality. Nice and agressive leads, basses, and lush pads. The MW2 is totally flexible, and has a great feel to it, respoding to velocity, the 2 LFO's and envelopes.

Rock solid OS, dependable. Very giggable. In fact I've already played a few with it.

Waldorf Techs rock!!! My unit was a floor model, and the store couldn't find the manual for it. I emailed Waldorf Tech Support, and within hours, I had a reply with links to the PDF version of the manual. Other than that, I haven't had much need for Support, because they make solid products.

Hands down, the Waldorf MicroWave II was one of the best purchases I've made for my rig yet!!

As far as ease of use goes I'd say it's relatively easy to use. A couple of things can be a bit quirky cause if you follow the manual exactly at times you don't see certain settings it references unless you scroll the red wheel (which they don't say to do). But other than that it's pretty straight forward. Patch editing is really easy and only requires a button push or two here and there. The only thing that really bewilders me is why the hell they didn't keep the most frequently used midi controllers set to the "norm". For example... cutoff is usually controller 74 but in the Microwave it's controller 52 (I think). Which mean that I can't just lean over to my JP8080 and control the cutoff through it. The only other thing I must mention is that endless rotary knobs are NOT as good as people make them seem. Yes they're a nice touch but try to sweep the cutoff or reso fast and see what you get! It jumps from 0-127 with just a small turn if you turn it too quick. A pain, but one that can be remedied by using an external controller.

Well, everyone knows the standard features, 10 voice poly, 8 part multi, 256 patches, 128 multipatches, etc. The cool thing is that it's expandable to 30 voice poly. The other cool thing is that the OS is (relatively) frequently updated and it sometimes adds new features. Originally the Microwave 2 didn't have a delay effect but it was added in a later OS. From what I've heard so far the built in effects are quite nice. The arpeggiator is awesome, some nice new patterns other than just up/down types. And for the price this thing is SUPER packed with features. And the ability to load in your own waves is awesome!

Now we're talking... I've seen a lot of people say that the default patches aren't that great but I don't know if these people have downloaded the new factory bank from August 2000. I downloaded it and it is sooooo much better then the ones that were originally in there. These patches are FAT, WARM, and just plainly amazing. The Microwave 2 is great for any type of electronic music. Just go try one out!

Considering I bought mine used (in great condition) that was about a year old it seems rock solid to me.

Never had to deal with them.

Well I love this unit! I would definitely buy it again if I had to. If you have the extra cash go for the XT simply for the controllers (easier to deal with recording the midi info), but if you have other controllers then just get the Microwave 2. But to really understand how awesome this unit is you gotta go try it out!

software v2.14 origional presets pretty boring (im not into arps) newer ones from www are much better. pretty easy editing patches - also good freeware for wavetable editing manual is pretty good, but the one i got was out of date. new one free on the www though

10 note poly 8 multi (news of a 3x upgrade soon!) good effects, wicked filters (check out 12db lp with s&h!!) amazing mod matrix for those who want to program (binary ops, differentiation, s&h, filtering - the most powerful ive ever seen...) usual midi. cool to be able to upgrade os for free.

truly amazing sounds (check out reviews on waldorf website) good for new styles (probably you could just have one of these for techno!) but can turn to anything

only just got it - but looks solid

wicked - v. helpful, instant response via email and good user forum. v busy!

if it was stolen id definately buy it again. its a shame it has no external filter in (like the xt) good that it can be upgraded. waldorf filters are the best.

Software version 2.14. The 256 factory sounds are a good indication of the synth's abilities and you can overwrite them if you want. They are a good starting point for new patches. The 2U module has a big 2 line LCD display and editing from the panel is pretty easy compared to other synth modules that i've owned. The manual is pretty good and I haven't had to refer back to it since the first couple of days.

10 voice 8 part poly. The effects are pretty good but I would have liked delay as well. There are no expansion capabilities, buy another microwave if you want more! The appegiator is great, you can get a whole trance groove happening with a single key press. Check out the factory multi presets for some examples.
The front panel uses encoders instead of pots. I wish more synths had this feature. It really makes tweaking sounds very easy.
This is a modern version of the classic PPG wave. The synth architecture is similiar to most analog synths with 2 DCO, 2 filters (1 resonant), amp env, filter env, 2 LFO, wave env, extra env, 10 modulations and 4 modulation algorithms. A special feature of the MW2 are the wavetable DCOs. You can morph between waveforms and a whole lot more including downloading your own waves or generating waves with algorithms. The wave editing has to be done on a PC and downloaded. There are some free PC programs for wave editing.

You don't buy a microwave to emulate real instruments, and probably not to emulate old analog synths either (but it does come close). Instead you get a synth with electronic sounds that's great for all sorts of techno and electronic music.
I love the sounds. It's fits perfectly into dance and techno mixes and has sounds that I can't get with analog gear.
Do yourself a favour and check one out.

I've heard there are problems with software version 2.14 but I haven't seen any. I use the synth in my studio but wouldn't see any problem taking it on the road.

Waldorf have excellent support. They monitor the mailing list and reply to all questions. The OS is upgraded constantly with bug fixes and new features. I think they really care about their users.

It's now my main synth along with a K2000 and I would buy another if lost or stolen.
I'm really impressed with Waldorf and the MW2. This synth is obviously designed by people who love synths, it has nearly every feature possible without cutting many corners, big LCD display, easy editing, logical architecture, all the knobs are rotary encoders, easy OS upgrading.