Waldorf Pulse

Easy if you know analog synth programming.

Like a mini with extra mod options. The CC messages for every parameter are handy. I have a few stock sounds and tweak em with CC commands to get all the variation I need.

Aye, here's the rub. I do an authentic 80s sequenced gig (meaning real analog synths), I have a TX802 to do all the Yamaha digital, an MKS-70 for the Roland sounds, a Matrix 1000 for the Obie/Prophet sounds and an Akai S3000XL for drums and samples (and a QS 61. for a keyboard/Rompler sounds/sequence playback.) What's missing? Bass synths - ideally a Pro One (digga 1/8th note bass) AND a Minimoog (Madonna bass etc). Except I only have 3 rack spaces left in my 12 space rack. What to do?

So I tried a Bass Station Rack ($250). Sloppy/slow envelopes, limited mods and waveforms. But it SOUNDED great on the stuff it did well, the VA waveforms really were rich and the filter was lovely and warm.

It died, so I thought I'd move up a notch to the Pulse ($500). Sure it's more versatile, but when I listed to recordings of the old Bass Station, when it did shine, it sounded significantly better - richer, thicker etc. My MKS 70 also sounds richer and thicker on bass parts that it can do (Take My Breath Away....).

So I'm OK with it, BUT I'm not thrilled. It does Madonna Moog bass the best, the Pro One sounds (ie: Curtis chips)just don't cut it. Damn German mentality, everything has to be squeaky and clean. The filter especially could do with some dirt. And I don't mean input distortion.

Also there is (at least on mine) an unpleasant click when you open the filters up fast, quantizing I guess.

I will be looking for something else going forward, though I don't think I have many options.

Built very well. Haven't had it long enough to judge the other stuff.

????

I would not buy another one out of choice. I probably would have to go VA to get everything I want at the $500 price point. Perhaps one of those rack mount Moog clones (though that's $1K minimum).

I never should have sold my SH101 and Pro one waaaay back then...

v2.01
the presets aren't the best but who uses presets anyway?
Editing is a breeze, it would be nice to have a knob for every function, if this was the case this machine would stand a chance at tons of glory.

1 note, three osc's, two lfo's, extensive midi CC's control. four part matrix modulation for some modular esq programming. I've seen some idiots on here say this had DCO's or say it's virtual analogue, brother, it's just not true! Keyboard Magazine messed up their review saying it had dco's and the next month they retracted this and posted a letter from waldorf saying "the only thing that is Digitally controlled is the Pulse width modulation" The Oscillators are VCO's. Also to the guy who said this is a VA. and claimed how much more analogue his juno 60 is then this, I have a juno 60 w midi and had a juno 6 for many many years too, Juno's have DCO's (digitally controlled osc's) all you are doing is confusing potential users of this synth. So, either take a electronics class or do your homework, it's as absurd as the guy who told me how he liked yamaha fm synth because it was a great analogue. learn it or quit confusing the other newbies with false information.
I'm only giving this a 5 cause I would rather have had 99 patches I could write to instead of all the presets I don' use what so ever, a memory card of expansion could have saved the day.

very nice and expressive, with some programing or good pitch bend/mod/porta technique this can be rocked out in a very moog like way. I do sadly feel the filters aren't as warm and gritty as my old mini-moog or even my sonic 6. but this machine can do wonders with a good imagination. the matrix mod can keep things fresh.

never had even 1 problem with it, very reliable. I wouldn't play a show without backups, regardless of how reliable the machine was.

never had to call on them

bought this new when os 2.01 came out, if anything happened to it I'd get another one. I have $80,000 worth of recording and musical equipment from old vintage to modern wonders. This is a great synth for the value and has it's own special place in the studio.

V2.01 is the later Pulse and has (like the Plus) MIDI syncable LFO's and improved arpeggiator and chain function to stack more than one Pulse for a polyphonic monster.
40 user presets is a bit stingy but not a major problem the ROM presets are very generic prog rock styli but the random preset is alomst worth the money alone for endless stero analogue weirdness, who needs a VCS3?
The prgramming matrix is usable but not as nice as having a knob for each function but all parameters respond to regular MIDIcc and using a preset on a Doepfer Drehbank unlocks most parameters but you do loose the parameter reading using it this way so its best keeping the easy functions on an external controller and doing fine adjustments from the panel.
Manuals simple and easy to understand.

Probabbly one of the best featured modern true analogue MIDI monosynths out there.
3 VCO with cross modulation and sync(great for leads and strange clangs).
Four way mod matrix.
Full MIDIcc control.
Stereo panning as a mod desination.
Nice arpeggiator.
Random patch generator.
Most useful common modulation routings already patched like velocity to cutoff and volume.

Not a vintage sound but still has plenty of analogue balls that holds its own with the rest of them.
The filter overdrive has a very even range to give a huge pallet of sounds from just a single 24db LPF. Shame its not a multimode but I suppose you can't have everything. The resonance can steal little too much volume when cranked up but the filter tracks perfectly so you can make the self oscillation into a harmonic overtone, try that on a battered old Moog. You can almost get a nice 303 acid sound (without the decay) by having one VCO at low volume and assigning the right amount of velocity to volume/VCF envelope/resonance/cutoff.
The two digitally controlled envelopes are sharper than any analogue I've tried (2600, 4voice, Memorymoog, MS20, SH101)and have a range of triggering modes to suite any style.
Good range of rich n' raw analogue sounds across the spectrum although this is a modern German analogue so it can sound very precise and controlled but this isn't always a bad thing.

Can get the occasional stuck note but this maybe more down to the stuff I'm using it with.

Never needed it.

A modern MIDI monosynth and by far the best 2nd hand analogue bargin out there with a beefier analogue clout than its nearest rivals the Evolver (which is a different beastie altogether) ad the Superbasstation (easier to use but no where near on features) but for the same price a half decent vintage analogue you could buy all three anyway.
If you want that true analogue edge to your sound that your softsynths or VA's can't quite reach but don't want to shell out loads for a quirky unreliable 20yr old vintage then this synth should be 1st on your 'must buy' list just put a little aside for a decent MIDI controller if you haven't alreay got one.

I found this very easy to use within an hour of purchasing it second hand for ??50 (jealous?). although I am very new to synth jargon and learning new things everyday, this taught me more in an hour of tweaking than any other synth I have played with.

I didn't know anything about it when I bought it, and was a little disapointed when I found it was only mono not polyphonic. but when I began to play my disapointment vanished.
The previous owner left some nice sounds saved on it and makes for more interesting tweaking.

I don't know why but it sounds different whether i'm controlling it with my CS1x or a microkorg! could it be to do with the difference in keys sens of the conroller? as I say i'm still learning.
anyway the sounds that this thing creates are as simple or as complex as you like and the arpegiator is excellent and very responsive.

seems like a sturdy box, but the knobs seemed alittle bouncy.

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I love it, and have used it for many bass sounds and messed up noises in my music. If I lost it somehow I would probably source another.

I cannot believe that certain reviewers of this machine are saying its a virtual analogue synth and in the same breath talk about its sound....This synth is all analogue and a deaf man on acid would be able to hear that it is analogue and not virtual.
I used to take notice of what people said on this forum especially the epressive sounds bit but now I realise that some are just clueless and would not know a decent synth if it came up to them and chewed their gonads.

THIS IS AN ANALOGUE MACHINE AND SOUNDS ANALOGUE BUT THE OSCs DO lack the warmth of some other analogues and can sound a bit clinical but at the end of the day it still rocks.

i am using software version 1.3

the presets have suffered some unfair criticism. i think they demonstrate that this is not just another tb303 sound-alike and offer an insight into the wierder end of the modulation capabilities.

very easy to use (in a synth tech kind of way). the controls are logically laid out and i was creating great patches within five minutes of switching the pulse on.

polyphony is excellent (1 voice)!

the midi capabilities are also great - i love the arpeggiator and the fact that every editing paramater can be accessed via CCs.

this is the pulse's raison d'etre - as it should be for all synths.

i have an sh101 and a bass station and i have to say that the pulse sounds the best by a significant margin. it can provide a much broader range of sounds than both of those units and also has a distinct presence in the mix (which the SH101 has, but not to the same extent). fantastic lead and bass sounds are available in abundance, but so are strange modular style groans, hoofs and clangs.

having three oscillators is great!

if i had to keep just one of my monosyths, it would be the pulse. for the price they are going for right now, it is a bargain. sometimes when i buy a piece of music gear i know it will not be in my set-up for long (eg roland r8, novation drum station, mc202, casio cz5000, behringer mixer). the pulse definitely does not fall into this category and i cannot imagine a time when i will want to part with it (see also: sh101, tr808).

it does chunky basses, searing leads and horrible atonal whale song clanking. it has none of the reliability issues of older gear and costs very little at the moment. what more do you want from a monosynth?

you have to bump around the interface a little to edit the pulse but it's very straight forward, with a logical layout and sturdy knobs.

at first, the pulse appears to be fairly meat and potatoes, but the filter matrix makes the sounds very tweakable---you really need to know a bit about synthesis to appreciate the full capabilities of the pulse though.

incredibly fat and punchy sound capabilities here. for bass and some leads this box is really amazing. not for everyone---but very unique and flexible. sits very well in mixes.

so far so good.

waldorf is no more. I would assume support to be limited.

I used the pulse for 95 percent of the sounds on my latest disc: [http://cdbaby.com/cd/boyeats]. when tweaked it mixes great with sounds both analog and digital alike. if you know some synth basics and are patient enough to edit patches you might really love this synth.

Version 2.01

Editing this thing manual isn't too bad. Paging through the menus does suck though... This things is really neat to have and gig conventiently all in a rack but if this thing had knobs and sliders it'd be a lot easier to create sounds with it. However, once you get over that, I'd say it's pretty easy to use, and very easy to figure out how to use. The only real pain is just pushing that button a lot, but compared to something like a Micro q, which I thought Really, really was not fun to try and edit via the small interface, the pulse is pretty easy.

Features are good for a monosynth. The mod matrix rocks. At first I was just learning about analog syntheseizers when I got this thing so I really underutilized it, but once I started messing around with it I discovered a whole new world to this thing.

The sounds are really good. I also have an Sh-2 and I've been trying to compare the sounds between them. The Sh-2, I think sounds a little more "rough", like it really cuts through the air, and the pulse sounds a little more like liquid (if those are at all understandable terms to use), but both of them produce excellent sounds. Sometimes I think one sounds a little better in a certian mix than the other. In retrospect though, I probably would have been fine to just use the pulse as my one monosynth. It's basses are great, and the high end can be really pretty too. We use this for noisey industrial, and it has that stuff down pat.

I've never had any problems with this, live or in the studio. It is very reliable.

never had to use the customer support, though I found the website helpful. The users manual in English, incidently, can be found at:

http://waldorf.electro-music.com/pulse/docs/pulse_manual_v2_0_eng.pdf

This thing rocks. A lot. If my Sh-2 was ever destroyed or stolen I'd probably not bother trying to get a new one, I'd just stick with this. I've used this thing in about every song I've written, and it's been really great to have. The combination of analog sound + extensive control & memory storage is better here than on any other analog synths I've found.

V. 2.01. Don't use the preset sounds: they're really awful. I'm used to program sounds with the mod matrix and, after 3 months, it was really easy to program. Of course it would be easier and faster with an editor but i just can't find one for mac os 9. Anyway, every function of the pulse has a midi CC and I created a console with all the pulse functions in digital performer, which is very handy for programming the sound while listening to your track.

Monophonic with 3 oscillators (the pulse + can replace osc3 by an external sound) it has a lot of possibilities due to the 3 oscillators, the matrix modulation (14 sources and 14 destinations), 2 enveloppes (these enveloppes can really change the character of your sound, especially for the basses, so don't hesitate to experiment with the decay and the sustain). The arpeggiator is fun, especially if you alternate legato and non legato notes, depending also in the trigger mode of the pulse.

Really great basses : digital, analog, acid, dub... Tremendous low end punch. You can even program a bass who sounds like an electric bass.
Great leads, acid lines, FX...
It can sound digital or analog but always very precise.

I have a problem that I can't solve : sometimes when there's a program change during the track, the sound of the pulse is modified.

Never used the customer support. I'm just sorry that Waldorf desappeared, their synths are fantastic.

It sounds really good in a mix. If it was stolen I would buy another one. I make almost all my basses with it (and they all sound different from one to one).

Although the interface is simple in concept, practically it is less than ideal. One button moves in a sequence through the various parameters; if you overstep one, you have to go all through the rest to get to where you want to be. Getting a midi box of some sort would definitely be an asset.

It has a superb arpegiator, and the mod matrix allows virtually everthing to modulate anything.

Bound to be a classic. Cuts like nothing else except perhaps a Prophet 5 or a Jupiter 6 in unison mode. At times it sounds on the grungy side, but can be smooth and buttery as well. Very tangy on the top end, and certain tonalities, especially whith a pulse wave, sound very sweet and sonorous. I had my girlfriend and my mother listen to it, and compare the lead sound on the Rob Papen web site, to a Yamaha CS60, and they both prefered the Pulse. I agree with them. Sometimes this obsession with all things vintage and VCO can blind people to the eternal verities of what sounds just plain good. Some people say its not fat or that its sterile. I disagree strongly. Because it has a form of digital control (although oscillators themselves are wholly analog) it sounds tighter than true VCOs yet is very rich and its general density of sound, is way fat, due to its 'discrete' circuitry.

Seems pretty well built, except for perhaps the knobs that have a cheapie plastic feel. Mine has a problem with noise that cuts in when adjusting the master volume-don't know if they are prone to this or not.

Waldorf I hear, is sadly defunct.

Unique and powerful. Perhaps It does'nt 'sing' like a Moog, but has its own very musical qualities that make it definitely in the same league. Some don't care for the sound of its oscillators and filters, but some aren't crazy about the delicate sound of the Mini either. Like the Mini, the Pulse demands full marks.