Waldorf Q

As i have had this synth since 2000, it is only with time i have seen features that i might miss on the Q, like individual knob LCDs on the Korg Kontrol49, or lit pot markers like Nord Lead 3, and USB editing/storage.

The signal flow of the knobs is still my favorite on any synth, and the frequency cutoff knob is in the perfect position for me being more or less in the middle so you can tweak it while chording with either hand. Being red too it is easy to find. The multitimbral part selection is sensible and having 16 parts is awesome on such a great sounding synth.

Ive always liked Waldorfs program storage and saving utilities, and of course the random patch function is always fun. A bigger screen would always be desirable, but its got heaps of knobs so I guess i saved myself some money on what was already an expensive new synth.

Running OS 3.02. I did have a couple of crashes back in OS 2 land, but I cant remember any in last few years. Waldorfs manuals are typically good, although i only ever got a preliminary copy of the manual due to the early hardware version i got - but easy enough to reference to a pdf off the web so no big deal and cant really be bothered to print one out. You dont really need a manual with this once you have the basics sorted as the most important stuff has a knob for every function anyway.

16 note polyphony, 16 part multitimbral. Its "lack" of polyphony is probably only noticable due to having so many possible parts, I often use 10 or more parts at a time in connection with logic, running of an AMT-8. So now and then its possible to hear a pad chord shutting off early with full sections or complicated sounds, but I believe some work was done to ensure as subtle as possible note stealing, and this is the case to my ears. All i dream of is finding a 16 voice expansion card for this one day - I do hope the new waldorf would consider a run or at least have a 3rd party make them.

I have one Q card, which is full again... I made myself a master set of 300 sounds choosing from all the 1000 or so available patches on the waldorf site, all within Logic using no librarian software. Its ok but I would much prefer USB management like on the newly proposed Stromberg, and as is common on the new range of Korg synths for example.

The keyboard is action is perfect. It is absolutely a fantastic master keyboard for my midi suite with big solid rubber modulation and pitch wheels that i feel will outlast my lifetime.

Built in FX are certainly usable, and work well in a mix, but not really standing out to impress. Not as flexible as they could be in some cases but having an extra delay and reverb never hurts, especially with so many parts to work with.

I never use the sequencer or even arpeggiator outside of auditioning sounds - but then im a midi freak and have always prefered software sequencing.

I have been synthing for about 10 years now, and am currently working with Nord and Korg keyboards at work. This Q is my favourite synth. The more experimental sounds can truely show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Modulation sources everywhere. Some of the best sounds can be achieved to a level where one press of a key will take you on a musical journey over minutes with endless variation and always with the totally inspiring quality to the sound. Some of the slow sub bass wanderings absolutely blow my mind often providing a surplus of goose pimples.

Nothing else i have played has this absolute charm and ability, with the interface to match and eye pleasing and well executed. It just invites you to play and experiment, and it gives me what i am aiming to achieve.

Using SPDIF out, all detail is captured in perfect quality and is always completely impressive.

It is absolutely reliable. I dont feel the jacks sockets on the back are really "stage" strength, but fine for studio - unless like me you manage to stand on a cable where it meets the floor and do damage.

Its never had a fault, except for one of the jack sockets being broken off the circuit board by me as described above. Waldorf were alread kaput by then so i had it fixed by a good local technitian. No worries.

I would buy another if I could - although i dont think i could settle for anything less the the same blue nextel paintjob - its perfect. The new phoenix version seems to a close contender for looks - especially with the new color LCD as shown in design pictures, but the old waldorf nextel paint just has a look and texture which is pleasing to me. Next to my nextel XT and Q, my gloss Rack Attack looks positively cheap.

Been doing sequenced music for about 10 years. Other synths I own are microwave XT, Rack Attack, Ensoniq ASR-X and Novation Nova. I had the Nova boxed away for some years, but have got it out again to provide some more texture. The Q always sounds so fat and amazing, its nice to have the Nova for a less dense timbre in the mix to provide contrast. The Q stands out and having 16 parts means i can get many sounds in every piece.

I really do love this keyboard. It cost more than i could afford, but it never disappoints. Everytime i sit down at it i manage to get some magic out of this machine, or impress myself more than the previous time. I have the original blue nextel with stained wood ends - It is absolutely beautiful from a visual perspective, and that makes me happy to spend so much time with it. Id love more voices, but its not the end of the world, especially as note stealing isnt something that troubles me often and the smooth and musical way the Q handles this anyway.

A wish list might be USB for librarian/editor, larger screen, Nord 3 style marked pots, and analogue filters without that gross Q+ crimson color... But it is a complete synth as it is with a top quality feel and sound so I never find myself lamenting on anything missing.

Ive only marked it down because of the massive price when it was new but i can never see myself selling my Q it is a musical instrument with a sound arsenal that will never get tired.

Very easy. I'm using OS 3.02 with the PPG filter. It is intuitive, and there are lots of knobs that don't cause nasty jumps in the sound when they're turned. It's a complex synth, but I can't imagine all this complexity getting much easier. There are some menus, but there isn't enough space on a keyboard this size for every contol in the Q's engine. I use Q Manager X for Mac OSX which is a great librarian, and I've never felt the need for a patch editor. The manual is fine, and the presets are great. They show off the enormous range of possibilities with this synth, but it would be a crime to own a Q and not program your own sounds.

16 voices might seem a little slim by today's standards, but it's fine. Lots of great music has been made on synth with fewer voices. Effects are very good, memory cards are expensive on eBay and not really necessary, MIDI is easy...it's all good. The power cord is weird--it must be popular in Germany because Viruses use them, too. Go to Radio Shack and get a spare. The build quality is fantastic with one exception: the jacks in back are not bolted to the frame, so they feel a little less than rock solid. Just pay attention when plugging or unplugging things and you'll be fine. There are actually little holes there, so maybe other Qs do have their jacks bolted to their frames. I don't know, but it's not a huge deal.

Every good thing in the previous reviews is true. This synth is a monster. It can sound convincingly analog, bitingly digital, modern or retro, fat and tubby or razor thin, or all of this at once. Incredible. It ties with the Prophet VS as my all-time favorite synth, and it's MUCH more flexible than the Prophet. The Q would be my desert island synth.

It's six years old or so and has given me no trouble at all. It's built like a bomb shelter (except for the rear panel jacks, but that's OK).

I hear that Waldorf is back in business, but nothing has come of it yet. I hope they're able to continue making great synths. Until then, there are lots of web resources for the Q because people who own one are so passionate about them.

This is an incredible synth. I have the original Wave-blue model with the yellow panel graphics--it's gorgeous. I actually sold a Virus TI at a loss to get one. The Virus has a slightly more powerful synth engine and a lot more computer-related features, but the Q has a lot more personality. The Virus sounded too generic to me, for lack of a better word. Maybe its just because you hear them all over the place in electronica, played by people who don't bother to edit the presets. The Q, on the other hand, has a unique sound. Not as analog as a Micron, but it shouldn't be considered a virtual analog anyway--it's too powerful and individual to be limited by that label.

I love the sound, the endless knobs, the incredibly powerful synth engine, the wavetables, the number of front-panel controls, and the looks. I don't hate anything about it, but I wish it had more wavetables, user wavetables, a USB port, and 76 heavier keys. I also have a V-synth XT, a Prophet VS rack, a Micron, and an S-90, and the Q easily holds its own in my collection.

Using the latest release (V3.2 I think), and there don't seem to be any hassles with it (but a few cool functions in comparison to older versions, so you might check which version you got). And in case you're wondering, it's the old model (in aggressive yellow).

Well, "ease of use"...this is a rather complicated device, a big mighty synth, so with something like 56 dials on the panel and lots of knobs and LEDs, you wouldn't expect it to be extremely intuitive...

Still, Waldorf have come up with a quite logical design for the front panel, so you will quickly find your way around here, at least if you've ever worked with an analogue synth before. The display is a two-line backlit LCD, which might seem a little bit tiny, but this only comes to carry in very few specific situations. On the other hand, you got lots of LEDs to display e.g. the LFO phase, which is a great plus.

In some case, the menu structure seems unnecessarily cumbersome to me, but that might be just me.

Big variety of preset choices, some very high quality.

OK, I won't write about all the features, because I guess everyone has already listed them, and you can look them up on the website; instead, I'll list the most important ones:

* great keyboard: this is the best synth keyboard I know, period. Great for some expressive playing.

* MIDI clock handling: a great feature is to set it up to sync to MIDI clock if it gets one, use its own when there is no clock on the MIDI in, and in every case export the tempo used on MIDI out. Great.

* audio input: an external audio in can be fed into the engine and run through filters, envelopes, effects and whatnot.

* Lots of dials, knobs and LEDs: everyone playing analogue gear knows what I'm talking about. Plus, you still find place on the panel to put a Nord MicroModular.

* two pedal/CV and one footswitch in

* outstanding tuning features

* surround 5.1 capabilities

* looks cool

The thing is somewhat noisy. The noise appears both on the analogue outs and on the S/PDIF.

That being said: great. With its combination of a powerful analogue subtractive style architecture and basic wavetable capabilities, you get about everything in the analogue or more spacey analogue direction. The very flexible and characteristic (they even got a PPG mode!) filters add their own to it, and the effects are very useable in the context.

What it won't do properly is things like acoustic pianos and the like (but you've already guessed that, haven't you?)

Looks very sturdy to me. I never go anywhere without a backup. Recently, I had some issues with the rotary encoders sometimes not working properly (all of them), perhaps it's a SW issue, perhaps a general uC problem, don't know.

Never dealt with them - they went out of business a few years ago.

Obviously, the company has recently reappeared, so there might even be a chance to get support/repairs...

what you get here is a cool-looking, analogue-sounding synth with a little bit of digital edge if you want it. Outstanding keyboard, powerful yet intuitive synth engine and lots of dials, that is the thing when you want to stand there just letting a note sound, turn dials and see what happens. A set of (only two) effect processor gives you a very finished sound on the outs, with the only drawback of the sound being that its somewhat noisy. And you can feed your own audio sources into the machine.

If you want something like that - get it. There doesn't seem to be a better choice around.

Just installed 3.02, crashed during install once, but tried again and it worked flawlessly...Did a sys ex dump at 15BPM. Loading soundbanks seems best to be done through an actual sequencer, and Cubase SX3 seems to be the one for that, works perfectly, Bank managers can do it, but aren't as reliable for this.
The synth is fantastically easy to use, I only just got one, and still am learning the ins and outs.

16 Voices, monkey spanking multi timbral monster. 'Nuff said.

Amazingly amazing

Yes, precision German engineering at its finer stage.

Ummm....Waldorf have been abduscted by aliens

OS 2.16 (rack vers.)Manual not so good :)
This machine is very easy to use , edit and etc. because the lot of knobs ( like an any typical VA synth ). If you have some Clavia synths or Novation or... :) by now you will have no problems with this one.

16 voices - for this one is more than it needs.
Know nothing about keys....and don.t interested in any expansions
(if any expansions present into nature) , for i.m used (fooling with it) it only for a short period of time .

It can sounds sharp and agressive ( after i sodomized some of persets ov course ) and wants to be good for all harsh elektro,but somewhat in this yellow think is very wrong ,
or may be not ? Don.t know... , but i.m always have such feeling when fooling with it.

seems solid.

I have heared about Waldorf that they don.t exist now,
don.t know true it or not because i never dealt with them.

Hmmff.
I think if someone takes it away from me i will loose nothink,
and will not buy another.
At least i love my Korg Ms2000r or NL3 much more stronger against this one.

I'm trying to be honest here, as I have owned my Q for about a year and a half, I bought it new (demo) for #1300 , so it was quite expensive, I initially went in to try out a #2500 Alesis Andromeda,but To be honest, I hate the layout of the A6,maybe its the graphic design of the front panel but to me it just looked too confusing! my eyes drifted to the Q and o.k I knew it was a digital synth, but its layout made total sense and then I played a few presets!! O.K. I'm talking FIRST IMPRESSIONS here, the Waldorf sounded ( dare I say It??) so much better than the andromeda, and frankly everyone w**ks on about analogue being much better than digital etc,I guess this is why people will spend #300 on a sh101 or a juno 106 piece of crap (sold both for big profit myself after 11 years ). Anyway programming of the Q is as easy or as hard as you want, ie its easy to edit some presets to a sound you like , but the mod matrix on this thing is awesome. the single patches you can create are gorgeous, but flip her into multi mode and start layering up some complimentary sounds and this thing blew me away! The sequencer is awsome, but to program, it's not as intuative as I would like it, but that could be just my impatience.

I really like the Keyboard on the Q, its better than the OB12, and I love the action of the OB keys, It is no way as sublime as the keyboard on the Moog Voyager, that is in a different class!! The Fx are good but you really dont need them as much as you do on Novation and Access stuff, as effects seem to be the body of their sounds.

What Can I say, This combined With my Voyager and Microwave1 is all the synthesis I can think I need,the Q has sounds which remind me of when I was a small boy and heard Synths for the first time,making me realize I HAD to find out what this is about!!! I have Sold Roland 101's 303's and juno 106, korg wavestation, Doepfer A100, deep bass nine, all overated synths, championed by the masses and gear mags as 'must have's'

I Have to depend on the Q. So far it has done over 30 gigs with me with no backup. the only thing I can say is that some internal screws (about 4,) came loose and got trapped undeneath the keys and the screen once,and caused the Q to go into a frenzy, as though loads of buttons were being randomly pressed at once!!! during a gig this was not good!! They have now come Out. But god only knows where from!!
She Still works and is built like a tank. Its German!!

Never dealt with Waldorf Directly,but have read numereous postings about the quality of their support, and i am gutted they are now gone.I believe that Waldorf electronics GMBH. were pioneers in their field, and the quality,commitment and vision in what they did as a small company should serve as a lesson to the major synth manufacturers who continue to churn out cheap, plastic, 'in-crowd' groove-machines that are cynically marketed to the young DJ-tastic fraternity!

If I was Stolen, I'd put a 'Jihad on the ass' of the C@@@ that knicked it, as it couldnt be replaced, and you never see one on ebay. Mine is the grey/blue one with wooden side cheeks with orange livery, (never seen another one like it) you usually see the yellow ones or blue with no wood occaisionally.
As I said, I play this live along side a voyager and an Akai Z8 and this beast cuts through live sets with such warmth an clarity. If you see one, dont mess about with a jupiter or andro( yeah, they have the Buzz word 'analogue' but there gonna cost you big time in reliability and Dollars!!) :(

OS v3.02

Presets are fun but there are really so many more options available with this thing than the presets make use of.
Editing patches is a breeze with almost every single feature available with the twist of a knob!
The manual is detailed and straightforward. The Q manual, along with the manual for the Microwave XTk, are the only manuals I have ever read for a synth and actually *enjoyed* reading.

Mine has 32 voices, most come with 16 and since Waldorf threw in the proverbial towel the 32 voice upgrade is no longer available - today I am so incredibly happy that I chose to upgrade the unit when I bought it in 2001. The keyboard feels EXPENSIVE! Sitting down with the Q for a short session is an incredible experience every time. From editing patches to playing with the sequencer and arp to jamming away at the keyboard, the thing is just a work of art. There is an expansion slot in the back of the unit for a small RAM card (I have two), but they're almost impossible to find nowadays, and when they do show up they're often hilariously expensive. Again, I'm happy I bought mine while Waldorf were still around.
The Q has six outputs (three stereo pairs) and one stereo input, which can be split to two mono inputs with a Y-cable (excellent for using dual vocoders with two mics or driving one mic and one guitar through the effects section etc). It also has a digital output, and a CV/trigger input(!). The modwheel and pitchwheel feel incredibly smooth.
There is an onboard step sequencer which can be programmed with pretty much any parameter you want. The synth is of course 16 part multitimbral and setting up a multi or sequencing a song is just as easy as editing patches - simple and intuitive, Waldorf are just the masters at designing interfaces!

Oh God, where do I begin?
The Q is good for... well... everything. You can make just about any kind of sound with this one, from sweeping pads to booming basses to quirky wavetable effects. The three separate LFO's, three OSC's (saw, sine, pulse, tri and 2 wavetables), two filters, subOSC, four envelopes, eight effects processors and an amazing mod matrix makes the possibilities with the Q pretty much endless. Oh yeah, and pretty much everything from oscillators to filter cutoff mods and drive can be FM modulated from everything else, OSCs or LFOs. It's just crazy how much you can get out of the Q! I've used it for everything from emulating plucked instrument sounds to sweeping modulated pads, analogue-style basses and percussion effects, and it excels in every area! There's just no limit to what the Q can do! The LFO's and envelopes together with the mod matrix gives you enormous power to modulate your sounds while you're playing, opening up for all kinds of surprising effects. Still, the Q always does what you tell it to, giving you complete control over your sound.

I've used it live numerous times and it's worked flawlessly every time. I've managed to hang it a few times by sending weird SysEx data from my PC or from other synth gear, and by pulling or inserting MIDI cables while the synth was turned on, but other than that, it's stable as a rock. It's built rock solid, the casing is all metal, no plastic crap, and it'll stand for a hell of a beating. I've handled my Q with a good deal of care, and I definately recommend people take care of their gear, but I wouldn't have a problem bringing my Q to my next gig. Actually, it's the backbone of my live setup.

I exchanged a few mails with the Waldorf team in 2001 when I had my Q upgraded to 32 voices, and a few more in 2003 when I considered selling it and buying a Q+, which never happened due to obvious financial reasons (me + Q+ = personal bankruptcy). They were very friendly and helpful, emailed me OS patches directly and seemed to take a great deal of pride into their work. Ever since I first laid my eyes on the Q, I've had a great deal of respect for Waldorf as a company, and it really hurts that they're gone. They brought the world so much joy with the Wave, Microwave, Pulse and the Q, and they will be sorely missed.

Plain and simple: This is the best synth in the world, ever. Nothing can compare with it. It's got everything you could ever want in a VA synthesizer and then some. Actually, it's not even VA, it's a lot more. It's a virtual analogue, FM, wavetable, additive and subtractive synthesizer AND filterbank and arpeggiator (the most versatile and powerful in the world) and step sequencer all rolled into one. If you're only going to use one synthesizer, make it a Q. You won't regret it. I love my Q to death and if I was allowed to keep only ONE thing in my life, it would be my Q, without hesitation.

3.02 latest

Each synth has it's own philosophy of user interface. Some greater, some poorer. This is my first "virtual analog" I get in it without manual in 20 minutes. Of course, now i sit by this yellow one with one hand on pots an knobs, and other hand on mouse, scrolling .pdf manual :)

You can tweak everything! Its easy, when you are familiar with Waldorf filosophy. Yes, you must know something about Analog synthesis, LFO's, OSC's, filters, e.t.c. I am learning for t now. Listen few demo songs of Q, check out timbres and You should will to learn!!!

My is 16 polypony. I don't know, it's possible somewhere get this expansion slot? I have a Rack version, in role of MIDI controller is my Roland RS - 5. Only minus - it had no aftertouch.

This machine isn't buildt on Earth. There's only 16 bit/44.1 kHz DAC's, but sound is outstanding! Very, very good!

What types of music? Fantastic movie soundtracks! :) I think for all non-acoustic!

Onboard effects - great! fine tweakable!

I bought it on the morning and gig whit it in evening the same day. I spend only few hours to check sounds on it and find some presets, what i need. Sound engeener look at me awhile whith two jack's in hand from DI, - This Yellow had 3 stereo outs! + i digital, similar to main. Perfect in studio!

I don't need a backup on stage. This machine seems good in stability. Of couse, i had MIDI SysEx file in PC.

:( Waldorf exist yet? I don't know.... German site is not working...

But i don't need them. Thanks, Waldorf's guys for good work!

I play this only few weeks, i still learning it and analog sound globaly. I have Roland RS-5 (now - most in MIDI controller role :) But this one has good sounds too!) and Clavia Nord Elecro 2 73.

OS 3.02
This keyboard is a breeze to program with individual knobs for 90% of
the functions. It has a decent manual a lot better than some I've come
across lately.

There are 300 presets, 400 with a Q card that's plenty for most situations. The keyboard has a solid feel to it. Once again with all of those individual knobs you can't ask for any more control over your sound. The built-in Fx are good. I haven't used the sequencer on it so I won't comment. With a little synth knowledge this keyboard is very easy to navigate around.

The Q has a very wide range of sonic capabilites with a
richness that is not matched by my Virus or my Supernova.
I'm amazed everytime I sit down and play this wonderful instrument.
If I thought there was anything out there that was better sounding
I'd have one .... I'm still waiting.

The keyboard is rock solid (German built).
It has not failed me yet.
It has never left my Studio so I won't comment
on whether it's roadworthy or not.

Even with the company in financial difficulty the former employees
still managed to give me a lot of useful information and were quick
to reply to my emails. I rated this an 8 because I would have liked
to get the 32 voice upgrade but there not manufacturing any parts
anymore.

I would not hesitate a minute to buy another one if it got stolen.
It's worth ever penny I paid for it and then some. I wish I could have found the 32 voice version because I can't get enough of the Waldorf sound in my music.

OS 3.02. The unit is somewhere between intuitive, and mildly complex to use. But jumping in and learning is very easy due to the plethora of knobs. If you know synthesis, you'll be off in no time at all.

A patch editor is not needed, as there are tons of nobs and buttons.

The manual is sometimes above average (routing, layout), and at other times uselss as tits on a mule (MIDI).

16 voices. Having 32 would be a big help if you are going to stack it multi.

The FX are between good, and quite good. They take some getting used to, to tweak, that's for sure.

If anyone can find a Q-Card, let me know.

MIDI is probably the most confusing part on this machine. It's under a few sub menus, and the manual is not specific in this area.

The on board sequencer is mostly for fun. Nothing that would replace a computer, nor anything as elaborate as what's on a Kurzweil. But if you're going to go out and have fun, the on board Arpeggiator is fantastic! Hours of fun to be had here!

Here is where the Q shines. The sound on this machine is amazing, grand, gorgeous. It bothers me that it's referred to as "virtual analog". This is hardly a virtual analog machine. Some of the patches on the Q do sound very analog. Others sound very digital. The sound depth, shaping, and dynamics of the Q once you get into it are astounding. It does operate subtractive synthesis, much like an analog synth, but don't stop there. If you want an analog synth, go find a Jupiter-8 or Prophet-5. They sound great, and sound analog all the time. But if you want a fantastic sounding synth, period. The Q is it.

I would define it as a synthesizer, playing music as such. Trance, space, rock, techno, etc. Not really classical (unless you're into Philip Glass type classical, or Vangelis). It's not a sampler. It has drum mapping, but I never use it for that.

The velocity responds very well. The aftertouch is sensitive, and takes some getting use to.

It's built by Waldorf, and buillt extremely well. The power cord is a strange one. If you're gigging, go to Radio Shack and buy a back up. System 3.02 is quite stable. If you buy a Q with an older OS, immediately upgrade it. The bad news is (see next section)...

...Waldor is currently out of business as of 6/2004. If there is good news out of this, it's that almost everyone involved feels that the quality of the company and their staff were so good, they really need to be revived in some way. Expect them to come back.

There is a small army of die hard, proud Waldorf users out there. Even with Waldorf not around to answer questions, look about, you're likely to get some help simply by mentioning that you are a Q owner.

I think what makes more sense would be for me to compare it to it's peers:

Q vs. Access Virus/Indigo - The Virus sounds more analog, more like a Memorymoog, with some awesome fat modulation. The Q sounds like this some of the time. But most of the time it has more depth and variety in it's sounds. If you want VA, buy the Virus, it's a beautiful machine. If you want a mix of all synthesis, check out the Q.

Q vs. Alesis Andromeda/Ion - The Andromeda is analog and sounds it. If you want analog, real analog, don't buy the Q, don't buy the Virus, buy the Andromeda (or an old Jupiter or Prophet). But it is more expensive. The Andromeda will not easily match some of the digital/analog hybrid sounds that the Q outputs. The Ion is a digital, scaled down version of the Andro, and it's price is slightly lower than the Q, but it won't have the depth of the Q. Alesis is also in bankruptcy.

Q vs Oberheim OB12 - Not even close. The Q buries it. The OB will produce a few fat, synthy brasstring sounds that are very Oberheim. Other than that, the Q has more to offer by far.

Q vs Korg MS2000 - Same problem as the OB12. I actually like the OB12 better than the Korg.

Q vs Roland JD-800 or JP8000. The Rolands are older, but were very nice VA synths, one of the first with a lot of nobs. You might be able to pick up a used JD-800 AND a JP8000 (or 8080) for the cost of a Q, and that would be a worthy buy if you like the Roland sound.

Don't buy the Q expecting a Kurzweil, a Triton, or a V-Synth. It doesn't work like that. It's not a PPG either (buy a Mircrowave XTk if you want that), though it does have wave tables of sorts. The Q is a unique beast. To say it's VA, or even analog/digital hybrid sells it short, because it's so very programmable, and it's sound is so diverse. If you're looking for a great synthesizer, give the Q a serious look.