Waldorf Largo

[Ingonator]

Yes, sample import would be awesome in Largo, but then we do have that in both PPG and now Nave. What Largo allows the user to do with the samples on hand is just astounding to me, the matrix is just killing it from all perspectives imo. You can tweak for weeks lol!

In Blofeld it is actually more "Sample playback" (like in a Sampler) than "import" while in Nave it is lik re-synthesis that leads to a wavetable. For sending Samples to the Blofeld you need the free "Spectre" tool from Waldorf.

Anyway the Blofeld could also load custom wavetables from e.g. the free "Audio Term" wavetable too and in Audio Term besides loading single waveforms form WAV files or creating waveforms from scratch you could also import a sample by re-synthesis comprabale to Nave.

Here is a video about importing a speech sample as a wavetable (second part of te video is plaed yutomatically after the first ends):


The Audio Term version in the video is quite old, the laest has more features and additional output formats.

Informations about Audio Term (v2 seems to be work in progress):
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... &start=315
https://www.facebook.com/Audioterm

This other website includes both a free Blofeld editor and a dedicated editor for creating custom wavetables:
http://lady.rdsor.ro/~kotro/index.php?m=soft
That wavetable editor is also shown at the end of the video posted above where it is used to playback the finished wavetable.

There are also some other Blofeld editors out there but i do not own all thopse. Anyway like with the Pulse 2 i mostly prefer programming the synth directly at the hardware using the "editing matrix" (at the Pulse 2 this is even more simple due to less parameters and more knobs/entries in the matrix).
Anyway it also depends on how complex the patch is and sometimes using the fre Blofeld editor is quite useful (also for sorting the patches etc.).

BTW i got the Blofeld desktop where you have to buy the "SL license" to unlock the sample memory (actually the memory is alteady built-in and this is an unlock code...). In the keyboard version this is already included and does not have to be unlocked.

[Ingonator]

FWIW for both Blofeld and Largo there could be updated versions with new features in the future.

Nave in terms of faetures was never planned as a replacement for those other synths like e.g. Largo and PPG Wave 3.V but as an addition to those so you could also expect further updates for the older synths in the future.

[calande]

Am I the only one who thinks the largo LP filter sounds weak, especially when combined with overdrive (any kind of overdrive). I can't get the same sharp/harsh filter as on old analog synthesizer VSTIs...

[Ingonator]

Am I the only one who thinks the largo LP filter sounds weak, especially when combined with overdrive (any kind of overdrive). I can't get the same sharp/harsh filter as on old analog synthesizer VSTIs...

The filters in LArgo are an original design by Waldorf and not modelled after a specific analog synth.
Anyway with proper programming you could get some really "fat" sounds from it (the "Bass boost" feature/button and/or the Sub-Oscs could also help there).

Anyway if you search for a proper emulation of vintage analog synths Largo is maybe the wrong choice for you.

While Largo is more versatile in terms of using it as a "normal" VA synth compared to e.g. Nave and PPG Wave 3.V it still has a focus on wavetable synthesis (like most Waldorf synths) and for that the included filters seem to work nicely.

BTW the filters in both Nave and PPG Wave 3.V are different (the one in PPG 3.V is modelled after the analog fiter included in the original PPG Wave 2.x hardware synths).

The Blofeld which is a kind of hardware version of the Largo (also see my post at the previous page) additionally includes the "PPPG filter" mode taht was alos included with earlier Waldorf hardware synths like Q or MicroQ and that filter is indeed nice IMO (while not really exactly the same as in the PPG Wave 3.V plugin).

For really fat analog monosynth sounds i also like using the real analog Waldorf Pulse 2 (the multimode filter there is a Waldorf design too and not a direct copy of a specific vintage synth).

I do not have the new Waldorf 2-Pole analog filter module here but this seems to be nice for passing softsynths trough it. Some cool results could be also found when using the D-Pole filter plugin included with Walodrf Edition (in both v1 and v2).

The point is that Waldorf offers lots of different products including softsynths, digital hardware synths (including the nw1 Eurorack module), analog hardware synths, hybrid hardware synths, iOS/iPad apps (Attack for iOS currently in Beta...) and also a stage piano like the Zarenbourg. This range of products is one reason why it is difficult to compare the company to others that "only" create softsynths (or myabe only a single softsynth...).
The "downside" of this is that they could focus less on a single product which means updates sometimes could take longer than with developers focusing on only one or a few products (hardware synths also offer different "challenges" concerning both development and updating them).

[calande]

Thanks for that. Yeah, every synth has its pros and cons.

[Ingonator]

Thanks for that. Yeah, every synth has its pros and cons.

Actually it also depends on programming the synths properly. While some say that both Largo and Blofeld do sound harsh, cold and/or "typically digital" my own impression is that it is also possible to get sounds from it that are closer to "typical analog".
For example In my own commercial Blofeld bank i often used a combination of the PPG filter mode and the "Tube" filter drive. Sometimes instead of 2 actual oscillators i also used a 2 voice Unison for detuned sounds (depending on the result i wanted to get).

Concerning the filter Drive also the amount matters as using too much of it (or the wrong mode...) could indeed "destroy" a good sounding patch.

In Largo it could also be a difference if you set the oscillator phase to the "free" mode (especially when used in combination with the Unison).

Also using the "Bass boost" and Sub-Oscs in Largo could make quite a difference (As already mentioned).

Anyway if you want a really proper analog emulation other choices than Largo are maybe better (like e.g. the real analog Waldorf Pulse 2 or plugins like e.g. Diva).


What is also often forgotten in both Largo and Blofeld is that for all 3 main Oscs you could use all of those 3 Oscs and also the Noise as FM sources which could lead to some quite complex FM sounds (even if only Sine waves are used insteda of more complex waveforms). Only the minority of the available VA synths actuall seems to offer using a dedicated Sine waveforms and some are even missing the Triangle which is quite essential for certain analog like sounds.

[PietW.]

Yes, sample import would be awesome in Largo, but then we do have that in both PPG and now Nave. What Largo allows the user to do with the samples on hand is just astounding to me, the matrix is just killing it from all perspectives imo. You can tweak for weeks lol!

In Blofeld it is actually more "Sample playback" (like in a Sampler) than "import" while in Nave it is lik re-synthesis that leads to a wavetable. For sending Samples to the Blofeld you need the free "Spectre" tool from Waldorf.

Anyway the Blofeld could also load custom wavetables from e.g. the free "Audio Term" wavetable too and in Audio Term besides loading single waveforms form WAV files or creating waveforms from scratch you could also import a sample by re-synthesis comprabale to Nave.

Here is a video about importing a speech sample as a wavetable (second part of te video is plaed yutomatically after the first ends):


The Audio Term version in the video is quite old, the laest has more features and additional output formats.

Informations about Audio Term (v2 seems to be work in progress):
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... &start=315
https://www.facebook.com/Audioterm

This other website includes both a free Blofeld editor and a dedicated editor for creating custom wavetables:
http://lady.rdsor.ro/~kotro/index.php?m=soft
That wavetable editor is also shown at the end of the video posted above where it is used to playback the finished wavetable.

There are also some other Blofeld editors out there but i do not own all thopse. Anyway like with the Pulse 2 i mostly prefer programming the synth directly at the hardware using the "editing matrix" (at the Pulse 2 this is even more simple due to less parameters and more knobs/entries in the matrix).
Anyway it also depends on how complex the patch is and sometimes using the fre Blofeld editor is quite useful (also for sorting the patches etc.).

BTW i got the Blofeld desktop where you have to buy the "SL license" to unlock the sample memory (actually the memory is alteady built-in and this is an unlock code...). In the keyboard version this is already included and does not have to be unlocked.

In the current version of the audio Term wavetables are converted to the Blofeld sysex format.

[Lotuzia]

Am I the only one who thinks the largo LP filter sounds weak, especially when combined with overdrive (any kind of overdrive). I can't get the same sharp/harsh filter as on old analog synthesizer VSTIs...

Largo's filters are exquisite, and in their own class, though they're not similar to analog modelled filters found in the hi end analog emulations. Overdrive are also special in Largo. And exquisite. Imho.

[Apostate]

Am I the only one who thinks the largo LP filter sounds weak, especially when combined with overdrive (any kind of overdrive). I can't get the same sharp/harsh filter as on old analog synthesizer VSTIs...

Largo's filters are exquisite, and in their own class, though they're not similar to analog modelled filters found in the hi end analog emulations. Overdrive are also special in Largo. And exquisite. Imho.

I completely agree, and I for one am completely smitten with the delay and flange. As I continue, joyfully programming Largo I dig deeper into the pages of matrices, and become more deeply smitten with the synth as a whole. The sounds achievable with Largo are truly amazing, and yet I always get this intuition that there's so much more to be achieved with it...

[chk071]

Am I the only one who thinks the largo LP filter sounds weak, especially when combined with overdrive (any kind of overdrive). I can't get the same sharp/harsh filter as on old analog synthesizer VSTIs...

Largo's filters are exquisite, and in their own class, though they're not similar to analog modelled filters found in the hi end analog emulations. Overdrive are also special in Largo. And exquisite. Imho.

Yep, agreed. They're pretty versatile too, and can serve anything from soft/sweet to totally brutal.

[calande]

I managed to create my harsh sound with oscillator sync (close to the "Sync Different" preset), which produces a feeling of overdrive and LP 24dB filter cutoff, but in fact, both filters are deactivated.

With a different synth, I wouldn't have proceeded this way to achieve this sound. I would just have used a plain LP 24dB filter with an overdrive, without oscillator sync, and I would have achieved a harsh sound too (e.g. on Phoscyon (18dB actually), or on SH-101 PLUG-OUT VSTIs).

What matters is achieving what you're after, anyway

[Astralp]

Largo's filters are exquisite, and in their own class, though they're not similar to analog modelled filters found in the hi end analog emulations. Overdrive are also special in Largo. And exquisite. Imho.

I agree, there is a certain kind of gentle saturated instability I look for in a synth and Largo hits it beautifully.

[calande]

On p.86 of the manual, it reads:

M1 Amount: Modulation amount of M1

Not very good explanation
Could someone share what M1, M2 and M3 are?
Further down, it reads:

M3 Amount: Modulation amount of M1
M4 Amount: Modulation amount of M2

It doesn't look right (quick copy/paste maybe?)

[EvilDragon]

Modulation slots 1, 2, 3.

[calande]

oh, ok, thanks