Waldorf Largo 2

[elassi]

Honestly, I think some old fart at Waldorf who already did the presets in 1990+ had the idea that he could do a modern skin, too:

"Something looking flat, because the modern guys do it like that, but let's add some 3D flavor to it by adding a shadow on top of the knob so that it looks rounded, like an egg ... or my bald head."

But then, they (erm ... him) forgot to imprint his 'vision' on all knobs (if you look closely, smiley).

What a poor result.

[Neon Breath]

The sound is still fantastic (better than most of the plugins you named). But, with that GUI, I can surely understand why people choose another synth. Which is especially sad when you consider that version 1 had a nice GUI.

I agree that it sounds fantastic still and full of character. I like its character more than other wavetable synths.

The GUI is not pretty but usable. I don't see a problem. I tend to make my own presets. It's a deep synth and I know most of its strengths and functions as it's very similar to blofeld (that I owned some years ago). It's a good replacement for blofeld and to be honest I prefer Largo 2 now because of convenience and 4 layers when needed

That's an interesting statement. Cause honestly I'm having hard time hearing Largo's superiority, but maybe the sound examples don't give it justice?

Where exactly/what departments would you say Largo surpass other more recent wavetable synths such as Vital, Pigments, Dune and etc? The filters? Effect section? The oscillators themselves? I'm curious.

[felis]

.....Where exactly/what departments would you say Largo surpass other more recent wavetable synths such as Vital, Pigments, Dune and etc? The filters? Effect section? The oscillators themselves? I'm curious.

I can't speak for the others, but I've got Vital, Pigments, Massive X, and the wavetable synth in Halion (as well as a few others I'd have to look for to remember).

One of the standouts for me with Largo is the comb filters, and now the formant filters too.
I used to have a Waldorf Q and my favorite sound design method with that was to use the comb filters in conjunction with the two limited wavetables available.
Of course, the other wavetable synths available now have many more wavetables, but I still really like the sound of their digital filters.
I also like that there are dual filters that are independently pannable, and that the panning can be modulated.

I really like the mod options available as well as the modifiers too. Recently, more manufacturers have started including release velocity as a mod source - Massive X and Halion both have it.
But when I had the Q, I used it in every patch I made, and there weren't too many others at the time that could do it.


Anyways - I think they're mostly all good in different ways. Lots of good choices nowadays.

[chk071]

Can anyone confirm this?

1. Set patch to init.
2. Activate the arp.
3. Double click the value field for the Octave Range.
4. Type in 1.

The octave range is set to 2. Type in 2, the octave range is set to 3. Etc.

[Touch The Universe]

Can anyone confirm this?

1. Set patch to init.
2. Activate the arp.
3. Double click the value field for the Octave Range.
4. Type in 1.

The octave range is set to 2. Type in 2, the octave range is set to 3. Etc.

Yeah, that's broke.

[chk071]

Thanks. I'll report.

Surely a stupid thing like having it zero based, and didn't account for it...

[hurricaneaudiolab]

So apparently Largo 2 is buggy under certain mac configurations, and the bugs I have experienced are due to my configuration - at least that's what Waldorf support implied. I'm on an M2, Logic 10.7.9, Sonoma 14.1. The presets not appearing in the Local Folder is a Logic-only thing. Still very surprised it was released like this. It's unusable, and I hope they patch it quickly. Fortunately Largo 1 is still working fine.

[chk071]

A pretty hasty release for sure.

[chk071]

I just got an email from Waldorf. Saying that they released Largo 2. Just putting it here so that everyone knows.

No, really, I'm wondering how disorganised a lot of these companies are. Maybe they should completely rely on bloggers and vloggers to do their marketing.

[EnGee]

So it has additional wavetables? Great

In comparison to Largo 1? Nope.

RPH seemed to have copy pasted the feature set from Waldorf's website.

Oh I see.

Where did you buy the upgrade? I bought it from their website (29.99 euro).

JRRshop.com using "forum" as discount code

I forgot to check JRR Shop first!

That's an interesting statement. Cause honestly I'm having hard time hearing Largo's superiority, but maybe the sound examples don't give it justice?

Where exactly/what departments would you say Largo surpass other more recent wavetable synths such as Vital, Pigments, Dune and etc? The filters? Effect section? The oscillators themselves? I'm curious.

It has a smoother character. The brass and pads especially are fantastic. It doesn't sound as harsh as Vital or Serum. I don't know, it just sounds great to me! And with today's CPUs, it barely moves the CPU indicator! It can also sound harsh, but still has some warmth in it. Maybe the filters are playing a crucial rule. It was the same with Blofeld when I had it. I have enjoyed the pads/brass a lot.

Can anyone confirm this?

1. Set patch to init.
2. Activate the arp.
3. Double click the value field for the Octave Range.
4. Type in 1.

The octave range is set to 2. Type in 2, the octave range is set to 3. Etc.

I couldn't replicate this in Mac/Bitwig. I will try it on Windows later and report

Anyway, I encountered small bugs here and there, like when you load a bank, it reset the size to its default! Definitely looks like a beta release to me!

[El°HYM]

It doesn't sound as harsh as Vital or Serum.

You will not make many friends on kvr for this.

[EnGee]

It doesn't sound as harsh as Vital or Serum.

You will not make many friends on kvr for this.

I use Vital also and I like it, but not for soft sounds. For sounds that needs presence usually.

Oh, I don't think I have many friends here to be honest But no many foes either (I guess)

[El°HYM]

My foes list is full of friends.

And I totally agree that Vital has a harsh sound to it, which was also often discussed in here. Trying to get rid of it using a De-esser can work a little bit in smoothing it out again. Then listening to the Delta-signal to hear whats actually happening there is quite mind boggling though.

[masterhiggins]

It has a smoother character. The brass and pads especially are fantastic. It doesn't sound as harsh as Vital or Serum. I don't know, it just sounds great to me! And with today's CPUs, it barely moves the CPU indicator! It can also sound harsh, but still has some warmth in it. Maybe the filters are playing a crucial rule. It was the same with Blofeld when I had it. I have enjoyed the pads/brass a lot.

Largo has the smoothest digital filters I’ve ever heard. They’re cool, but not harsh.

[kraster]

I also think it sounds great.

Unashamedly digital. Bright and clear with very little harshness. Filters sound great.

It manages to avoid that fizzy white noise character you get when you get a lot of high end information hitting the filters.

It's also really easy to layer up. A few tweaks to each layer and it sounds massive.

Very easy on the CPU too.

The UI might look like a butchers block but it's easy to get around and most things are where you'd expect them to be.

Despite the bugs you can really hear the pedigree in the sound.