Studiologic has announced a new version of its Sledge synthesizer, the Sledge Black Edition.
The Sledge Black Edition is based on the Sledge 2.0 synth, but trades that synth’s iconic yellow for a more muted black color scheme.
The Black Edition also features a semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch, with black and grey keys.
Studiologic says the Sledge Black Edition is now in production and will be ready to ship this week. See the Studiologic site for more info.
Specifications
Keyboard 61 keys semi weighted + Aftertouch
Controls 35 pots
3 “chicken head” rotary switches (position)
1 rotary encoder with push function
Master volume control
Display 2×16 digits backlit LCD
Wheels High quality Pitch & Mod Wheels
Sounds Up to 999 sounds
Fast selection via numeric keypad
MODULATION
LFO1, LFO 2 Fast LFOs per voice
Adjustable speed and depth
Wheel (extra modulation
routing for Mod wheel) LFO shape: saw-tooth, rectangular, triangle, sine, sample & hold, ramp
Destination: OSC 1, OSC 2, OSC 3, PWM / Wave / FM, Volume, Filter Cutoff
Adjustable speed and depth
FILTER & AMPLIFIER
Multi mode filter per voice Slope: 24/12 db
Type: lowpass, highpass, bandpass
Resonance up to self-oscillation and beyond
Adjustable key track and drive
Filter envelope ADSR with amount control
Amplifier envelope ADSR with velocity control
SOUND GENERATOR
24 Voices polyphony Monophonic mode with single or multiple trigger
3 Oscillators per voice OSC1, OS2, OSC3 Range from 64’ to 1’ with semitone and detune controls
Shapes: saw-tooth, square, triangle, sine, pulse (with pulse width modulation)
OSC 1 with 66 original PPG Wavetable + Sample Player (60 Mb internal memory)
Frequency modulation Modulation of sine and triangle
Oscillator hard sync (OSC 2 to OSC 3)
Noise generator White and pink noise
Mixer Volume and ON/OFF switch for each oscillator
Auto dual mode Split or layer mode
Programmable split point for each program
ARPEGGIATOR
Powerful arpeggiator Latch mode
Syncable to MIDI clock
Direction up, down, alternate
Range up to 10 octaves
EFFECTS (2 SIMULTANEOUS EFFECTS)
Effect 1 Chorus / Phaser / Flanger
Effect 2 Reverb / Delay / Reverb + Delay
CONNECTIONS
Outputs Stereo line
Headphones
Inputs Expression pedal (stereo jack)
Hold pedal (mono jack)
MIDI In/Out
USB MIDI In/Out
Firmware upgrade
Samples loading (required Spectre)
I returned my Sledge because the outputs were noisy.
they changed the output section : “The audio output level is enhanced, for a stronger, cleaner and fatter sound.” they don’t describe the old one as noisy, obviously. they also mention an enhanced keyboard and new modulaion options.
i’ll pass as I’m going to spend my trust fund on that 20 synth – that handmilled aluminum case will transform my music
someone at slogic: this synth isnt selling, do we need a new model?
Logic devs: nah, paint it black, it works for access
Absolutely stunning looking, i just tested the normal one. Sounds pretty damn nice, pretty good keyboard also. I will get this.
The studiologic is an avatar of the Waldorf Blofel with real controls and knobs . What would be nice is a studiologic avatar of the Waldorf Pulse 2 witth knobs 😉
I own an Sledge 2 in bright orange, there’s a lot to love about it: great ergonomics (even the side-mounted audio & MIDI connections had me wondering why all my keyboards aren’t made like that), fantastic gutsy sound, instant programmability thanks to all the knobs.
But then, you start hitting all the limitations in the audio engine, this is like a cut-down Blofeld, oscillator 1 only does this & that, oscillator 2 only does this, LFO can only modulate that etc. It quickly becomes really frustrating. For example you can’t play a sample and a wave-table at the same time. You can’t have the 1 LFO modulate two different things etc. etc.
My Nord A1 can’t make half the sounds this beast can, but it’s my go-to synth. The Sledge, beautiful as it may be, whether in orange or black, is simply too limited.
Much better than 20.000 euro’s :p
maybe they had some spare keybeds from Axel Hartmanns “20” version. if so, this black edition would be a kind of volks-20, which would be interesting (IIRC the black keybed for the “20” has an improved polyphonic aftertouch!?).
Wonder if the Black edition has sorted out the issue of after touch and mod wheel sending the same controller info?
And they couldn’t resist putting 2 giant orange knobs on it? At least commit to the sales pitch, man!
Apparently they are shipped with dark grey knobs too, so that you can replace the orange knobs.
oh boy, it´s getting ridiculous.
The retail price has gone up by something like 25%… Having said that – to be fair it was something of a bargain before, I liked the yellow but IMO it made the shape of the black housing for the controls stand out awkwardly, it does look a lot better now, and it seems more than just a reskin. I quite fancy a punt on it, but Richard’s post above makes me a little wary. It’s something of a sleeper synth, I haven’t seen any in my local music store and if I can’t try I won’t buy – so over to you Studiologic.
I heard the yellow one in a shop in London.I was really impressed and having had synths since midi came in it is a big deal to be impressed by a synth these days. I liked the spacing on the panels and the sound knocked me out. Imagine the streichfet with more controls etc. I hope to have one of these before the years out.
The company who really got the re-colouring thing going must have been Studio Electronics with all their various face-plates accompanied by blunt hype (they even called it hype themselves – a lot of humour there). Then we saw Moog doing the same with making their synth enclosures in various materials. All while retaining the electronics exactly as they were. If it sells – then it’s quite ok with me. The synth market worldwide is not very huge and the companies really need to make some money to keep their heads above the surface. Over the years many of them have gone bust.
If a different colour or case can make them survive – then I’m all for it.
I was told that the enigine in the Sledge is derived from the MicroQ. Not the Blofeld. That’s what they told me at the StudioLogic NAMM booth the year it was released.
I like the sound, but my OCD gets all fired up with the mishmash of fonts – if they’d just kept the nice sans serif font on the control panel without the lame “electro text” font, it would make it so much cleaner.
Dammit, can’t un-see it now 😉
i’m still trying to sell mine if someone is interested 500 pound (based in london)