At the 2012 NAMM Show, Studiologic introduced the Sledge polyphonic keyboard synthesizer – a new keyboard, based on a Waldorf sound engine.
The Sledge combines the power of the Waldorf engine with a retro, knobby front panel.
The synth is based around the latest Waldorf modelling technology, offering virtual analog and wave table synthesis, derived from the PPG wave. The three oscillators, plus a Noise generator, are fed into Sledge’s multimode filter, with selectable 24 / 12 dB slope.The old school interface makes clear the signal path and how each control affects the result.
And two built-in effect units deliver Chorus, Phaser and Flanger, as well as a reverb or an analogue style delay.
Details below. Check out the info and let us know what you think of the StudioLogic Sledge synthesizer.
Specifications:
- 32 Pots
- 3 chicken head rotary switches (7 positions)
- 1 rotary encoder with push function
- 2 x 16 digits backlit LCD
- High Quality Pitch and Mod Wheel
- up to 256 Sounds
- fast and efficient sound selection via numeric keypad
- 2 fast LFOs per voice, each with adjustable Speed and Depth
- 1 extra modulation routing for Mod Wheel, with adjustable Speed and Depth
- Shape: Sawtooth, Rectangular, Triangle, Sine, Sample & Hold, Ramp
- Destination: Osc 1, Osc2, Ocs3, PWM / Wave / FM, Volume, Filter Cutoff
- Monophonic mode with single or multiple trigger
- 3 Oscillators per voice
- Range from 64′ to 1′ each
- Shapes: Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, Sine, Pulse (with Pulse Width Modulation)
- Oscillator 1 with 66 Original PPG Wavetables
- Frequency Modulation of sine and triangle
- Oscillator Hardsync (Osc 2 to Osc 3)
- Noise Generator with selectable white and pink noise
- Mixer with Volume and On/Off switch for each Oscillator and Noise
- 1 Multi Mode Filter per voice
- 24 / 12dB
- Lowpass
- Highpass
- Bandpass
- Resonance up to Self-Oscillation and beyond
- Adjustable Keytrack and Drive
- 2 fast Envelopes per voice (filter / amplifier)
- Powerful Arpeggiator
- Latch mode
- syncable to MIDI Clock
- Direction Up, Down, Alternate
- Range up to 10 Octaves
- 2 simultaneuous Effects
- Effect 1: Chorus / Phaser / Flanger
- Effect 2: Reverb / Delay
- Lightweight enclosure (less than 10 KG)
- High quality, 5 octaves Fatar TP 9 keyboard
- Master Volume Control • Power Switch
- Stereo line output
- Headphone output
- Expression pedal input
- MIDI in and out
- USB connector for MIDI in / out
- uses standard USB MIDI driver provided by host computer OS
- Windows ME minimum, Windows XP or newer recommended
- Mac OS X 10.2 minimum, Mac OS X 10.3 or newer recommended
- Built in power supply
But how does it sound?
It’s going to be to the blofeld as the MS2000 is to the microkorg, i’m guessing.
That’s a good thing (if you can afford it)
Awesome, a Blofeld with knobs! Funny that it should come from a company other than Waldorf. Here’s to hoping that Studiologic does the same thing with the upcoming Waldorf Pulse 2.
It’s probably a nice synth, but unless it sounds absolutely god-awesome, it will loose sales to all the new $600 units everyone else is putting out.
That being said, if companies starting making new hardware synths in 1 and 2 rack space units for between $200 – $400 they would get filthy rich. How many sets of keys does one player need?
Why not ask Keith Emerson or Jeff Jones or Pat Moraz or Rick Wakeman or Klaus Schulze how many keyboards they need? Need? As many as there are. I have 64, about half of which are keyboards. I want a Sledge, they way I wanted an XTk before I got an XT. I want a MiniBrute, too. I wouldn’t mind having an Andromeda, but not at boutique collector’s prices. I get a synthesizer because of its sound. Everything from a Hartmann Neuron to a dinky little Emenee reed organ exactly like the one I had as a child. It’s the sounds, mate, the sounds. They keys are also nice, too, the immediacy. That’s why, in some cases a keyboard is preferable to a MIDI controller and a rack unit. If my XT is not directly in reach when I am playing it with my Cyber-6 controller, then all those knobs don’t do much for immediacy of editing, wouldn’t you agree? One Oberheim OB-12 is worth more than a dozen Q racks if you can’t reach the rack, eh? Everything in proportion.
Great stuff from Studiologic…-GRIDSLEEP : oberheim ob12 is a great synth, i have 2 and i made amazing sounds with it.
I wonder why no one has an audio demo of this board? Is it a mock up?
If so it’s not too late for them to ditch the horrible color.
What I’d really like is a cheaply made groovebox version of a Blofeld with no keys and no knobs. The yellow is cool though.
That sounded sarcastic but I really would. Like a Monomachine built and priced to compete with a Micron.
Strange 😉
The control surface looks good! I would not mind the color if the synth was less pricey.
This synth grabbed my attention at first, but at $1500-ish (will probably end up selling somewhere around 1300) I have lost my interest in it.
Sure, more knobs and hands-on control are cool, but not enough of a selling point, especially in comparison to the deeper, more versatile Blofeld… and even some VA’s from the late 90’s / early 2000’s.
Who knows though. We’ll see how the production model ends up.
This is a Blofeld, no… It is a stripped down Blofeld with a Moog-like design (knobs and sectioning). Look carefully at what is on offer. This IS the Blofeld. I have the keyboard and have done much sound design on this. I’ve recently heard some guy’s demo of it from NAMM, where he recorded with a ZoomHR and it sounds exactly like the Blo. Fine you want knobs but this will not be as powerful as a Blofeld, and for 1000 Euro or so… No thank you. It will be a Pulse 2 for me instead this summer, along with U-he’s Diva VA.
i just checked out the Sledge SOUND DEMO on the Studiologic site. i am a former blofeld keyboard owner and LOVED the sound but hated the interface and the BUGS. So i am excited about the Sledge with skeptical HOPES that they got it right WITHOUT THE SOFTWARE BUGS. my blofelld locked up. BUT MY MAIN COMMENT HERE IS…..THE SOUND DEMO……why do most synth demos online feature some JAZZ guy playing cluster chords on MOCK ORGANS and Rhodes? SAME FOR THE SLEDGE. this is a SYNTH!!!!! why not show off the BASSES or show off how it might be useful to ELECTRONIC MUSIC and not LOUNGE gigs……tiresome. IM NOT BUYING CHOPS, im buying SOUNDS. one finger will do.
I had a CASIO ct-657 and I can make it sound like this.