In his latest Sonic Lab video, Nick Batt takes a look at the Waldorf Streichfett String Synthesizer – a modern take on the classic string synth sounds of the 70s.
Batt is ‘very impressed’ with the Streichfett.
If you’ve used the Streichfett, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!
Specifications:
- 128 voice fully polyphonic Strings section
- Continuos morphing of Violin, Viola, Cello, Brass, Organ, Choir and more
- Registrations
- Animate Effect for Modulation of Strings Registration
- Ensemble Effect for Strings
- Eight voice polyphonic Solo section
- Layer/Split for Solo section
- Continuos morphing of Bass, E-Piano, Clavi, Synth, and Pluto for Solo Tone
- Tremolo for Solo section
- Phaser
- Reverb
- 12 programmable patches
- Stereo output
- Headphone output
- USB
- MIDI in/out
For more info, see the Waldorf site.
via Sonic State
mmmmm looks nasty and souns fat… i will buy this
Thanks for the review Nick, nice to watch and hear all the different sounds. Interesting piece of hardware for sure.
Love this little string machine, used it all over a remix I did for Black Rivers. Hear it for yourself. http://www.qthemusic.com/6520/black-rivers-voyager-1-the-cosmologists-heliosphere-mix/
Nice re-mix Laurie, and long, long, long time no see! I’m tempted by one of these, but I’m not sure I can justify one as I already own a Logan and a Yamaha SK that whilst unstable, and a proper pain in the ****, sound majestic through a Small Stone and are the king of thing that I can’t bear to part with. TBH I’m scared that if I played with one of these he credit card would come out very quickly!
I bought one of these after seeing it on here a few weeks ago. It’s a wonderful little beast and i can’t get enough of it. I like that it’s not an exact selection on sounds selector and just the slightest touch changes enough for a new sound.
Streichfett = spreadable fat!
This thing does sound like butter – this is top of the list for my holiday present to my self. Don’t tell my wife!
I have one. It is very silky but does not replace
My juno 60 with pedals for ultimate silky. It is great thst it is so adjustable and reliable. One problem. The USB is noisy as fuck. And I have a very expensive low noise floor. So it does throw in unwanted stuff
mmm knobs wobble like rubber
One question remains: how does it respond to velocity, modulation wheel and foot expression pedal?
I’m sure some players – like me – are thinking how does it play under piano/e.piano. Could it be used as vintage strings/pad synth layered with piano. Normally it’s nice morf volume/filter to velocity/mod.wheel or to pedal to make it expressive enough for live stage keyboardist…
Something tells me this will be a classic.
how much?
seems to me like it needs more stable knobs and a real power source (i wouldn’t trust this live), and it needs some rate knobs on the tremolo/effects. you’d have a hard time trying to get unique sounds out of it if your phaser is always at the same rate.
nice review! i wasn’t interested to the streichfett at all. but now i need to check it in the store! btw. nice lamp in the studio – looks cozy 🙂
Fitting that he finished with something Jarre-ish.
Sounds like a must have module if your a Jarre fan.
Normaly I never do something special with it when I buy a synth. Of course I’m happy and I use it for production. But this little pornbox made me crazy. I played as a kid with synth’s like this. (My dad was also synth crazy in 70 and 80’s). So when I started to play this machine I warped myself back to my childhood. Fantastic and almost unbelieveble.
I give this piece of happiness 5 stars.
I made also a little demonstration on the Tube.
Here it is. Have fun.
http://youtu.be/DiZTGYgM9S4
wow, your demo sounds great!
That’s really beautiful.
This thing looks great … but with a TI2 sitting right next to me, I’m not sure this thing would add much to my sonic-pallet.
I have this box and love it. Nick missed a really cool “hidden feature.” The MOD wheel of your controller will affect frequency modulation. It’s very dramatic. When you save a patch, this modulation level is saved with it. Another highlight is that each note is triggered with its own envelope, much like the Logan String Melody. This is more advanced than the single paraphonic envelope of the ARP/Solina String Ensemble.
Thanks for watching, I think I mentioned that at around 9:05, its okay but you cant alter the speed
Nick
Great job with the review, as always! Looks like Waldorf has a winner on their hands with this one!
The sounds are great and I think the interface is good for navigating them. It’s clever the way you can navigate through the layers. At first I thought it was a bit too retro but it’s really grown on me.
I gotta say when they announced this I thought there’s something I’ll never buy. But after hearing it and seeing a couple demos it’s got a great unique sound and is truly something special.
It really sounds unique – no one else is making hardware that can do these space-phased swirling poly beds. Stringy!
For Waldorf’s next Rocket-format trick: A vintage Keyboard module. Tone wheel and transistor combo organs, clavs, Mellotron, Novachord, Clavioline, a few electric pianos, etc. ROM-based emulations, plus cabinets, rotating speakers, distortions, delays, etc.
I like the idea of this box a lot, and maybe one day I’ll get one. But for now, I am getting 90% of what I want from the string machines in Alchemy’s “Himalayan Vintage” pack on my iPad. The app is free, the Himalayan Vintage pack is US$5. This isn’t to detract from the Waldforf product in any way; it seems well designed and reasonably priced. But if it makes you itch in a way you you just can’t scratch, the Alchemy pack is an affordable alternative (and doesn’t take up any space in your studio).
Great Demo Nick.
I had a Solina in the 80’s and I really miss it now.
If you look at what they go for now on eBay, this unit is an absolute steal!
Gotta get one of these soon.
Stringtastik!
HAHAH…”John Carpentry”
They did a great job on this, no question. My only critique would be that its TOO specialized. If I wanna sound like Klaus Schulze’s “Body Love” or Jarre, I can build that realm of sounds within any one of several my synths, hardware and software. Its a time machine representation of a specific era. OTOH, if you are keen on it, this will take up a lot of the workload nicely. That’s THE first truly psychedelic phaser, man.
I love Waldorf. They manage to get such interesting sounds that have something of their own….Waldorfian. This beast sounds awesome…I’m afraid to try it cause I’m supposed to be saving for a wedding lol. Just wondering…if you have Blofeld I would think the Blofeld can already do a lot of this…after all these years I still love mine…incredible sound for price and newest update is pretty solid too. Should I still sneak in this little synth for my line up??
This things looks and sounds supercool. A desktop polysynth with stereo out, 1:1 controls (no menus!), patch memory, and built-in FX? How can I resist?