Ahead of the 2018 NAMM Show, Waldorf has introduced the Streichfett Keyboard STVC – a new synth and vocoder.
The Streichfett Keyboard builds on the capabilities of the company’s Streichfett String Synthesizer, adding vocoding capabilities and more.
Features:
- String synthesizer based on the Streichfett synth engine
- New vocoder function with freeze mode, polyphonic carrier, gender modification and more.
- 49 full-sized velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch, pitch bend and mod wheel
- Metal case
- OLED display
- 126 programmable patches in three banks
- Effects, including phaser & reverb
Audio Demos:
Pricing and Availability
Details on pricing and availability are still to be announced, but some retailers have listed the STVC at US $899. See the Waldorf site for details.
for a string machine…the over listing of vocoder tracks and NO strings is just a little odd.
The strings sound great but the vocoder is awful in these demos, it hurts my ears.
I really appreciate the internet for giving a voice to professionals like you. Thanks for saving me $900 bucks. Your comment is a really a money saver. Please do not stop commenting on the items that you wont buy!
dear rolf wöhrmann,
why didn´t you implement the sequencer of waldorf´s former flagship synth “the wave”? its sequencer never materialised, even though the wave´s chassis already had dedicated buttons and knobs (fast forward, rewind, stop, record etc). why was that? lets face it: nobody needs the streichfett. go the workstation route instead. at least 8-part multitimbral. come up with something like roland´s groovesynth jx-305. i´m sorry, but sound alone is not good enough in these times. you need an onboard sequencer today (NOT an arpeggiator!)
Dear Bernd Sichelschmidt,
thanks for the comments and I hear your point. But too much honour for me: I haven’t been involved in Waldorf’s Wave nor in Streichfett/STVC – nor being with Waldorf in general. I’m just an independent synth developer who worked with Waldorf on Nave, Quantum and some of their modules but also did stuff for other synth companies.
Cheers
Rolf
Dear Rolf, I would like to thank you then for the Nave on the iPad. Man, was just before reading this playing with it and it surprises me one more time. Can imagine that only for that synth people are buying an iPad. I love Nave!
Over $500 more than the Streichfett module?
Where else can you get a “gender modification” + synthesizer for under $900?
Sure, you can get a Miniak for $200.
Anyone who has ever used an actual vocoder knows that what they are calling “gender modification” is called “band shift” in other instruments. It’s not a mysterious or novel parameter.
I’m a big fan of Streichfett but I… don’t quite get this as a product.
Like, it’s essentially the same 250$ synth strapped to a quality case and a keyboard that cost more than the synth itself. With an expanded memory bank (that costs nothing considering technology made quite a leap since Streichfett first debuted) and a vocoder.
I really don’t like the sound of many vocoders from the 1990s through today. I prefer the sound of analog vocoders, such as the ones made by EMS, Sennheiser, Moog and Roland. Perhaps Begrunger or any other company would reissue either the Sennheiser or EMS vocoders.
Check out the sound of the EMS…killer.
https://youtu.be/0mxLnt_fUEo
While its clearly a niche device, I have to compliment the detail of the vocoder. I wonder how many bands it offers and how deep its programming options go. There are less pricey vocoders and string options, of course, but it has the scent of EDM/vintage/space cadet coming from it like movie popcorn.
I purchased a Streichfett a year or so ago and LOVE it! It’s a surprisingly flexible Solina-esque clone with 128 notes of polyphony on the string machine side and 8 notes on the layered virtual analog side. My only complaint, if you could call it that, is I wish it had some LFO modulation options. But hey, we can’t have everything in one box. .
Quoted MSRP above does seem a little high. Even so, if this is based off the surprisingly powerful and stable Streichfett engine, it seems like a great add if you want to cover these sorts of sounds.
More on this link:
http://www.matrixsynth.com/2018/01/details-on-waldorf-stvc.html
Meh. It’s Waldorf. No need to worry this €5 ARM STM32F303 with huge margins will actually make it to shops. Anybody seen the Zarenbourg module? No? Liked waiting for the editor?
Read elsewhere (thought it was at gearslutz) that a guy mailed Waldorf about the editor for the Zarenbourg and that he got one by mail. Besides that you’re right of course, Waldorf is a little company which announces much but has problems to deliver.