The latest loopop video takes an in-depth look at the new Korg wavestate mk2 and wavestate SE synthesizers.
Host Ziv Eliraz offers a comprehensive overview of each of the synths and covers what’s new with the wavestate platform since the original was introduced in 2020.
Check out the review, and share your thoughts on the new wavestate synths in the comments!
Topics covered:
0:00 Intro
2:00 Overview
2:25 Voices
4:10 MK2 vs MK1
4:40 SE vs MK1/2
5:00 Aftertouch
5:30 Other misc
6:15 Native v Editor
10:55 PATCH IDEAS
11:10 Lane length
12:10 Polymetric %
14:20 Lane presets
16:20 Mod presets
16:50 Loop end mod
18:30 Loop as fills
19:05 Start vs loop
19:30 Step mods
20:20 Finding mods
21:05 Mult mods
21:50 Levels mods
22:00 Note advance
23:00 … on chords
23:30 Scale quantize
24:20 Step env
24:40 Ratchets
24:55 Phase mod
25:40 Shape chaos
26:10 Mod process
27:10 Hidden mods
27:35 Pros & cons
30:55 Outro
Didn’t notice that this post was next when I replied to the previous one.
When a thing still seems complicated after one of Ziv’s videos, one has to wonder.
Ha! Seriously…the sounds are awesome but I’m already defeated by the interface.
because you are a guitar player
Aw, don’t think that! Take up the editor or the Native version. If you tackle just one layer and get used to the voice structure, it’ll become easier. The fact that its four complete instruments makes it scary at first, but once you get to the point where you want a second layer, it’ll take off. The awesome will start to outweigh the cons.
So much extra panel real estate and so tiny display. One has to wonder.
well you should have tried programming the original wavestation – for which the phrase “wallpapering the hall through the letterbox” could have been invented! I had a nice editor on the Atari which made it feasible…
Given what it was capable of doing, I didn’t find the Wavestation too difficult to program in 1991. It was a bit tedious, but not too difficult.
Bigger screen will not make it easier to use, you will need to always look at the screen and it will be harder to use it blindly since the designer will based the operation mainly on the screen.
It may be easier to operate without reading the manual/actually learning it.
If you want to see what a bigger, well designed, helpful and easy to follow display screen looks like check out the Waldorf Blofeld (and Blofeld Keyboard). Korg could take a few lessons from Waldorf on this matter. Ironic, as Korg is now the distributor for Waldorf in the US and Australia. The Blofeld is even more menu divey than the Wavestate. Yet its menu system and matrix is so well designed it is very easy to learn and use. As a result it is an easier synth to program than the Wavestate.
I gotta agree, I used to be lightning-fast on the original, but then again, I was young, had many more functioning brain cells, and far fewer synths than now… 😛 That said, programming wavesequences was always pretty tedious, and I never used the vector envelope (I just made 16th-note sequences, and flailed around with the joystick while recording MIDI controller data).
For $2000 it would be nice to have a HDMI and USB ports for display and I/O with a nice OS to access all the hidden menu items.
The price is too high for those specifications. The screen is very small and insufficient for a comfortable and efficient editing. Practically nothing new, well.. the price. We follow without multi parts like original Wave and no voice modes. Interface not optimized for the 61 keys model. A shame.
Did he say that Korg will make the new soundbank available for all Wavestate versions, old and new?
If so, that’s good news. I sold my Wavestate (mk1) yesterday as I found out I find the Native plugin with a full sized (61 keys) keyboard ten times more comfortable.
That’s also the reason I’m selling the Opsix, and I’ll use the crosscrade for the Opsix Native for just $49 before it goes out the door.
If there is ONE synth that deserves a minimum of 61 keys, it’s the Opsix, for sure.
And the 61-key Opsix SE is now released. 🙂