LINK

Yet to be heard (as far as I know), but the price and the layout look excellent for a small box that’s a handy source of easily tweakable sounds. It looks versatile too, judging by how the controls seem to suggest it can step away from the famous classic sounds this family of instruments is known for.

It’s kind of cheeky too.

I’m not obsessed with whether or not it perfectly nails emulation of certain classics, but more that it just sounds good.

If nothing else, the blurb on the overview page in the above link is worth the read. It made me smile.

Yes, quite a good concept from Waldorf.

I’m also curious to know if it sounds good, and don’t care if it nails the older string machine sounds.  Hopefully it will sound great, and even better than older String Machines.  ;-)

I can’t think of a more useless “new product”. G-force already nailed this with their VSM (Virtual String Machines) VI. Waldorf is way late to this party - everyone already went home.

It might be a hit with the gear junkie contingent that’s always looking for the next addition to their collection so they can add to the equipment list in their forum sig, want something Waldorfily, coolly “Retro”, but will rarely spend more than peanuts and they already have three pocket analog monosynths.

Way_ne - 29 March 2014 02:26 AM

It might be a hit with the gear junkie contingent that’s always looking for the next addition to their collection so they can add to the equipment list in their forum sig, want something Waldorfily, coolly “Retro”, but will rarely spend more than peanuts and they already have three pocket analog monosynths.

Might that be you, Way_ne? :).

String machines were actually shite synths
that used divide-down oscillators and
cheap phaser or chorus effects. If u want
that sound, which did indeed have a certain
character, its already available in software
VI’s. An entire piece of hardware devoted
to recreating what was really a concept
failure doesnt make any sense.

You’d be better off to spend money on
Dave Smith’s Mopho X4...create the sound
on that, plus loads more that no string
machine ever could.

Nah, not for me. Other than an idle punt on a blow-out new Plugiator for $110 last year, my most recent gear buys were back when the Motif ES and Virus C were current models.

I’ll leave the cheap gear-buying frenzy to the 432hz-tuned youngsters over at that other forum.

I mostly just liked the promo.

Trading the ES to a MoXF is likely the first bit of new gear I’ll do any time soon. It’s ridiculously good value now at 1/3 of what the ES cost back at the time, so it could be cost-neutral. My top gear admiration award still goes to the Prophet 12.

I’d agree about the Prophet 12, but if myw wife came home to emptied P-12
box sitting in the living room, I’d be tossed out of the house along with that box.

DSI might get a lift in sales if they sell “08” overlays that go over the 12 (along with a tips booklet of helpful evasions) so that a sly upgrade might well go unnoticed.*

Wife: “Your Prophet 08 looks different...”

Husband: “No it doesn’t.”

Wife: “Yes, it looks kind of… more expensive.”

Husband: “I had it detailed.”

Wife: “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Where?”

Husband: “I found a new synth detailing business in town, so since I didn’t buy a new expensive one, I thought a spruce-up could be the next best thing.”

Wife: “How much did that cost?”

Husband: “Only $10. Bargain!”

Wife: “I find that hard to believe..”

Husband: “So did I at first, but when I got there it turned out to be the son of an Armenian couple who lets him use the upstairs kitchen table during the day when the bakery is open.”

Wife: “Why didn’t you bring home something nice to eat while you were there?”

Husband: “They’re very traditional, so besides being mostly crust, there was nothing gluten-free.”

Wife: “Wouldn’t you have been better off putting the $10 towards that new Waldorf String Machine?”

Husband: “No, I don’t need one.”

Wife: “Why is there a Prophet 12 manual still in the plastic on your desk..?”

*Individual results may vary.

I agree with Dave Polich. With all the virtual synths and romplers available, just a dedicated string machine with samples / wave tables doesn’t make sense. Can’t we make any sound into a string sound by messing with the ADSR and effects?