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Still Very Good after 13 Years... However...
So why, you'd wanna buy a 13 year old synth module? First because you're after the Waldorf digital sound at an affordable price. Second, the device has matured and probable issues with the firmware have been fixed. And third the community has matured, meaning there are thousands of sounds and utilities for it, and you won't get stuck with just the support files from the vendor.
Blofeld, sounds AMAZING! Some people compare it with Largo VST, and although the later sounds excellent too, they DO NOT sound the same. This is a device which carries out the legacy of Waldorf's rich sound, and you'll reckon that as soon as you start to test the presets.
It's built like a tank, inside a metal housing. However there are sacrifices to the quality. The DSP is not too powerful, so polyphony may drop significantly depending on what features you use. Also many people have reported that the rotary encoders, do not work properly after years of use.
Speaking of encoders, this is NOT a hands on device! It would be great if you could assign the 4 knobs to the W, X, Y, Z controllers, but I haven't found such option. Also a big absence in my opinion is a confirmation dialog when you try to switch sounds. You can easily lose the sound you created if you're not careful.
Would I recommend it? Yes, more or less, but it may be time for Waldorf to upgrade their design to 2020 standards.
Blofeld, sounds AMAZING! Some people compare it with Largo VST, and although the later sounds excellent too, they DO NOT sound the same. This is a device which carries out the legacy of Waldorf's rich sound, and you'll reckon that as soon as you start to test the presets.
It's built like a tank, inside a metal housing. However there are sacrifices to the quality. The DSP is not too powerful, so polyphony may drop significantly depending on what features you use. Also many people have reported that the rotary encoders, do not work properly after years of use.
Speaking of encoders, this is NOT a hands on device! It would be great if you could assign the 4 knobs to the W, X, Y, Z controllers, but I haven't found such option. Also a big absence in my opinion is a confirmation dialog when you try to switch sounds. You can easily lose the sound you created if you're not careful.
Would I recommend it? Yes, more or less, but it may be time for Waldorf to upgrade their design to 2020 standards.
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A
Nice and little but powerfull Synth
Iam owning the Blofeld since it came out back in 2008 and i think the featureset is still holding up, specially at its pricepoint.
Its packed with 3 OSC's , 2 multimode Filters wich can be used in parallel or serial mode, a bunch of ADSR envelops + LFO's and a huge MODmatrix. If you dive deep into its synthesis options, with the Wavetables (2 of the OSC's have them), modifiers etc., the possibilities are almost endless.
But the Blofeld is not just advanced Users, because with the LCD Display it provides a very good Feedback for beginners that want to learn how to program a Synth.
The range of sounds is huge, from the standard analog style subtractive bass to complex wavetable pads, its all in there.
One downside of its engine are maybe the Effects, they are mediocre at best.
The buildquality is decent, metal case and encoder caps. The encoder are still working good here after 6 years of use. Only issue is that get noise from the PC on the Outputs if i connect it via USB.
All in all its a nice Desktopsynth, that i recommended.
Its packed with 3 OSC's , 2 multimode Filters wich can be used in parallel or serial mode, a bunch of ADSR envelops + LFO's and a huge MODmatrix. If you dive deep into its synthesis options, with the Wavetables (2 of the OSC's have them), modifiers etc., the possibilities are almost endless.
But the Blofeld is not just advanced Users, because with the LCD Display it provides a very good Feedback for beginners that want to learn how to program a Synth.
The range of sounds is huge, from the standard analog style subtractive bass to complex wavetable pads, its all in there.
One downside of its engine are maybe the Effects, they are mediocre at best.
The buildquality is decent, metal case and encoder caps. The encoder are still working good here after 6 years of use. Only issue is that get noise from the PC on the Outputs if i connect it via USB.
All in all its a nice Desktopsynth, that i recommended.
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A
Affordable synthesizer with loads of features
The waldorf blofeld tabletop synthesizer is a good quality machine. It looks good, it feels good, and it's really powerful for such a low price. It's packed with features, such as wavetables, frequency modulation, many different envelope types, and a mod matrix.
While you can make some really amazing sounds with the blofeld, it can be a bit difficult to use if you're not into browsing menus. There are only a few knobs to use, so you often need to navigate using the screen. While it's not my favourite way of doing things, it's still quite comfortable with the blofeld, and I find a lot easier than my other small synthesizers with little lcd screens and menus.
Overall blofeld is an amazing synthesizer for the price. It surely is a lot of fun, even though the editing can be a bit slow compared to synths with loads of knobs. Those, however, are usually much more expensive.
While you can make some really amazing sounds with the blofeld, it can be a bit difficult to use if you're not into browsing menus. There are only a few knobs to use, so you often need to navigate using the screen. While it's not my favourite way of doing things, it's still quite comfortable with the blofeld, and I find a lot easier than my other small synthesizers with little lcd screens and menus.
Overall blofeld is an amazing synthesizer for the price. It surely is a lot of fun, even though the editing can be a bit slow compared to synths with loads of knobs. Those, however, are usually much more expensive.
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I love it
My favourite synth by far. Great organic sounds, very flexible, great variety, very responsive and cleverly programmed.
Unfortunately this model has suffered some bugs over the years, mostly on multimode. I believe they have all been solved by firmware updates. Visiting a user forum is very helpful on the matter.
Also the rotary encoders lose their accuracy over the years, but they still work ok, just not perfectly. I use a midi keyboard with rotary controllers so I have assigned most useful parameters to that anyway, so it doesn't bother me.
So there are some technical weaknesses, but they can be solved and the sound is realy worth it. I am really glad I bought it, and it would be my last synth to sell if I needed money.
Unfortunately this model has suffered some bugs over the years, mostly on multimode. I believe they have all been solved by firmware updates. Visiting a user forum is very helpful on the matter.
Also the rotary encoders lose their accuracy over the years, but they still work ok, just not perfectly. I use a midi keyboard with rotary controllers so I have assigned most useful parameters to that anyway, so it doesn't bother me.
So there are some technical weaknesses, but they can be solved and the sound is realy worth it. I am really glad I bought it, and it would be my last synth to sell if I needed money.
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GH
Great synth, but hard to work with.
The title says it all ? amazing synth engine with great sound and countless features. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to edit patches easily with the few available knobs. Inexperienced users will lose unsaved data far too frequently due to the complicated structure of the operating system.
A software editor for Mac & PC is an absolute must, but there are only paid ones offered by other companies and none from Waldorf (unlike Korg or Novation, whose editors are awesome and free.).
If you are buying this synth, bring a lot of time for learning and don't expect to start making music with it in the first months, unless you just want to use the built-in presets.
A software editor for Mac & PC is an absolute must, but there are only paid ones offered by other companies and none from Waldorf (unlike Korg or Novation, whose editors are awesome and free.).
If you are buying this synth, bring a lot of time for learning and don't expect to start making music with it in the first months, unless you just want to use the built-in presets.
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B
Never ending story
I bought this as my first synthesizer and of course I wouldn't recommend it as a beginners choice due to it's complexity I suppose but this is a marvelous piece of gear, I mean you can do so much with this little one, every patch is it's own Frankenstein monster or at least it becomes one when you start messing around with the it's matrix. Love it, can't rly be objective about it as it was my first piece of gear haha.
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RQ
Value for beyond it's price.
With recent system updates this is really coming into it's own. The build quality is astounding. It's heavy and solid. The system is easy to come to grips with and the modulation options are vast. There is a bit of menu diving but it's fairly upfront and not a barrier to creating unique sounds. On the negative side, the audio output can be a bit low and you need to utilise FX and other features to get the levels up.
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