Navigation ☰

PPG wave 2.3 V8.3

#4: bought 1st July 2023

PPG wave 2.3 with Groove 3rd Wave and Waldorf M
Top to bottom: Waldorf M, Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave and "new" PPG wave 2.3 v8.3

PPG wave 2.3 bought July 2023
The "new" PPG wave 2.3 v8.3

Ups, I did it again!
After a bit less than 8 years without a PPG wave, I bought one again. It got the post PPG version 8.3 firmware installed (incl. MIDI SysEx and more). Playing the 3rd Wave next to the PPG wave 2.3 of a friend, made me once again aware of the ease and fun of the rather few parameters and the unique, yet unreached, character of a real PPG wave. So when another friend told me about his plans to sell his PPG wave for a realistic amount of money, I did not hesitate more than a few milliseconds. This is my fourth PPG wave I ever owned.



One patch in three flavours: first 1 oscillator only with some VCA modulation. Then the same patch with two oscillators. And finally without the VCA modulation. No FX or EQ. Recorded straight into 48 kHz 16 Bit stereo.

Demystifying the PPG wave 2.2 & 2.3

#3: owned May 2010 - Sept, 2015

PPG wave 2.3 overview


After 15 years without a PPG wave I bought one again. It was a great feeling to play a PPG wave again! The sound got more power then I remembered. OK, some more zipper noises and audible steps in the wavetables scanning too.

This PPG wave 2.3 is equipped with factory Midi. The new post PPG OS version 8.3 is installed to fix a few little bugs and to add Midi Sysex in- and export. And the keyboard bushings had been exchanged. So the keyboard is not looking like a mountain panorama. The back-up battery is exchanged. The display got a new backlight foil.

Detail of the display (data not seen this way)

It was a good idea to print a few of those list around the display. For example learning all the different keyboard modes by heart or using the manual every time wouldn't be so good.

#1 Sept. 1987 - March 1995
#2 1989 - March 1995

Read about my first two PPG waves here (german only).

About the PPG waves

There are several good places in the internet that tell you the facts about the PPG waves 2.2 and the 2.3. But somethings are not meantioned, others are often wrong. So here are a few things I might add to the known facts (please excuse me, if you knew them alreaddy):


Demystifying the PPG wave 2.2 & 2.3