Mein 2014 verkaufter Rev. A (CEM 3389 Filter)
My 2014 sold Rev. A (CEM 3389 filter)
Mein 2024 gekaufter Rev. B (CEM 3387 Filter) ohne Nextel lackierter Frontplatte. Oberhalb steht ein Stereoping micro-Programmer
My 2024 bought Rev. B (CEM 3387 filter), but not with a Nextel painted front plate. Atop stands a Stereoping micro-Programmer
Über / about
Der MicroWave war der erste Waldorf Synthesizer (1989). Er hat innen (wie 4 Jahre später auch der Waldorf WAVE) den von Wolfgang Palm (Mister PPG) entwickelten ASIC, der die meisten digitalen Funktionen der Soundgenerierung der PPG wave Serie auf einen Chip integrierte. Jedoch gab es auch in den Oszillatoren Änderungen. So werden die Oszillatoren nun tatsächlich gemischt und sind im Pegel zueinander regelbar (vgl. "PPG waves 2.2 & 2.3 oscillators of one voice are never mixed!").
The MicroWave was the first Waldorf synth (1989). It got a ASIC designed by Wolfgang Palm (Mr. PPG). These feature most of the digital sound functions of the PPG waves. They were later used inside the Waldorf WAVE too. But there were also some changes to the oscillators. They were now actually mixed and you could change their relative level see here: ""PPG waves 2.2 & 2.3 oscillators of one voice are never mixed!").
Innenleben / inside Rev. A
- 1 ASIC (designed by Wolfgang Palm to reduce most of the PPG wave digital board into a single chip)
- 1 Motorola MC 68000 P8 CPU
-
8 CEM3389 VC Signal Processor (4 pole VC lowpass and 4 VCAs) for revision A.
Revision B had the Curtis CEM 3387 (the same filter as found in the big Waldorf WAVE, but somewhat not sounding that smooth here). - 8 CEM 5508H Octal Sample & Hold
The RAM card (the same type as used for the Korg M1) use a CR2016 battery
Innenleben / inside Rev. B
Die spätere Rev. B hatte statt schwarzen Zeichen auf grünen Hintergrund nun grüne Zeichen auf schwarzen Hintergrund. Und es kam der Curtis CEM 3387 Filter Chip zum Einsatz. Es gibt aber auch einige wenige microWaves die irgendwie die Rev. A und B Merkmale vermischt haben.
The later Rev. B versions changed the LCD from black characters on green background to green characters on black background. And the Curtis CEM 3387 filter chip was used. But there are a few microWaves showing some Rev. A and B features being mixed.
Filter calibration
Any MW1 users who have a working unit: DON'T DO THE FOLLOWING!!
To tune the filters, you have to go into the Service Mode.
- Press Mode and switch on the MW. As soon as you can read "Welcome to.." release the Mode button.
- Press OK to confirm the warning message.
- With the Mode button, step through the pages until you read "Filter Test"
- With OK you can toggle each of the eight filters on and off.
- With the alpha dial, you can tune the filters. I think you should try 440Hz, but if you can't reach it with one or more filters, try to find a close frequency and tune the other filters to that, too.
- When you're done, switch the MW off and back on. Now the filters are tuned again.
Again: all others shouldn't do that, **only** if they experience *major* tuning problems.
Wolfram Franke (Waldorf) on the Waldorf mailing list