Just took delivery and have made my way through 50 presets (out of 500!) ... long story short, I am saying Goodbye to my Bass Station 2.

Holy Cow does the filter in the Pulse 2 blow the Bass Station Filter out of the water. I have liked my new Bass Station during this past month but really I only have need for one analog monosynth at this time. The Presets in the Waldorf are inspirational and all over the map. The character is unreal at the price (thanks Eric Dahlberg and Greg Johnson at JRR for hooking me up) .

The Pulse 2 also offers a Paraphonic mode as well for great raw sounding pads and sweeps. This is something other monosynths can't do.

My desktop space is at a premium and the Waldorf takes up a smaller footprint as well. I will miss the big fat Filter knob on the Bass Station 2 but oh well. One thing for those taking delivery of this little beast ....watch out for your Input levels when auditioning Presets... the levels are all over the place and my ADAM A7x's are feeling some pain right now.

haha, so it basically has the same incredibly hot outputs that my original pulse has. that was always kind of annoying. im seriously considering getting the new one even though i have the older pulse+.

Not that the outputs are hot (they might be, though), it's more that relative volumes between various patches are not consistent. That's a problem with a lot of synths.

I would love to hear a comparsion between the bass station 2 and pulse 2. Bring us the battle of the twos!

Being second is of course no indication of being 2nd rate. I bet a lot of gearslutz would keep them both But congratz to you for overcoming the GAS.

I can understand what rockreid says, i also have both, the BS II and the Pulse 2
i don't know what i would do if i had to decide between them, probably keep the Pulse 2, but i have not to decide

the Pulse 2 is realy overwhelming in the mean thing: sound
i dont know any other monophon analog synth capable of such versatility like the Pulse 2 does, realy

@oden
i yet posted some demos from Pulse 2 and BS II here in the forum


@rockreid
important first to do the update to 1.11 and the updated sounds

I tested a BSII, MiniBrute, Mopho and Phatty through the same monitors. The BSII sounded very plastic and sterile in comparison to the other three, not inspiring whatsoever. The Pulse 2 you tube demos on the other hand sound very aggressive and the price point seems just about right. Its good to hear that a buyers initial observations matches the youtube experience.

The BS II is my bread & butter synth, it sounds very "rolandish", but not like plastic and it has a keyboard (what i needed)

The Pulse 2 sound is a mixture between Pro One and Mono/Poly (even paraphonic too)
the sound, after a few updates now, i would say can be very clear but i would not say cold - but it can also do very warm basses and other things and the paraphonic is realy very good, much better as i expected, i use it often. you have to hear it, realy.

if you looking after the best sounding synth in that class take a look at the Pulse 2

if you need a good Bass (and Lead) Synth with keyboard for a good price, listen to the BS II

the minibrute can also do a handful of good sounds, but i think it is better in a modular surrounding and for people who like the retro style of it
Mopho and Phatty i did not have yet, but the phatty is also in a completly other price range (in germany around 1000€ )

i think we live in a wonderful time for people who like synthesizers

Thats the most important thing. Different synths for different people

Then here's a stupid idea. Analog synths have tuning routines where - I imagine - they "listen" to the oscillator's tune or count cycles or something and then adjust the CV offset accordingly to compensate.

Why don't synths (and especially VA's) have a feature where they play the sound internally and measure the amplitude, then do some back of the envelope stuff where they adjust the main output volume accordingly?

Or even better, a VST-editor/librarian that uses your audio interface's inputs to measure the volume, change the patch and reupload it to the synth? Take a second per patch (generous probably), download patch to computer, make adjustments, reupload patch to synthesizer, move to next.

I'm trying to decide between the two. Currently leaning toward BSII mainly for the immediacy of its interface vs. the Pulse 2's matrix grid interface.

i would say try them out, the interface of the pulse is done very well, no submenues (except for some global things like midi channel and so) you reach everything very quick
it has a fantastic arp/sequencer where everything can be handled via midi, even step changes and other unconventional things, very cool for long tracks for bringing in some varieties
imagine you can switch programs via midi on the fly, if you wish another program for every note - no problem
and it has ~ 410 very good sound programs (of 500 possible), it has a fantastic random sound generator (for the lazy ones like me )


on the other side the BS II is made of plastic but has the better look, an overall good build quality and a good keyboard and it can do every sound you wish in the well known roland quality (like a 101 in a way).

this decision is not easy i dont have both without a reason


this was nearly completly fixed with the new soundset

I want one but will probably wait a year or two for used and new prices to come down a bit. I dont need one THAT badly. Yet...

I'd still prefer a rack but with some recent sales have some desktop space now. I was going to buy a MS20Mini but I hate the build of it and have lots of vintage already.

Gainstaging. Quieter patches are probably at lower volume upstream but maximum volume at the final stage (to compensate). Turning up the level upstream would probably also change the sound, as these stages probably aren't all linear, which is why they're quieter to begin with. The alternative is to lower the final output level on hotter patches, which is do-able but will just raise your noise floor if you compensate in the mix.

Especially the Blofeld!

After getting burned on four out of five online purchases of vintage synths earlier in the year I kind of swore off buying new hardware. I'm using the HW synths I own (and that actually work) but have zero interest in acquiring more at this point. Except for this one. I'm already working on making room for one in my setup.

Hm, high praise, though it is $300 or so more than the BSII. The audio demo video didn't wow me. Where can I find some good demos?

I can't imagine the price difference, here the BS II costs 469€ and the Pulse 2 costs 499€, thats a difference of 30€ = 42$

i did some demos on YT and SC, if they are good you have to decide by yourself, i dont claim that
i am not a seller from waldorf or beta tester nor do i have to do something with them

I'll probably just buy them both, I think they will go nicely together.

I used to buy synths new, but nowadays I usually wait until they become available second hand, in 6 months or so...

Mmmm, i'm getting gear lust for this. Definitely one to think about, even though I totally don't "need" it. We'll see. Might pick it up in a few months.

Even more lust now i've seen the M4L editor as I like my hardware to have DAW recall:

The size is incredible. So compact. Very easy to use too. Want.

yeah I think Ill pick one up at some stage too. I too am totally sworn off vintage synths. Especially the 80's when they stupid slow CPUs

In the US the BS2 is $499 and the Waldorf is $799 for whatever reason.

What is wrong with these companies and their pricing?

The european price includes a vat, if you take that out the PULSEII costs only 389 euros / around 530 dollars.

The Novation is just the opposite way, the prices are out of whack and then they won't even give the rebate to european customers! Bit of a slap in the face really.

I would love that. I spend a lot of time level matching presets for factory banks.

Blofeld owners:

How stable/easy to interact with is the Blofeld at this stage in the game? Are there any recommended software editors (especially ones that are PT compatible)? If not, is the unit well supported and fluid with CC# and/or NRPNs? Overall, does it feel like a finished product at this point in time?

I have the Largo plug. I like the sound but it is buggy to work with, especially in PT. Either way I prefer a hardware interface and the sound of hardware in general, from what I have read/heard the Blofeld is a bit darker sounding.

Given the low price point of both instruments, I was thinking it might be nice to pick up a blofeld tabletop and a pulse 2 at the same time.'

EDIT: Just found this video which is a good demo of editing on the Blofeld, I assume the Pulse 2 has a similar editing flow for those who are curious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxvDWoU670

AFAIK there's no Blofeld editor that's PT compatible. But yes, Blofeld supports CCs and SysEx quite well.

Doesn't it only transmit cc's in usb mode??

So don't connect it in USB mode.

The desktop version only has USB for midi output, no 5-pin Din MIDI out.

my keyboard has midi IO but doesn't transmit midi CC via the midi out. It receives it via the midi in no problem. This is a minor pain point because I don't use a computer DAW rather a hardware sequencer. C'mon waldorf, please fix this as meant I had to purchase an iConnectMidi in order for midi CC to be recorded out. I run the USB cable to the iconnectMIDI then standard midi cables to my midi patch bay. works fine, but it is a pain point for an otherwise phenomenal synth. I'm never selling the blo. Its awesome.

What if you want to record a knob turn or button press?