The Behringer Wave: get gritty

Finally caved and got one of these. Tariffs are about to rain hell on the synth markets and while I've traditionally been very anti-B*, here was one synth where I didn't feel like it was really treading on the toes of anyone currently making products. Well, it does kind of sort of tread on the Waldorf M but in such a non-1:1 way that you can't just write it off as a copycat clone. 

So here's my brief take on it and, in reality, a simple Wave vs M take (Quantum gets to sit this one out). The M has a ton more features so I'm just sticking to the basics. Also worth noting that the 3rd Wave should also be in this mix but I’ve only played one briefly and anyway the basic feature overlap should be pretty obvious. 

Pros:
-grit is great (seems to be the same as Waldorf M in MW mode, as Starsky Carr showed, but still feels crunchier?). The stepped modulation that comes with the OG oscillator mode is also very authentically crap (crap meaning good).

-LFO in OG mode is awesome, instant wacked-out chip tune vibes at high rates. This is probably the most interesting thing about it.

-the ring mod is a nice bonus (if obviously lifted from the M; though I will never say no to a ring mod).

-they added a limit function to the wavetable modulation (meaning no glitchy tri/saw/square waves as you sweep, phew!)

-samples ("transients") are crunch-EE. I'm not sure I'll ever go through the headache of actually trying to roll my own, but you can. 

-buttons are fun; punching in values is also more reliable (and precise) than trying to use the insanely flaky rotary select knob (they seem to have put all their stock in this one bargain basement knob). It also reminds me of the Xpander/M12 where it was often faster to punch in value rather than use the endless encoders. 

-Once you get over the initially obtuse interface, it's actually pretty straight forward and simple. No menu-diving and relatively few options to get your head around. If it doesn't have the M's easy UI, you at least don't have to scroll through endless screens for the extra parameters. 

-it's hella cheap.

Cons:
-interface is pretty suck. I know it's the same as the OGs but... doesn't make it any more acceptable in 2025. Plus there are a lot more functions now to remember (6 modes alone in the sub-osc menu now). Barely feels hands-on at times. 

-filter is meh... I'm guessing it's about the same as the 2.2/3 in that regard. I've only had a PPG 2 (poor me!) and that CEM filter wasn't particularly great (like on the Microwave 1, although both are better than this SSM clone). Just feels very dry/utilitarian, doesn't really pick out harmonics. Waldorf M SSM filter OTOH is super musical and characterful. So... where I think you have to approach this is from a "wave first" perspective, i.e., use the Wave almost like the filter-less 360 and use modulation to let the waves do the "filtering". Then, when appropriate, add filter. And really why do you really want to cut out that glorious imaging noise anyway? 

One plus: the filter tracking on the Wave is perfect after calibration, so in the rare cases where it picks out a harmonic this can add some subtle but effective  resonant boosting that tracks chromatically. 

-envelope "feel", or at least the knob ranges, is clunky. They made it slightly better in a recent update but you go from 0 to 10 second release in tiny increment. The OGs also had weird envelopes but that doesn't make it worth copying!

-no separate tuning for sub-osc so you are stuck with the minimal detune and one chromatic interval (5th/octave) settings. Again, true to OG but still :( You'd have to do layering to achieve anything more.

-keyboard feel is blah (like the originals! LOL. No, to be fair the originals were truly atrocious and the AT never worked. This one just feels cheap/mushy, but it works)

-Lastly, setting pitch mod depth still requires using the mod-wheel (a la Prophet-5 and like the originals), which I loathe. But you'll have to get used to it as vibrato is essential for adding some life to most sounds. You can also just dial in the value in the “Analog” screen but the wheel is faster and high enough resolution to get very low values for subtle vibrato. 

In sum, despite all cons it's hard to dislike the Wave too much for any of those reasons if you see it more as a functional artifact and OG PPG replacement rather than a 21st Century update. It adds enough new stuff to not feel totally archaic while still feeling totally archaic, and for a FRACTION of the cost of an original. I'd get the M if you make anything resembling modern music but if you just need "that" sound (but not the features) the B Wave is a pretty easy choice. The crunch IS amazing. 

Epilogue: Wavetables and filters, some observations:

A longtime synth pal/enabler was asking me about respective filters on the MW1 and it got me thinking about what makes a good wavetable filter. From my general lay perspective, it seems to be that filters that have a broader "gooier" resonance work the best. Narrow, peaky resonance filters seem to work less well. My hypothesis is that wavetables generally are not harmonically rich in the way that classic saws and squares are, and thus as you sweep a filter across them there will be "dead zones" where the filter doesn't really have anything to boost. The broader resonance filters capture more harmonics and so retain or even boost musicality as you increase resonance. Also, some filters just seems to pick out harmonics better than others (Moog and Roland filters always do this wonderfully). 

So with that in mind here's my hybrid hitlist, from best to worst:

1) Waldorf M (SSM2044 with saturation): Waldorf knocked it out of the park with this. It sounds great before you've even touched any wavetable modulation. I can't think of a more musical, captivating filter. 

2) Waldorf Quantum (some custom OTA filter with 2-/4-pole slopes and saturation): Despite the fact that this filter absolutely refuses to lose any bass with resonance, it still just seems to work so well on everything that the Quantum's numerous oscillator types can throw at it. I rarely am not using it for something.

3) Ensoniq SQ-80/ESQ-1 (CEM3328 with saturation): everything about the Ensoniqs is kind of rough and raw, including the filter. This synergy seems to work really well though and the 8-bit waves provide plenty of grit for the filter to chomp into to create the organic, meloncholic sound the ESQs are known for. 

4) Korg DW-/EX-8000 (custom chip, kind of Moogy): The DW is the polished if more limited counterpoint to the Ensoniq stuff and with the zappy, self-oscillating filter the end-result is something that feels more "analog" altogether.

5) Waldorf Microwave 1 (CEM 3389, "revA"): Now we start getting into filters that just show up and do their job and nothing more. The filter works well on some sounds like harmonically rich basses (it does that bass-loss thing I love so much) but on other sounds it just sounds like a fancy EQ. The later 3387 (revB) filter is even less exciting. 

6) PPG Wave 2 (CEM 3320); Here I start having to rely on memory because it's been a while since I had this beast. Despite it having the same well-known filter that was in the Prophet-5/Pro-1 and OB-Xa, it's implementation in the Wave just seems... odd. It has a stronger sound than the SSM 2040 used in the Wave 2.2/3 and B Wave but I just don't recall it really adding anything to the sound. The highlight was really this individually clocked wavetable oscillators in the loooooow end of the keyboard. 

7) PPG 2.2/2.3 and B Wave: I've never used the Wave 2.x but if the B Wave is close (and I believe it is) then the same comments apply above. The resonance just seems to have a hard time finding anything to boost. On trad saws and squares it's "fine" but once you get into weird wavetables it's use becomes extremely hit and miss to the point where you might not even know that it's doing anything.