Two years ago, already being fed up with the then-16 year long trend of everyone re-releasing classic analog synths, I predicted a new trend of digital hardware machines, and in particular, the return of wavetable synthesis, as the next phase of idea-recycling. It is now reality.
Synthesis revival in the 21st Century: New Analogs
In 2002, Robert Moog released the Moog Voyager, a recreation of his famous original, the Minimoog (Model D). It was, and is, a fantastic instrument, which did more than just bringing back the classic sound with a familiar layout: it added more oscillator stability, more performance control, more convenience and more instantaneous feedback for the player. What most don’t realize is that it was the Voyager that started a revival of analog synths, which I call “new analogs”, on a larger scale, turning the electronic music instrument industry upside down (or rather, downside up), ultimately undeniably effecting the culture of electronic music.
Bob Moog was working out of passion. Whether the timing of the Voyager release was a proper celebration of him reclaiming his company’s name and kicking off a new era of Moog Music, or it was responding to a rapidly growing need for true analog sound, it had a profound effect on the electronic musical instrument industry. Why transition back to analog from the late ’90s-early 2000s super-capable and convenient VA (virtual analog) gear? On one hand, the retro aesthetic started coming back in areas outside of music: fashion, dance, photography. The sounds of virtual analogs were fat, warm, diverse, however very precise and therefore not retro in any way. Bands started using classic analog synths – even bringing them on the stage. Releases with the ’80s retro aesthetic, but offering a new and original sound (such as Ladytron’s 604, to mention one of the most brilliant albums) got the attention of electronic music fans and producers alike. Unstable, dirty-sounding leads and basses starting to become cool again, at least in various local scenes, primarily in the UK and in some parts of Europe. At the same time, used prices of vintage synths have already reached questionably reasonable levels on eBay – it has become a dream (and a perceived way to reach originality) for many to own a vintage MS-20, Model D or Prophet 5.
While Moog wasn’t the first one to release a new analog (for example, Studio Electronics has never stopped since the early ’90s), the visibility and prestige of the Moog name signaled to other brands: new analog is the best of both words: it is real, stable and convenient. Some were fast to follow, some already had products that the Voyager justified putting more promotion behind. Some lagged and took a decade to come out with new analog models. Brand new companies were launched exclusively making new analog synthesizers.
Synthesizers of the 2010’s: New Analogs in New Markets
Fast-forward a decade. Electronic music steps out of the underground in the United States; EDM is suddenly on mainstream platforms and on the charts, everyone wants to incorporate the electronic sound. Manufacturers and distributors are happy: a brand new market opens up for them, in the land of hobby musicians with disposable income, where technology is cheap, “money buys creativity” is a rarely-questioned belief, and where the role of tech in culture is high: the United States.
Around the middle of the decade, mainstream bands proudly use analog synths again, the dubstep phase passes by – fortunately relatively quickly, like a nightmare that screams “modern electronic music equals aggressive sounds (and who cares about harmony)”. After the pixel-dust of un-musicality settles, day-dreaming Gen X musicians (not in small part thank to Vaporwave) bring back the sound of the ’80s. First it’s cool, and then, as it usually happens with anything that can be sold based on nostalgia to two generations, it becomes commonplace; television shows promote the retro aesthetic: synthwave takes off. The music instrument industry is now ecstatic: modular synths are on the rise, instrument product catalogs now offer more new analog synths than ever before in history (and actually more analogs than digital synths). Why? Because “real synthwave is supposed to be real analog” – so they say. So naturally, everybody needs a 303 synth – and not just any synth, but an analog one! Because they are “better than anything digital” (so are the newcomers told). Musical sound design becomes a must-do for anyone who wants to be taken even semi-seriously; using preset sounds starts to become a sin in the electronic music scene (not surprisingly also in the US, where getting lost in the technical wizardry typically wins over emotional content anyway, and in this rare case, it wins even over convenience).
So what’s wrong with this picture? It’s a trend, driven by technology and instrument marketing, celebrating the idea of re-production of the familiar past, rather than by originality and the celebration of creation (except for the modular world, where, for the most part, the truly original and truly unlistenable stuff happens). Ironically, despite of the overly technology-focused approach, almost all analogs use subtractive synthesis! It’s not hard to put the two together: one of the most limited synthesis methods is now heavily influencing where electronic music is going in 2010, after 70 years of history! And, America being the very best when it comes to exporting anything that’s well wrapped in trends, the changes spread worldwide. But who cares, manufacturers are flooding the new markets with old recipes in shiny packages (even drawing the respect of self-nominated “synth fans”).
New Wave of the 2020s – Wavetable Synths
During the second half of 2010s, astonishingly boring re-releases of classics and degenerated clones of clones promise new sonic worlds, while in reality, they rarely add a feature or two to Robert Moog’s 1968 concept. Manufacturers are making a killing with re-releases – until Behringer enters the game and spells death to an era, with shameless brand-stealing, unoriginal recreations and plastic heaven.
Thinking about it, maybe I should like Behringer after all. With their business model now they are unknowingly forcing the rest of the industry (which is unable to compete with such low prices) to move onto new trends. In 2018 I said: “analog has been the new cool thing in electronic music production for all too long now; this drawn-out phase of telling sheep users [referring to the mass mentality of easy-to-influence tech-focused buyers] that analog is the “best” will be soon replaced by digital, again; probably wavetables”. I doubted that any influential player in the industry would dare to release products with a new type of synthesis, but bringing back a short but often-praised era of wavetables seemed like an easy to promote contrast, therefore a less risky option. Just by looking at the used price trends of PPGs, Waldorf (Micro)waves, Wavestations and Fizmos, and the relatively short attention that they enjoyed while romplers and VAs took over, one could see how the desire for something lesser known was bound to create a new trend. It took the industry two years to do it – with the usual exception of pioneering Waldorf, who not only moved fast with the Quantum, but had a great advantage in wavetable design to begin with.
Wavetables, Wavescanning – Already Dripping from Popularity
Wavetables have always been with us, integrated into digital synths like the Virus TI and plugins NI Massive, Serum and more recently Arturia’s Pigments. Some companies ventured into augmenting their analog synths with a wavetable osc option like DSI’s Prophet 3 with its scannable wavetable source, or adding wavetables as an extension to their software packages, like Ableton 10’s Wavetable plugin. (Again, kudos to Arturia for jumping ahead of the trends with no history in wavetables, but instead of copying Waldorf, giving birth to an original concept, the Microfreak). In the months before the 2020 NAMM Show, no less than five companies suddenly introduced their dedicated wavetable synths to the masses: Modal’s Argon8, Softube’s Parallels, Udo’s Super 6, the ASM Hydrasynth, and of course, Korg’s Wavestate. Why do we need to recycle old sound synthesis concepts? Actually, why do we need trends in instrument design at all?
Will manufacturers and distributors try to convince everyone now that wavetable synthesis is the best? Will they market them with the “most unique” and “most flexible” message? They already kind of do. But, who cares. Talking with Brian Transeau (aka BT, who actually well understands the power of inner ideas) yesterday I got the impression that almost noone seems to mind the fact that manufacturers are dictating the trends now, and thus, heavily influencing the styles and trends in (electronic) music. I, for one, do mind. Even as a sound synthesist who’s been preaching about the importance of sound design for 25 years, I wish true creativity that originates from new experiences and unique concepts would primarily influence music, and synth players would use whatever technology as a tool of expression once again, not the other way around. What BT and I agreed on was that those of us who want to express ideas free from industry trends, will always find the tools to convey such ideas with authenticity. Just like we always did when we needed them, regardless of the trends in technology. But it’s not so easy to ignore the heavy marketing and influence of trendy new instrument design by those who are new to electronic music.
So, dear fans of electronic music: get ready for the new wave of wavetables, and with that, a lot of wavetable music hits. Korg has done its part to add easy-to-impress presets in the Wavestate (I bet Dr. Luke pre-ordered it or has already put them into a dozen of mainstream pop songs), but come on, Roland, Moog, Yamaha – add those Wavetable OSC buttons quickly… before NI blankets the world with a PPG library and Behringer makes a $199 Prophet VS clone! Then you all have to recycle something else and tell us what’s the new cool in music. (Additive synths in 2024, anyone?)
A quick summary of my personal impressions of the new wavetable gear:
ASM Hydrasynth: amazing control and expression, easy to set up modulation… I almost bought one. But the more I heard it, the more fake it sounded. That plastic-y, predictable, trying-too-hard-to-impress, too-perfect, too-shiney over-packaged character turned me off and left me quite disappointed.
Modal Argon8: beautifully designed instrument with smooth and rich sound, but not a whole lot of extremes, a held-back character that promises a relatively limited sonic world with not many surprises to explore. I wish it could get more raw, more real.
Korg Wavestate: an impressive and capable preset-machine with so much happening in its sound, that it can be easily a turn-off. It sounds fun since a lot of movement, loops, performances are “printed” into the waveform or use the sequencer: too easy to get sidetracked and more inspiring to play than to create with. Sound designers with tons of time to initialize patches might take its sound elsewhere, but since it’s going to be the most commercially successful synth of 2020 (mark my words!), Wavestate sounds will be showing up in productions all over the world – which is exactly why I’d never want one.
Waldorf Quantum: this is the only one here I personally have not tried yet. What I heard sounded worthy of the Waldorf name, though, even if a bit too silky. I’m personally turned off by the touch-screen display; give me more buttons with direct access to parameters instead.
Final verdict: pick up a Prophet VS or a Microwave for rawness and flexibility.
