So when you switch on the Wavestation, it will start on Performance level as a default. Although the Patch is the core sound, this is still not the playable program, which instead is the “Performance”. A Patch can be set to consist of 1, 2 or 4 of above mentioned sounds (“Waves”), so here up to 4 Waves can be layered, plus some basic settings and FX routing. Let´s start at the bottom: a single sound (called “Wave”, this is not even yet a sound program) consists of an oscillator, filter, amplifier and some modulation options such as 2 LFOs and 3 envelopes.
There has never been such a system since. It is rather the complex and unique ways the Wavestation can handle playback of samples and waveforms, which make it stand out until today. For example the filter does not offer resonance nor does it sounds very characteristic, so it is a rather basic tool for shaping sounds, not as influential on the sound as in classic analog synthesizers (by far not). So let´s take a look at the basic structure of this synthesizer.īasically I would say the strength of the Wavestation lies not in it´s subtractive synthesis options (which are still there). This is both on the parameter number, as there are lots of them which need to be understood, and on the option side, means what possibilities unfold from the technical capabilities. The structure of the Wavestation is pretty complex and it takes time to study it´s possibilities. However I quickly realized that this would be not as easy to achieve as I had hoped. So there I had this fantastic keyboard at home and was completely enthusiastic to start sound programming right away. I will explain more on the differences later on. When I had saved enough money to buy it, it was already the EX variation, which came out 1991. The results were crazy cutting lead sounds, thick lively pads and lots of mystical atmospheres. Additionally the programs were rich and complex, with several of such changing sounds layered.
The sounds it was capable to produce were astounding: the basic waveforms could be changing again and again, while a note was being played, either slowly for evolving pads or quickly for rhythmical patterns. In 1990, when the Wavestation was brought to the market, it was considered as an extremely versatile and creative piece of gear.
The Wavestation is probably the instrument, which remained in my collection for the longest time, actually it must be since around 25 years.
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