New Korg Wavestate is a redesigned classic synth

New Korg Wavestate is a redesigned classic synth

The Korg Wavestate is a brand new take on Korg’s incredibly popular Wavestation synthesizer from the 90s.

The original Korg Wavestation is well-known as one of the best synth pad generators of the early years. It’s known for its unusual textures it was a favourite of artists such as Gary Numan, Genesis and Depeche Mode.

The Wavestation was also responsible for most of the synthy sounds in the original X-files TV score, and the start-up chime on the early Apple Macintosh computers.

One of the main features that made the Wavestation so unique was the Vector synthesis engine, which allowed for multiple sounds to be layered, morphed and sequenced in a much more ‘organic’ way than before.

The original Wavestation was notoriously difficult to program and became monotonous because of the limited sequencer capabilities.

Korg has taken the concept of the original and redesigned it for the modern age with the new Korg Wavestate, it’s got a much bigger sample library, a more user-friendly interface and modular style sequencer options.

What are the big new features?

Korg has redesigned the WSEQ (Wave Sequencer) in the new Krog Wavestate, each of the parameters has their own unique sequencer lane, each lane can have a unique step-count, timing and you have control over parameters such as pitch, sample selection and more. This is great for rhythmic sequences and organic, evolving pads alike.

This is per-layer, and you have four layers in total – and the Vector synthesis engine allows you to morph between the layers using the X/Y joystick. The Vector movement can also be automated with the newly designed vector envelope. It’s got an intuitive graphic which displays the Vector shape you’re going to loop through – you can control the X/Y coordinates for each point alongside the time it takes to move between the points, and you can change the overall speed – much like an LFO.

The synth is capable of producing up to 64 stereo voices with 4 part multitimbral capabilities, it comes loaded with all of the samples of the original Wavestation, a bunch of new samples designed specifically for the Wavestate and a selection from Plugin Guru.

There’s also some effects built-in and eight macros to add extra playability (something the original was notoriously bad at)

The Korg Wavestate is set to retail at USD $1100 (Around R16k excl. duties).

For more information check out the Korg website here.