Waldorf Pulse 2 ... take the first look

[gregwar]

i just remembered this synth and had a minor gas attack. searching youtube i'm shocked there still aren't any demos yet. thomann said "not yet available" damn

the $800 price at nova seems a little steep. i figured these would already be on craigslist by now lol. i guess there's the pulse 1 but i'd rather get a microwave 1 if i go that route

[kpsiegel]

Well it looks like in classic Waldorf fashion that the Pulse 2 has now slipped to Spring of 2013. They took it off the first page of the web site even. Amazing.

[valis]

There can be any number of factors for a delay, why is that amazing ?

[zahush76]

This, indeed, is NOT amazing at all.
I think the apropriate word is "TYPICAL".

[shponglefan]

They keep bumping it. Originally it was summer 2012, then fall 2012, now spring 2013... Until I see evidence of a working unit with a real demo, I'm not going to believe it even exists.

[kpsiegel]

Originally Posted by zahush76

This, indeed, is NOT amazing at all.
I think the apropriate word is "TYPICAL".

"Amazing" as in "you have got to be kidding Waldorf...are you really in the business of producing products or what?" That kind of "amazing."

[Steve Morley]

Originally Posted by shponglefan

They keep bumping it. Originally it was summer 2012, then fall 2012, now spring 2013... Until I see evidence of a working unit with a real demo, I'm not going to believe it even exists.

Wow that is not a great sign! Was expecting a juicy demo any day now LOL

Also no sign of a real demo of the SE Boomstar, seems to be fashion to announce but not back it up with sound?

[divemedia]

i just went ahead and got an old pulse.

[shponglefan]

Originally Posted by Steve Morley

Also no sign of a real demo of the SE Boomstar, seems to be fashion to announce but not back it up with sound?

Seemds like a backwards marketing strategy if you ask me. Contrast this with Auturia, which built a ton of hype for the minibrute that they had trouble filling orders!

[Ohulahanbass]

I've been getting dangerously stoked for this synth now they say 2013??? This seems irresponsible with my heart, I was so very excited.

[pro]

i want a pair.

[zemky]

I even saw adds of Waldorf Pulse on some music magazines on Germany; but nobody knows about Pulse

[Looping Loddar]

I suppose it's quite a hard job to make a mono analog which is nearly as good as the first Waldorf Pulse. They made some very clever tricks in the electronic design of the first Pulse. Maybe they are just waiting for some special electronic components which can be a frustrating task for a small company. Don't know.

But i do know that i will be very happy when the Pulse 2 gets available.

They say that compared with the good old Pulse it will have:

even more brute-strength power onboard (...) completely analog (...) reincarnation of it's legendary ancestor (...) The filter circuits now also offer Highpass and Bandpass modes. We added analog Filter FM and Ring Modulation along with paraphonic modes that allow up to eight voice chords (...) 8/4 Voice Paraphonic modes (...) External analog signal input (...) Backwards compatible with classic Pulse

"Gut Ding will Weile haben."
(Haste makes waste.)

[clusterchord]

its just another case of Waldorf vaporware tradition. it's quite possible it doesn't exist in hardware form at all, not even as a prototype. pity, as it's a great idea.


one thing is for sure, they now do have some strong competition in Elektron A4 that is:

also a dual DCO into an analog multimode filter design
costs aprox twice as what Pulse2 will cost +/-, but
offers 4 times the voices + sequencer +CV stuff+whole second LP filter per voice


on a related note, can't help thinking there is room on the market for Elektron to release an A1 of sorts, without sequencer.. as entry level. few knobs more for sound programming but no step buttons etc. (even tho, that probably wont happen as it doesn't fit into their form factor.)

[zahush76]

Yep. Again, this is a case of announcing a synth when there's nothing to announce yet.
And thus, waldorf announced the pulse 2, on namm 2012, a year ago, and still nothing.
Elektron announced the Analog Four about a month ago - and it already hit the stores. People have it on their desktops.

If it's not developed, if it doesn't exist, if it's not ready (or almost ready) - it's better just to shut up.

[ross9999]

If it's not developed, if it doesn't exist, if it's not ready (or almost ready) - it's better just to shut up.

Yup; it's a very odd marketing strategy. Because you become excited by the concept of it when you find out about it, and want it. A few months pass, you get used to it, and if it's a year before it comes out the excitement has significantly diminished when you go to buy it if your still even interested.

[Looping Loddar]

Originally Posted by ross9999

Yup; it's a very odd marketing strategy. Because you become excited by the concept of it when you find out about it, and want it. A few months pass, you get used to it, and if it's a year before it comes out the excitement has significantly diminished when you go to buy it if your still even interested.

Losing the confidence of your customers will never be a working marketing strategy. What we see are just bad communication skills of Waldorf.

(its a tradition there...)

As far as i know all of the waldorf people are just technicians, developers and engineers. They don't have a marketing professional in their team. Today they are searching for a DSP developer.

[networkacid]

Originally Posted by networkacid

Another piece of Waldorf vapourware!

Exactly 6 months later...?

[MinoCan]

Create first, adverstise later should be their motto.

I admire their legacy synths though, super flexible and well thought out. Too bad they fail on "hype building"

[Risc_Terilia]

Looks like this will be out in Feb so really they've been better than their (latest) word on the release date :D

[leMel42]

Announcing early is a way to challenge people's expectations and block them from making other purchases, whereas announcing out-of-nowhere can catch folks without funds put aside, or make them regret a recent purchase. But I think this strategy only pays off if you deliver within a reasonable period, and on time.

[fuse]

Originally Posted by leMel42

But I think this strategy only pays off if you deliver within a reasonable period, and on time.

And without major bugs ofc.

[ill kilowatt]

happy pulse 1 owner bought mine in 1997 i love it. i hope they get this one together the paraphonic mode is very interesting looking forward to getting my hands on one if and when it is released. kudos to waldorf i hope they cant pull it off a 3 osc desktop mod is exactly what the world needs, i find editing the blofeld intuitive so itll be easy to use for sure

[miscend]

Thomann's website says they are sold out but they are expecting a delivery 15.02.2013! So I guess some people already have this.

Waldorf Pulse 2 - Thomann UK Cyberstore

[clusterchord]

hahaha sold out... thats a good one. they never had one in the first place.

so far we have seen two CG images, some blah blah and that's it. i wonder whats gonna happen on 15.02... but im doubtful.

[networkacid]

Maybe we'll see a working prototype at NAMM lol

[Looping Loddar]

Originally Posted by networkacid

Maybe we'll see a working prototype at NAMM lol

I don't believe so. Maybe there are some sourcing issues. Waldorf says today:

available spring 2013

Whatever that means...

(remark: I would be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky - i would be so...)

[Risc_Terilia]

It must exsist if you can pre-order it though, or not? lol

[divemedia]

Originally Posted by Risc_Terilia

It must exsist if you can pre-order it though, or not? lol

You would think but that uk store has had it listed on their site in some form or another for the past year. i dont think it necessarily confirms a release date.

[shponglefan]

Originally Posted by clusterchord

so far we have seen two CG images, some blah blah and that's it. i wonder whats gonna happen on 15.02... but im doubtful.

Hey, don't forget the empty metal box Waldorf was showing off too.