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Cookery Course
Main Course
Analog SoundsWavetable-SoundsArpeggiator-SoundsFM-SoundsFilter-SoundsMulti-Mode
Cooking-Recipies
1. Bass-Arpeggio2. Wavetable-Sweep3. Pad-Sounds
Dessert (Glossary)
1 - 2
3 - 9
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10 - 13
111213
14 - 16
This booklet is a quick introduction tothe MicroWave II/XT and the XTk, andis designed to give you a first impressionof the endless capabilities and theuniqueness of our synthesizer.
More detailed explanations as to theoperation of the machine can be foundin the regular manual included witheach unit.
Whenever the name MicroWave II/XTturns up in the text, it is referring to allmodels (MicroWave II, XT, XT Black,and XTk).Should the operation of the models differ,this will be explicitly pointed out.
Should technical terms turn up in thetext, you will be referred to the glossaryat the end of the booklet.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookList of ingredients
Ingredients:
• 1 MicroWave II or XT/-k and a powersupply
• 2 Audio jack cables connected to asound system or
• 1 Headphone
• 1 Power socket
• 1 MIDI Masterkeyboardand 1 MIDI-cable (except XTk)
• 1 Pair of ears to listen with
• 1 Pair of hands to turn the knobs with
1
Connections:
Cookery Course MicroWave II/XT-CookBook
2
• 8-times Multi-Mode
• 10 voices (expandable to 30)
• 256 Sounds, 128 Multis
• 64 ROM-, 32 RAM-Wavetables
• 64 Waves per Wavetable
• programmable Arpeggiator(Can be synced to MIDI-Clock)
• 4 integrated effect units
• all parameters are MIDI-controllable
• optional editing software allows youto create your own Wavetables
• simple updates for the operatingsystem via MIDI
Per Voice:
• 2 Oscillators with sync and FM
• 2 Wave-Generators
• mixer with Ring-Modulator and noise
• 2 Multimode filters with numeroustypes of filters (presently 15 types)
• ADSR Filter- and AMP-Envelopes
• 8-level Wave-Envelope with loop
• 4-level Free-Envelope
• various Glide and Trigger-Modes
• LFOs, syncable to MIDI-Clock
• Extensive Modulation-Matrix with16 slots
• 4 Modifiers with various algorithms
• 44 Endless rotaries to enter parameters (only XT/-k)
• 2 x 40 character display, backlighted
• 2 Stereo-Outs
• 1 Stereo-In (only XT/-k)
• MIDI In/Out/Thru
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook
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To give you a better idea of the numer-ous sound capabilities, we have devel-oped a Demo-Mode that can be enteredby pushing the Play/Shift and thePower/Standby button at the sametime.
On the XTk you can also get intoDemo-Mode by pushing the "0" and "9"buttons simultaneously (Demo).
The various Demo-Sound-Programs canbe selected by turning the red dial.
On the XT and the XTk you can changea lot of the parameters directly. On theMicroWave II, four functions are availa-ble on the Play-Access-Page, and can beselected by pushing the Play/Shiftbutton.
In addition you can also change thesounds with the "classic" tools (modula-tion wheel, aftertouch).
After entering Demo-Mode, the displayshould read:
Demo Sound A001 | Mode |Main Vol.
Introducing MW T| Sound | 127
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookMain Course
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Because of its synthesis architecture, theMicroWave II/XT is ideal for creatinganalog sounds.
Because the behavior of an analogfilter is copied exactly, and there arenumerous filter types to choose from,you are able to create a large numberof classic sounds.
The extensive modulation capabilitiesand the internal effects create a verylively sound.
For analog sound synthesis theMicroWave II/XT uses a number of dif-ferent filter types, e.g. 12dB/24dB Notch-,Low- and Bandpass, 12dB-Hipass, Dual-Lowpass/Bandpass.
In addition it also has all the parametersfound in its classic ancestors: Oscillatorsync, FM, Analog clipping, ring modu-lation and fast LFOs and envelopes.
A001 Introducing MWThis wide Pad sound demonstrates thepowerful filter; you can change the filter'scurve with the Masterkeyboard's modulationwheel, so that the sounds change as if it weremorphing. The same applies to aftertouch(➔ glossary). Pitchbend provides for an addi-tional spacey effect.
A002 SyncronThe character of this sound is – typical forsync sounds – cutting-aggressive, but can, ifnecessary, be smoothed with the filter. This isdone with of by the modulation wheel. Turnthe pitchbend wheel to hear some nice pitchchange-effects.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookAnalog Sounds
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One of the MicroWave II/XT fortes is theWavetables (➔ glossary). "Scanning"them provides you with endless soundpossibilities, and offers you a basis forsounds never before been heard.
To control the Wavescanning you canuse the Wave-Envelopes and all themodulation capabilities.
The combination of Wavetables, filtersand modulation turn the MicroWaveII/XT into an unbelievably versatile andpowerful synthesizer.
The MicroWave II/XT has 65 ROM-Wavetables, that each have a differentsound characteristic; some are gentlebecause the waves only differ slightlyfrom one another. Others create suddenchanges and therefore have a very harshbasic timbre. Simply changing the cur-rent Wavetable quickly creates newkinds of sounds.
You should make plenty of use of this.With help of an editing program youcan even make your own Wavetablesand use these for sound synthesis in theMicroWave II/XT.
A003 WavestarterThe modulation wheel closes the filter a bit, sothe sounds seams tamer. Aftertouch increasesthe LFO speed (➔ glossary), and adds move-ment to the sound.
A004 Wave-PremiereThe up and down in this sound is created bythe Wave-Envelope, which can be constantlyrepeated with the Loop function. Turning themodulation wheel shortens the loop, and thesound gets more and more hectic. Aftertouchchanges the pitch, so the harder you press thekeys, the more the sound "wobbles".
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookWavetable-Sounds
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The MicroWave II/XT has a very power-ful arpeggiator (➔ glossary), that not onlyoffers you the classic behaviour, but alsooffers 15 preset and 1 programmablepattern. By playing different chords, youcan come up with very interestingsound structures.
What is also interesting is that thearpeggiator directly belongs to a sound,so you can apply up to 8 arpeggios inMulti-Mode.
The arpeggiator's speed is set in BPM,and can be synchronized to MIDI-Clockif necessary.
The notes played by the arpeggiator canalso be sent to the MIDI-Out plug tocontrol external machines.
A005 Hi, Arp!As soon as the modulation wheel changesthe filter parameter and the length of thesound, the sound becomes richer.On the Play-Access-Page you will find the"ARP Range" parameter that determines thearpeggiator's octave range.
A006 Acid RainThis is a bassline kind of sound, whereby themodulation changes the attack phase of thefilter envelope. Noise can be added on thePlay-Access-Page to create a percussivesound.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookArpeggiator-Sounds
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The MicroWave II/XT is capable of fre-quency modulation (FM), which createssounds with a bell-like ring to soundswith a metallic "flavour".
During frequency modulation the ampli-tude of OSC2 controls the frequency ofOSC1. The higher the FM-amount, thestronger the effect.
FM really gets interesting when youwork with Wavescanning or with differ-ent Wavetables.
What is important when using FM is tochange the oscillators' frequencies, asthis produces the best results.
A007 Classic FMThis is a typical FM-Piano, whereby only alittle oscillator-FM is being used.Try out the modulation wheel!
A008 FormArpThe vocal character of this sound is created bya special FM-Filter, whereby the filter is modu-lated by the second oscillator's frequency.This can be heard very clearly if you slowlyturn up the modulation wheel. The "F1 Extra"parameter on the Play-Access-Page also has adirect influence on the filter's FM-intensity.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookFM-Sounds
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In addition to the classic filter types, theMicroWave II/XT also has additionalinteresting models. These filters guaran-tee you a large number of very newsounds.
With the XT and XTk you can even loadin external audio material and process itwith the filters and the internal effects.
The MicroWave II/XT combines tradition-al filters with further sound-changingfunctions.
With the S&H-Filter the sample rate isalso reduced, with the FM-Filter the filterfrequency is modulated by oscillator 2,and with the Wave-Shaper/Sin (X)-Shaperthe filter's signal is downright distorted.
A009 DrowningThe S&H-Filter reduces the sample rate inreal time. The modulation wheel controls thisprocess. At first the sound gets a bit rougher,and then it completely loses its originalcharacteristics.
A010 It´s not realA typical example for a SciFi-effect sound.A bandpass filter, ring modulation andWavescanning create the individual charac-ter. Please use the modulation wheel, pitch-bend and aftertouch extensively.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookFilter-Sounds
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To get from the Play-Page to Multi-Mode,turn the third knob from the left underthe display (Sound/Multi) slightly to theright. In Multi-Mode, up to eight soundscan be controlled on eight different MIDIchannels simultaneously. Multi-Modeis usually used to play several soundssimultaneously by controlling theMicroWave from an external sequencer.What's special is that an arpeggiator canbe programmed for each sound in Multi-Mode, so that eight arpeggiators arerunning simultaneously (synchronised ifyou want).
All the sounds can also be edited inMulti-Mode. To select the correspondinginstrument, keep the "Shift" buttonpressed and select the instrument withthe right-hand button under the display.The number in the right side of the dis-play shows the current sound.
The Demo-Song uses 10 of theMicroWave II/XT's voices and plays theDemo-Sounds A013-A020. An optionalvoice expansion for up to 30 voices isavailable.
Play Multi 003 | Mode |Main Vol.
DemoSongMulti T| Multi | 127 1
Multi 001 On the Run!
Multi 002 Hit the key!Both Multis use various sounds in the arpeg-giator, and combined they produce an inte-resting rhythm pattern.The modulation wheel influences variousparameters.
Multi 003 DemoSongMultiSelecting this Multi automatically starts theDemo-Song.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookMulti-Mode
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Up to now we have dealt with pre-sets,this chapter is dedicated to creatingyour own sounds from scratch.
With just a few turns of the knob youwill very soon be putting together yourvery own personal sounds.
To do this we will use Demo-SoundA011. Turn the "Sound/Multi"- knobunder the display to switch theMicroWave II/XT into Sound-Mode,and then select sound A011.
In Demo-Sound A011 "InitSound" all theparameters were set to predefined stand-ard values, so it doesn't sound too spec-tacular.
The XT and the XTk offer direct controlof the most important parameters. Onthe MicroWave II you have to push thecorresponding buttons to go to the rightSound-Menu, call up the correct Menu-Page with the red dial, and then changethe parameter with the coinciding con-trols under the display.
Sometimes this process is also necessaryon the XT and the XTk, because it is notpossible for each of the 200 parametersto have its own control.
To store a sound you have finishedprogramming, push "Shift" and "Store" atthe same time, select the memory bankyou want to store it in, and push "Shift"and "Store" again.
When in Demo-Mode you can onlystore sounds in the regular user memory.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookCooking-Recipies
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• Set Wave 1 Startwave to saw
• Set Mix Wave 2 to 000
• Set Cutoff to 90
• Amplifier-Envelope:
Attack = 000
Decay = 020
Sustain = 000
Release = 000
• Switch Arpeggiator Active to on orhold, set Tempo, Clock and Rangeto whatever you wish.
• experiment with the Env.Amount andthe Filter-Envelope values
• Add as much Resonance as you like,the self-oscillation starts at 114
• Switch on the Chorus on theAmplifier-page
• Use the Pan Delay from the Effect-page
• Try different Wavetables, and aboveall, change the Startwave, the resultwill surprise you
A Bass-Sound is usually based on asaw waveform (sounds sharper) or ona square (sounds nasal), whereby onlyone oscillator is being used, so the soundseams more precise.
The Cutoff frequency cuts off the basicwaveforms, which makes the soundduller.
The AmpEnv shapes the volume changesover time, for a bass it should be shortand sharp.
The Arpeggiator defines the rhythmicchord patterns.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook1. Bass-Arpeggio
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• Set Sound A011 back to its originalsetting by pushing Shift + Recall
• Select Wavetable 028
• Set Osc1 and Osc2 Detune to a smallpositive and a small negative value
• Set Wave1 and Wave2 Env. Amountto +57
• Switch on Chorus and Amplifier-Menu
• Wave Envelope:Time 1 000 Level 1 127Time 2 060 Level 2 000Time 1 060 Level 3 000Set all the other values to 000
• Make sure you try out differentWavetables
• Set both Waves in the Mixer to 127and set the Clipping-parameter in theQuality-menu to overflow
• Try out different filter types and changeCutoff and Resonance at the sametime
• Try implementing the various effects(Mix should be set to about 50:50)
• You should experiment with differentmodulations on the Mod-Page(e.g. LFO 2➔ +42➔ Pitch)
The Wavetable you are using has avocal-like timbre in its entire sweep;since both oscillators are slightlydetuned against one another, the sound"floats".
Chorus gives the sound additionalwidth. The Wave-envelope "scans" theWavetable with the selected amount,thereby creating a filter-like timbrechange.
What is remarkable, is that so far no fil-ter has been used.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook2. Wavetable-Sweep
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• Set Sound A011 back to its originalsetting by pushing Shift + Recall
• Set the Startwave of Wave 1 and 2to saw
• Set Osc1 and Osc2 Detune to a smallpositive and a small negative value
• Set Cutoff to approx. 080-090
• Switch on Chorus
• Amplifier-Envelope:Attack = 050 Decay = 000Sustain = 127 Release = 050
• Activate Glide and set the Time-parameter to 018
• Wonderful Filtersweeps can be createdby changing the Filter Env. Amountsand the values of the Filter-Envelope
• We recommend you use the Hipassor the Bandpass filters
• Try out different modulations on theMod-Page, e.g:Source: LFO1Amount: +63Destination: your preference
• You should vary the LFO1 Speed
Thanks to its harmonics, the saw-toothwave is well suited for pad sounds, thefiltering determines the sounds brilliance.
Detune and Chorus provide a floatingand full characteristic.
The Amp-Envelope controls the volumechange over time and is responsible forthe slow attack and release.
Glide causes the pitch to glide up when anote is played.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook3. Pad-Sounds
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After-touchAfter-touch data is special MIDI commu-nication that results from holding a keyon the Masterkeyboard down and press-ing it "more". This can be used to controlvarious functions in the MicroWave(e.g. ➔ Cut-off, ➔ Vibrato).
ArpeggiatorAn arpeggiator splits up a pressed chordinto single notes and plays them back ina certain rhythm. The MicroWave hasnumerous patterns built in, but also al-lows you to create your own. If necessarythe arpeggios can also be sent via MIDI-Out to control other MIDI equipment.
Controller (Control-Change)All parameter changes in the MicroWavecan be sent out via MIDI-Out, enablingyou to record them with a sequencer.This makes very complex sound changespossible, or you can use the parameterchanges to control external MIDI equip-ment via the MicroWave XT or the XTk.
FilterThe filter is the most important elementfor creating or changing sounds in theMicroWave II/XT. In addition to the clas-sic filters (Lowpass, Hipass, Bandpass,Notch), the MicroWave has variouscustom filters that can create very inter-esting effects.
Frequency Modulation (FM)During frequency modulation the OSC2waveform controls the frequency ofOSC1. The higher the amount of FM,the stronger the effect, which is usuallyrecognisable by a basic metallic sound.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBookDessert (Glossary)
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LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator)An LFO is an oscillator whose oscillationis not used to create sound, but to modu-late various functions such as oscillatorfrequency, filter cut-off or panning.The oscillation of the MicroWave's LFOscan even go all the way up into theaudible range.
Oscillator sync.During oscillator synchronisation theOsc2 adjusts the start of its waveformphase to coincide with that of Osc1.This means that every time Osc1 starts anew cycle, Osc2 starts one too, regard-less of whether the cycle had been com-pleted or not. This gives the sound anaggressive touch, especially when theoscillators work with different frequen-cies.
Ring ModulatorThe ring modulator uses the signal of twooscillators as source, and outputs thesum- and difference-frequencies of them.The resulting sound contains many dis-harmonic components and soundsmetallic.
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook
For more information please see yourmusic dealer.We also suggest you read the usermanual, where you can find all thenecessary fundamental steps you needto control the MicroWave synthesiser.For further Information please contactour website at:
http://www.waldorf-gmbh.de
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Wavetable/ Wavetable synthesisThe sounds in the MicroWave are basedon sets of waves, so called Wavetables.You can imagine them to be 64 singlewaves lined up next to each other.These can either be played statically oryou can sweep through them, to createan interesting timbre change.If the waves in a Wavetable hardly differfrom each other, the sound is smoothand pleasant. If they are very differentyou get very choppy timbre changes.
This ends our little introduction into thesecrets of the MicroWave.
We hope to have provided you with ageneral overview of the sound diversityof our Wavetable synthesizer, and canpromise you that we only scratchedthe surface.
To hear the regular factory pre-sets youhave to return to the normal Play-Mode.Just push the Play/Shift button and thePower button simultaneously.(On the XTk "0" and "9")
Product features and specifications aresubject to change without notice
Text: Holger SteinbrinkDesign: Nadja Großmann
©1999 Waldorf Electronics
MicroWave II/XT-CookBook
© 1999 Waldorf Electronics
Distribution:
Germany: TSi GmbH Neustrasse 9 - 12 • D - 53498 WaldorfFon: 0049-2636-97640 • Fax: 0049-2636-976499 • www.tsi-gmbh.de
International: Mike Carroll Fon: 0049-2633-7187 • Fax: 0049-2633-95917 • e-mail: [email protected]
U.S.A.: gsf agency Fon: 001-310-452 6216 • Fax: 001-310-452 3886 • e-mail: [email protected]
