A New Wave of Wavetable Synthesis Decades in the Making
Wavetable synthesis radically reconfigured the musical landscape when the technology debuted in 1980, transcending genre boundaries to find a place within the compositions of Tangerine Dream, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Costin Miereanu, and more. Decades later, a champion has appeared worthy of taking up the gauntlet of wavetable technology’s latent potential: the 3rd Wave Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer. Armed with hundreds of presets, thousands of waveforms, and all the original hardware and software processing steps to accurately produce the iconic sound, the 3rd Wave masterfully melds the classic with the contemporary, much to the delight of Sweetwater’s synthesists. Onboard recording and editing? Check. Analog filtering? Check. Modulation matrix, custom wavemaker, and per-part sound output, control, and management? Checks all around, and we’re just getting started.
Related Videos: 3rd Wave 61-key Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer
Multidimensional sonic sculpting
One of the most liberating aspects of the 3rd Wave’s sonic architecture is its interrelationship between voicing, timbre, and control. Its 24-voice polyphony is impressive, but its 4-part multitimbrality allows for precise sound design with deep control extending far beyond the unit. Each of its four parts has a dedicated stereo output, complete with per-part panning and volume controls. Dual effects, sequencing, and more can all be managed independently for each part, providing immense opportunities for creating complex, layered sounds, especially considering the three DCOs supplied for each of its 24 voices. You’ve also got four ADSR+ delay envelopes, including filter and amplifier options, alongside two more that can be toggled to run with exponential- or classic-style response. Did we mention these can be customized and assigned to numerous modulation destinations across parts? Modulation is a must, and the 3rd Wave’s four variable-delay LFOs are their own sandbox, complete with triangle, sawtooth, reverse sawtooth, square, and S&H profiles, as well as three distinct pulse options.
Analog and digital in perfect harmony
While wavetable synthesis may be a natively digital concept, the 3rd Wave utilizes contemporary technology to provide plenty of analog and digital sound-shaping tools. The 2140 analog lowpass resonant filter was designed by notable music technologist Dave Rossum, precisely engineered to deliver punchy, distinctive flavor with adjustable saturation and a 24-decibel per octave slope. Supplement this with an SEM-style multimode filter, complete with lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch options, continuously variable between modes with a 12-decibel per octave slope. Running the two together allows for endless configuration permutations, enabling you to fine-tune your tones with complex harmonic textures and evocative sonics.
Innovative aural engineering
Thanks to the meticulous dedication to faithfully reproducing its spiritual predecessor’s hardware and software processes, the 3rd Wave is founded on the exact mechanisms needed for era-accurate wavetable synthesis. This means 32 original 8-bit wavetables, with room for creations of your own, all in the iconic style. Of course, Groove Synthesis wasn’t content to re-create the past — it was necessary to build from it. It’s no exaggeration to say there are thousands of options available: each of the 48 wavetables houses 64 waveforms in each table, totaling 3,072 configurations. You've also got plenty of room for creating and storing even more of your own with 64 user wavetables that can be saved and loaded at any time. If this weren’t enough, you can forgo the wavetable model with the Wave Flow section, eschewing waveform interpolation altogether, with seven meticulously modeled analog waveforms that include sine, saw, triangle, supersaw, pulse, white noise, and pink noise.
Exacting tonal control
At three DCOs per voice, that’s 72 total oscillators. Each oscillator can be individually managed within each voice, allowing you to choose between classic wavetable operations, contemporary, complex wavetables, or the analog-modeled Wave Flow mode. You can even run them simultaneously on all three models! Plus, each oscillator features a 6-stage wave envelope with variable time and position parameters, all of which can be looped in user-defined intervals. You’ve also got VCO sync, linear FM options on deck, and unison and chord modes whose voice count is entirely up to you. Extrapolating this to the synth’s multitimbral capabilities and output control, it’s clear that entire sonic vistas are waiting to be traversed.
Unrestricted customization
Seeking to elevate the wavetable model for contemporary sound exploration, the 3rd Wave features an onboard Wavemaker Tool for completely custom and personalized design and construction of your own wavetables. Its audio input allows you to convert pitched or unpitched material into unique, editable waveforms, automatically converted to span the synth’s 61-key range at 1,024 cycles per waveform. You can also use the synth’s USB port to bring over 96kHz WAV files and import wavetables from Serum. With room for upward of 32 custom wavetables that house up to 64 waveforms a piece, you can rest assured there’s ample room for endless personalization.
Enter the matrix: multi-part modulation and modification
Considering the immense sonic scope of the 3rd Wave, it should come as no surprise that the onboard modulation matrix is just as comprehensive and may even be its greatest secret weapon. Not only are there 16 customizable slots, but you’ve also got 12 further fixed-source slots, 27 sources, and 114 destinations. That may seem powerful on its own, but the mod matrix operates and distributes this power per multi-part, meaning that up to four individual sonic layers can function with their own mod matrix. Onboard FX parameters are also fully modulatable with the matrix, including bucket brigade delay, chorus, flanger, distortion, ring mod, super plate reverb, and many more that have been painstakingly crafted from iconic hardware.
Realize your rhythmic potential
What synth would be complete without robust rhythmic operations? The 3rd Wave’s formidable sequencer can handle both note and parameter sequencing, with upwards of 32 measures per each of the 24 sequences available to each preset and up to four parts for each of those sequences. Moreover, patterns can be strung together with the song mode to create entire tracks that cover every necessary part, thanks to the synth's versatile multitimbral capabilities. Flexible quantization options range from whole notes to thirty-second notes, adjustable in real time with a variable swing. You’ve also got your arpeggiator ready to go, with a 3-octave range and available to operate per multi-part level for complex rhythmic layering.
Heritage aesthetics, contemporary opportunity
Keeping with the spirit of its predecessor’s design, the 3rd Wave’s aesthetic ethos isn’t a superficial bid for nostalgia. On the contrary, it’s an active lesson of design that indicates the creative limitations of menu diving and the liberatory opportunities for creation that abound when an ergonomic arrangement of 77 knobs and 39 buttons all but eliminate its necessity. Clear labeling, satisfying tactility, and precise controls mean you can easily dial in your sound without relying on a dizzying array of sub-menus. On the performance side, your 61 keys feature a semi-weighted design and a premier Fatar keybed, loaded with velocity and aftertouch response.
Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 61-key Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer Features:
- 24-voice polyphony powered by 3 per-voice DCOs for uncompromising sonic potential
- 4-part multitimbrality means vast sonic control for each synth layer, including per-layer panning, volume, and stereo output
- Thousands of wavetable options are preloaded, including the identical hardware and software processes used to create the iconic 8-bit wavetables and waveforms of its predecessor
- Wave Flow lets you work without wavetable operations, choosing from 7 meticulously modeled analog waveforms (sine, saw, supersaw, triangle, pulse, white noise, and pink noise)
- Each oscillator within each voice can be independently and simultaneously operated as classic, contemporary, or Wave Flow modes
- Per-oscillator 6-stage wave envelope can be looped with user-defined time and position to hone each voice as needed
- VCO sync and linear FM provide further oscillator-level sound-shaping possibilities
- Dave Rossum-designed 2140 lowpass resonant filter includes variable saturation, customizable resonance compensation, and a 24db per-octave slope
- State-variable filter includes lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch modes in distinctive SEM-style character with 12db per-octave slope
- 4 ADSR+ delay envelopes include an amplifier, filter, and 2 custom envelopes that can toggle between exponential and vintage-style responses
- 4 LFOs are freely assignable, armed with triangle, sawtooth, reverse sawtooth, square, S&H/random, and 3 pulse modes
- Dual-effect system allows for 2 simultaneous effects per layer, including bucket brigade delay, tape delay, chorus, flanger, distortion, rotary speaker, ring mode, and multiple reverbs
- FX are carefully and faithfully modeled from a slew of historic hardware instruments, and parameters are easily modulated from the mod matrix
- Wavemaker tool allows for the generation and storage of custom wavetables and waveforms from pitched or un-pitched material
- Audio can be recorded and processed in real time via 1/4-inch audio input or USB as a 96 kHz WAV file, as well as processed from Serum
- 32 custom 8-bit legacy wavetables with 64 waveforms each means 2,048 completely custom permutations, in addition to 64 user wavetables
- Flexible sequencer includes precise quantization and swing options with up to 32 measures for each of the 24 sequences available to each preset
- 16-slot modulation matrix operates per multi-part, accommodating simultaneous use across each of the synth’s four multitimbral layers
- Mod matrix includes 27 sources, 114 destinations, and 12 fixed-source paths for endless creative opportunity
- Era-accurate UI includes 77 knobs and 39 buttons for deep editing and control that eschews cumbersome menu-diving
- Comprehensive I/O suite includes MIDI in/out/thru, audio input, per-part stereo output pairs, USB, volume pedal input, expression pedal input, and sustain/footswitch input
- USB port also supports bidirectional MIDI data transfer as well as audio transfer
- Onboard filters, output chain, and FX can be used to process and route external audio
