Waldorf Rocket Desktop Synthesizer

Must-have Addition to Any Electronic Music Rig

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Creating sounds with the Waldorf Rocket synthesizer is simply a ton of fun. Waldorf has really brought something fresh to the scene, packing powerful and intuitive synthesis in a compact unit at a great price. Rocket is an aggressive monosynth, but with a unison mode that creates up to eight detuned oscillators for huge, vivacious chord stabs and leads. And the oscillator shapes are continuously variable for a wide range of sound design possibilities. Factor in intuitive controls, a built-in arpeggiator, and oh-so-smooth analog filters, you'll see why the Waldorf Rocket synthesizer belongs in your studio.

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• Powerful, intuitive design makes sound design fast and fun
• Perfect for leads, bass, and percussion
• External input for filtering external audio

When it comes to creating big, bold synthesizer sounds fast, the Waldorf Rocket is well-equipped. Compared to some synthesizers it may look like Rocket has very few controls, but it actually just gives you straightforward access to the most fundamental aspects of synthesis. It's a perfect addition to your drum machine, keyboard synthesizer, or sequencing software, and very easy to tweak with one hand while you're playing a controller with the other.

One thing we immediately noticed about the Rocket here at Sweetwater, is that the Sustain and Release controls are on/off instead of variable. We think that's really cool, and convenient for fast sound design. Want a soaring lead sound? Leave 'em both on and you're already on your way. Want really tight bass? Turn off the release and turn down the decay a bit. Want to create synth-percussion sounds? Turn Sustain and Release off, and fine-tune the decay. It's not that you can't create the same sounds without Rocket's straightforward controls, it's just very easy and fast to go from inspiration to actual sound creation.

You've got access to the Waldorf Rocket's analog filter section via an external input and output. You can do this in conjunction with the sounds created in the Rocket, or turn Rocket's oscillators off and just use the filter section and envelope modulation.

• Monophonic synthesizer module with USB and MIDI I/O, and external filter input
• Two basic oscillator shapes, with variable waveshaping and pulse-width modulation
• Unison mode creates up to eight voices that can be detuned or played as chords
• Minimal control set makes it easy to create sounds from scratch fast
• Built-in arpeggiator with preset patterns
• LFO with three different wave shapes and speed control
• "Launch" button triggers sound with a C3 Note On message, for creating sounds without a controller/sequencer
• USB for control via software sequencer, and for saving sound data