Waldorf Keys

Waldorf Blofeld Keys | Reviews
91
which according to the manual was
added ‘just for fun!’. In reality, it’s a
potentially useful extra control that
can be assigned to many functions
(currently including output mute,
sustain, sustain toggle, and a variety
of other controller/MIDI assignments).
The keyboard itself is a 49-note
four-octave affair (with aftertouch),
which is a good compromise for a
small and transportable synth, while
the new octave controls extend its
range further. Too many synths I
review don’t have aftertouch and I
reckon it should be standard fare by
now, so its great to see it included
here at this price point. It’s a godsend
for controlling pretty much any
parameter you can think of, without
even having to take your hands off the
keyboard! Talking of hands free,
there’s also a sustain pedal socket too.
Key to success
I’m happy to report the keybed/board
feels great. It’s semi-weighted and I’d
describe it as precise, quiet, fast to
play and cushioned, yet positive
feeling on the down-stroke, with a
HARDWARE SPEC
General Controls
Seven endless metal dials,
volume dial, pitch and mod
wheels, assignable button
and octave up/down switch
Keyboard
49-note semi-weighted
with aftertouch
Display
Graphic Display 128 x 64
pixels with white
background LED
Sound generation
More than 1,000 user
writeable sound locations,
16-part multi-timbral, three
oscillators per voice with
saw, sine, triangle, variable
pulse and FM between
oscillators, all Q oscillator
models, all microwave II/XT/
XTk wavetables, 60MB fl ash
sample memory with 40
slots, two drive stages per
voice with selectable drive
curves. Three fast LFOs per
voice, four fast envelopes
per voice, powerful
freely-programmable
arpeggiator with detailed
graphical interface
Filter
Two independent
multi-mode fi lters per voice,
fi lter FM, 11 fi lter types
including comb, notch
low-pass, high-pass,
band-pass, PPG Wave
and more
Connections
Stereo Output, Headphone
Output, MIDI In, USB
Connector for MIDI In/Out,
Sustain pedal connector
Compatible platforms
PC: Windows ME minimum,
Windows XP or newer
recommended
Mac: OS X 10.2 minimum,
Mac OS X 10.3 or newer
recommended
Modulation/Modifi ers
Modulation Matrix with 16
Slots, freely programmable
Four Modifi ers for
transforming Modulation
Sources with various
Algorithms
Three fast LFOs syncable to
MIDI Clock, Note Retrigger
with adjustable Start Phase
and fade in
Effects
Ring Modulator for Osc 1 /
2, Noise Generator with
Noise Colour, Chorus,
Flanger, Phaser, Overdrive,
Triple FX (S&H, Ring
Modulation, Chorus), Delay
(only available on global
Effect slot), Clocked Delay
(only available on global
Effect slot), Reverb (only
available on global Effect)
Dimensions
736 x 282 x 105mm
Weight
8 kg
in at 8kg (17lbs approx), mainly due
to the solid metal enclosure and
thankfully an onboard power supply
(no wall-wart – other manufacturers
please take note). It’s light enough to
throw in the back of your car for gigs
but well-built enough to reassure its
going to last a while, though maybe
the paint might start chipping off
through heavy gigging. Only time will
not-too-springy bounce back on the
up-stroke! It’s defi nitely not one of
those horribly plasticky and cheap
feeling keyboards that all too often
feel like you are hitting bare metal on
the down-stroke of the keys and give
your repetitive strain injury. So, full
marks for this keyboard!
Now onto the weight. The Blofeld
KB is reassuringly heavy and weighs
For the sequence heads
out there, the Blofeld KB
has a comprehensive
16-part multi-timbral
mode, now with 128 user
slots. Within multi-mode
there is a 16-track mixer
with volume and pan and
menus for MIDI channel
status, transpose and
detuning, and velocity and
key ranges for incoming
data. The Blofeld can
function as a controller
too as the dials and
wheels can send/receive
MIDI data.
The effects engine
provides great sounding
bread and butter effects
including – chorus, fl ange,
phase, overdrive, triple
FX, delay, and reverb.
These can be set up to
sound subtle or larger
than life but always add to
the sound, creating
atmosphere while keeping
the integrity of the dry
sound intact.
The Blofeld’s Multi Mode and FX
The all metal
enclosure means that
Blofeld is cool to the
touch and incredibly
tough but it’s just a
little heavy too
Metal chassis
The new keyboard
with aftertouch feels
and looks great
Keyboard
FMU211.rev_blofeld 91 3/2/09 6:46:50 pm