Groove Synthesis, an electronic musical instrument startup founded by music industry veterans from Sequential and Oberheim, has just introduced a desktop version of their acclaimed 3rd Wave, 24-voice, 4-part multitimbral wavetable synth.
The compact, keyboardless version has all of the power, features, ins and outs of the full keyboard and retains a nearly knob-per-function front panel, which makes it just as easy to program and use.
The 3rd Wave has 3 oscillators per voice, analog low-pass filters, a digital state-variable filter, 6-stage wave envelopes per oscillator, and an industry-first Wave Maker™ tool that allows users to create custom wavetables in a single step through its proprietary sample-to-wave technology. Each of its three oscillators can generate a classic PPG-era wavetable, a modern high-resolution wavetable, or an analog modeled waveform.
While the 3rd Wave has roots in the classic digital wavetable synths of the past, it brings the concept into the 21st century with a lush, warm sound defined by its expanded wavetables and analog filters. It boasts a Dave Rossum-designed 2140 analog low-pass filter with variable saturation and resonance compensation, and a second, SEM-style state-variable filter (low-pass, high-pass, notch, and band-pass) for additional tone-sculpting. Both can be used in series for harmonically intricate textures.
With 24-voices, the 3rd Wave can handle note-intensive performances as well as layer up to 4 parts or create 4 independent split zones — each with a completely different sound and pattern-based sequence of notes, songs, and parameters. Each part has independent panning, volume, dual effects, and a dedicated physical stereo output. Each of its 3 wavetable oscillators per part/voice has its own 6-stage, loopable wave envelope, which can create evolving soundscapes of extreme complexity.
The rest of the 3rd Wave’s sound-shaping tools include four ADSR envelopes (filter, amp, and two auxiliary) per part, four LFOs per part, and a 28-slot mod matrix per part.
The 3rd Wave Desktop Module is slated for release in November of 2023. and has a US MAP price of $3495 USD. It will be available through the Groove Synthesis network of domestic and international dealers. For more details, visit www.groovesynthesis.com.