Axel Hartmann's Original Panel Design for the Waldorf Q & How the Yellow Q Came to Be

Update1: Soviet Space Child noticed the Instrument section under the main display has the additional numbers found on later models of the Q. This might actually be a later prototype panel that matches the original color concept. Soviet Space Child noted: "The Q was originally designed as a 4 part multitimbral synthesizer, and later expanded to 16 parts multi via an OS update. This explains why the FX unit is only 4 part multi, as the hardware architecture ran off of 3 DSP's, two for 8 voices of polyphony each, and one dedicated to 4 FX parts. On the original Q models the 4 instrument buttons above the display were labeled 1-4, but later revisions had additional numbers to reflect the added multi parts, as seen in the prototype panel photos." It's also worth noting the original Wave came in different colors including Sahara yellow and Crimson Red. There was also a green Microwave. That backs up Waldorf wanting to go bold with the Q.

Update2: Swissdoc heard back from Waldorf's Frank Schneider and he stated this is the Jade panel. It makes sense as Jade is green and this panel is greenish in color. What's odd though is the render in the promo sheet appears white in color but is labeled as Jade. Also, according to swissdoc, the Q actually did come 16 multi-timbral to start: "The Q came from the start with 16 part multi, just the yellow case had only 4 labeled. See the changelog from here."

Update3: it looks like the Q was 4 part multi prior to release according to this SOS preview for the Q (via Soviet Space Child): "In keeping with modern synth architectures, the Q promises 16-part multitimbrality and 16-part layers/splits that Waldorf call 'Multis', but neither of these is implemented in the current operating system" later followed by "Early reports suggested that the Q would include a dedicated drum section with the ability to emulate popular analogue machines such as the Roland TR808 and TR909. In recent weeks, Waldorf has shelved the idea in favour of expanding the multitimbrality of the instrument from 4-part to 16-part."

So the preview model sent to Sound on Sound was 4 Part multi, and they made it 16 for release. Update4: I remember now. The Q was released pre V1.0 and was updated later. I forget if it was 4 or 16 part multi on release.  There was a bit of excitement about the Q, as you can imagine, on the various forums and email lists at the time.  Sonic State's The Gas-Station was THE forum at the time and there was a Waldorf email list.

The original post:

swissdoc and I were exchanging emails about the recent Waldorf posts featuring the JADE Q, non-Nextel Pulse, and the manuals for the XT, and MicroWave. Some interesting bits of info came out of our exchange.  You can find them in updates in those posts. Possibly even more interesting are the images you see here in this post. Swissdoc sent them my way with the following. What you are looking at is the original design prototype color concept? [see above] for the Waldorf Q.

"I got the pics from a guy called pixeldealer in Summer 2014. He said it was the original Q-prototype in turquoise/silver color and the first design by Axel Hartmann. It was never released, the Q was released in yellow Nextel as we know. Axel Hartmann is telling the same story in an interview on Amazona.de (last section). He bougth the case (without electronics etc) from the production partner of Waldorf in Troisdorf. He was looking to sell the parts.

Axel said:
Die ersten Q wurden geboren, als der Markt für virtuell analoge Synthesizer noch durch Clavia mit ihren grellroten Nordsynthesizern beherrscht wurde. Wolfgang wollte daher ein stärkeres optisches Statement, als es unser bekanntes, dezentes Dunkelblau zulies. Wolfram (Franke) hatte dann die Idee mit dem schrillen Gelb, das wir in den finalen Layouts umgesetzt haben.

Unsere ersten Farbkonzepte für die Q Synthesizer gingen in eine völlig andere Richtung. Wir hatten in unseren Entwürfen ein dezentes, sehr helles, grünliches Grau in Kombination mit Aluminium und Nussbaum Anbauteilen visualisiert. Wie gesagt, das war den Waldorfern damals aber einfach nicht laut genug…

Deepl.com Translation:
The first Q were born when the market for virtual analog synthesizers was still dominated by Clavia with her bright red northern synthesizers. Wolfgang therefore wanted a stronger visual statement than our well-known, subtle dark blue. Wolfram (Franke) then had the idea with the shrill yellow, which we implemented in the final layouts.

Our first color concepts for the Q synthesizers went in a completely different direction. In our designs we had visualized a subtle, very bright greenish grey in combination with aluminium and walnut add-on parts. As I said, that simply wasn't loud enough for the Waldorfers back then..."

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Wolfram Franke Interview on Sonik Matter

Note this is an old interview from 2001. I just never posted it before. Thanks goes to Mark Pulver for sending this over to the Waldorf mailing list. Wolfram Franke is the product specialist and a coder for Waldorf, the old Waldorf and new. He is one of the core influentials at Waldorf.

According to the interview, the first synthesizer he programmed on was the Wersi MK1 in 1986: "Wersi and it is called MK1 (Series III). It was a 20 voice, 8 part multitimbral additive synth with up to 32 harmonics, an integrated chorus/ensemble effect and only one VCF, but that one was a copy of the Moog 24dB VCF plus a good-sounding overdrive."

Some interesting snips on his time with Waldorf:
"The Pulse was the first synthesizer where I helped working on the basic concept, i.e. sound parameters, UI layout and overall sound character.

The concept of the Microwave II was done almost completely by me and half a year later, I started to write down the controls I would like to see on an extended version of the Microwave II. You know the result, it became the Microwave XT!"

Regarding the Q being modeled after the Pulse:
"Oscillators - those are real models of analog oscillators, resulting in a very fat bass sound even when you listen to them without filters or effects. They behave exactly like their analog counterparts and they were modelled after the analog oscillators of our Waldorf Pulse synthesizer.

Filters - those are also real models, not only algorithms as found in almost all other VAs. This means that they can self-oscillate and allow FM. They are modelled after something in-between the Curtis filters from the Microwave 1 and our discretely built Waldorf Pulse four-pole filter."

Note the above is just a small fraction of what you will find the full interview. Do check it out. It is fascinating and it is one of the rare interviews that primarily focuses on synthesis.

Note you can find all interviews featuring Wolfram Franke here.

Interview with a Professional : Wolfram Franke

"Introduction
This interview appeared first on http://www.amazono.de in German. I (Hans Heerooms) translated it in a rather free way... It tells the story behind the Waldorf/Steinberg Wave 2.x VST Plugin. Notice : This translation is not autorised by Amazona or Wolfram Franke !

Amazona:How did the idea arise to make the PPG Plugin ?

WF: In September 1999 I moved from TSI to Waldorf : I was a productspecialist at TSI and became a software developer for Waldorf. I managed to make this move because I already made the Waldorf D-Pole in 1997 : so Waldorf had a clear idea of my “credentials”. Just befor my move Steinberg had published the specifications of VST 2.0 : And for us at Waldorf it was clear we should do something with it. We had a meeting with Mert Ergün from Steinberg to discuss what a Waldorf VST synth should be like. Mert came with the idea for a PPG synth . At first we didn’t like the idea : making a PPG instead of a real Waldorf synth. But still Mert was that fascinated by the idea for a PPG that he ‘infected’ also Frank Simmerlein : one of Steinbergs’ graphic designers. Frank jumped behind his workstation and made a 3D PPG rendering. When we received this picture by E mail it hit us like a bomb : any doubt was gone and we were going for the PPG !"

click here for the full interview

via Gwenhwyfaer in the comments of this post.

Wolfram Franke on The Blofeld and Legacy Support

Many on the Waldorf mailing list have been discussing what the new Blofeld and Stromberg synths will be as well as OS updates for the previous Waldorf synths. As for the Blofeld, the consensus was it was either and updated Micro Q or a new synth based on the Nano plug-in for the CME plus more. If you caught the Gearwire interview with Wolframe Franke (posted here), you might have caught a few details on the new synths. One, the Blofeld is basically an updated Micro Q, and two, the Stromberg will support both the architecture of the Q and the XT/Microwave in addition to the hardware plug-in capabilities with an analog filter in line. Check out the video for yourself.

Wolfram popped by the Waldorf list today with the following on the Blofeld and addressed support for previous Waldorf products:

"Regarding the Blofeld: yes, the Blofeld basically has the architecture of the Micro Q. This can easily be seen when you look at the spec list on the Blofeld product page. It will certainly have some new features, among them more than 1000 sounds or the cascade filter types. We might add further features but I won't go into detail about them right now.

Colors: the Blofeld is almost white. We chose this color because it simply looks cool combined with the aluminum controls.

Updates for old products: we really understand the need for taking care of some issues that are bugging you, like the Aftertouch bug in the XTk. But please give us a chance to get a financial foundation first. We are, however, *talking* about the bugs. Only, finding a time slice to work on that is not possible right now. I hope you understand that. And please, no emotional discussions about that. We are aware of it and we try to find a way to take care of it."