3rd Wave Advanced Wavetable Synth - How Does it Sound?
The moment I found out that a modernized version of the famed PPG Wave was being produced, I knew I had to take the plunge and buy one.
And so I did, and have been rewarded with an extremely flexible and performative synth, festooned with knobs and buttons for on-the-fly sound manipulation.
Although the 3rd Wave is primarily thought of as a modern-day replica of the PPG Wave, it has far more capabilities under the hood. I found the analog synthesis simulations to be shockingly good, with thick 80's brass sounds right in the ballpark of the classic synths of that era. There are endless ambient pad sounds, experimental noise sounds, and a flexible, musical arpeggiator that can be used for pitched or percussive sounds.
The 3rd Wave comes loaded with 500 factory patches. I went through them all, and picked about 80 that were representative of what the machine is capable of. I've organized the sounds by type, so you can go right to the analog synths, PPG factory patches, or ambient pads as you like.
The 3rd Wave is a remarkable synthesizer, and I hope you enjoy getting a better idea of how it sounds from this video.
Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music.
http://www.underthebigtree.com