Waldorf has released Version 2 of its Microwave 1 Plugin, the software recreation of the company’s first hardware synthesizer from 1989. The update raises the instrument’s polyphony from eight voices to 32 by emulating additional voice cards, and adds two arpeggiators, new voice-allocation modes, and a multi-effect delay.
The original Microwave was a rackmount wavetable synthesizer that carried the PPG Wave concept of digital wavetable oscillators into Waldorf’s own hardware line. The plugin reproduces the hardware’s wavetables and control structure, with internal synthesis running at 250 kHz independent of the host sample rate. Version 2 builds on that engine rather than altering the core sound, so the changes are about voice count, performance, and effects rather than a new oscillator design.
The polyphony increase mirrors the expandable voice-card layout of the original hardware. Waldorf states the added voices keep the micro timing and tuning variations between voices that give the instrument its movement, so the larger voice count does not flatten the character. Two new allocation modes, Round Robin and Random Robin, cycle or randomize which voices sound on successive notes. Each instrument part gains a polyphonic arpeggiator, and a separate global arpeggiator covers the full multi setup with its own round robin modes. A new delay effect places filtering, tremolo, diffusion, and pitch shifting in the delay line, moving it past a clean repeat into modulated and pitched territory.
Alongside the paid upgrade, Waldorf is releasing a free 1.3.0 update for all existing users, focused on workflow rather than sound. It adds a redesigned preset browser with favourites, search, and direct loading into instrument parts, multi-level undo and redo for parameter edits, simultaneous editing of multiple instrument parts, and a preset bank from mixer, engineer, and producer Chuck Zwicky. Version 2 includes everything in 1.3.0.
The plugin targets producers after the digital wavetable character of late-1980s Waldorf and PPG hardware without the cost or maintenance of the originals. The move to 32 voices and per-part arpeggiation pushes it toward multitimbral and generative use beyond what the original eight-voice hardware allowed.
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Features
- Software recreation of the 1989 Waldorf Microwave wavetable synthesizer.
- Polyphony raised from 8 to 32 voices via emulated additional voice cards, retaining per-voice timing and tuning variation.
- Round Robin and Random Robin voice-allocation modes.
- Polyphonic arpeggiator on each instrument part.
- Global arpeggiator with round robin modes.
- Delay effect with filter, tremolo, diffusion, and pitch shifting.
- Internal synthesis at 250 kHz, independent of DAW sample rate.
- Free 1.3.0 update for all owners: redesigned preset browser, multi-level undo/redo, multi-part editing, and a Chuck Zwicky preset bank.
Pricing and Availability
Microwave 1 Version 2 is available now at an introductory price of 99 EUR including VAT until July 5, 2026, rising to 149 EUR thereafter. Existing Microwave 1 Plugin owners can upgrade for an introductory 29 EUR including VAT until July 5, 2026, rising to 49 EUR thereafter. The plugin runs on Windows and macOS 10.14 or later (Intel or Apple Silicon) in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats.
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