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With the Protein, Waldorf presents its most compact wavetable synthesiser to date, which builds on the classic Microwave 1 in a purely digital manner. The original from 1989 was inspired by the PPG Wave synthesisers of the time and, as a compact rack-mounted unit with two digital oscillators and an analogue filter, was a true innovation. The Protein focuses entirely on the authentic reproduction of the characteristic MW1 oscillators and the popular CEM filter. The digital implementation offers conceptual advantages, particularly in the voice architecture, which musicians will quickly come to appreciate and put to good use.
Each of the Protein’s 8 voices features two wavetable oscillators that correspond to the original ASIC oscillators of the 1989 Microwave 1. They offer an authentic reproduction of the original 8-bit waveforms at a 250 kHz sample rate, including algorithmic and voice wavetables. Furthermore, the sound palette is expanded by the digital ASIC noise generator. The carefully constructed and (if desired) modulated sound spectrum feeds into a digital 24dB low-pass filter with an accurate Curtis CEM sound. These features alone make it clear that, with the Protein, Waldorf is drawing on the DNA of the ‘post-PPG era’ and adding modern features in a compact format.
Two ADSR envelopes are permanently assigned to the filter and VCA, whilst a third envelope is used to modulate the wavetables. The modulation options are rounded off by two BPM-synchronisable LFOs, as well as various controllers such as the modulation wheel, Random, velocity or polyphonic aftertouch, which can be freely assigned to the 8 slots of the modulation matrix.
A nice touch is the ‘Flavour’ control, which shifts the accurate and precise circuitry (oscillator drift, filter, envelope behaviour…) towards the component-related inaccuracies of older synthesisers.
The signal path is rounded off by the two effects slots, featuring the algorithms Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Drive, EQ, Compressor and Tremolo.
The Protein’s voice architecture is a distinctive feature. Broadly speaking, the synthesiser offers 8 voices that can be used in various ways. Firstly, there is Layer Mode, which allows you to layer up to four sounds (presets!) on top of one another. This is perfect for multi-layered sounds that a single voice cannot produce with such complexity. Thanks to the Load Layer function, you can swap sound layers as you wish. Like many other Waldorf synths, the Protein is also equipped with Multimode, which allows you to assign sounds to four parts on different MIDI channels within the framework of eight-voice polyphony. To assist with playing, there’s the usual richly featured arpeggiator and the polyphonic step sequencer, which offers a pattern length of up to 32 steps. Fans of the dub genre will be in their element with the Chord & Scale Mode.
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