What is the Waldorf Neptun? Is it Steichfett 2? Is it a VA synth? Is it even called Neptun?
Waldorf Neptun
What a time to be alive. If you’re a synth head, that is. After a long, slow and hot summer, we’re back in the thick of things, with lots of cool announcements. Now Waldorf has entered the chat with this teaser posted to its Instagram account that’s giving Protein… but with a twist.
What is this thing? Let’s see if we can make a few guesses.
Waldorf Neptun: Protein Power
First of all, let’s get this out of the way: we don’t know that it’s called Neptun. That’s just what the text says. “Neptun Approved.” We assume that’s the name of the cat. People on Reddit are saying the same thing, and that it belongs to YouTuber Martin Stürtzer. Maybe he’s working on a video for it. But anyway, we have to call this synth something, so let’s go with Neptun now.
It’s definitely got the same desktop form factor as Protein, Waldorf’s beautiful wavetable synth, just with brown across the bottom instead of blue. Reddit commenters are guessing maybe it’s a virtual analog synthesizer since Protein is wavetable, and it’s about time to bring back some of that old Q magic. Others are saying it’s a sequel to Streichfett, the company’s digital string machine.
But given the controls that are visible, I think it’s something else. I think it’s a percussion synth based on Attack. Let me tell you why.
Waldorf Neptun: Envelope Attack
Protein was developed based on code from Microwave, the plugin version of the classic wavetable synth. Waldorf also has in its back catalog Attack, a percussion synth VST that at one time actually had a rackmount hardware version. It’s a firm favorite of Waldorf fans and definitely deserving of a resurrection.
That big envelope diagram visible on the left makes me think it’s there for shaping pitch. Why else would a synthesizer feature its envelope so prominently?
There seem to be two voice sections as well, on the left and in the middle. Maybe for designing two separate drum voices?
Waldorf Neptun: Other Controls
Other visible controls include what is probably SHELF on the left, most likely an EQ for tone shaping. This also makes sense for a percussion synthesizer.
On the right, it looks like an effects section, with a possible Reverb knob.
At the bottom right under the Volume knob is Flavour, which first appeared on Protein and is used to add subtle variations in the sound. This would be perfect for keeping things organic and to avoid the dreaded machine gun effect.
Above it, there’s a Play button that can be seen with Arp/Seq next to it as well. An arpeggiator doesn’t make so much sense on a percussion synth unless it can also do 808-style pitched kick bass. A sequencer would fit in nicely, though.
Waldorf Neptun: Price and Availability
None of this is, of course, confirmed. Waldorf has only dropped the teaser and nothing else. If I had to guess on price, it would be the same as Protein, which is around $300.
It does look like Magical Synth Adventure will be announcing it during a live stream on October 29, though (embedded below).
What do you think it is?
Waldorf protein is currently available from Thomann*.
More Information
- Waldorf homepage
- More about Waldorf
- More about synthesizers
- Buy synthesizers at Thomann*
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