Let’s talk about the Pulse 2!
I have one arriving next week, and am a bit excited. I was having a really hard time deciding between the Pulse 2 and a Boomstar 4075; but ultimately went for the Pulse 2 because of its patch memory, more complex modulation possibilities, paraphonic abilities, and the $200 saved.
What do you like about it? Any cool tips?
If you have an iPad get the App called Patch Morpher to really get some crazy good sounds from your P2.
I got my Pulse 2 a few Months ago and I really love this little Expander. It´s very versatile. Bass-Sounds with a lot of pressure, nice leads or complex Arpeggiator-Sequences - everything sounds good. The built quality of the Metal-Case is also great.
I´m sequencing it with an Arturia Beatstep because my AR and AK can´t do this (still saving money for the OT).
Sorry for the bad sound quality but this was my first Audio-Gear-Youtube-Video after unboxing the Beatstep.
Whoa, good call about the app! This synth has me hooked on its sound, definitely going to pick one up. This app just sweetens the deal, thanks!
A question for anyone that has a Pulse 2 already - how many USER memory slots does it have? I keep reading about the 500 FACTORY patches but how many can you store on top of these?
Starting at patch 406-499 is all open; patch 500 will do a random generation each time you change it. You have 500 slots total.
I’m really digging the Pulse 2; it’s my favorite sounding synth right now. It really excels at bass & leads. I especially like the ability to modulate certain parameters with the third oscillator, and the ability to keytrack the LFO speed with the mod matix.
This synth has a really deep, gritty & clean, futuristic sound… I like the stuff that sounds like FM, but more organic the most. I’d love an Ipad app you could use to sequence the Pulse 2 with, and turn it into a little groovebox. I’m planning on pairing it with the new Korg Electribe when it is released. I think it’d be great to sequence it from the Electribe, and have it processed by the Electribe’s effects while accompanied by its synth engine.
Awesome! Thanks for the info!
It DOES sound like the future! Excited about this one, I think it’ll pair well with Elektron gear.
I don’t think I ever want to buy another synth that doesn’t allow you to modulate the filter with an oscillator. I can’t get enough of modulating filter/drive/volume with the third osc; it sounds so good.
I got a pulse 2 not long ago and I really dig the sound of it.
Not as “hands on” and knobby as some of my other synths but it rules for tuning in something slow-moving and bassy then just letting it drone.
Conversely it rules for Zombi/ Goblin/ Moroder/ John Carpenter-ish badass futuristic soundtrack stuff… Totally sounds 80s futuristic to my ears.
I picked one up earlier this week. Waldorf promised and delivered, imo. It’s a beautiful sounding, clever synth. The various Unison modes and Polyphony tricks set it apart - due in part to the fact that the clusters of Pulse Oscillators are pretty damn sweet.
I didn’t realize that a Pulse waveform is a sound not found in nature! No wonder this thing sounds so futuristic!
Was there ever any news on a keyboard version of this? I used to love the original pulse.
As with all things Waldorf, you just never know. Waldorf has historically been “project oriented”, so imagine they are ramping-up for production of their first Eurorack Modular offering that was shown at NAMM 2014 that’s based on their iOS App ‘NAVE’.
Have had the Pulse 2 since release now and have to say other than my Moog Sub 37, it’s my favorite analog synth (other than my original/classic Waldorf Pulse Plus).
Definitely a wonderful little synth with a sleeping giant inside. Since I also have the original Pulse Plus version, can say without reservation that they are BOTH awesome and different enough from each other to justify owning BOTH. The filter in the original Pulse is a bit more aggressive and for very good reason the original Waldorf Pulse was considered in the 90’s as "the poor man’s MiniMoog, and indeed they both can cover that well, but having the 4 or 8 voice paraphonic mode available as an option certainly is handy because it can make some rather LUSH pads and drones. One just has to adjust their playing style for paraphonic playing because in that mode the oscillators are all going through single filter but does not sound ‘thin’ at all.
Also, when doing 4 voice paraphonic you still have use of Osc 3, whereas the 8 voice mode utilizes all 3 Osc’s. I generally do not use those modes in work because the DSI Poly Evolver with the analog oscillators only activated suits my need for poly analog madness and having various different filters from different synths in a composition makes for interesting textural layers of sound.
Here’s an all Pulse 2 demo, Part 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf1uj_AsOJw Note that the Part 2 demos use of paraphonic modes and liberal use of Filter Drive and other tricks in a composition.
I think you get quite a lot of analog synth for your money with the Pulse 2. Easy as pie to program. Have a midi keyboard with after touch for even more fun…or a KMI QuNexus with KMI Midi Expander…very small footprint for huge sounds.
i tested the Pulse II at Messe … and i must say i was impressed, the drive-models made the sound quite toxic
I’m curious of how the Pulse 2 compares sonically to the Bass Station 2.
No experience of the bass station 2 but I always thought the original pulse was very much in minimoog territory.
I don’t know anything about the bass station 2, but the Pulse 2 is sick. The oscillators are fat and stable, the filter section is great (although the HP lacks a bit of character), the MOD matrix is deep, and the ARP section is handy. And it has Pitch and Gate CV out, so that’s a bonus. Oh and the Drive, someone mentioned that… ya it’s a beast.
It really comes alive when it’s “in motion” - filter movements, changing envelope settings, PWM etc… you can make some really far out stuff with this synth, don’t sleep on it.
Do you have some tips or favorite settings to share on modulation the drive with osc 3?
I havent got good results with that. Filter and Volume Mod works fine though.
Blofeld uses Encoder from Bournes. Pulse2 uses Alps. So, since release in 2013 i havent seen any Reports about Encoder Problems, or even ANY problems with the Pulse2.
Hello. Received it sunday.
Happy with it.
I didn’t get how modulations interact.
Any usefull informations and examples somewhere?