zZounds News Catch Up With Technology

Catch the latest wave of forward-thinking instruments at zZounds: wavetable synthesizers!

In the '70s, one Wolfgang Palm of PPG revolutionized our sonic world by developing a synthesis technique that took a snapshot of a sound from beginning to end, creating a saved sonic profile that one could scan or sweep through to get a sound -- replacing traditional analog, oscillator-driven synthesis. Rather than rely on existing, simple waveforms -- sine, triangle, square, and pulse -- to generate sound, wavetable synths went straight to the source. Wavetables are large collections of saved and scrollable waveforms, which instantly recreate the complex characteristics of a bell, horn, a voice, and more.

Makers like Sequential, Waldorf, and Ensoniq once made "dream synths" based on this technology. As heard in the music of artists like Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby, and the Art of Noise, wavetable synths have an uncertain, evolving sound nearly impossible to recreate. Once overshadowed by the recent analog and Eurorack craze, wavetable synths are now back with a vengeance, reintroducing our world to jaw-dropping tools capable of sculpting all sorts of new sonic forms.

If you're ready to be a part of the new wavetable history, you can find its latest aspirants -- like Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth, Modal's Argon8, Waldorf's Iridium and many others, on our easy monthly payment plans. At zZounds, every order ships fast and free -- and over 95% of in-stock orders arrive at your door within 2 days!