PPG Dreams: The Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave

[@RedMeansRecording]

The 3rd Wave is now available at Perfect Circuit: bit.ly/422glIr Favorite preset playthrough over on my second channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rafHcpeDmJuDmJY

[@saysthetedd]

I want more history lesson style videos like this from you, Jeremy.

[@1frogboy18]

I loved this video, I love music history

[@dodzidenudzakuma]

Synth history is so rich and NO one's doing it! Jeremy's presentation just rocks and I learn so much while learning to make sounds at the same time.

[@OverClover]

Hugely agree

[@saysthetedd]

@@dodzidenudzakuma Right? The dude is an absolutely awesome musician and can demo the gear with the best of them, but also gives a compelling, interesting and entertaining narrative on why the thing exists in the first place. Just awesome. With how much this community has blown up, I think a lot of us would love to learn a little bit more about the "how we got here" aspect of it all.

[@cassidionline2002]

Yasss

[@Gmartin4049]

Loads of P12 and pro 3 stuff integrated into this beauty. Love it

[@mistervalentin8396]

I love my 3rd Wave, it's the most exciting new synth I have purchased in the last 10 years. You're getting into Alex Ball's territory with this history lesson + funky playing, but please bring it on, I trust both of you to always bring your A-game with coaxing the coolest and dirtiest sounds out of your instruments. Thank you!

[@VintageSynthesizerSolutions]

Agreed! I've had a pre-pro model since last summer and it ticks ALL the boxes! THE SOUND is SUPERB, 24xSSM Filters are the secret sauce. Best new synth in a decade!

[@ajmossman]

Man, this is excellent. Complete, informative, creative - checks all the boxes. Thanks for showing off this unique synth!

[@fray3dendsofsanity]

What an absolutely badass piece of equipment. Best wavetable synth I’ve ever heard, and the sequencer is incredible, almost Elektron-like! I hope the Sequential people who worked on this incorporate some of these ideas into Sequential synths in the future. Like a Prophet VS reissue with this layout and feature set would be amazing

[@starchedshirt13]

Thanks for your kind words. We're no longer at Sequential and are applying our ideas exclusively to new Groove Synthesis instruments of our own. Stay tuned for more innovative stuff to come in 2024!

[@Napear99]

This was an AWESOME journey through the history that lead to the PPG Wave(s). I very much appreciate how much work must have gone into the research for this video... top notch synth nerd outing.

[@G6304]

This is one glorious sounding synth I've heard in a long while eclipsing every Moog. The sound design capabilities are limitless, love the sound. Great video, cheers !

[@bordenjardine]

I see the appeal of wavetables so much more now. Exciting stuff!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

So worth the money. If i hadn’t bought a Prophet X I’d definitely be looking at this. I only buy one expensive instrument every 5 years 😂

[@VintageSynthesizerSolutions]

Exceptional demo and run down! This synth certainly deserves it... I would argue the 3rd Wave is the best new synth of the last decade, aside from maybe Baloran - The River (which doesn't really count as it is fully analog & truly boutique/bespoke). Immense feature set aside, the Third Wave is the only hybrid that can match the richness and sonic textures of an original PPG Wave or Prophet VS. No EQ or compression needed, HUGE straight out of the 1/4" Jacks. Future Classic!!!

[@robertomunoz7309]

I really appreciate the longer format of this video, this is awesome! Thank you for taking the time to make this video for the world!

[@dmcinnis23]

"Juicy right?" I loved this demo. Thank you Jeremy for another great one!

[@danielpirone8028]

Love the depth and history - I grew up with photos of the WaveTerm on my wall…. A boy can dream!

[@sierratango4467]

Groove was smart to ask you. This is definitely the best demo vid of the synth yet, your enthusiasm for the 3rd wave is infectious.

[@somewhere-else]

watching this for i don’t know how many time. want to add to everything that’s been said here: your musicianship, your ability to sit down and tell a compelling story in music has advanced so so far since the meme days. some truly gorgeous melodies in here.

[@kinnectar820]

Wow! That "Ambiance" sample in sounded incredible! Amazing potential here.

[@JimBReay]

LOVED the video. You seem genuinely delighted with the keyboard - and I loved how you showed your excitement.

[@Death_By_Media]

Worth a second look after the last round of updates . The VA engine especially sounds incredible. I’m praising a VA engine in 2023 damn , but it’s that good . Cheers !

[@AndyVonal]

Thanks, Jeremy! Your enthusiasm for this synth and your pure joy in using it are totally infectious! A wonderful video to watch and the best "review" of this synth I have yet watched. Wonderful!

[@benmorrow1701]

Interpolation: I was going to ask how it works, but then I found this google description that’s so easy-to-understand a toddler could get it: Interpolation involves computing the table output at a fractional index in terms of a weighted combination of table values in the vicinity of that index. Several interpolation methods are common, including linear interpolation and the use of cubic splines.

[@RedMeansRecording]

It's so simple lol

[@marzzz1]

I absolutely love mine...playing it via a polyphonic aftertouch keyboard and it is beyond sublime! Excellent video, thanks!

[@modyssey22]

Binaural bathing just earned you another subscriber. Lol My favorite review of this beautiful synth. Thank you!

[@scottmcauleysounds]

Finally got mine on it's way! can't wait to get my creative juices flowing with it! absolutely remarkable synth!

[@sauce_aux]

dear lord. A module version of their pre-filter mixer, and filter (with all the types) would be soooo sickkkk. Definitely seems like a very fun synth, and sounds great.

[@MrLumpySausages]

Every demo could be released as a full track. You're inspiring me to learn keys so I can get synthy.

[@nativesonno.1113]

this the best synth around at the moment.

[@noisetheorem]

As a big fan of the DSI Pro 2, the Sequential DNA in this is very obvious. In fact, this almost seems like a fully polyphonic version of the Pro 2 (the Prophect 12 dropped the SEM filter). This thing looks amazing.

[@SLRPS]

3rd Wave is certainly an achievement, I think I still prefer the M for its slightly weirder gritty side to things, the wavefolders that were added are really incredible, and the transition samples mean you can load in all the classic waveterm transitions which sound great. I end up using audioterm on the computer to build my custom wavetable, certainly is cool to see 3rdwave have it on device.

[@huntersandell859]

This was amazing! I played this synth last year at NAMM. Blew my mind. Love your explanation, and super intrigued with the format of the video. Well done! Keep it coming!!

[@Orangetronic]

it sounds like the future! lovely demos as always

[@derrickaf1]

One of the best if not the best synthesizer reviews I have seen to date:)! Great job showing off this beast of an instrument...

[@donaldpriola1807]

I'm tapped out on buying synths right now, but damn..this is lovely. The SEM filter makes the Pro2 something special, and it does the same here.

[@hemibass]

This was such a well done video man. Really enjoyable watch

[@unyu-cyberstorm64]

I have one of Casio's workstations synths (WK-1800) and it's also a Wave table synth (all digital with analog static low pass filters) It's fun to listen to MIDIs on, especially game music. (I have a recording of it playing the YS midi collection) It's 32 oscillator Wavetable that can use 1 or 2 per voice. Each DCO also can have some things applied to them, Envelopes, volume, panning, and filter. Also, it is very loud, when recording, set your recorders volume to just above half and keep the synth's internal volume at full (because it has analog master volume control). If you don't do this, you will be blowing out your recordings or making it sound weird. Also, *use high bit depth and sample rate*.

[@joelkulesha8284]

This is the first synth with a keybed that has really excited me in a while. It sounds great. I'll never have one because it's so overkill but it's insanely good sounding!

[@rossminet]

I enjoyed your presets for Minifreak V. I wondered who was this "new" skillfull designer Jeremy Blake. I once owned a Wavestation designed by Dave Smith and bought one of the first Evolver by Mr. Smith. I remember a PPG plugin I found quite interesting.

[@HoveyKraft]

Amazing review Jeremy! Your enthusiasm has made this a must buy and a hardware wavetable wasn’t even close to my radar before. ❤

[@antfactor]

Love it! Can't afford or justify (for now), but several of my friend's just got their's(!). I will enjoy vicariously. Also - cleaning ALL the pots on my microWaveXT (10 voice), so I can use it, again. It's been ages - but I LOVE it's gorgeous/orange architecture - and 43 knobs.. ;-)

[@robbrennan-craddock1896]

Thank you for delivering on the P-Bank

[@TRDRT]

Lovely sounds and history lesson! 💜

[@SpikesStudio3]

Its a thing of pure beauty. Kudos to you and HNY Jeremy. 👍

[@thanajon]

Thanks for the incredible story telling. Synth sounds good too.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

This is going to be super popular with soundtrack composers.....

[@KattKirsch]

36:55 Oh jeez it's that Gary Numan magic, that sounds so good it might be inappropriate

[@jon_gee]

Great video. Great guy. Fabulous demo. 🙌♥️

[@aquaticborealis4877]

Really nice resonance. Gets pretty huge sounding. Almost had to turn down my headphones at 16:15 and 19:34

[@rhythmsofprescott]

wow the resonance comp sounds fkn great, haven’t seen it on other synths

[@CoolBreez69]

I love your videos! I really want this Synth, and I don't (per your recommendations of other videos 😈). You make these sound so phenomenal! I really want to learn, as of right now, you can compare me (at 52) to a toddler banging on the keys smiling and laughing exactly the same. Yes, and some drool, too! 🤪 OH MAN! At 18:30 you started getting into the music I really love. Get some Nitzer Ebb style going - no wait - the next Tron movie....I'm so inspired! 🤯🥳😎

[@Soundwrecker]

I was in the kitchen and thought a Phish video had come on KZbin! Lol. PPG sounds great. Thanks for the vid.

[@tricks-and-tips]

I like this format (videowise) and I loved that sound. One day maybe 😂

[@tomlavelle8340]

And Blue means awesome synth!

[@chuckvicious]

Great Review ! Thanks , very fun to watch.

[@robrobinson5208]

*claps* What a synth! Great video, very entertaining and informative. I hope to have one of these in my collection soon. *whispers... WATERSPORTS ADJACENT* Lol

[@pcuadra]

This makes me want to play more with my hydrasynth mutants:)

[@grapevinegrave]

Man, it sounds so freaking good. Gonna be a hard choice between this and an UDO Super Gemini.

[@kaitlyn__L]

There’s certainly a lot of overlap in capabilities. I guess it comes down to how much you value no menu diving, and whether you’d use all the extra envelopes and sampling etc in the 3rd Wave. Personally I have the Super 6 and am completely satisfied with that as my hardware synth and using Ableton for sampling and wavetable-scrolling stuff. But you might want to leave the computer turned off!

[@NikoNoxious]

UDO SUPER Gemini is looking to be a beast but I'd say only get that if you want a modern CS-80 style process and feature set. Get the 3rd Wave if you want the sound and legacy of the PPG, instead.

[@dreamtekeuphoric1327]

Fantastic, sir!

[@chinidadian]

Wowie!! The breadth of sounds is incredible. That could be your 'one' synth (but probably wouldn't be if you have the budget for it)

[@jsogman]

SWN remains legendary because of EVERYTHING ELSE it does, its basically a magical little complex function generator that can syncronize and de-synchronize alot of evolving parallel and very musically oriented content. Haha yeah thats a mouthful, sad i ever sold it, wonderful generative heart of a system, never used the audio rate stuff for exactly the reason you state!

[@anastasia0zardonova]

Very nice video, i really liked your playing, you really seem excited and inspired. As i am not trained as a keyboarder this is probably not for me, but again: A lot to enjoy here!

[@RossTotino]

Great demo! This is an incredible instrument.

[@AsteroidKiller]

Finally a scissoring synthesizer! 🙌

[@Phunkophil]

May your day be wave table-y as well.

[@dmcinnis23]

Hey! Let's make a synth that makes all the people who have invested in modular cry a little bit. 😂

[@LordoftheBadgers]

I invested in modular...Had to sell off as wasn't for me but GAS made me but way too much. Still crying though! 😂

[@alex_on_the_web]

My earwax crystallized from the part around 19:00;

[@crime_wavcorp]

the 2140's are monsters. regularly make hair on my neck stand up on the P10. the Sequential stuff is pretty easy to get around on for me. but this big screen would have been really nice on something deep like the Pro3.

[@caydilemma3309]

I’m so obsessed with this thing

[@pedromarinho8804]

Awesome video Jeremy!

[@FlipOfficial]

Oh boy, what a time to be in debt 🫠

[@Rectangular_Eye]

This thing sounds incredible.

[@gladyscarrillo4368]

Amazing sound!!

[@BrianOuellette19]

God it sounds good. I'm curious if with the new bit reduction on the hydrasynth we could start to approach that territory on a budget.

[@TheMachinesWon]

Great video and awesome synth! I'm going to play my hydrasynth now and avoid GAS haha

[@joelkulesha8284]

The linear fm part sold me omfg

[@Packbat]

It sounds so good! I can tell why you're so excited about it - that's an incredible tool for you.

[@digitalduch1111]

Always loved the PPG Wave and the Waldorf stuff, but never had a PPG (way too expansive, rare and not really reliable). I really liked the Microwave II in the past, but this boy here... dude, I MUST save tons of money to buy it (and totally ignore everything you said in that "how not to buy a synthesizer" video). Thanks for the fix... eh... review!

[@RayyMusik]

Best review/demo so far. Still not sure if I will ever buy the 3W though, having an Iridium and Hydrasynth. Yes, the 3W certainly has the best filters, and it looks so cool. But this year an OB-X8 will eat up my budget.

[@Shohaiko]

How is this synth even legal? O.O

[@NINA-ef4eo]

Ouuu niceee 🔥

[@solongyouth]

Mike Huckaby would've loved this synth. RIP

[@treaverhargis2946]

That's a huge synth!

[@realqwave]

The Waldorf microWave was released about 4-5 years before the very first mighty WAVE. The than young Waldorf company simply had no fonds to start such a big project as the WAVE as their very first synth. And only the digital oscillator chip (ASIC) was designed by Wolfgang Palm. All other parts were no done by Mr. Palm or other PPG employees.

[@entropybentwhistle]

I agree that it was a shame this wasn’t released under the Sequential business umbrella. They would have been in the shops already. The only reason I don’t have one is that my purchase enquiry email went unanswered so I bought my second priority synth instead. I’ll still likely get one, but I’m back in “wait ‘til the budget is clear again” mode.

[@joshuamorganmusic]

Ooo! That sounds organic for a wavetable. How do you think it’s workflow compares to the hydrasynth?

[@heavyhittersirl]

One if these days, I'll eventually learn to use one of these.

[@greatheightsu]

I like knobs. Therefore, this is a good synth.

[@lwalto]

Good thing i hate money. I'm gonna get that.

[@edwingamesandmusic]

Very cool! Can it be used like a basic sampling keyboard as well?

[@RedMeansRecording]

No. Not at all.

[@guysmiley7289]

Awesome presentation. So is that the same filter as the Rossum Evolution? I love that filter.

[@pikkedieff]

6:56 Just gonna comment this here so I can relisten those 25 seconds of music you create as of then

[@kinnectar820]

Spicy!

[@artexpanse]

11:54 Pants bread 👖🍞🤣

[@TheHoinoel]

Major Terraria vibes starting at 24:00 :)

[@chrisj5547]

RUGRATS

[@SysexOfficial]

18:56 The Charleston Chew of basslines.

[@nth7485]

Do you get to keep it though? (didn't watch the whole video)

[@RedMeansRecording]

Yeah!

[@forestaeon]

✨🏳‍⚧BASED FIZMO 🏳‍⚧✨

[@Juno081990]

Oof! Awesome great vid as always!

[@ilcomendante]

19:18 Someone get this synth to Liam Howlett asap

[@crolodon8024]

Looks pretty fantastic! Great sound and nice layout. I don't know how I feel about that screen, the graphics are FAR too boring. Get a graphic designer in there to give it some style while remaining very legible. Maybe the screen background could be the same blue as the panel, with black text. The screen interface design just does not match the quality and style of the rest of the synth but it could easily be fixed in firmware.