The Maskinrum Synth Collection Presents - The PPG 360 Wavecomputer Digital Wavetable Synthesizer

The PPG 360 Wavecomputer is the first PPG wavetable synthesizer made. It was made in 1977/1978 and was the first wavetable synthesizer and one of the first synthesizers to feature saving of programs.
It is an all digital 8 bit synthesizer with two outputs.
For more info visit maskinrum.com or thePPGs.com

[@michaelbauers8800]

Nice we have these videos of rare digital synths

[@kevinsturges6957]

Thank you for making this video. I absolutely LOVE everything about this synth. Please post more if you can. 😊

[@smacloopy4029]

Thanks for a very informative demo of this rare beast. I think i saw one of these in Robert Leiner´s studio in Gothenberg many years ago. I own a Wave 2.2 and love it´s sound.

[@e3-po405]

Guess this synth's been extensively used in Depeche Mode's 1982 album "A broken frame"...

[@SCARLETANDREDS]

Depeche Mode used PPG Wave 2. I think they bought it in late 1981. (1982 single "See You" recorded in late 1981.) They used wave 2.3 too. (Black Celebration) In 1995 or 1996,they used Waldorf Wave. (Ultra)

[@marcbrasse747]

I have been wondering why I had so much trouble getting those fantastic early PPG wavetable synth sounds out of my Waldorf Microwave XT for years.. Thanks to you I now know. Can it realy be that easy? Just make sure that the filter is fully open at all times, so use a simple organ type envelope. Also do not add resonance. Then put a simple AR envelope on the VCA and use the 3rd envelope generator to run through the wavetables. Maybe switch on the aliaising and presto, Anyhting else is almost superfluous. It'se siemple! Thanks for the very informative vids. Marc Brassé

[@timdowns7937]

Edgar Froese used one on his solo album Stuntman apparently.....

And on the Tangram album

[@harmonicres]

Just re-released Rolf Trostel Narrow Gate to Life on MIG(made in Germany) recorded improv (ambient) in Spain in 1983 mostly PPG 360 w a little Minimoog. I believe Edgar Froese keen to use these on his early albums like Stuntman. These where way ahead of their time tho not as warm as the much later PPG 2.3 but still unique and ahead of the DX7. Thanks for the demo!

[@AndyKing1963]

Edgar used the 350, 360 and Sonic Carrier on Stuntman

[@ThomCherryhomes]

The WaveComputer 360 was not the first PPG synth made. Palm made modular synthesizers, several analogue synthesizer designs (the 1002 and the 1020), a sequencer (the 350), before embarking on the Wave Computer designs. The Wave Computer 360 was a playback only variation of the Wave Computer 340/380 development system.

[@12bitrec]

What I meant to write is that the 360 Wavecomputer is the first wavetable synth - which it is. It was the first commercially available wavetable synthesizer - I just asked Wolfgang Palm about it to be sure. Thanks for letting me know - I will try to alter the text. Kenneth Abildgaard Maskinrum.com

[@synthland4526]

@@12bitrec nope. Ppg 360 sonic carrier is the first

[@tarkolollinger3602]

@@synthland4526 Nope! The Sonic Carrier did not have Wavetables. It was a digitally controlled analog Synthesizer.

[@tarkolollinger3602]

Sorry, this is not entirely correct. The Wave Computer 360 was in fact the first wavetable synthesizer. It was the first in the PPG Wave series. The 340/380 came after the 360 and used the 360 voice cards but another memory configuration. The Wave Computer 360 was also one of the first commercially available digital synthesizers in the world. The 360 uses separate analog VCOs per voice for tuning the DACs wich along with the omission of VCF in the signal path makes it sound much much bigger open and and interestingly more analog than the later Waves 2, 2.2, 2.3. as you can hear in the clip. The Wavetable synthesis was designed to work without an analog filter. And it does so beautifully. The VCF in the later Waves was only added to satisfy the demand of customers that were alienated by the entirely new concept of wavetable synthesis. The Wave Computer 360 is arguably the original PPG Wave Synthesizer.

[@neilloughran4437]

Thanks for the really cool video of an old Wavetable based synth…always wondered how these worked and now I can definitely hear those timbres on T-Dream and Edgar Froese albums (esp. Stuntman which I can hear those wavetable sweeps). Really odd concept but the for time pioneering. Is this the same synth that Thomas Dolby used I wonder?

[@neilloughran4437]

Wow to read my comment from 8 years ago and realise how time has flown.

[@neilloughran4437]

Should also add... The Jasper Van't Hof Eyeball LP has some nice Wavecomputer 360 sounds.

[@ebeep]

This and the PPG Wave synths are responsible for my favorite synth sounds. Why on earth is there no current hardware that gets anywhere close to this? It truly seems ridiculous that such unique sound-crafting technology has been abandoned to the past.

[@pistolboy5087]

Waldorf machines?

[@pistolboy5087]

Check out modal argon8 too

[@ebeep]

midnight marauder, I have a Blofeld with the PPG wave tables, but it doesn’t come close. The Waldorf PPG Wave V3 software is the only thing I have found that does.

[@jackcimino8822]

Don't forget that there is Herman Seibb's PPG Wave 2.2 emulation, which is free. However, the 2.3 version is like 80-something USD I think.

[@Rose_Arcana]

This full metal beast makes some of my favorite synth sounds, we need a VST version. A very good representation of the sound I AM talking about is found on Costin Miereanu's Miroitements. If anybody else knows of any other recordings or VST's available please list them below.

[@alienmachine]

There are already VSTs: the Waldorf PPG Wave 2.V and 3.V. As the original PPG Waves, they have the same wavetables as the Wavecomputer. If you leave the filters fully open you can get the sound really close to one: beautiful digital harshness.

[@TMA-Torsten_M._Abel]

GREAT!!

[@AdamBorseti]

Isn't it unbelievable to think that this came out the same year as the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5?

[@legeartis78]

those where innovative times back then... and Wolfgang Palm was far ahead and did his own thing , not trying to do something better than the competitors.. but doing something absolutely different. This attitude / spirit is quite rare...sadly

[@synthland4526]

The firs ever digital synth is the ppg sonic carrier

[@tarkolollinger3602]

That is wrong. The sonic carrier had an analog sound engine.

[@nielswil]

Which version is this. My dad use to have the 360 A Wavecomputer, and later i had in my room. But it stopt working and since a couple of years i am trying to find another one.

[@trcwm]

Hallo Niels, wat is er stuk aan? Ik repareer synths.

[@nielswil]

Hij hield er ineens mee op, gaf geen geluid meer. 1 1/2 jaar druk bezig geweest en uiteindelijk heeft mijn vader hem verkocht aan ik geloof aan iemand uit Engeland.

[@trcwm]

Het zijn gevoelige instrumenten; mooi dat het een goed terecht gekomen is.

[@nielswil]

Ik heb de UVI vintage vault alleen nog een goede pc daarvoor. Daar zit een vst van de 360 in. Ik hoop nog eens een echte te hebben.

[@justinb9387]

Thanks for the video , now maybe it's time for you to create a raffle for one of us to win it , £1.00 a ticket , I bet you hardly have the time to use it , come on it's time to let someone else have it , hey ?

[@bloodyhell302]

Want. Now. For FREE :D

[@nielswil]

To bad you can't see clearly what you are doing. You need some more light. Thanks for sharing though.

[@ingoodmusic]

too much talking

[@neilloughran4437]

I enjoyed the explanation.

[@Magnus_Loov]

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click .....(tapping on the buttons a thousand times). And out comes a boring organ sound. Not the most user-friendly synth. Interesting to watch anyway. There were some "proto" Wave 2.x wavetable sounds (deep) in there.

[@thomasgrafe8767]

Oder Tangerine Dream mit Kiew Mission oder MOD LAB mit Airwave

[@Magnus_Loov]

@@thomasgrafe8767 Ok. Exit, Kiev Mission... Thought it was only PPG Wave 2 for the digital (okay hybrid in that case) sounds on it, but apparently they kept their 360 for it too as I found when I browsed around a bit. Good info!