Waldorf has announced the release of an update to its Microwave 1 Plugin, a painstaking recreation of the original hardware synthesizer.
The update brings a new skin depicting the rare 1994 “Mean Green Machine”, a 99-unit limited edition of the hardware. It now also includes the ‘Mutator’ patch randomizer feature.
Thirty-five years ago Waldorf Music released its very first instrument: the Microwave Synthesizer. Its vibrant and distinctive sound transported the early wavetable sounds of the 80s into the rising electronic dance music of the following decade. Known for its massive bass lines, enigmatic wavetable modulations, brutal attacks and silky-smooth pads, the Microwave has inspired generations of musicians and defined hybrid synthesis at its best with its unique interpretation of wavetable synthesis combined with analogue filters.
Close to the company, there was this commonly told backstory that said that in the volcanic surroundings of the Eifel, near the village of Waldorf, the people working at Waldorf Music were mining wavetables every morning deep underground.
In 1994, Waldorf introduced the “Mean Green Machine”: a rare, 99-unit run of the Microwave 1 with a rugged Nextel green finish and cone-shaped metal feet. It was understood as a mutation of those wavetables that a Waldorf worker had ran into one morning. This collector’s piece came with the wicked sense of humor characteristic of Waldorf Music and with an absurd, on-purpose design from Axel Hartmann, where nothing was supposed to match, in the more intentional way.
Today, that spirit is reborn in plug-in form. And to add to it, it comes with a new feature that follows its original story. With the addition of the Mutator, users can now randomly modify the sound.
Available for Windows and Mac (VST/VST3, AU and AAX), the Microwave 1 Plugin is on sale for $99 USD instead of $165 USD at Plugin Boutique and from the Waldorf store until July 21st, 2025. The update is free for existing users of the plugin.
