What's a wavetable?

Wavetables are sets of single-cycle digital waveforms, arranged in a specific order. The wavetable's "position" determines which waveform is played. Moving the position with an envelope, LFO, or other modulation source creates subtle or dramatic changes in timbre. Some wavetable systems switch abruptly from one waveform to another; others crossfade smoothly between them. The modwave can do either one.

Modifiers

Use over 30 Modifiers to alter the character of any wavetable at load time. For instance, isolate the odd or even harmonics, add weight through anti-aliased quantization or saturation, or revisit the gritty character of old-school wavetable synths with the Vintage 8 & 12 options.

Morph

The 13 Morph Types let you stretch, squeeze, reflect, and otherwise alter the wavetables in real-time, changing their timbre and—when modulated—creating additional motion in the sound. Sync creates classic swept-sync timbres, using only a single oscillator. Three special Morph Types—FM, AM, and Ring Mod—modulate Osc 2 with Osc 1, and the last two even apply to samples.

A/B Blend

Using the unique A/B mode, oscillators can blend any two wavetables with phase-synchronous precision—different from simply layering voices—opening up a dimension of intermediate waveforms. Add body to otherwise "thin" waveforms, for instance, or a touch of sizzle to a mellow timbre. Even fade between two different "modifier" versions of the same wavetable. A/B Blend can be modulated in real-time, of course.

Gigabytes of samples

Wavetables also sound great when layered with samples, and the modwave oscillators handle that with aplomb, using KORG’s proprietary anti-aliasing sample playback technology. Totaling in the gigabytes, the modwave’s sample library includes new material from KORG, Airwave, and Francis Preve, plus a bank from Plugin Guru and a selection from the Kronos and Krome libraries.

User Sample Banks let you add more Multisamples to the system. You can create your own Banks, or use Banks from third party sound developers. modwave native can load many User Sample Banks simultaneously. This is one area in which software has the edge, due to the large amount of storage and RAM available on your computer: the hardware modwave can load only one User Sample Bank at a time.

Designed by KORG R&D in California

KORG R&D created the wavestate and the original Wavestation, co-created the OASYS and Kronos, and has developed fundamental technologies behind many other KORG instruments. The modwave reflects their unique aesthetic, delivering stunning sound, deep flexibility, and immediate physical control via cutting-edge technologies. Key sound designers from the wavestate, Airwave and Peter “Ski” Schwartz, joined Francis Preve, Richard Devine, and the Korg voicing team to create the modwave’s incredible sound library.

Patch exchange between modwave and modwave native

Sounds created with modwave or modwave native can be used interchangeably, transcending hardware and software boundaries.

To import and export sounds, use the Librarian page in modewave native, and the modwave Sound Editor/Librarian for the modwave hardware. For detailed instructions on how to use the modwave Sound Editor/Librarian, please refer to the user's manual that comes with the modwave Sound Editor/Librarian.