Does Largo Sound Like a $29 Synth?

Discussion in 'Software' started by HurricaneAudio, Nov 4, 2021.

  1. HurricaneAudio

    HurricaneAudio Ultrasonic

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    I say absolutely not.

    Quite a few of us have acquired this synth, some of us paying $29 for it. But it seems to have disappeared and I think it needs to resurface because it sounds amazing. The factory presets don't do it justice for sure, but there are some gems in there, and several of the 3rd party sound sets available for it are quite good. Anyway, give it another chance if you've given up on it:

     
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  3. dondada

    dondada Rock Star

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    Largo is Great!
     
  4. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    Just like its hardware sibling, Waldorf Blofeld, it's a bit on the cold side if that's your thing (suiting with the snow falling in the video). It's a great synth though!
    Edit: when was it 29$?
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
  5. phloopy

    phloopy Audiosexual

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    If it cost 29 US it sounds like a 29 US :wink:
     
  6. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    I bought the Largo at the time, at the time it was the only plugin that sounded powerful. The filters are exceptionally powerful.
    I made 10 sound banks because I didn't like the factory presets.


    01 The ' Orbital Resonance ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2013 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    02 The ' ReAction Hopi ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2011 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    03 The ' ReAction Sci-Fi ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2011 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    04 The ' Sonic Sirius ' Soundbank by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2016 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    05 The ' Meteorology ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2012 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 081 Presets.

    06 The ' Sonic Wave ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2014 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    07 The ' Tone Colors ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2013 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    08 The ' Light Wave ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2013 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    09 The ' Digital Sky ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2013 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    10 The ' Lingua ' Soundset by CHE for the Waldorf - Largo VSTi
    Release Year 2015 / Format Soundbank (*. FXB) with 128 Presets.

    Free Download - Visit:
    http://ohlenbostelhelge.magix.net/public/misc.htm
     
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  7. babuk

    babuk Producer

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    29 is too much for this. Only the GUI should be monetized here.
     
  8. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Moderator Staff Member

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    I played with Largo a few times this year, its a very cool synth. Only Takeaway is that the GUI on a 1080p display is tiny and gives headache.

    The synth itself is more worth than 29 bucks.

    But i doubt Waldorf will update the GUI, Largo has not seen an update in a long time.
     
  9. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    I've been waiting for a 4K monitor update for years. It's really a shame that there are no updates.
    The Waldorf company was once bankrupt and then resurrected with these desktop synths as the Pulse 2, Blofeld, M, Iridium etc.
     
  10. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Moderator Staff Member

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    Yes i know. I guess they wont invest to much resources into building VSTs or updating their current ones.
     
  11. Seckkksee

    Seckkksee Guest

    In this day and age, there's no such thing as a bad or cheap-sounding synth.
     
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  12. Olymoon

    Olymoon Moderator

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    It's also very light on CPU
    But, yes the GUI is hard to read.
     
  13. stopped

    stopped Producer

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    I paid $75 (in 2016) and thought I got a great deal
     
  14. DKB

    DKB Producer

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    I’ve never tried it personally but I have the Waldorf blofeld desktop (black version) and I love that synth . I can push it to get some real dirty sounding Reece’s from it and great sounding string /pads . I was lucky enough that when I contacted waldorf about the sl license they gave me a 50% off last year at Christmas . I do own a couple of other eurorack modules by waldorf and the quality is great . I brought nave and then ended up buying the waldorf nw1 eurorack module which it’s based on the nave .
     
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  15. HurricaneAudio

    HurricaneAudio Ultrasonic

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    Audio Plugin Deals had it on sale for $29.99 in summer of 2020, then again on BF. Normal price is $179.99. :woot:
     
  16. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Moderator Staff Member

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    i think the filters in Largo are modeled after the Blofeld ones.
     
  17. aeroflot

    aeroflot Kapellmeister

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    Largo Synthesizer
    Largo is the first pure software synthesizer with Waldorf DNA. And again – it is the cutting edge sound that makes the big difference. No wonder, as Largo mirrors the technology used in Blofeld and Q hardware synthesizers.

    156,00 € and each sound pack is 30
    at 29 I would have bought it
     
  18. DKB

    DKB Producer

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    I believe the largo is based on the blofeld from what I’ve seen. I love the Waldorf filters in the blofeld it made me Instantly buy the Waldorf vcf1 analog filter for my modular it sounds so clean on the cutoff and great for modulation . I use the blofeld as much as my virus which is nearly every project . There’s a place for it one way or another sound design wise for everyday use . I know it’s getting a old synth now but so is my virus I brought that new in 2006 but there’s something about the sounds they produce that ahhh moment when you create a new preset /patch . I started my journey into production the same as most with software but over time gradually brought bits of hardware and now I’m working in a hybrid studio I love the best of both worlds
     
  19. 2poor2

    2poor2 Producer

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    I had paid like 180€
    That thing uses the absolutely amazing waldorf q filters, among other things.
    I bought it, because it used the elicenser dongle, so I said 'I have that dongle... why not getting that synth'...

    This Largo synth deserves a bit of love. It sounds amazing.
    It deserves some kind of 'relaunch '... a version 2.0, with some cool new features...a resizable Gui... some skins, or at least, 3 or 4 colors... red.... dark... blue... with a randomize feature.... more modulations... option to zoom the lfo,step, etc while being edited.... more lfos.... a new synthesis engine.... an integrated vocoder, with features from the big Lector vocoder... a new preset browser...500 or even 1000 new presets, from famous sound designers...a preset generator (merge 2 different presets--> 1 child...merge that new 'child' with another preset--> another child... over and over... eg, 2 pad presets merged--> 100 variations.. maybe 1 or 2 are cool...)...

    Fuk, if waldorf don't have, or don't want to 'waste' resources on a Largo V2, just let us, owners, donate/ send them some cash, so they can hire/ put 1 dev on Largo, for 5 or 6 months.
    Who would be willing to 'donate' 50, or 100€, for waldorf to make a Largo V2... and when it gets released, the people who gave money, will get it for free.... sounds correct , right ?

    I always thought, if you want your vsti to be successful, invest some cash, and ask a bunch of sound designers to create some cool presets and banks...! And make sure there are at least 2 or 3 new soundbanks released each month.

    Probably 90-95% of people who use vstis rely on presets...so, no matter if one particular vsti is said to be the best vsti ever... if it only comes with 30 presets, and there are no 3rd party soundbanks being sold, very few people will buy it...
    A vsti that only has 2 or 3 commercial soundbanks for sale, in the entire world, I doubt it will sell 500'000 copies...

    Too bad not many people know Largo.... what a beast...!
     
  20. BEAT16

    BEAT16 Audiosexual

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    Comeback of the Year - Waldorf - Amazona - Intreview

    The downfall of the WALDORF company in 2004 hit the many fans of the synthesizer forge like a shock. The term “bankruptcy” cannot possibly adequately describe the emotions of all those who have followed the rise of the company directly or indirectly over the years.

    WALDORF was simply Germany's model manufacturer for innovative and high-quality sound generators, who consciously never relied on the mainstream hype of global players.

    A brand that was recognized and loved around the world.
    But now we can take off the mourning ribbon together and celebrate Joachim Flor. Thanks to his initiative, Waldorf will celebrate the long-awaited comeback in 2006. We asked Joachim Flor extensively about the background to the comeback in the following interview:

    AMAZONA.de:
    Hello Joachim. As we have learned, you are one of the initiators of the Waldorf revival. How did that happen?

    Jochaim Flor:
    The thought had actually slumbered in me for a long time. I myself worked for Waldorf / TSi for a long time and these companies, which are exceptional in every respect, have become very dear to my heart. Later, too, I found out again and again how legendary Waldorf's reputation is and how great the regret was about the end. And this affects both users and retailers, yes, even competitors. In the fast-moving professional business, I think that's anything but a matter of course.

    Things got more specific at the beginning of last year when the idea matured to offer a piano module for the extremely successful CME keyboards. I discussed them with Michael von Garnier and Willi Eckl from Hyperacitve, who had initiated this idea. Well, who do you think came into question for the development of such a module?

    Exactly - Stefan Stenzel, the former chief developer of Waldorf and Frank Schneider - at the time the production manager, who had meanwhile started their own business with the Stadler Electro company. If you add Kurt "Lu" Wangard, with whom I founded the Joachim Flor trading agency and who accompanied the Waldorf for several years as a senior executive at TSi GmbH, it basically stood - albeit without us being aware of it at the time wasestablished the first personnel structure for the new Waldorf Music.

    At the end of last year the time had come and I bought the rights to the Waldorf from the responsible insolvency administrator. Stefan Stenzel and Wolfgang Düren, the founders of Waldorf Electronics, were particularly helpful during the negotiations. At this point, many thanks again to both of them. The new Waldorf Music GmbH is currently being founded. The partners will be Kurt Wangard, Stefan Stenzel, Frank Schneider, Michael von Garnier, Willi Eckl and myself.

    AMAZONA.de:
    Your name has of course been known to industry insiders for a long time. When did your career in the music industry begin and how did you come into contact with Waldorf for the first time?

    Joachim Flor:
    Music has always fascinated me and so it was only logical that I founded a recording studio in 1981, which I and my partner at the time ran with a lot of enthusiasm and fun. It was during this time that I met Wolfgang Düren for the first time, who at the time had studio equipment such as the Quantec room simulator, PPGs, etc. on loan

    In 1986 or 87 I met Wolfgang Düren again at the Cebit at the Atari booth. We talked a little and got along very well straight away. Just one year later I was working as a representative at his company, TSi GmbH, the sales department for Waldorf, Steinberg, Midiman, Access and a number of other very interesting lines. Later I started my own business and also represented other companies such as E-MU. That lasted until about 1998. Then I needed a short break.

    As much fun as the music industry is, it can be exhausting at times. But just two years later, my friend Axel Hartmann, himself a former employee at Waldorf Electronics, founded Hartmann GmbH. I couldn't and didn't want to resist. And so it went on. In 2004 E-MU asked if I was not interested into resume the previous cooperation. So the Joachim Flor trading agency was founded, which, as already mentioned, I built up with Lu (Kurt Wangard).

    The contact with Lu, who had worked for almost 20 years at TSi and Waldorf, was never broken - even privately - and so the renewed collaboration resulted almost logically. We currently represent the companies E-MU, Novation, Elektron, Radikal Technologies and of course Waldorf.Radikal Technologies and of course Waldorf.Radikal Technologies and of course Waldorf.

    AMAZONA.de:
    As a freelance sales representative who also worked for TSI, among other things, you had the difficult task of making competitive products attractive to the trade at the same time. If I remember correctly, it was Waldorf, Novation and Access at the same time. Wasn't that a hopeless undertaking?

    Joachim Flor:
    You could actually assume at first glance. But it was far from being like that. With his sales department, TSi GmbH, Wolfgang Düren primarily took on and looked after companies that were still completely unknown at the time and, so to speak, dared to take the first steps. Through his commitment, he played a major role in the fact that they achieved the breakthrough and that some of them are still among the best the music industry has to offer today.

    This also applies to the companies mentioned. According to Wolfgang's philosophy, I did not represent competitors, but family members who had to be looked after to the best of my knowledge and belief. The respective strengths were highlighted in a differentiated manner and presented to the specialist trade and users. The personal decision for a product was ultimately up to the customer.

    Furthermore, of course, the synergy effects also had an extremely positive effect on the individual brands. So everyone could benefit from the other in a certain way.

    AMAZONA.de:
    How do interested customers get back to WALDORF products?

    Joachim Flor:
    At the moment we are gradually building up a solid network of dealers and we place great value on selected dealers with the appropriate expertise. There are some really good ones in Germany.

    The problem for us is currently more in the areas of production capacity and component procurement, as certain electronic components that are typical for Waldorf products are no longer readily available. That is why it is currently difficult for us to meet the market demand, which, even for us Waldorf insiders, is astonishingly large. But we are working on it and will find solutions.

    AMAZONA.de:
    Do you have the impression that user confidence in products from Germany has suffered due to the bankruptcies of HJARTMANN MUSIC and WALDORF?

    Joachim Flor:
    A clear “NO” to that! The huge demand for Waldorf products just described and the countless congratulations and letters of encouragement that we receive every day - and that after 2 years of abstinence - prove the opposite. There is expectant joy. Waldorf's cult character continues to exist. Even the competition pays your respect. All of this makes us very happy and a little proud. Of course, that also puts us under pressure. We are well aware of this and will do everything we can to meet expectations.

    AMAZONA.de: According to
    rumors, there will also be new Waldorf products in the future. What can users expect from the new Waldorfs?

    Joachim Flor:
    Of course there will be new Waldorf products. But you will certainly understand that we do not want to give any specific information in this regard. There has to be a bit of tension;) It is absolutely clear, however, that future developments will also be characterized by innovation, unmistakable sound, optimal ergonomics, excellent design, user-friendliness and everything that the name Waldorf stood for, stands for and will stand for. But let yourself be surprised. Our first goal is the Winter NAMM 2007 in Anaheim!

    www.amazona.de/interview-joachim-flor-und-die-waldorf-auferstehung/
    www-amazona-de.translate.goog/interview-joachim-flor-und-die-waldorf-auferstehung/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=nui
     
  21. droplet

    droplet Rock Star

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    Great sounds! Thanks!!
     
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