Studiologic Sledge 2.0 Synthesiser with Waldorf Modelling Technology

Main Features

• Analogue modelling synthesiser with Waldorf modelling technology
• Up to 24 Voice polyphony
• Dual mode for split/layer functions
• Sample integration for user samples
• Simultaneous Reverb and Delay effects
• High quality, 5 octaves Fatar TP 9 keyboard

The yellow monster that is the Studiologic sledge is an analogue-modelling synth with plenty of hands-on controls, a solid build and Waldorf modelling technology at its heart, for a sound that can go from 'I can't believe it's not analogue' to breathtaking wavetable sounds - all from one unit. The Sledge is now enhanced with version 2.0 software adding to it's already vast feature set.


For many synthesiser enthusiasts, it is the particular interaction of the sound engine and user interface that makes a great instrument. A quick look at Sledge shows you the generous set of controls available to interact directly with the sound engine. When you touch the knobs and switches of the front panel, you will instantly be aware of the meticulous attention to detail Studiologics engineers have refined, during many decades building the best electronic keyboards.

You will experience the logical set-up of the synthesiser modules, mirroring the signal flow of a classic analogue synthesiser. But what really distinguishes any synthesiser is its sound. Fortunately, Waldorf Music have happily shared their experience and know-how on this crucial part of the Sledge Synthesiser.

Studiologic implanted the DSP heart of the latest Waldorf modelling technology into Sledge. The result: enough power to put the foundations of your studio seriously at risk! And plenty of detail, to create the richest analogue pads you could ever want. Besides the classic analogue synthesiser waveforms, you will find a complete set of Wavetables, derived directly from the mother of all digital synthesisers, the PPG Wave.

The sum of three fat oscillators, plus a Noise generator, are fed into Sledge's powerful multimode filter with selectable 24 / 12 dB slope. The highly recognisable Waldorf filter algorithms enable a wide variety of sounds, from smooth to harsh, from fat to distinct, from pure HiFi to badass brutal. Ultra-fast, accurate envelope generators deliver ballsy punch. Two LFOs plus 1 extra Wheel-LFO are on board to offer huge, yet easy to understand, modulation capabilities. And two built-in Effect units deliver sophisticated synthesiser effects, such as Chorus, Phaser and Flanger, as well as a rich Reverb or an analogue style Delay.

And the best part – if you are familiar with the operation of a classic analogue synthesiser, you won't have to spend any of your precious time reading the manual. There are no double or multiple functions on any of the knobs or pushbuttons. All synthesiser parameters are clearly and ergonomically arranged in front of your eyes and directly accessible under your fingertips. This makes sound design a blast, and takes you back to the pure user experience, which you'll soon realise you've been missing.

Sledge 2.0 can now play two sounds at the same time, in Split or Layer mode. The feature is controlled by a new page of the Global function and allows you to simply keep one note (for Split) or more notes (for Layer) and then select a new sound, that will be added to the previous sound: as any other sound, also Dual Sound combinations can be permanently stored in any of the 1.000 available presets.

Sound samples and new waves can be loaded in the internal 60 megabyte of Flash memory, played by OSC 1 and modifiable by all parameters of the control panel, adding other oscillators, setting filters, envelopes and effects. This feature can constantly expands the instrument's sounds and create a totally new combination of synthesis and sampling.

Pitch & Hold controls: a new Global page allows to enable the Pitch and the Hold separately for the Lower and Upper sounds in Dual Mode, allowing to use the Pitch bend on the Upper sound (i.e. for solo parts) and the Hold pedal to control only the Lower (to keep playing a Drums groove or as a Damper for a Piano sound) and vice versa, or to enable Pitch Bend and Hold on both Upper and Lower sounds:

Reverb+Delay: a new function allows to mix both effects: the Reverb keeps the setting previously selected, while the real time controls (time and level) allows to set the parameters of Delay also when mixed.

Enhanced Polyphony: the total maximum number or notes that can be played at the same time have been expanded to 24, allowing to get a better real time control over the new sound possibilities obtainable from synthesis and sampling together.

Sledge Spectre: samples can be edited (keyboard range, tuning and other parameters) and transmitted to Sledge 2.0 by the USB port, with this easy sample editor that allows to first load and play the samples on your Computer and then download them into the instrument's memory.


Studiologic Sledge Specifications

Keyboard 61 keys + Aftertouch
35 Pots - 3 'chicken head' rotary switches (7 positions) - 1 rotary encoder + push function
2 x 16 digits backlit LCD
High Quality Pitch and Mod Wheels
Up to 999 programmable Sounds
Fast and efficient sound selection via numeric keypad

MODULATION
2 fast LFOs per voice with adjustable Speed and Depth
1 extra modulation routing for Mod Wheel, with adjustable Speed and Depth
- LFO Shape: Sawtooth, Rectangular, Triangle, Sine, Sample & Hold, Ramp
- Destination: Osc 1, Osc2, Ocs3, PWM / Wave / FM, Volume, Filter Cutoff

SOUND GENERATION
24 Voices polyphony - Monophonic mode with single or multiple trigger
3 Oscillators per voice OSC1/OSC2/OSC3
- Range from 64' to 1' with Semitone ant Detune controls
- Shapes: Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, Sine, Pulse (with Pulse Width Modulation)
- OSC 1 with 66 Original PPG Wavetables + Sample Player (60MB internal memory)
FM - Frequency Modulation of Sine and Triangle - Oscillator Hard sync (OSC 2 to OSC 3)
Noise Generator - White and Pink noise
Mixer with Volume and On/Off switch for each Oscillator and Noise
AUTO DUAL MODE : Split or Layer mode – prog. split point for each Program

FILTER & AMPLIFIER
1 Multi Mode Filter per voice - 24 / 12dB - Lowpass - Highpass - Bandpass
- Resonance up to Self-Oscillation and beyond - Adjustable Key track and Drive
2 fast Envelopes per voice (Filter-Amplifier) with Amount and Velocity control (Filter+Ampli)

ARPEGGIATOR
Powerful Arpeggiator - Latch mode - syncable to MIDI Clock
- Direction Up, Down, Alternate - Range up to 10 Octaves

EFFECTS
2 simultaneous Effects
- Effect 1: Chorus / Phaser / Flanger
- Effect 2: Reverb / Delay / Reverb+Delay

CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS
Master Volume Control
Power Switch
Stereo line output
Headphone output
Expression pedal input

MIDI IN / OUT
USB connector for MIDI IN/ OUT, Firmware Update, Samples Loading (with Spectre)
- uses standard USB MIDI driver provided by host computer OS
- Windows ME minimum, Windows XP or newer recommended
- Mac OS X 10.2 minimum, Mac OS X 10.3 or newer recommended
Built in power supply

SIZE/WEIGHT
97 x 40,5 x 11 cm
38.19 x 15.94 x 4.33 inches
8.3 Kg / 18.3 lbs