Waldorf STVC String Synthesizer & Vocoder At NAMM 2018

At the 2018 NAMM Show, Waldorf introduced the STVC String Synthesizer & Vocoder.

We talked with Christian ‘Bubba’ Ayoub, who gave us an overview and demo of the new synth.

The Waldorf Streichfett Keyboard (STVC) is a string synthesizer and vocoder based on the company’s popular Streichfett String Synthesizer. The STVC starts with the String Synth’s vintage-flavored strings, and adds a aftertouch-enabled 49-note keybed and new features that take the Streichfett engine to new levels of sound and performance potential.

The STVC is equipped with pitch bend and mod wheels in an all-metal chassis with an OLED display, which lets you easily access the 126 programmable patches in three banks. In addition to the engine enhancements, the STVC adds a new Vocoder function that features a freeze mode, a fully polyphonic carrier, and gender modification.

Features:

  • Fully polyphonic synth with a world of classic synth strings and more
  • Smooth-playing, velocity-sensitive, aftertouch-enabled 49-note keybed
  • Vocoder function features outstanding speech intelligibility, freeze mode, fully polyphonic carrier, and gender modification
  • Blend between two sound engines to create anything from edgy solo voices to rich ensembles
  • The Strings section lets you create wide and full string section sounds
  • The Solo section lets you add a separate lead or bass sound to the mix in a layer or split
  • Enhance your sound with one of three cool onboard effects (in addition to tremolo on the Solo voice)
  • Save your favorite sounds in 12 memory slots
  • USB and MIDI connectivity provides ample integration options

Pricing and Availability

The Waldorf STVC is ‘coming soon’ with a street price of about US $899. See the Waldorf site for more info and demos.

22 thoughts on “Waldorf STVC String Synthesizer & Vocoder At NAMM 2018

  1. That brief demo gives mixed feelings. Seems to sound great, but then again there was reverb all over it. Vocoder part was quite hard to understand. And the guy has KORG USA shirt!

  2. These NAMM presentations can be so canned. I’ve seen two different Korg demo-people give the same presentation of the SVTC. I understand why, but it would be cool to see someone just jam and have fun with it.

    1. The “It’s too expensive” comments that pop up on every new piece of gear that gets introduced are beyond idiotic.

      People should just put a neon sign over there their head that says “I have no chops”, “I have no experience with professional gear!“ or “I don’t know how to save money!“

      If you want a cheap synthesizer, get a Volca and congratulate yourself over how much money you saved!

          1. Ad van Gerven, no one is allowed an opinion? So, unless you agree with someone, they are not allowed an opinion. It’s okay to be rude to someone? To refer to them as “idiotic.”

            Do these words from Mr. Analog sound friendly: “People should just put a neon sign over there their head that says “I have no chops”, “I have no experience with professional gear!“ or “I don’t know how to save money!“

            He has no idea who I am or what kind of person I am (and neither do you), yet Mr. Analog (and you) feel that you can judge me. My point was that in MY OPINION, the price discrepancy between the desktop Streichfett and the new STVC does not make the new keyboard cost effective. Instead of just saying he disagrees, Mr. Analog was rude. And you agree with him? It’s okay to be rude and disrespectful?

            1. @timS your argument is ridiculous. you have any idea how much it costs to build a synth? the STVC is three times the size and weight of the streichfett desktop. there’s material costs, development costs, plus the cost of a fatar keybed. plus the cost of an OLED display. plus additional processing power for the vocoder, and of course all of the wiring that goes along with *adding a keybed to a desktop synth.* if you want a better idea of why things cost what they do, you should read about industrial design and manufacturing. think through your comments before you type them.

  3. Agree that it would be great if the demos were less “canned”.

    But, from the brief audio examples, it’s pretty clear that this would be great for “spacier” types of synth music, and dance music, too.

    I actually really like the trend of companies making simpler synthesizers that are great at doing a few things, rather than menu-crazy synths that try to do everything, but just are not fun to use.

    1. Agree with the idea of making simpler synths doing things without diving in menus. Presets are another thing which I don’t like at synths. The only purpose is to reproduce static sounds. Besides that you either need endless encoders with an LCD or your knobs have to be automated to reflect those presets right.

  4. If you need this incarnation, you know who you are, but I’ve hear several demos where the vocoder was perfectly intelligible. It may be a specialty item, but it does what it claims to do. Now offer one with a Blofeld built-in, like the synth section of a Nord piano. IMO, that’d be the real take-off synth of the line.

  5. Nice idea, but who on earth would choose this harsher digital sound, when Behringer is teasing a real analog string/vocoder the VC340.

  6. The Streichfett really doesn’t have that string machine mojo. Don’t get me wrong, it has a character of sorts, just not the character I’m looking for when I think string machine.

    Honestly I’m surprised there aren’t any analogue string machines on the market. I must confess to being mostly ignorant of this area but seeing as how string machines rely on divide down synthesis (think 1 voice, 1 filter full “poly”) then wouldn’t it be cheaper to build a string machine than a full fat poly synth? (Of which there are loads on the market atm)

    If anyone knows of any obvious hurdles to bringing an analogue string machine to the market, please let me know, I’d find it interesting.

  7. Hey, just wondering what is going on with the STVC? Is it getting slightly remodeled or something? I thought that by the summer it would pop up in stores, and now were just about in Autumn.

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