Waldorf Blofeld Black

This synth is one of the most loved ones in my studio. I have bought this when it first came out in 2007, and back then it was a bit glitchy. But after they cleaned up the operating system things have been smooth sailing.

If you install the sample license, I would go as far as to say this is the only synth you will ever need. It's really that good. It's a true masterpiece.

The oscillators sound great, the modulation matrix is wonderful and the filters sound very good.

The only negative aspekt are the effects. But if you use this in production you'll probably record dry anyway for post in the computer. The fx are not extremely bad, but I would have liked a better quality reverb. But hey, that might be just me.

A feature I haven't used until later years is the multitimbrality. You have 16 parts. 16! That's what I'm talking about when I say this is the only synth you will ever need.

I usually use the 8 miditracks on my Digitakt to control the Blofeld and it's such a sweet combo.

Built like a tank, very sleek and beautiful on the desktop. Get one.

****Update after 7 years *******
TL;DR: After all the years this synth has been available, I don't think there is another that offers so much power for such little outlay.

I love this thing and it has been a dependable work-horse for me. It can do almost anything but I tend to use it for the atmospheric layer beneath others sounds I want to cut through more. This is partly because of the lack of individual outs. Layered multi-timbral textures are often my starting point and this synth excels at them.

My reservations about quality are for the more part unfounded. The encoders can be a little unresponsive but not enough to be a problem. The screen remains excellent and I find the input matrix and shallow menu structure to be no problem.

The only gripe I still have is the lack of a midi out/thru but I'm used to it now. The internal effects aren't great either but no big deal.

I am a producer. And I heavly use digital sounds in my productions. I never used any Waldorf series, this is first.
There is a USB cable between the Blofeld and the computer for MIDI transmission/receiving. And it is working properly. Overall build quality is also very good. Its audio output is noise free.
And the sounds...
Because of not having Mastering Effects, the audio output level is low but, it is not a problem. You can use it for any production. I tested all the sounds and they may not be useful for everyone. But the parameters are quite enough to create a new patch. The filters are top notch quality. Modulation matrix is also very complex. Max polyphony is not a problem, only 25 notes.
For 323¤, you buy a digital synth that is really enough to create a pro-sound. Don't compete it with Virus because they have not similar engines. But, if you create your own patches, you really surprise for the result.
Highly recommended...