Xenia is the latest vintage synth emulation from The Usual Suspects, the developer behind OsTirus, Vavra (Waldorf microQ emulation), and the Access Virus C emulation.
The retro-inspired developer has returned to Waldorf to offer a Microwave II/XT emulation, albeit in its beta phase.
Xenia (beta) is available in AU, VST, VST3, CLAP, and LV2 formats for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Waldorf released the original Microwave synth in 1989, and it quickly became very popular with synth-driven artists.
The Microwave II came along in 1997, and while it offered some improvements (going from eight notes of polyphony to ten, for example), the enhancements made after eight years generally left fans a little underwhelmed.
Around a year later, Waldorf released the Microwave XT module, alleviating some fan concerns by providing extensive physical controls that the previous rackmount models lacked.
Fast-forward another 27 years, and we’ve almost come full circle again, with all Microwave models holding a special place in the heart of most vintage synth fans, especially those looking for a slightly unusual sound.
The Microwave II/XT models have digital filters, as opposed to the original’s analogue filters, and that’s the character Xenia emulates. Like previous releases, Xenia delivers this character by emulating the Motorola 56300 chip.
The interface captures the essence of the Microwave XT with its distinct orange colour scheme. The GUI has five sections: Main, Mod, Arp/FX, Multi, and Browser.
If you want to hear Xenia in action, check out this video demo from BPB reader Crazik.
Thanks to Crazik for this demo and the previous MiniMogue VA demo (check it out if you haven’t already).
Xenia sounds great, which was expected given the developer’s track record. It has the bold and brash attitude of the hardware, but it doesn’t always have to be right in your face. If you can use it, Xenia is a powerhouse.
I say “if you can use it” because Xenia presents the same installation problem as previous releases from The Usual Suspects. You’ll need the ROM firmware file, which the developer doesn’t supply.
Xenia looks very promising if you can legally get a hold of the firmware.
Download: Xenia (FREE)
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