mo0kid wave is a free, open-source emulation of the 1993 Waldorf Wave that runs the original firmware on an emulated 68000 CPU, with 48 voices, for macOS.
Plugin comparison
mo0kid wave vs Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.3Great
Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin is a software recreation of the classic Microwave hybrid wavetable synth, with V2 expanding polyphony to 32 voices.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | mo0kid wave | Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (open source, GPL-3.0) | €99 |
| Dubspot Score | — | 8.3 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone | VST3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Firmware-level emulation of the Waldorf Wave (hybrid wavetable) | — |
| Method | Emulated 68000 CPU running the original OS plus the WDV voice-board runtime | — |
| Modeled hardware | ES2 oscillator ASIC, CEM3387 filters, 480 by 64 display | — |
| Voices | 48 (three 16-voice cards), multi-threaded rendering | — |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later | — |
| Formats | Standalone, AU, VST3, AAX | VST3, AU, AAX (per Waldorf distribution) |
| System | macOS Ventura 13.0 or later (Apple Silicon and Intel) | — |
| Instrument type | — | Hybrid wavetable synthesizer recreation |
| Version | — | Microwave 1 Plugin V2 |
| Polyphony | — | Up to 32 voices (V2; original plugin was 8) |
| Price | — | €99 promotional / €149 regular (confirm on Waldorf store) |
| Heritage | — | Based on the 1989 Waldorf Microwave hardware |
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