Behringer’s long-awaited Wave synth—a faithful clone of the legendary early ’80s PPG Wave 2.2/2.3—has finally landed back in stock at Thomann. Priced at €599, this compact hybrid powerhouse packs two digital wavetable engines (8-bit and 16-bit) into an analog signal path with SSM2044-style filters, eight voices, two oscillators per voice and all 30 original factory wavetables alongside 64 user-upload slots. You’ll also get a polyphonic sequencer, dual arpeggiator, stereo-width control and full MIDI/CV connectivity plus individual outputs for each voice.
The Four-Year Journey Finally Complete
Wave was first announced all the way back in 2020, but after years of development and beta testing, Behringer has finally proven critics wrong who accused the brand of focusing on “vaporware”. The development wasn’t easy—Behringer noted that emulating the synth’s “unique sound properties” was challenging, and they were assisted by PPG Wave specialist Hermann Seib, who previously worked on developing and maintaining firmware for the original synthesizer.
Firmware v1.0.11: A Game-Changing Update
On top of the hardware launch, firmware v1.0.11 just dropped with significant improvements. One of the early pieces of user feedback after release centered around the envelopes—it appeared that Behringer had used Linear envelopes and not Exponential, as the original did, so the new firmware addresses that by giving users the option to choose between three versions: Original, Linear or Exponential.
The update also extends transient playback capabilities—with later PPG Waves and Waveterms, there was the ability to play longer transients (samples), but the Behringer Wave initially didn’t support these longer files. Now users can select from three options that deliver 128 samples, 2048 samples or 8192 samples respectively, meaning those longer Waveterm samples can be imported and used. Remember to back up your patches before updating and perform the factory-reset routine via the SynthTribe app.
A Modern Revival of Wavetable Synthesis
The timing couldn’t be better—after a slew of clones of famous analog synths, Behringer has set its eyes on the biggest classics from the digital and hybrid age. Wavetable synthesis has made an impressive comeback in recent years, with manufacturers like KORG (modwave), Modal Electronics (Argon8), and Groove Synthesis (3rd Wave) having presented their visions of what a modern wavetable synth should look like.
The Sound That Defined an Era
The original PPG Wave was beloved by artists such as Depeche Mode and David Bowie, making it an ’80s icon that pioneered wavetable synthesis. Wave is a bitimbral instrument, allowing two different sounds to be layered or split across the keyboard. It’s also capable of both 8-bit and 12-bit wavetable synthesis, so you can recreate the vintage charm of the original Wave.
Premium Hardware in a Compact Package
As for the hardware, Wave features a 49-key, velocity-sensitive keyboard equipped with channel aftertouch. Though the synth is smaller, its front panel looks remarkably similar to its bright blue forebear, right down to the font and keypad-style buttons on the right-hand side. The rear panel is well-equipped with USB, CV/gate, sync and MIDI in/out/thru, stereo main output, headphone output and eight individual voice outputs.
Growing Community Support
The synth community is already embracing the Wave—British sound designer Jamie Moren (GEOSynths) has released his first patch library called “Signals” with 50 all-new patches that showcase the instrument’s versatility, from analog-style pads and bass to traditional wavetable PPG sounds.
Limited Stock Alert
If you missed the first batch, now’s your chance—but like the LM Drum availability, the batch size is unknown for the Wave, so it’s first-come, first-served. Availability is still limited, so you’ll need to wait several months if you place your order today, though many pre-orders have already arrived at studios.
Don’t sleep on this one—stock won’t last long for what many are calling the most faithful and affordable PPG Wave recreation ever made.
https://www.thomann.de/de/behringer_wave.htm
About Me
Hi, I’m Canoy Dang. I grew up in Granada and now living in Málaga, in the south of Spain. Sound has always played a central role in my life — from early home recordings to the deeper, ongoing exploration of the modular synth world. Modular, semi-modular, and desktop synthesizers have become my main tools for expression, experimentation, and sometimes, simply for getting lost in the process.
