PPG Wave 2.3
Most of the instruments you'll see here are analogue, relying on electronics for sound generation and with digital microprocessors used only for mundane things like keyboard scanning and preset control. When digital technology became sufficiently advanced in the mid 80s to take on the much more difficult processing involved in sound generation, it allowed designers to implement sound synthesis techniques that would be difficult or impossible using purely analogue means, like multiple-operator frequency modulation or wavetable synthesis. The Wave — created by German startup PPG — uses the latter technique, where a sound is constructed from segments of a waveform stored in digital memory. Although this allowed for greater polyphony and more stable operation — digital sounds don't go out of tune — what's more interesting is that it allowed for the creation of timbres that were virtually impossible with analogue means. When imitating conventional subtractive synths, the Wave has a precision and clarity that is unique; when creating new sounds, it is capable of chimes, bells and growling or evolving textures that radically expand the vocabulary of sound synthesis beyond what's possible with analogue instruments.
Classic: Waves were used all over 80s pop music, from the bright, glassy piano lead sound on Suburbia by the Pet Shop Boys to many classic tracks from Depeche Mode, including See You and Just Can't Get Enough.
Contemporary: For the last three decades, Danny Wolfers has been omnipresent in European electronic music. Although best known under his Legowelt alias, he has recorded under nearly 40 other monikers across a range of genres. During a residency at the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments (SMEM) in 2020, he recorded an album that featured a range of vintage equipment, with Swiss Cities showcasing the gritty, cold but organic timbres of the Wave 2.3.
Club: Berlin techno pioneer Robert Henke has always used the best of vintage and cutting edge digital technology. On the cutting edge, he was one of the founders of Ableton; for vintage, he's used 8-bit digital sound synthesis on many of his Monolake projects, specifically using the Wave 2.3 and a collection of other early digital instruments on Polygon Cities.