Waldorf has released their own plugin version of the Blofeld hardware synth. The plugin does exactly the same as the hardware and is currently on offer at €119 but if you have a Blofeld that is registered with Waldorf for a limited time you can get the plugin for €89 which is still pretty expensive compared to other plugins. Having reviewed Waldorfs previous plugin offering HERE and saying it was poor value for money, can the Blofeld be any better in that regard? Well spoiler alert – for me, not really. No standalone version, no CLAP version, it just seems a bit lazy if I’m honest. It sounds like a Blofeld, but the hardware is now 17 years old, and the plugin adds nothing to the sound. I mean you can pretty much get the same sounds from a few FREE plugins, and the full price is a frankly ludicrous €149. This is Waldorf in a nutshell – expensive, behind the times and just lazy. Their previous plugins have always smacked of being just adequate. Harsh, but they seem to have been stuck about a decade behind the times permanently…
Now with the negatives firmly up front and central, what is there to like about the plugin. Well browsing presets is pretty easy, cpu usage is low but I would expect that as the Blofeld hardware isn’t exactly cutting edge. Arpeggiator works well, and it sounds exactly like a Blofeld – for good or bad. Problem is that plenty of plugins do this wavetable and VA synthesis as well if not better than the Blofeld and for less. I mean Vital does wavetable synthesis for nothing, and against the backdrop of many options the Blofeld just lacks features. It just could have been so much more, and if this was say 5 or 6 years ago, I’d have been much happier. But things move on, and that is where the Blofeld feels, like in the past – firmly in the past! Plugins in 2024 have evolved so much whilst Waldorf just hasn’t!
Waldorf Blofeld Plugin

The Blofeld comes to the plugin world. However it is expensive for what it is and lack a CLAP or standalone version. Would have been better released say 5 years ago but nowadays seems expensive and limited
Pros
Easy to use
Exactly like the hardware
Sounds great – in a retro way
Cons
Expensive with no CLAP or standalone version
Lacking in features compared to other plugins
Price IMHO is ludicrous
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