Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M
Desktop Synthesizer
- Synthesis types: Wavetable, analogue style, FM and sampling
- 8-voice, 2-way multi-timbral
- Three digital oscillators per voice
- 32 original 8-bit wavetables from the PPG 2 series instruments (plus up to 16 user wavetables 8-bit)
- Sequencer
- Arpeggiator
- 16-slot modulation matrix
- 451 factory programmes (overwritable)
- Create custom wavetables (up to 32 can be stored)
- Integrated effects
- 7" display
- 24 buttons and 36 switches
- Dimensions (W × H × D): 444 × 80 × 175 mm
- Weight: 12.25 kg
- Includes rack ears and external power supply with interchangeable plug adapters for EU/UK/USA
Connectors:
- Line input: 6.3 mm jack
- Line output: 4 x 6.3 mm jack (2 x L/R stereo)
- MIDI In / Out / Thru
- USB
- Sustain / footswitch input
- Volume pedal input
- Expression pedal input
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Available since August 2025
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Item number 622009
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Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
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Design Desktop
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Polyphony 8
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Sound Generation Digital
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MIDI interface 1x In, 1x Out, 1x Thru
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Storage Medium Internal
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USB-port Yes
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Effects Yes
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Arpeggiator Yes
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Number of Analog Outputs 4
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Digital Output No
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Display Yes
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Optional Expansions None
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Special Features N/A
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Wavetable engine in a compact format
The Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M brings the core wavetable architecture of the 3rd Wave series into its most compact and accessible form – an eight-voice, two-part multitimbral desktop module that runs the same synthesis engine as the flagship keyboard and desktop versions. Three oscillators per voice, dual analogue and digital filters, a comprehensive modulation matrix, and two effects slots per part are all present and unchanged. The trade-offs are straightforward: eight voices instead of 24, two multitimbral parts instead of four, and a more screen-reliant interface. For producers who want the 3rd Wave sound without the footprint or price of the larger models, the 8M is the direct route in – and uniquely in the series, it is rack-mountable with ears included.
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Flagship sound generation
The sound engine is identical to the larger models: Three oscillators per voice draw on classic 8-bit PPG wavetables, high-resolution 96kHz modern wavetables, and virtual analogue waveforms. There are 36 classic and 56 high-resolution factory wavetables, each with 64 waves, with 20 empty slots for custom content – Wave Flow handles smooth or stepped transitions between them. The Wavemaker tool creates wavetables from recorded or imported audio, including Serum-format wavetables, and oscillators can also play back multisamples via the Waveterm B sampling update. For sound-shaping, two filters run in series: a Dave Rossum-designed analogue SSI 2140 low-pass filter with variable saturation and self-resonance, and a digital state-variable filter covering low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch modes. The complete wavetable engine, filters, modulation matrix, and effects are identical to the larger models – the 8M sounds the same, with fewer voices.
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Sequencer and effects in focus
The internal sequencer allows notes, chords, and parameter automation to be recorded per part, with up to 24 patterns of up to 32 bars, chainable into songs. The Wave Envelope – a six-stage loopable envelope generator, three per part – sweeps through wavetables for evolving sound movements. Four DADSR envelopes per part are switchable between modern exponential and PPG-style linear response, and four tempo-syncable LFOs cover further modulation needs. The modulation matrix offers 16 assignable slots and 12 fixed-source slots per part, with sources including envelopes, LFOs, velocity, key position, poly and mono aftertouch. Two effects slots per part cover BBD, Tape, and Stereo delays, Room, Hall, and Superplate reverbs, chorus, phaser, flanger, ring modulator, Leslie speaker, and distortion – the complete effects suite, unchanged from the larger models.
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About Groove Synthesis
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Groove Synthesis was founded by a team of synthesizer veterans who previously contributed to instruments made by AVID, Digidesign, Sequential, and Oberheim. Drawing on decades of expertise, they craft innovative instruments that blend emotional sound design with cutting-edge technology. Their flagship product, the 3rd Wave, is a hybrid wavetable synthesizer that merges analogue warmth with digital flexibility, inspiring musicians with rich, evolving textures. Born from a passion for classic synths, the 3rd Wave reimagines vintage concepts for the modern era, pushing creative boundaries.
Musical functionality, minimal footprint
The 8M's front panel is logically laid out and clearly descended from the desktop version, with a larger seven-inch touchscreen and six soft encoders handling parameters where dedicated knobs have been consolidated – more screen-reliant than its siblings, but nothing buried too deeply. Two analogue stereo outputs carry one per multitimbral part for independent external processing. MIDI In/Out/Thru on full-size 5-pin DIN connectors, USB Type-B for MIDI and flash memory access, a mono audio input for wavetable and sample recording, expression and sustain pedal inputs, and a headphone socket complete the rear panel. Power is supplied via an included 15V DC adaptor. At 530×290×200mm, it fits comfortably on any desktop and mounts cleanly into a standard 19" rack with the included ears.
In the spotlight
PPG heritage and Waveterm B
The 3rd Wave concept draws directly from the PPG Wave 2 – the first commercially successful wavetable synthesizer, released in the early 1980s and revered for its harmonically rich 8-bit character. Groove Synthesis have gone to considerable lengths to make authentic PPG emulation possible: enabling PPG envelope mode switches from exponential to the more linear response of the original; voice drift reintroduces the oscillator instability that gave the PPG its organic quality; waveform smoothing corrects the pitch irregularities between notes – or leaves them in for a faithful recreation; the upper wavetable exposes the final four waveforms hidden by default, mirroring the original PPG behaviour. OS 1.8 added the Waveterm B sampling update – named after the PPG's original sampling companion – allowing oscillators to play back multisamples with up to 3.3MB of RAM. It is worth noting that the original PPG Wave 2.3 was itself an eight-voice instrument – the 8M's voice count places it in precisely that tradition, and the sound is every bit as capable of the textures that made the PPG a legend.
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