Mean Green Machine Unleashed
Waldorf releases rare 1994 “Mean Green Machine” synth as plugin
11 July 2025
Waldorf is celebrating the summer season with a promotion on the Microwave 1 Plug-in. And just in time for it, the green monster is back to life. The rare 1994 “Mean Green Machine”, a 99-unit limited edition, now returns within the Microwave 1 Plug-in, and with a new feature. Waldorf introduces the “Mean Green Machine” edition of its Microwave 1 Plug-in synthesizer, bringing back a slice of synth history inside our DAWs. Integrated in the same Waldorf Microwave 1 Plug-in version, the arrival of the green mode brings a new feature with it: the Mutator, a patch randomizer.
Thirty-five years ago Waldorf Music released its very first instrument: the Microwave Synthesizer. Its vibrant and distinctive sound transported the early wavetable sounds of the 80s into the rising electronic dance music of the following decade. Known for its massive bass lines, enigmatic wavetable modulations, brutal attacks and silky-smooth pads, the Microwave has inspired generations of musicians and defined hybrid synthesis at its best with its unique interpretation of wavetable synthesis combined with analogue filters.
Close to the company, there was this commonly told backstory that said that in the volcanic surroundings of the Eifel, near the village of Waldorf, the people working at Waldorf Music were mining wavetables every morning deep underground.
In 1994, Waldorf introduced the “Mean Green Machine”: a rare, 99-unit run of the Microwave 1 with a rugged Nextel green finish and cone-shaped metal feet. It was understood as a mutation of those wavetables that a Waldorf worker had ran into one morning. This collector’s piece came with the wicked sense of humor characteristic of Waldorf Music and with an absurd, on-purpose design from Axel Hartmann, where nothing was supposed to match, in the more intentional way.
Today, that spirit is reborn in plug-in form. And to add to it, it comes with a new feature that follows its original story. With the addition of the Mutator, users can now randomly modify the sound.
The Microwave 1 Plug-in is a painstaking recreation of the original hardware that now also brings back the green madness edition, and for a limited time, users can get it with a special summer discount.
Microwave 1 Plug-in is now available at a promotional summer price of 99 EUR (including VAT) until 22 July — rising thereafter to 149 EUR (including VAT).
Available here: https://waldorfmusic.com/produkt/microwave-1-plugin/
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