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Komplexer has much in common with Waldorf's Micro Q

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When Wolfgang Palm began producing his PPG synthesizers back in the late 70s, little could he have known that they would still be influencing manufacturers almost 30 years later.

It's possible, in fact, to draw a fairly straight development line between Palm's innovative PPG wavetable synthesizers and the new Komplexer plug-in - if you were a fan of his venerable Blue Beasties or Waldorf's PPG-inspired Microwaves, TerraTec's Komplexer will be right up your alley.

Komplexer can certainly sound very similar to the Microwave range of instruments, but it also has a direct connection to another popular Waldorf synth. We're referring here to the Micro Q, the company's diminutive but wildly powerful virtual analogue.

To their credit, TerraTec haven't simply created a 1:1 emulation of the Micro Q, though it should be noted that Komplexer is fully capable of importing Micro Q sounds. That in itself would probably offer some guarantee of success, but as we shall see, Komplexer goes far beyond the Waldorf machine's capabilities.

Getting started

Komplexer is a Windows-only (for now) synth that's offered in standalone and VST plug-in formats. Delivered on CD with a concise (some might say insubstantial) manual, it installs easily.

The manual does a decent job of getting you started, but Komplexer is… er… complex and beginners might feel they need more guidance. While the differences between Komplexer's wavetables and those in the PPG are explained, it doesn't really tell you anything about wavetable synthesis itself.

Nevertheless, a bit of poking around the interface should get even the greenest synthesist up to speed.

On firing up Komplexer, you're presented with the Keyboard screen. This is a simple interface with a patch browser, a few macro controller knobs and buttons for activating, deactivating and selecting layers.

The assignable macro knobs allow instant access to the most useful parameters and there are tabs for accessing the other, more elaborate interface pages. Some users - particularly those who prefer to let the preset designers do the dirty work - may never need venture beyond this compact display.

In use

Komplexer can be fairly accessible then, but it's to those of us who like to delve deeper that it has the most to offer. A trio of oscillators are on board, two of which offer wavetables.
You get the usual assortment of parameters to play with - you can adjust the tuning, select between waveforms and manipulate the pulse width. Sub oscillation, frequency modulation, bend range and key-tracking controls are also offered.

The first two oscillators offer a wavetable display that can be used for scrolling through the wavetables (each offers the traditional 32 waveforms), while the pulse width parameter doubles as a wave selection controller for the wavetables.

At its heart, Komplexer is effectively a subtractive synthesizer, and this fact is reinforced by the presence of a pair of resonant, multimode filters.