Year One: A Round-Up of 3rd Wave 8M Reviews
The 3rd Wave 8M desktop module has been in people’s hands for about a year now. Over that time, it has been measured, sequenced, multitracked, compared with its bigger siblings, and lined up against everything else in its category. Reading back through the reviews, a few common threads emerge: that the 3rd Wave synth engine handled the move to a smaller box without a hitch, that the greasy analog filter does a lot of the work on character, and that the bigger screen and six contextual encoders make the reduced control set feel like an inspiring alternative to the 24-voice models rather than a compromise.
In this article, we’ll have a closer look at those common themes that have emerged in reviews and YouTube videos.
Same Engine, Smaller Box
The most consistent observation across the reviews: the synthesis engine in the 8M lives up to the expectations of the 24-voice siblings. The compromises lie in voice count and parts, not in sound quality or feature depth.
Rory Dow, Sound On Sound
“The third wave of the 3rd Wave reduces both size and price, but retains the sound that made us love it in the first place. The 8M might be the wave that actually carries you to shore.”
Rory has now reviewed all three 3rd Wave models for SOS and has had as long with the 3rd Wave as anyone outside Orinda. His September 2025 review of the 3rd Wave 8M weighs the voice-count compromise against everything that didn’t get touched in the move to a smaller box.
Matt Johnson
“Small box, big sound! The compact giant! Exactly the same sound as the big one.”
Matt’s review explores the full sound engine with examples from each oscillator type, plus a sequenced demo that shows the 8M sitting comfortably in a tracked context.
Marcus Schmahl, Gearnews
“The magic remains. The 8M is a beautiful instrument with enough power to keep you occupied for years.” *
Marcus’s Gearnews review opens with the question of whether the smaller box still carries the magic of the larger models. He answers it with an unequivocal ‘yes’ and gave the 3rd Wave 8M 4.5 out of 5 points.
Click the button below to read the full review on Gearnews (in German):
Beyond the PPG
The 3rd Wave’s PPG heritage was always just the starting point. Reviewers who spent real time with the 8M kept arriving at the same conclusion: the PPG sound is one capability among many, and definitely not the whole story.
Devin Belanger
“Calling it just a PPG clone is really selling the 3rd Wave 8M short. It sounds the best out of any other wavetable synths I have tried. I am absolutely keeping the 3rd Wave.”
Devin makes the case directly, then proves it by exploring some of the authentic PPG parameters, and then moves somewhere completely different. The Fender Rhodes sample patch in the second half of the video is worth the watch alone.
Adam Douglas, Attack Magazine
“One of the best to come out within the last decade of any synthesis type.”
Adam’s Attack Magazine review, titled “More Than Just Classic Wavetables,” approaches the 8M as a wavetable instrument among other wavetable instruments and lands on the same point: the true PPG sounds are there, but they’re only the opening chapter.
On the Sound
Different reviewers, different sessions, different conclusions about what they liked best. The common theme: the 3rd Wave sound itself. And often, specifically, the greasy-round tone of the 2140 Dave Rossum analog filter.
Andy Jones, MusicRadar
“3rd Wave 8M is a tantalising and cost-effective entry point to the guts of one of the great synthesizers of our time.”
Andy reviewed both the original keyboard and the desktop module for MusicRadar before getting to the 8M, so he’s comparing notes against the rest of the family. His verdict puts the 8M in the same conversation.
The Midlife Synthesist
“The magic behind that sound we’re all looking for is in the filters.”
The Midlife Synthesist treats the 8M as a first-impressions session, using the MPC Live III’s 16 tracks to play and capture sounds while he explores. The result is less a structured review and more a real-time sound design walkthrough, which is its own kind of useful.
The Creative Instrument
Several reviewers highlighted that the smaller front panel and larger screen do not feel like trade-offs in practice. The contextual encoders, the layout choices, and the level of finish all drew particular praise.
Starsky Carr
“It feels and it looks like a very slick bit of kit. In terms of functionality, this completely obliterates other synths on the market.”
Starsky has been around the PPG conversation longer than most. His review digs into the PPG-style controls in detail (wave smoothing, wavetable smoothing, reverse-key-to-waves) and then proceeds to recreate a nine-part track using only the 8M.
Marc Bohn, Keyboards.de
“One of the most thoughtfully designed synthesizers on the market.” *
Marc reviews for Keyboards / Sound & Recording and brings a German studio engineer’s eye to the 8M. His take: the build quality, the filters, and the modulation depth add up to a tool that belongs in serious studios.
Click the button below to read the full review on Keyboards.de (in German):
Heiner Kruse, Amazona
“You can tell a lot of love has gone into the details.” *
Heiner’s Amazona review (titled “Edler Wellenreiter,” or “Noble Wave Rider”) covers the OS 1.9a additions in detail, including the sampling workflow and the WaveMaker. His closing observation is that playing the 8M produces what he calls a “click moment” that keeps pulling him back.
Click the button below to read the full review on Amazona (in German):
* translated from the original German
Thanks to everyone who took the time. The 8M is the most accessible way into the 3rd Wave family, and hearing it through other people’s ears (and rooms, and projects) has been a privilege. If you want to put your own ears on it, find your nearest dealer here.