My collection
Ever since I was about 8 years old I've been interested in music and audio equipment. This interest was stimulated after we got our first home computer, a Commodore 64.
This also got me hooked on computers. I liked the games, programming and sound and music. Years later, when I started to use soundcards on the PCs we had over the years, there were a few soundcards that I really liked,
most of all the Gravis Ultrasound. I bought a GUS MAX as soon as they became available. I took a trip to Amsterdam just to buy one of these, a revision 1.7. I still have it in full working order, including everything that came with it.
With the GUS, I also became interested in MIDI. The use of RAM on the GUS to load the patches was something unique in the world of PC soundcards. The quality of the music produced by the GUS was (in my opinion), way better than
that of the SB Pro 2.0 I had before that. Then came the Yamaha DB50XG daughterboard, which was said to be even better for MIDI. It took me a while to find a proper working soundcard for that and I finally settled on a
Sound Blaster 16 ASP. Several other soundcards I tried proved to be more or less incompatible with the software I wanted to use. The SB16 just worked.
With prices of soundcards and MIDI boards as they were and given my limited resources, buying multiple boards was out of the question.
During the past five years however, I caught the 'retrovirus' and began collecting the classis soundcards, MIDI daughterboards and Roland MIDI interfaces and modules. On this page I displayed my collection of WaveBlaster
compatible MIDI daughterboards, just like a few other people on the web have done.
I'm still trying to expand my collection, which has been successful so far. There are still a few boards missing that I'd like to have though. If you have one that you'd like to sell, trade or donate, please contact me.
A new gadget from Serdaco!
November 27th, 2022
The start of a minor redesign of my website....
June 6th, 2021
There have not been any updates to this website over the past few months. During this time a lot of reconstruction work was done in the attic of our house, so I now have a brand new work and computer room!
In the meantime Serge Defever has been keeping busy with a lot of great projects. One of those is the Dreamblaster X2GS, which is an adaptation of the Dreamblaster X2. The main difference is, that it holds an officially (Roland/Dream) licensed 16MB GS soundset!
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This is the X2GS I received on May 12th. Besides the GS soundset, there is 48MB of flash memory that can used to upload soundsets, the excellent Buran bank for example.
Check out the details on serdashop.com.
And if you want to listen to the quality of the X2GS, then check out Serdaco's YouTube channel.
While you are on that website, also make sure to check out the other new items, such as the E-Wave (ESS based module) or the MPU-232 (RS232 to MIDI interface, compatible with SOFTMPU).
And don't forget to check out all the latest updates and recordings on wavetable.nl!
February 7th, 2021
Waveblaster.nl is online! Thanks to my generous friend, Serge Defever, who registered the domain name and provided the hosting, I am very happy to have my webpage back online.
Last week, my ISP finally took the old 'member' pages offline, which had already been postponed a few times. And now I'm back with a proper domain name.
For now, I put up the old webpage, but (time permitting) I will make some changes and updates.
November 22, 2020
Last week, on November 11th, I received a surprise package in the mail.... it was from Serdaco again, a tiny MIDI daughterboard called the McFly. Thanks again, Serge!
Photos below.
October 10, 2020
Today I received a very special package from my friend Serge Defever in Belgium: a Yucatan FX protoype board! Thank you Serge!
September 10, 2020
It has been a long time since I last posted an update on my page. A lot has happened since then. Like 2020...
I do not know how much longer this webpage will remain, as my ISP was to shut it down last April. Up until now it is still active and accessible.
On the MIDI front there have been recent developments.
Serge Defever has created many new products for retro gamers. Just last week he released his Yucatan FX MIDI board, a clone of the Turtle Beach Cancun FX. You can find it at the usual place, although he may have run out of stock for now...
From another source I have been able to obtain a number of very special MIDI daughterboards. These are recreations of the Roland SCC-1 and SCC-1A on a Waveblaster-type daughterboard, using original Roland chips (!).
They have a unique feature in that they also have an SP-DIF digital output and an analog line output. Scans of these cards to follow soon. They arrived on July 29.
And just today two more, very special new boards arrived from the same source: LAPC on a MIDI daughterboard! It must have been especially difficult sourcing those chips....
Haven't had time to test them yet, but I will do so very soon. I already put them on my flatbed scanner, so photos are coming too!
Together with these two boards, I also received my now repaired Orchid Wave Booster 4FX back! It turns out the traces were damaged underneath one of the ICs. Tiido, thank you for fixing this!
On June 29 a package arrived from Portugal containing a boxed Turtle Beach Cancun FX! I will order a Yucatan FX from Serdashop soon and put them side by side...
More updates to follow, I did not yet write about everything that happened during the past 3 years. That's a very long time without an update...
August 29, 2017
Three weeks ago, my friend brought me a package from Brazil: the MediaTrix AudioTrix 3D-XG had arrived! Pictures will follow...
Now I finally have the Yamaha DB60XG I have been searching for!
Anyone with a Dreamblaster X2 or X3M: check out the new soundbank that was made available by Serdaco here.
May 4, 2017
On April 24 I received an e-mail from Brazil. I did not know the man who sent it, but he asked me about advice on how to use his Yamaha DB60XG in a modern PC.
Long story short: he decided to sell his MediaTrix AudioTrix 3D-XG (boxed, complete set) with the Yamaha DB60XG. Needless to say, I expressed my interest in buying it and thanks to a friend
it is now waiting in Rio de Janeiro to be brought to me sometime soon. I believe I can wait a little while longer to get my hands on that soundcard, since I have been looking for one for several years. Yeah!
In the meantime, Serdaco have released their DreamBlaster X2 and Serge has drummed up some help in creating an alternative soundbank for it. A great product with great support, at an affordable price!
Check it out in Serdaco's webshop, with many more MIDI products available as well.
December 8, 2016
Two days ago, a package with not one, but two MIDI daughterboards arrived! Thanks to the same fellow VOGONS member and Retro/MIDI enthousiast as last month, I was able to add these to my collection.
The two boards are an Ensoniq Soundscape DB Rev B and Magic Wave Table. I must say I never heard about the latter, but I will try to find out more about it.
In the meantime, Serge Defever has been hard at work to get the first batch of Dreamblaster X2 boards ready. He is almost ready to start sending them out. They look and sound beautiful! Get one while you can!
November 14, 2016
Since Serge Defever already made an announcement on VOGONS and Phil from Phil's Computer Lab posted photos, I put up the photos of the Serdaco Dreamblaster X2 prototype as well. See below!
Last Friday I received a package with not one, but two additions to my collection: an Aztech Sound Galaxy Wave Power (complete, boxed) and a TeleVideo WaveImpact 32! Thanks to a fellow VOGONS member and Retro/MIDI enthousiast.
November 6, 2016
Added software for the X-Technology TopWave 32.
November 1, 2016
It's about time for a quick update. Let me start with the most interesting bit: Serge Defever is working on a new project and he will make an announcement soon!
My collection of MIDI boards will have two additions within the next few weeks, among which will be an Aztech Sound Galaxy Wave Power board! Can't wait...
August 23, 2016
It's been a while since the last update, but a few things have happened since then. Several people contacted me by e-mail and I have been able to help them, either by selling or trading or giving them information. Always nice to get in touch with people with a similar interest!
On June 14 there was a surprise package in the mail. As it turns out, Serge Defever sent me the first, hand-soldered, working prototype of the Dreamblaster X1 for my collection! What a nice gift! He even included a little note. Thank you Serge!
Back in February I traded one of my Yamaha DB50XG boards for a Turtle Beach Monterey (TB Tahiti with TB Rio daughterboard). I've added the pictures of the Rio. And of the Dreamblaster boards too.
May 16, 2016: Time for an update
Last week I was lucky enough to find an unused, boxed Roland SCM-10 on eBay! The seller had a 'Buy it now' price that I quickly clicked on, still surprised that no one had beaten me to it.
Shipping of this Roland MPU-401/AT and Roland SCB-7 combo was very quick. It arrived on Friday and it is now a part of my collection!
And I also recently bought an Anteg Easy MIDI EM-100, a rather simple looking, Italian made MIDI module. Inside the module is a small hidden treasure: a Dream-based MIDI daughterboard!
As my friend Salient also bought one of these, maybe he will find the time to make a few recordings and put them up on his website.
February 14, 2016: Yet another wavetable board...
Last Thursday saw the arrival of yet another wavetable board. I came across this one on eBay. It is BCM DB2133a wavetable board,
intended for use in an Axon AX-100 guitar-to-MIDI interface. It was most likely produced in 2003 and it has a 4MB ROM.
This means it could have a CleanWave32 soundset or a custom soundset. I will need to compare with CleanWave32 recordings to find out which it is.
I could find no manufacturer information about this wavetable board, so if anyone knows anything about this board, please let me know.
I have made a number of recordings that will hopefully be available soon on wavetable.nl for anyone to listen to.
Scans have yet to be made and will also be available soon.
The website's owner, Salient, has made recordings of the Dreamblaster X1, the latest high quality wavetable daughterboard from Serdaco.
Also check out the video review of Serdaco's Waveblaster MIDI interface board on Phil's YouTube channel.
January 30, 2016: And another one!
This afternoon another wavetable board arrived from Germany: an Ensoniq Soundscape DB revision A! I did not expect to ever find one of these.
A quick test shows it works just fine and sounds pretty good too.
January 23, 2016: Another addition to the collection!
As part of a trade, I acquired a Terratec MiniWaveSystem WT64 1.0A wavetable board for my collection. And another one will be added to the list soon....
January 10, 2016: Happy new year!
Last Thursday a package arrived at my house, containing a NOS, shrink-wrapped Media Vision Pro 3-D Sound Card with the Korg Wavetable MIDI daughterboard.
So it contains one of the wavetable boards that I've been looking for and it is unused. Now, should I open it?
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June 21, 2015: another update, finally ;-)
It has been quite a while since I last updated this webpage, but there are a few recent developments that need to be mentioned:
Serge Defever is developing a wavetable board using FLASH memory, so you can replace the soundset! It is still a work in progress, but it is already on his website.
It is called the Dreamblaster X1. I recently received a prototype of this board and it sounds quite good with the soundset that is provided. A great development!
Serge is also working on an update to his MIDI interface, in order to improve compatibility. I am currently testing it with my collection of MIDI boards.
Gravis Ultrasound PnP clone being developed
As the prices of used Gravis Ultrasound cards have been rising (and availability dropping) in the last few years, an enthousiast from Berlin has started developing a GUS PnP clone card, called the ARGUS.
The project is now entering the prototype stage, where a number of PCBs will be made so the card can be tested. It will support a maximum of 16MB, more than the original GUS PnP and will also be GUS Classic compatible.
Follow the progress on VOGONS or read the blog. A very interesting read and a project worthy of support!
New acquisitions
During the last few months the number of wavetable boards being offered has been small and the ones on sale went for rather high prices, so it has been quite difficult to extend my collection.
However, I did manage to find a Roland CM-500 module (as I sold my previous one) and more recently a Roland MPU-IPC-T. I am not certain if I will really be using them, so let me know if you're interested.
New wavetable board released!
An electronics engineer from Belgium, Serge Defever, has recently developed his own Waveblaster-compatible MIDI board which is now available!
I was invited to help test the prototype and the first few samples from the (limited) production run. The so-called 'Dreamblaster S1' is based on the Dream 2195 synthesizer chip.
The board itself is tiny, smaller than any of the other wavetable boards I own. The sound quality however, is rather good with a somewhat 'synthy' feel to it. The noise level is very low, which is also good.
April 9, 2014: Salient has been so kind as to make recordings of the Dreamblaster S1 and put them up on his website: www.wavetable.nl. So if you want to hear what this little board can do, have a listen!
On July 5th Fabian put his review and recordings of this MIDI board up on the Amoretro website.
Here is a picture, from left to right: Pine PT-2030 (for size comparison), the Dreamblaster S1 and the Dreamblaster S1 prototype.
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Now for sale! Check the website: Serdashop
The same developer has also created a MIDI interface to use with Waveblaster compatible boards.
The current version includes MIDI-IN, optional RCA Audio In (e.g. for use with DB60XG/XR385) and RCA Audio Out. Power is provided by a 9V AC adapter.
A very neat feature is the jumper-selectable attenuation of the audio signal, as the output level on some wavetable boards is so high that it causes clipping. This feature prevents that.
Sound quality is very clean. I use this interface extensively with all my wavetable boards, it is that good and very convenient.
If there is demand for it, there may be an updated version of the MIDI interface. This board can also easily be used to create your own MIDI module.
Now for sale! Check the website: Serdashop
Supply is limited!
Latest additions:
- Yamaha DB60XG (with MediaTrix AudioTrix 3D-XG) (April 26, 2017)
- Ensoniq Soundscape DB rev B (December 6, 2016)
- Magic Wave Table (December 6, 2016)
- Aztech Sound Galaxy Wave Power (November 11, 2016)
- TeleVideo WaveImpact 32 (November 11, 2016)
- Serdaco Dreamblaster X2 prototype (October 15, 2016)
- Serdaco Dreamblaster X1 first prototype (June 14, 2016)
- Turtle Beach Rio Rev. 3.0 (February 16, 2016)
- BCM DB2133a (February 11, 2016)
- Serdaco Dreamblaster Synth X1 (retail version) (February 3, 2016)
- Ensoniq Soundscape DB rev A (January 30, 2016)
- Terratec MiniWaveSystem WT64 1.0A (January 23, 2016)
- Media Vision Professional Wavetable Upgrade (with Korg chip) (January 7, 2016)
- Serdaco Dreamblaster Synth X1 (limited edition prototype) (June 4, 2015)
- Gallant GMW-1000 (April 7, 2014)
- Creative WaveBlaster II (CT1910) (came with a SoundBlaster 16 CT1770) (March 26, 2014)
- Orchid Wave Booster 4FX, complete and boxed! (March 17, 2014)
- Avance PRO32AW (February 17, 2014)
- Pine PT-2030 Vivaldi Xtra Wavetable Daughterboard (January 17, 2014)
- Korg Ai20 (January 17, 2014)
- X Technology TopWave 32 (XTOP-005), boxed with original software on disk and manuals (October 23, 2013)
- another Roland SCB-55 (September 5, 2013)
- two brand new Yamaha DB51XG boards (September 3, 2013)
- Orchid Wave Booster 4FX (August 26, 2013)
I am always looking for MIDI daughterboards to add to my collection, in particular:
- Ensoniq Soundscape DB, 32 voice polyphony, 128 GM instruments, 61 drum programs.
- AVM Technology General MIDI Engine
- Korg AG-WB
- I-O Data MIDI-KG/EX
- Casio WG-130
- Miditemp DS-48
- Miditemp DOX-1
- Ricoh PCM Sound Generator Wavetable 2MB/4MB
But any other wavetable daughterboard is welcome, even ones that I already have. I am looking to buy them or trade for them. Please contact me at c.kersten@gmail.com.
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