Overview
The Hydrasynth is ASM’s wave-morphing synthesizer, made in Keyboard, Desktop, Explorer, and Deluxe versions. The Keyboard and Desktop play eight voices, with three oscillators per voice. Oscillators 1 and 2 can run in Single or WaveScan mode; oscillator 3 is Single only. Every oscillator draws from the same list of 219 single-cycle waveforms.
WaveScan is how the Hydrasynth does wavetables. Each of the first two oscillators has a Wavelist of eight slots, and you fill each slot with any of the 219 waves (or OFF or Silence). The WaveScan parameter runs from 1.0 to 8.0: whole numbers land on a slot, and values in between morph between neighbors, so 1.5 sits halfway between wave 1 and wave 2. An LFO or any other mod source can move the position through the Mod Matrix. ASM calls this building a custom wavetable, and every patch can have two of them.
After the oscillators come the Mutants, two per oscillator for oscillators 1 and 2, which reshape the wave with modes like FM-Linear, WavStack, Hard Sync, three pulse-width variants, Harmonic Sweep, and PhazDiff. Then there’s a Ring-Noise module and two filters.
Wavetables on the Hydrasynth
The Hydrasynth doesn’t import user waves or wavetables. The current owner’s manual (2.2.0) describes the Wavelist as choosing from the 219 onboard waveforms only, and ASM’s downloads page offers firmware, manuals, patch banks, microtonal scales, and the ASM Manager patch app, but no wave import tool. ASM’s FAQ talks about importing sound banks, which are patches, not waveforms.
So you can make a new table on the Hydrasynth by picking and ordering eight of its own waves, but you can’t bring in a WaveStack table or any other WAV. WaveStack has no Hydrasynth target for that reason.
The idea behind the Wavelist (a short run of shapes that the synth morphs between) is close to how WaveStack builds a table from a few keyframes, and you can sketch the same kind of sweep in WaveStack with your own waves. To play it on hardware, use something that imports tables, such as the Waldorf Iridium, the Korg modwave, the MicroFreak, or the Deluge. In a DAW, Serum and Vital both load them.
Keep in mind that a Wavelist has eight slots, and a typical imported table has far more frames, often 64 to 256. A WaveStack table with many frames gives a finer sweep than eight waves morphing into each other, while the Hydrasynth’s approach keeps patches quick to build from its own waves. They suit different jobs, and plenty of people use both.
Specifications
| Oscillators | 3 per voice (WaveScan on oscillators 1 and 2) |
|---|---|
| Built-in waveforms | 219 single-cycle |
| Wavelist | 8 slots per WaveScan oscillator |
| Firmware checked | 2.2.0 |
| User wavetable import | None |
Frequently asked questions
Can you load custom wavetables into the Hydrasynth?
No. The Hydrasynth only uses its 219 built-in single-cycle waveforms. What you can do is build your own table from those: in WaveScan mode, oscillators 1 and 2 each have a Wavelist of eight slots, and the synth morphs between them as the WaveScan position moves. The 2.2.0 owner’s manual and ASM’s downloads page describe no way to import waves from a computer or USB drive.
How does WaveScan work on the Hydrasynth?
Switch oscillator 1 or 2 to WaveScan mode and open Wavelist Edit. You pick a waveform for each of eight WAV slots from the 219 onboard waves. The WaveScan parameter runs from 1.0 to 8.0, with each whole number on one slot and the values in between morphing between neighbors. Route an LFO, envelope, or other source to WaveScan in the Mod Matrix to sweep through the list.
Did a Hydrasynth firmware update add wavetable import?
Not as of firmware 2.2.0, the latest on ASM’s downloads page when we checked. Press coverage describes 2.2 as adding support for the ASM Manager patch app plus bug fixes, and the 2.2.0 owner’s manual still limits the Wavelist to the 219 onboard waves. ASM’s downloads page lists no wave import tool. Check there for anything newer than 2.2.0, since this page reflects what ASM published at the time of writing.
How many waveforms does the Hydrasynth have?
ASM lists 219 single-cycle waveforms, shared by all three oscillators. Oscillators 1 and 2 can line up eight of them in a Wavelist and morph between them, which ASM describes as building a custom wavetable, and each patch can have two such tables. The Mutants then reshape the result with FM, sync, pulse-width, and other modes, so the usable range is far wider than the raw count.
What hardware synth can load my own wavetables instead?
WaveStack exports directly to several: the Waldorf Iridium and Quantum, the Korg modwave, the Arturia MicroFreak, the Synthstrom Deluge, the 1010music nanobox fireball, and the Polyend Tracker, plus Eurorack modules like the Disting NT. Each has its own frame size and file rules, and WaveStack writes the format each one expects. The Hydrasynth isn’t on that list because it has no import.