Attack 3

Name: Attack 3
Price: 89.37 USD
Author: Waldorf

by Waldorf · Drum Instrument · Virtual analog percussion synth

Not rated yet

Attack 3 is a percussion synthesizer with a virtual analog engine and optional sample playback, built around kits of 24 sounds, 12 of which can be played polyphonically as pitched instruments.

Each sound has its own filters, drive, envelopes, LFOs and insert effects, aimed at 80s drum machine and 90s club sounds. It costs €99 (about $112).

Best for: Drums, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: FM, hybrid, 80s, 90s, mallets, virtual analog, analog, simple, classic, deep, drum machine, resizable UI, round-robin, sample-based, sound design, subtractive, tempo-synced, transistor.

What it does

Attack 3 is the third generation of Waldorf's drum synth, first released in 2001, rebuilt with a hybrid engine that mixes virtual-analog synthesis with user samples. The developer calls it "not just an update. It's a statement."

Kits: 24 sounds per kit, 12 of which can be played polyphonically as pitched instruments for basslines, chords or tuned percussion.
Oscillators: an analog-style oscillator section with phase control for the waveforms, plus frequency modulation.
Samples: user samples with velocity mapping, round-robin playback and adjustable start positions, which can be layered with the synth engine.
Filters and drive: 24 dB filters, positive and negative comb filters and sample-rate reduction, plus six drive types: Clip, Transistor, Diode, Crunch, Pickup and Overdrive.
Modulation: two envelopes per sound with a multi-stage ADBDSR mode and adjustable curves, all times and levels modulatable, and two tempo-synced LFOs per sound with sample-and-hold and noise.
Effects and busses: each sound has a compressor, EQ and one effect (chorus, delay, reverb, drive, phaser or flanger); six output busses add a compressor, EQ and three effects each.
Control: a redesigned, scalable interface with browsers for kits, sounds, samples and MIDI mappings, full DAW automation, and MIDI Learn with min/max ranges.

Version 3.0.1 lets frequency modulation work on samples, makes on/off and type selectors automatable, and adds a new factory kit by Chuck Zwicky. A trial is available.

Source: Waldorf product page

When to use it

Attack 3 is the choice for synthesized drums with a classic machine character and the option to blend in your own samples. Compared with Sonic Charge Microtonic, it offers more voices per kit, pitched polyphonic sounds and much deeper per-sound effects, but it has no built-in pattern sequencer, so you program the grooves in the DAW. Unlike XO or Battery 4, it builds its sounds mainly by synthesis, with samples as one layer rather than the core. Synth Anatomy found it more traditional in approach than Unfiltered Audio's Battalion, which suits more experimental percussion. It is also a cheaper way into drum synthesis than most full drum workstations.

Best for: synthesized kicks, snares, hats and tuned percussion with an 80s and 90s machine character, plus hybrid synth-and-sample hits.
Genres: techno, house, electro, synth-pop and hip-hop.
Look elsewhere if: you want a sampled acoustic kit (Superior Drummer 3 or Addictive Drums 2) or a built-in pattern sequencer (Microtonic or XO).
Tip: Synth Anatomy suggests audio-rate LFOs for gritty FM tones and sample-and-hold on noise for experimental percussion.

What producers say

The first in-depth review sees it as a strong, fairly priced modernization of a classic, with no sequencer as the main gap.

Synth Anatomy (March 2026, updated for 3.0.1) praised the "simple but intuitive user interface", the hybrid engine, the bus effects and the "fair upgrade price".
Criticisms: no built-in sequencer, no quick-navigation arrows in the patch browser, drive that cannot be moved before or after the filter, and no physical modeling.
Fixed in 3.0.1: the review's complaint that FM could not be applied to samples was addressed in the update.

Synth Anatomy review

Where to buy

Best Service: $89.37
AudioDeluxe: $99.99
Plugin Boutique: $109.99
PluginFox: $109.99
Waldorf: $112.41 (Listed at €99 incl. VAT; converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))

Tutorials and reviews

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