The Energon Pub

I’ve recently acquired the Sony Music Label Soundwave MP3 player so I thought I’d post a review about it - my first ever. I wasn’t going to buy one due to the price tag but my girlfriend found him on ebay at a surprisingly low price and then I found an even cheaper one direct from Japan.

I won’t post any pictures as there’s plenty in Seibertron’s gallery under miscellaneous and exclusives:

http://www.seibertron.com/toys/index.ph ... type=exact

ALT MODE
Available in white or spark blue I opted for blue for more G1 accuracy. He looks better than the G1 toy as the only real giveaway that it’s a transformer is the decepticon logo and some visible joints on the underside. The only major differences to the original are that the SD card drawer is not clear, there are no dials or switches on the side and no belt clip at the back.
I can’t truly review the MP3 function as it needs a mini SD card which I don’t have. As the only controls are volume, play/pause and skip forward/back (these may double as fastforward/reverse I can’t tell from the all-Japanese instructions!) it’s obviously not very fancy. There’s no screen so no programming possibilities and I read a review saying it automatically plays the tracks in the order they appear on the card from the very beginning and has no shuffle.
As an MP3 player he sounds very poor but he makes an excellent G1 Soundwave alt mode.

TRANSFORMATION
Simpler than most Classics, his transformation is similar to G1 but with a couple of additions, including a sliding plate to cover his head. If you don’t have long fingernails you may need something to help fold his feet out. My favourite thing about the G1 toy was the way the guns doubled as batteries and fitted into the compartment under the belt clip for added realism. Due to needing a real battery Music Label Soundwave can’t do this.

ROBOT MODE
Weapons: His shoulder cannon has little red missile tips and his hand gun is a beautiful (but slightly different) version of the G1 gun and looks as if it could be folded away into a battery. Unfortunately they say ‘DESTRON SOUNDWAVE’ on the side in tiny letters.
Robot: He stands slightly taller than most delux Classics making him an almost perfect addition to the collection. His legs (mainly his thighs) are a little short but there’s little else to say that's negative about him. As you can see from the gallery photos he is a fantastic homage to the animation/toy of the 80s. In Promotional pictures he has blue upper arms but the figure actually has grey there which is a small shame. He has a very small amount of detailing which after the insanely compicated sculpting of the Movie line is quite refreshing and gives him that classic look with simple, clean lines.
His head sculpt is closer to the decepticon logo than the original toy.
He comes with three pairs of hands which attach by ball joints. He comes fitted with closed fists but also comes with a pair of open fists with trigger fingers (in which his gun fits perfectly) and another set of open fists with a trigger finger that is extended so it’s halfway to pointing. The gun handle is not round therefore you’ll find it hard to swap weapons with other figures. Each hand has large plates along the back to help cover them in alt mode but as they're hidden underneath it's not necessary so it would've been better to leave the plates off. Other than that the hand sculpt is quite nice.

POSEABLILITY
Superb.
Head: Ball joint allowing free rotation, slight tilt to either side and 45 degrees upwards.
Shoulders: Full rotation but only about 50 degrees ‘wingspan’ on each side.
Upper arms: Free rotation thanks to a ball joint attachment to the shoulder.
Elbows: A strange combination of hinge and ball joints give him a double elbow.
Wrists: Rotation and 90 degree bend.
Waist: No articulation here but you probably won’t miss it much.
Hips: The only ratchet joint he has. 180 degree spread, can swing forward 90 degrees and backward 45degrees.
Thighs: Free rotation above the knee.
Knees: Bend 90 degrees.
Feet: Provide a very stable base and thanks to the transformation scheme he has some toe articulation.

Joints are all stiff enough to hold poses but loose enough to pose easily.

SUMMARY
Even if you can get him at a low, low price he is very expensive for what you get. As I don’t have a mini SD card I’m not getting the full value but I wouldn’t use him like that anyway. If Hasbro release an electronics-free version for Classics I’d totally recommend him.
Much as I love this figure and think he makes a great addition to the Classics collection I couldn’t recommend spending so much on him unless you really want him and have some money to spare.

Oh what the hell - here's a picture of Music Label Soundwave with G1 Ravage and Classics Starscream (which I painted to look more like the animation).

Well I do have a card in my MP3 Soundwave and the music quality is ok. Its not great and it wouldn't win any awards for sound quality but it does what it says on the tin.

There is a slight hiss present while a track plays, most noticeable during quiet moments. Its still there when you turn the volume down so its not part of the MP3 itself.

Controls are basic but functional. If you stop playback you start from the first track again and have to cycle through to the track you want.

I wouldn't want to walk around with it in my pocket because its too big and I would be scared of potential damage but it lives on my desk and should I want to stick my headphones on for a while, Soundwave gets his moment.

Oh and its pretty good on batteries. Only just replaced it for the first time.

Yes, its expensive but its what we have been crying out for. A G1 Soundwave that plays music.

I really wish they could have given us a fake, transforming SD card to go with it. Ravage, maybe. In the same style as WST Soundwaves but less fiddly.

Ravage XK wrote:I really wish they could have given us a fake, transforming SD card to go with it. Ravage, maybe. In the same style as WST Soundwaves but less fiddly.

I was thinking that - it'd need to be a regular sized card but it'd still be TINY.

Nice review,I've just ordered the Spark Blue version and am really looking forward to receiving it. I'm not particularly bothered about the quality of the MP3 player as I bought it to display with my Classics figs but it's nice to know it's adequate. Whilst browsing ebay I noticed a black "Soundblaster" version has also been released. With a bit of retooling (new headsculpt etc) maybe Takara could release further versions as Blaster & Twincast?

Well, ever since the 80's I hated the idea of repainting a figure and giving it a new name. But when you get Soundwave, why not post your thoughts on this thread?

Mykltron wrote:Well, ever since the 80's I hated the idea of repainting a figure and giving it a new name. But when you get Soundwave, why not post your thoughts on this thread?

I'd prefer an all new mold for a Music Label Blaster/Twincast too but maybe a retooled version of the Soundwave mold is more likely.
When I get my Soundwave I'll definitely post my thoughts on it,I'm probably going to add the G1 decals that reprolabels have made so I'll post some pics as well.

Has anybody tried a Mini-SD card bigger than 1GB yet?

bcm77 wrote:I'm probably going to add the G1 decals that reprolabels have made so I'll post some pics as well.

That'd be good to see. Sometimes I miss the sticker sheets!

God Magnus wrote:Has anybody tried a Mini-SD card bigger than 1GB yet?

I read on a forum somewhere that he was supposed to take upto a 1GB card but then someone said they'd used a 2GB card with no problems. Are you actually thinking about using him as an MP3 player?

Mykltron wrote:

God Magnus wrote:Has anybody tried a Mini-SD card bigger than 1GB yet?

I read on a forum somewhere that he was supposed to take upto a 1GB card but then someone said they'd used a 2GB card with no problems. Are you actually thinking about using him as an MP3 player?

Yeah. He's been sitting on my shelf, in the box, for almost a year now. Up until recently, I haven't really had the capability to use him as an mp3 player. I'm most likely just going to go with the 1GB card anyway since I've found them for about a third of the price of the 2GB card, I was just curious if they worked.

Soundwave arrived this afternoon and while I'm not sure of the quality of the MP3 player due to not being able to read the Japanese instructions I'm very sure of the quality of the piece as a Transformer and think it's fantastic. In a market that's currently flooded with hideous looking Bayformers and Animated toys that look like they were made for infants it's good to see at least some of the original G1 designs being given the proper respect with updates like this one. I'll post some pics when the G1 decals I've ordered from reprolabels arrive.

bcm77 wrote:Soundwave arrived this afternoon and while I'm not sure of the quality of the MP3 player due to not being able to read the Japanese instructions

There are a bunch of ML Soundwave topics on the board containing instructions on how to use him. He is pretty simple to begin with. Put battery in, load songs on miniSD, put miniSD into Soundwave, press play.

I have noticed that you can tell when the battery needs changing as the output volume will begin to fluctuate.