The Energon Pub

Who doesn't love Soundwave?
Who doesn't love the uncharismatic bore with the distinct monotone voice?

The old G1 Soundwave toy is pretty interesting with its unique features and surprises.
Sure we all know about the transforming cassette tapes from the cartoons, but I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed that SW's gun and, errr... shoulder "electric launcher" also transforms into a pair of batteries.

Yes, the G1 Soundwave toy is basically a non-working exact replica of a tape deck.

And what could be cooler than that? A working soundwave, of course.

Months ago when the first music label pics came out in the net, this dream took its first step into reality. Hell, the robot mode does not look that shabby, and is a pretty faithful homage to the G1 character. And yeah, it plays music!

This morning, I finally got one. Spark Blue, of course. After all, Spark Blue superior, Sonic White inferior! Hehehehe...


Here's the box. In this age of information and gadgetry, the official color is minimalist white. Which is cool, in a way, but with Soundwave? Nah...



Man, if they're gonna make a Sonic White Soundwave, might as well make the whole robot white, right? Otherwise, looks like Soundwave got involved in some bleaching incident...



Opening the box, here's what you get - classic, but more compact Soundwave.





You also get the manual, and some catalogues.


Included accessories are two extra pairs of hands, the gun, the "electric launcher," and a pair of headphones.

And no, the weapons don't turn into batteries.


RADIO MODE

Batteries and mini-SD card are not included, hence I haven't tested my SW's full capabilities. An officemate's SW sounded good. But this item is merely an mp3 player. No playlist anywhere. You can punch the buttons to play, pause, skip a song, and increase the volume.



As you can see, this SW only misses the speaker holes. The "tape deck" still opens, but this time you need a mini-SD card.



Pretty ironic that with SW now more compact and portable, the belt bracket feature is now deleted. This means you can't walk around while listening to SW, unless you can fit it in your pocket, or you have a small bag with you.



Now, what makes this mp3 player superior over them other brands in the market?


ROBOT MODE!

Yes, unlike the other players that rely on batteries, SW does not become a light paperweight without power. Check this out...



Classic G1 Soundwave with better proportions and better articulation! How can you lose?















SW's basic hands are the closed fists type. The fists are detachable and can be replaced with the extra hands to enable SW to hold his gun or open his own, err... SD card deck.



Of course, with the well-articulated arms, you could also do some crazy poses like these:




Transformation is pretty simple and straightforward. But I noticed that his arms have a bit of trouble tucking behind the "legs" when reverting back to mp3 player mode.


ROBOT OR MP3 PLAYER?

The good thing about SW is that you can still play mp3 even in robot mode, so it's really up to you! Both modes are cool!


PROS:

- great G1 homage
- good robot proportions
- great articulation
- it's a working mp3 player!


CONS:

- no playlist display
- no transforming laserbeak/ravage mini-sd card
- rumble and frenzy are available as headphones (would have been better if they had mini-speaker alt modes)
- plastic parts are prone to loosen up (as with my officemate's SW)


RECOMMENDATIONS:

Is music label SW worth it? Prices would match, if not exceed, MP OP, and it's a small robot.
But think of it like this - you get an mp3 player with expandable memory and it transforms into a robot!
With or without batteries, this item is pretty functional!


RATING

5 of 5




SOUNDWAVE APPROVES OF CYB PH!

Fun little review, thanks.

I do agree though. What would have made this SW a handsdown winner is if the tape deck was a screen wih playlists and what not. Functional, and a nice homage to G1 toons where SW would display data on his chest. A belt attachment would have been pretty convenient too.

They need to gut this mold of the electronics and release it as a standard deluxe in the next wave of classics. As an MP3 player, I dont want it, but as a standard deluxe I would love it.

Hasbro could make more money on the mold this way so...

ML Soundwave looks great... until you see the price. I have no problems spending $90-100 on a Masterpiece but can't justify buying ML Soundwave at that price. He's only what 5-6 inches?

Nice review but this thing sucks. Dont get me wrong he looks great and is a fantastic novelty but the price...and it doesnt even play music out of the box! Thats my main problem with it. You have to buy all that other crap seperate just to get the full advantage of this thing. Now if they came with it however...well that would be a different story.

Nope i'll be sticking to my G1 Re-issue and Titanium Soundwave for now.

I'm sick of G1 Soundwave he's getting so boring I desire a new Soundwave. Now if you don't think about price then I would say that ML Soundwave is way better than G1 Soundwave even if he wasn't a working MP3 player. I only have the white one but I'm going to sell him to get the blue one.

Bonger wrote:Fun little review, thanks.

I do agree though. What would have made this SW a handsdown winner is if the tape deck was a screen wih playlists and what not. Functional, and a nice homage to G1 toons where SW would display data on his chest. A belt attachment would have been pretty convenient too.

I second, if this had a screen on it I would buy it in a second

mechajol wrote:Who doesn't love the uncharismatic bore with the distinct monotone voice?

Hey, nobody calls Soundwave unchrasamatic!!1

Good review and pictures, the official white packaging art makes me wonder why they thought it would sell at least as good as the blue one. It only looks better in MP3 mode (well, to non-TF fans anyway)

I'd love one, but I'm waiting for the hopeful black version.