A short rant

[iPassenger]

Decided to move my kit around a bit, so that i could easily play with my G1 rack from the dials, rather than just totally programming via the computer screen. It was ace, what a fantastic interface, so easy to navigate and set-up dials for the front.

The downside is it made me think about how much I am missing out on with my Nord G2 Engine.

I mean I love the beast and at the time I bought it, there was no way I could have got a full G2 but I can only imagine what a joy it must be to tweak away at those dials with an interface that is supposed to be soo much better than that of the G1's.

Problem is now though, upgrading from one to another would be very costly, stupid clavia! The second hand market is a bit nuts, rightly so but it pretty much guarantees I'll never have the full bad boy.

Think they really missed the boat on not bringing a rack with dials out.

Anyway I think I will be giving my G1 a lot more attention now I have put it somewhere I can reach those dials.

[modulator_esp]

you could always buy your engine some external knobs, something like a doepfer drehbank would rack nicely with it. Not quite as intuitive as the rotary encoders of the keyboard, but better than nothing

[iPassenger]

Many moons ago I had considered getting a BCR thingy and I may still do that eventually but the thing I really loves about the G1 was the on screen feedback and the ability to set stuff up to the panel without having to touch the pc.

[Fozzie]

I don't know how the second hand market is in the UK, but in NL the price difference between engine (500 euro-ish) and keys (1000-1200 euro-ish depending on expansion) is less than the difference in shop prices used to be, so no need to agonize over your choice.
I used to have an engine, now have an expanded G2 keys and I love it for visual feedback & endless rotaries. BCR with engine works (used to do that), but is nowhere near as practical.

[speak_onion]

I dunno, I really love my combo of G2 Engine and Novation Remote Zero. I have them velcro'd together as though it is a single synth. I don't think 8 knobs and 8 buttons are enough to have available at once, and I was glad to be able to choose a control layout that worked for me. Keeping the G2 editor and Remote Zero editor open at the same time, I can rename the controls and reprogram them as I assign them, and it really feels like a single unit and more flexible than a keys would be, especially since I rarely play it with keys (although I can by patching in a keyboard through the Remote's MIDI in).

Anyway, try a dedicated controller that has a good soft editor. You might be surprised.

[iPassenger]

Cheers for the ideas folks.

Its all going to have to wait though, I made a pact with my lady that once I buy the Elektron Octatrack I am done on studio madness for quite some time. So I will be keeping it on the low down if I value my bollox.

[TEMAS]

[Eag]

When I bought my current keyboard rig, I got a G2X, since I mostly play in live performance contexts, and my original background is classical piano.

I've never tried using an external knob box with a G2 or similar, but I've got to say that one place where the G2 keys models really shine is tweaking stuff you didn't know you wanted to.

Wednesday night, I was jamming with a sax player after band practice proper was over. I just pulled up a drum machine and a bass patch, dialed in a minimal fast beat, and away we went.

After a few minutes, I started doing some tonal shaping on the bass, using the digitizer and filter that I had in the signal chain. Before long, I'd stumbled into some pretty nifty, almost talkbox-like noise that had nothing to do with bass, which I'd never have found if I'd been using a conventional controller.

You can set up the front panel on the G2 to be slimmed-down and display only a handful of parameters - that kind of constraining is often very useful, since it forces you to think about what parameters really matter in this sound, and keeps you from thinking about too many different variables at once.

However, sometimes, you're cranking away in a jam or live, and realize you really want to tweak something you didn't make easily accessible. Patch mode on a G2 keys model allows you to see and tweak every single module in the current patch, by displaying one module on the knobs at a time, and letting you step back and forth through every module in the patch.

The default labels on the LCDs mean you always know what it is you're tweaking, even if you don't remember the patch perfectly, or if you've just downloaded it from the archive and have no idea how it works.

Also, if you have reasonably large hands (I can span a tenth in concert reliably, can hit some 11ths), you can reach all the knobs on the front panel with one hand with minimal movement, and except for the ones at opposite ends, I can tweak two of the knobs simultaneously, one-handed. That leaves the other hand free to keep playing.

I've never played anything else with a control surface remotely like it. It's one of the things I imagine I'll miss most if I ever have to change platforms - I've never seen anything else that's so flawlessly playable and so perfectly integrated with the sound engine. On the G2X, you have pitch bend + 3 modwheels all in an 8"x3"-ish box by the left hand, too. The blinkenlights on the sequencer modules are spiffy as all get-out, and make it really easy to tweak a sequence live.

To summarize, I guess:

If you've never tried an actual G2 keys model, you absolutely must try one. This instrument fundamentally changed how I think of UI on performance instruments and how I play keyboards, between morph groups, all those modwheels, the pitch stick, and the parameter pages/patch mode.

iPassenger, I know this probably just makes it worse, but you're absolutely right - the G2 keyboard models are amazing. If you ever get a chance, try one. It's a stretch, I guess, but maybe one of the other UK-based guys on here has a keys model they could arrange for you to try?

[dorremifasol]

I miss some real pots to control my G2. Infinite pots are not as nice to touch

[Dougster]

I've had my G2x for what, nine days now? I *love* this thing! I think I have a new "last one to go" synth. (Used to be I figured the T8 would be the last synth I'd let go of...)

I've had an NM1 rack for a long time, bought it new just before they were discontinued. Later, I briefly considered getting a G2 Engine, but with no knobs, I just couldn't see it replacing the G1. Then when Mosc brought his G2x to Different Skies (2005?), I had to avoid looking at it! Lead me not into temptation, Oh Lord!

So, here I am years later, and I finally got a G2x. Worth the wait. When the time is right, I bet you'll find one as well...

[iPassenger]

[dasz]

ipassenger,

G2 or NM1 with octatrack ... not a bad compromise. I'm thinking of adding the octatrack to my rig too (alhtough I have a machinedrum)