Nord Wave... discontinued?

dorremifasol · Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:07 am Post subject: Nord Wave... discontinued?

I'm about to buy a second hand Nord Wave. It comes without the original box, so I asked Clavia if an empty box could be ordered.

The dealer in my country (Adagio) replied (I suppose the mail was forwarded to them) that they can't sell me the box because the product has been discontinued! Shocked

Is that an excuse not to sell the item, or maybe it's true? If so, would that mean that Clavia is about to release a new synthesizer?

By the way, if someone wants to get rid of his Nord Wave box please contact me Smile

Wout Blommers · Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:23 am Post subject:

At least the box is discontinued Smile

Wout

Wout Blommers · Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:26 am Post subject: Re: Nord Wave... discontinued?

dorremifasol · Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:28 am Post subject:

Yes but then Clavia could have forwarded the question to Adagio, since they're the exclusive dealer in Spain.

ark · Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:24 am Post subject:

Hey, maybe if they're discontinuing the Wave, they're about to announce the Wave/G3 hybrid that I've been saying for more than a year that they should be making.

The Wave is a wonderful idea but I think it's significantly flawed:

1) Not enough sample memory.
2) Samples stored by number; patches refer to samples by number. So if you change a sample, there's no easy way to tell which patches you've changed.
3) No multisamples.
4) Can't use the Nord Piano Library.

I'm sure it was the best they could do when they released it, but it's been a few years and technology marches on. Plus they now have competition from the Blofeld at half the price.

If I were running Nord, I would be arranging to port the G2 code base to an embedded Intel processor and building a new keyboard that combined the best features of the Wave and the G2.

It would have the sales appeal of a gig-ready sampling keyboard together with the patchability of the G2.

Well, we can hope, anyway.

NordGas · Joined: Nov 15, 2010 Posts: 13 Location: Australia

I have done a lot research in the last couple of months to decide on my first Nord synth.

I also thought the Wave concept was great, but that the current implementation wasn't going to work for me. Now, this could be mostly due to the fact that when you look at specs you tend to want more than you'll actually use, just to be safe?

Btw ark - does your cat sit on your shoulder like a parrot?
Believe it or not my cat is 9 years old and he still gets up and sits on my back!

anotherscott · Joined: Jun 18, 2010 Posts: 10 Location: US

I only hope that, IF the Wave is being discontinued, there is a "Wave 2" in the works as a replacement... and that some of the improvements (the ones that are not strictly hardware, like more sample RAM or whatever) could be added to the current Wave via an OS upgrade. It's such a great piece, but there are definitely a handful of "missing" features that would seem to be addressable in software...

Here's my list of "missing" Wave features that I think could be addressed in software:

* panning of oscillators and/or panning of slots

* octave shifting of Oscillator 2 sampled sounds by moving the sample rather than, for example, making an Oscillator 2 sample up-octave shift sound like Mickey Mouse (this could be solved by being able to separately shift the octave of Oscillator 1, or by being able to store a sampled sound that consists of the same samples moved an octave, without having to actually load additional copies of all the samples)

* high and low note priority options for mono voices

* keyboard split between the two slots

* sine wave option for LFO

* ability to program the CC function of the pedals on a patch-by-patch basis

and maybe some user interface things that could make it easier to switch sounds and adjust slot volumes on the fly...

... I might have missed one or two Wink

And if I actually missed how to do any of these things on the current Wave, enlightenment is welcomed!

Symatic Star · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:32 am Post subject:

Interesting , I will keep an eye on this also as I have been looking into buying a wave, hopefully there should be a few on the market still after a possible discontinuation sitting in shops around the world.

Question

dorremifasol · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:45 am Post subject:

After having some tests with the Wave, I sold it.

I liked how it sounds, the envelopes sound very nice and the filters sound good. I specially liked the overdrive effect and the chorus. But I find it rather limited compared to my Nord Rack 3, specially for having only 2 slots, and the lack of details like envelope/modulation amount inversion. Looks a nice keyboard to play in a performance, but not much for studio use.

I still hope for a Nord Modular G3 with sample playback capabilities.

Symatic Star · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:36 am Post subject:

dorremifasol · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:41 am Post subject:

Symatic Star · Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:26 am Post subject:

Or just get a G3 engine - wave hybrid and keep your G2 keyboard ! Smile

" if one is ever made!"

ark · Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:46 am Post subject:

skippy · Joined: Feb 21, 2010 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Less is more.

The Wave Rocks. Smile

earsmack · Joined: Feb 19, 2007 Posts: 20 Location: USA

Hopefully the Wave is not discontinued - it could use a few tweaks via OS update - that would be nice - but overall the Wave is a very capable and wonderfully organic sounding and expressive instrument. I find it very enjoyable to play overall.

Of course a million more features could be added but I really don't think it needs much more than it has - there are a few things that might be addressed to help avoid some aliasing at extreme parameter values but otherwise I'm happy with it.

Its simplicity and sound quality is its strength.

grimley · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:11 pm Post subject:

Out of curiosity, what can a Wave do that a Roland V-Synth cannot?

skippy · Joined: Feb 21, 2010 Posts: 6 Location: UK

ark · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:05 pm Post subject:

I note that Musician's Friend currently has the Wave on sale for $2179, and that Nord is dropping hints that they're going to announce something new at Musikmesse, which is in about two weeks.

The Wave is currently among the Nord products that has gone longest without an update. Well, that and the Lead 2X.

I would think it would make sense for Nord to consolidate the two.

Wout Blommers · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:26 pm Post subject:

In the European shops the Wave is still availlable, the NordLead2X isn't; the NordRack2X is...

Wout

DavidL · Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:28 am Post subject:

Well, the Nord Electro 3 HP was a disappointment. I was too hoping for a NL4/NW2/G3 sort of synth...

But I guess I'll keep my NL2, G2 and NW since Clavia seem to have discontinued their complete synth line.

Wout Blommers · Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:35 am Post subject:

DavidL

Your last name, could it be Lind?
The NordLead2X isn't discontinued at all!
The synth is 16 years in production now and Clavia want to reach the 20!

Wout

Symatic Star · Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 2:27 am Post subject:

Maybe the best way to approach the wave is with the philosophy re enormous list of specs- it's not how much you've got but what you do with it. Sounds like a fantastic synth with sample ability.......It's fun to fantasize about a super-super-synth that can do EVERYTHING but look at most peoples studios, there is always going to be different tools for different jobs.
Very Happy