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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Nord Lead and Nord Wave synths
Nord Lead 4 thoughts...
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robsol
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Joined: Apr 24, 2009
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Location: Bristol UK
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:25 am    Post subject: Nord Lead 4 thoughts... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Got the chance to try one of these out the other day. I didn't spend an awful lot of time with it, but went through the things that matter to me.

First of all - the filters sound great! In a substractive synth the filters are obviously central, and Clavia have done a great job with them. Coupled with the distortion the nord sounds alive and well!

Secondly the classic Nord sound is there, in even more fidelity than ever. The oscillators certainly do not suffer from whatever oversampling magic (for it is magic to me, i have not a clue) they sprinkled on it. They sound sharp and pristine, before you apply the filters to them.

I have no real issues with the rest of the synth, except that the wavetables are not scannable in the Waldorf way, nor are they particularly interesting. There is no way to add your own either.

Effects are cool, but the vocal formant thing appears as a bit of a gimmick to me, and the variation buttons.... well I found no way of latching them, which makes them almost useless to me. I have no idea what performance tricks they are for, but I'm sure someone else will find uses for them. Or perhaps i just missed something.

It's a nice upgrade, but too pricey! I reckon Calvia has priced it so that they can keep on producing the 2X as a cheaper alternative without making it a direct cometitor to the newcomer... Fair enough.

One day I hope I will be able to afford at least one of them.

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robsol
Stream Operator


Joined: Apr 24, 2009
Posts: 2492
Location: Bristol UK
Audio files: 495

PostPosted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 4:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Nord Lead 4 thoughts... Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

robsol wrote:
One day I hope I will be able to afford at least one of them.


... then, almost three years later, I suddenly find myself having them both! Shocked

Bought the 2X two or three years ago just before they were discontinued. Recent NL4 price drops, me saving up for an american synth (DSI Pro2) and Breakxit events made me head down to the local music shop, where they had a NL4 for sale which I bought. I really do like the first few hours with it, and will probably end up selling the 2X. They don't really sound that alike but I prefer to keep my setup small and there is enough overlap for me to let go of the 2X. Perhaps even the Evolver.

So far I feel that the 4 is a fantastic synth, but it really comes alive when you pair it up with the Machinedrum & sync! The impulse morph can be controlled via MIDI and is effectively an alternative of your main program. It could be an entirely different sound altogether. Maybe this means that the percussion mode on the 2X (8 different sounds under one slot) could be emulated using the 7 impulse morph variations...

Sorry, I'm rambling on here, as you were.

I think the setup for my next live gig is going to change. Laughing

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