General Nord Modular (NM/G2) advice needed

cebec · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 10:18 am Post subject:

i just got a great deal on an nm classic rack so i'll be able to do my own sound quality, etc., comparisons! hehe. expect a massive thread to emerge re: the DACs, soon... KIDDING!
why'd i get the rack? well: several 'missing' modules/different implementations than on the G2, more knobs!!, the small footprint, the price, and the fact i could probably sell it for more down the line, if ever... nostalgia...
and i'm really excited to run the thing through a spectrum analyzer! Twisted Evil

kidding... (maybe)
btw, Kassen, are you involved in nmEdit, at all, the open source NM Classic editor project?

vi scose poise · Joined: Jun 23, 2005 Posts: 31 Location: USA

Cheers for all the replies!

I'm still a bit undecided.. I really do need to go to a shop and have a listen (that is, if they still have the NM1 in stock!). However, Kassen has made a very convincing argument for the NM1. Audio quality is a major issue of mine. However, I love both digital and analogue sounds. Also, I am certainly not a keyboard player and prefer experimental synthesis and sound design. My user name is a reference to the electronic duo, Autechre - NM1 users. Additionally, I am well into the music of NM1 users Taylor Deupree and Frank Bretschneider (12k.com). Mosc's thread regarding the expressiveness of the G2 offered fantastic insight.

As an enthusiastic Mac OS X user, I am quite disappointed in the lack of support for the NM1. This is one clear advantage of the G2. However, I do have an older computer running Windows 98SE that I could use exclusively with the NM1, if I chose such a route.

I suppose such a decision will require more consideration!

Moreover, I am only a novice Max/MSP user.

Kassen · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:24 pm Post subject:

rnp · Joined: Sep 14, 2004 Posts: 55 Location: germany

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:14 pm Post subject:

Kassen · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject:

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject:

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:34 pm Post subject:

vi scose poise · Joined: Jun 23, 2005 Posts: 31 Location: USA

Kassen · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:06 pm Post subject:

vi scose poise · Joined: Jun 23, 2005 Posts: 31 Location: USA

Right, after reading over Mosc's thread regarding expressiveness and performing with the G2, I was reminded of another Modular question..

Aside from composing and performing composes pieces, I plan on using the NM1 or G2 for live improvisational performances (I'm quite fond on the Erstwhile label), typically with a percussionist. As with my compositional needs, I would like more radical and experimental sounds ("noisy," "raw," and "sick" - haha) for such performance. I am more interested in sonic textures than lead sounds. Would the NM1 better meet such needs?

inversekinematics

Jason · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 5:18 pm Post subject:

I dont have a NM1 but rather a G2 engine and as for sonic texturess I think its just amazing. Especially when you get into using sequencers within patches to modulate things. The possibilities are exciting, a world of sound at your fingertips... And it is not limited to this of course. I would think with the G2 you get most functionality of the NM1 and then some in addition to current updates. As for these 'sick' sounds you speak of yes , it is out of this world. The FM implemetation is just mind boggling this in conjunction with the other features is sweet. So you can get both , more conventional sounds as well as creative patches, though some take longer than others to come up with, though there is many to get you started, here on the forum as well as presets within the G2. I hope that helps some.

Kassen · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:44 pm Post subject:

Now it´s becoming very hard and subjective. Both are very capable of genrating lots and lots of textures but those come out a bit different. To my ear, whatever the polyphony count, the G2´s textures end up reminding me a little more of poly synths and end up with a larger imression of space while the NM´s have tendency to go more towards something more defined and dry. Personal taste comes in again heavily hear; if at all possible listen to both.

Chet · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:12 am Post subject:

Kassen · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:20 am Post subject:

Chet · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:32 am Post subject:

I'm sorry, but I can't remember which particular ones. I do remember that the square wave went higher, but that the benefit decreased as I narrowed the width.

If no one else answers this today, I'll set up my NM1 tonight and repeat the comparison.

Kassen · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:57 am Post subject:

cebec · Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:32 am Post subject:

Heh... On the double! Laughing

I'm pretty sure you're right -- sines should alias the least. I haven't run any tests on the NM Classic (rack arrives tomorrow) but my findings with the G2s OSCs were that aliasing increased as the pulsewidth decreased and frequency increased. Falling ramp waves also generated some aliasing at higher frequencies.

Originally, I had put this down to the G2s DACs but after more testing I found the same behavior in the G2 Demo on two different DACs.

A separate, but possibly related phenomenon, is that the use of envelopes with very fast attack speeds or other control signals with fast transients can cause what appear to be large 'spikes' at approx. 24 kHz when the signal is plotted on a spectrum analyzer. On the suggestion of jksuperstar, elsewhere on this forum, lowpassing these control signals, at about 1.05 kHz with a 6 dB slope, I've found, attenuates these 'spikes' by up to 20 dB without causing any noticeable degradation in sound quality or performance.

Tusker · Joined: Feb 03, 2005 Posts: 110 Location: Texas

Personally, I'm interested in hearing about any auditory differences in the basic architecture (oscillators, filters). I've considered the G2 primarily for the control environment

Jerry

Tusker · Joined: Feb 03, 2005 Posts: 110 Location: Texas

Double trouble