This is the right place if your topic concerns different Nord Keyboards, you are not sure which one is the right one for you, etc.

Sample Lab

Postby Elliot » 27 Jan 2013, 20:39

Hello

I am new to NORD…

I am basically wanted to make a lovely soft strings sounds so I take lets say 22vilolins sample, it just sounds horrific I have changed around and messed with the filter section but i guess I just dont understand it!!! Or have a clue what the hell I am doing!!

Can I make it just play the sounds raw again so i can start again… any help would be much appreciated!!

thanks Elliot
Elliot
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 28 Dec 2012, 23:35
Country: United States of America
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 0 time

Sample Lab


Sponsor
 

Re: Sample Lab

Postby Darren » 27 Jan 2013, 20:51

Take a look through the sound library as there are a whole ton of string samples in there: http://www.nordkeyboards.com/main.asp?t ... trMachines

Also, I'd recommend you get to grips with how a ASDR filter works (it's simple to understand once you've taken a few minutes to digest it):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer#ADSR_envelope

For the most part, I like to increase the attack time so the string sounds swell. This is particularly effective when layering over say a grand piano for all that cheesy ballad type stuff.
Last edited by Darren on 27 Jan 2013, 20:52, edited 1 time in total.
Nord Stage 2 HA76, Nord Wave, CME UF60, Studiologic VMK 161 Plus Organ, Roland Juno G, Yamaha P200, Yamaha TG77, Roland U-220, Kawai K3M, Roland Juno 60, Fender Rhodes Stage 73
User avatar
Darren
Patch Creator
 
Posts: 368
Joined: 06 Sep 2012, 21:55
Location: Cheltenham, UK
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 186 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Stage 2
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Wave

Re: Sample Lab

Postby mjbrands » 27 Jan 2013, 21:48

Elliot wrote:Can I make it just play the sounds raw again so i can start again… any help would be much appreciated!!

If you replaced/modified the sound on your NS2, you can restore it to its original state.

First you should be aware of the difference between a Program, a Synth Sound and a Sample.

A sample is just a collection of samples (sometimes called a multi-sampled). It often has 2-3 samples per octave, but it could have up to 1 sample per key (so 88 in total). It only contains the sampled sound and some information about loop points; it does not contain information about filter settings, etc. You select a sample by choosing the 'SAMP' oscillator type in the Synth section and then turning the large selector knob.

A Synth Sound is a collection of all the settings of the Synth section that make up a particular sound. It contains information about the filter settings, oscillators, etc. used. If a sample is used for a sound, it will contain a reference to that sample, but not the sample itself. If you have a Synth Sound that uses a particular sample and you replace that sample using the Sound Manager, this Synth Sound will now be using that sample (and it will probably bad, because it was made for a different sample). You select Synth Sounds by holding down the shift key and then pressing the button (LOAD SOUND) below the LED display in the Synth section. I think these Synth Sounds are meant as a shortcut for starting new sounds. You could choose a program with a piano and a pad sound (for example) and then use this function to load a different pad sound (one you've created earlier) leaving all other settings as they are. This Synth Sound concept has always surprised and confused me somewhat.

A Program contains the settings of the Synth section, just like a Synth Sound. However, unlike a Synth Sound it contains the settings of all sections on the NS2 (so 2 x organ, 2 x piano, 2 x synth, 2 x extern, effects, etc). If you select a specific program and then change the settings of one of the Synth sections by loading a Synth Sound, you're changing a program. If you then were to save that program, it would contain all the settings of every section. This would essentially include a copy of that Synth Sound. If you then deleted or changed that Synth Sound, the program would remain unchanged; it would still work properly, since it contained a copy of the data of that Synth Sound, not a reference to that Synth Sound. If you deleted a sample that was in use by a program, you get the same issues as with a Synth Sound - it probably doesn't sound as it should anymore.

To make the matter more confusing, the first 100+ samples and Synth Sounds have the same name and use the same sample. In other words, Synth Sound 11 would be using sample 11 and both have the same name. This doesn't have to be like this however (you can safely changes Synth Sounds without impacting any of your existing sounds) and if you go far enough in the list of samples/Synth Sounds, you discovered they start becoming different at some point (somewhere between 100-120 if I remember correctly).

You can restore the entire contents of your NS2 by restoring the factory sounds (these are on the DVD that came with the NS2, but you can also find the backup in the NS2 downloads section of the Nord website). If you rename the backup file to .zip, you could extract it and download separate sounds to your NS2, only replacing what you think you changed. Sound Manager might be able to load single sounds from a backup these days, but if it can't you can work around it with the zip trick mentioned above.

If you want the sound to fade in and out slowly, have a look at the AMP ENV (amplifier envelope) section. Set the Attack and Release to a fairly high value and set Decay to max. Now play with Attack (how quickly the volume for that sound rises after pressing a key) and Release (how quickly the volume drops after releasing the key). Decay determines if (and how quick) the volume drops after pressing the key down (but before letting go of it, since the Release phase starts as soon as you release the key). You'd often also have a Sustain setting, which determines to what level Decay causes the volume (or whatever setting it controls) to drop. The filter envelope (mentioned by Darren) has a Sustain section (hence it is ADSR), while the amplifier envelope doesn't (at least not on the NS2), so it's ADR.
Last edited by mjbrands on 28 Jan 2013, 01:44, edited 2 times in total.
mjbrands
 

Re: Sample Lab

Postby Darren » 27 Jan 2013, 22:17

Nice post.
Nord Stage 2 HA76, Nord Wave, CME UF60, Studiologic VMK 161 Plus Organ, Roland Juno G, Yamaha P200, Yamaha TG77, Roland U-220, Kawai K3M, Roland Juno 60, Fender Rhodes Stage 73
User avatar
Darren
Patch Creator
 
Posts: 368
Joined: 06 Sep 2012, 21:55
Location: Cheltenham, UK
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 186 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Stage 2
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Wave


Return to General Nord Forum



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests