Nord User Forum

[Balojax]

hi, I had my Nord Drum 2 for a few days only and I am having polyphony problems, can the polyphony be changed? I have midi'd up'd my Nord Drum to Ableton Live, have assigned each pad to an individual midi track, but I can only play a note at once!, the note in the last pad/channel added prevails over the previous one when played at the same time.

[wartaler]

Hi!

The ND2 has 6 Channels, each can have a totally different sound. Each individual Channel is monophonic but the 6 Channels can produce sound independently of each other & at the same time. That is, unless a Mute group is active; Channels within this Mute group exclude each other. So, first make sure that you're trying to address different Channels of the ND2, and that there's no Mute group active.. See page 14 of the manual for details on Mute group..

[Note how I write the word Channel with capital C to refer to one or more of the 6 Channels of the ND2, to avoid confusion with MIDI channels...]

See pages 24, 29 and 30 for what you can do with MIDI..

Another thing: some cheap MIDI interfaces are badly made / bad QC, resulting in specimens that for some weird reason won't allow more than one note be played at the same time. I know it sounds a bit strange but you wouldn't be the first..


Here are some threads about MIDI and things that can go wrong with hardware and MIDI setups:

nord-drum-forum-f27/can-t-trigger-more-than-one-drum-at-once-from-midi-t6063.html

nord-drum-forum-f27/midi-note-numbers-in-relation-to-sequencers-t7085.html

nord-drum-forum-f27/ch-1-midi-activates-on-each-note-t7095.html


Here's how to make a 6 voice polyphonic synth of your ND2 - requires a computer:

nord-drum-forum-f27/synth-sounds-with-nd2-t7046.html


Cheers,
Albert

[clickclack777]

Hi Albert,

I bought one of those cheap usb-to-midi cables and I´m having trouble connecting with the nord manager even though I can control the ND2 to some extent (only general channel but not from separate channels without note skipping). Which brands of cables would you recommend that you know work properly? Thanks!

Yamaha UX-16?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-SUX16-UX ... B000I1Q58W

E-MU Midi?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/E-MU-Midi-1x1-C ... midi+cable

M-Audio USB UNO?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/M-Audio-Uno-M-A ... midi+cable

[wartaler]

Hi,
Well, I have a slightly older version of the E-MU 1x1
and I also have the ESI M4U XL when I want to connect more than 1 MIDI device...
both interfaces do not require any driver installation and are compatible with apple devices as well...

[wartaler]

Ok,

I said 'cheap' MIDI interfaces in previous posts - I did some more googling - and not surprisingly - price isn't a good indicator per se -
A USB-MIDI 'cable' (interface) mentioned on the internet (and also in this forum) causing problems for some people, is the Hosa Tracklink, apparently roughly the same price as my E-MU Xmidi 1x1 ..
I also heard some negative stories about more expensive interfaces that were supplied with 'propriety drivers' that didn't work properly, and never got an update -

So, try to find some reviews, make sure it's easy to return the item when faulty - etc etc

I never know whether to trust statistics of user reviews etc.
Perhaps there are millions of Hosa users - and only those few who had a faulty one took the effort to write a review.
However, the problem with this Hosa seems very similar each time: when it fails, it still seems to work to some degree, but it blocks simultaneous notes being transmitted, and sometimes skips notes, ..

I can only find positive reviews about mine, and I am happy with them too, but...

Albert

[clickclack777]

OK, thanks.

[Feutnes]

Miditech Midilink Mini only send one note at the same time from Nord Beat 2

[wartaler]

Hi,

Something else I noticed, all negative reports (here and elsewhere) on some interfaces came from Apple users (either Mac/iPad) according to the specifications the Hosa should work without any driver installation with Apple and Windows devices, yours is also supposedly class compliant, 'plug & play'

perhaps there is a specific mismatch with Apple (is that possible?) - my interfaces work on both PC and iPad

Curious: do you have a Windows system you can test your miditech with?

Albert

[Feutnes]

Hello,

I have tested a couple of usb/midi interfaces, the midilink and a cheap one from china (3.63€), connecting them to an Ipad Air, two windows computers, a usb hub and a sampler, sending four notes at the same time.

Ipad (Nord Beat 2) to windows (ableton live):
Midilink is sending only one note, last one you play. Synchronization is one note late.
Cheap one has the same problem.

Ipad (nord beat) to Roland sampler:
Midilink not tested
Cheap one is sending only one note (last one you play on the sequencer)

Windows (ableton) and USB hub to windows (ableton):
Midilink is sending random notes (5, sometimes 6) and some note on with out note off NOT the 4 notes i'm sending
Cheap one is sending those 4 notes at the same time.

Windows (ableton) to Windows (Ableton)
Midilink is sending those 4 notes.
Cheap one is sending the 4 notes.

I've found an E-MU X-Midi 1X1 on Ebay, please, can you confirm that it's working on Ipad (I'm using Ipad Air and IOS 8) and sending different notes at the same time.

Thank you,

/raul

[wartaler]

Hi,

apart from the results with the Win PC + USB hub (in general I think hubs should be avoided) it seems to confirm my idea, strange... perhaps a shared component, little chip that doesn't work in combination with apple devices?!

Anyway, my E-MU 1x1 works 100% ok with my iPad1 + camera connection kit + Nord beat 2 app playing all 6 notes simultaneously if I want...