Nord User Forum

[stagelady]

Hello,
This is intended for new users of Nord Stage 3 models.
I'm thinking of switching from my current NS2 and I read Clavia is working on backward compatibility and conversion for the new sample format.
This is very good news since some users work with a bunch of custom samples,
...but many of us also have a great collection of synth patches with careful programming that took a vast amount of time to build.

I'm concerning here about the synth programs that some time back I manually (and painfully) converted from my prior Stage to the NS2 format.
I know the Synth engine is improved on the new Stage 3, but at the same time the basic structure and parameters remain almost the same.

So, there is no way to load (or convert) the current synth format to the new one? (I'm not even talking of a 100% conversion)

Clavia, are you hearing?

[Mr_-G-]

Apparently not. Patches were never compatible across different models.
Edit: other than doing manually.

[analogika]

You're not upgrading your computer. You're switching to a different synthesiser, with a completely different internal structure.

As with any other synthesiser, you either keep the old 'board or program the new one to get as close to the old synth's necessary sounds as possible (or improve upon them).

[stagelady]

Thanks for the answers
I suppose I've just showed up here my concerns about switching.

And probably you are right, analogika:

As with any other synthesiser

but this is not just a synthesizer. It's also a sample-player, and the way that feature it's implemented makes it impossible to work without the synth engine.
In fact (unless until now) the sample archives are not saving any synth parameter info by themselves...

[fjzingo]

Dont really understand what you are saying here, but the samples are selectable as waveforms in the syntengine. These waveforms contain a few parameters such as looppoints. The new engine have extended this to envelope pars.

Thanks for the answers
I suppose I've just showed up here my concerns about switching.

And probably you are right, analogika:

As with any other synthesiser

but this is not just a synthesizer. It's also a sample-player, and the way that feature it's implemented makes it impossible to work without the synth engine.
In fact (unless until now) the sample archives are not saving any synth parameter info by themselves...

[Quai34]

For decades, a Synth named X has never been compatible with a Synth named Y, even within the same brand...The only one who has been able to do that is Dave Smith with his P08, Tetra and Mopho as they were smaller version - less voices in fact - of the Bigger synth...And because he understood the compatibility requests from the customers, his last synth, the Prophet 08 Rev2 will load and play the same programs coming from the older P08...But it's an exception, even him, his OB6 and Prophet 6 are not compatible....It's the same with Clavia/Nord...No compatibility between the NL2X, The Nord A1 and the Nord Lead 4, then, don't expect the new Stage 3 with the Synth A1 in it to be compatible with any of the previous models, especially if it's the Synth section.

[stagelady]

Sure, I don't expect an OB6 reading the sounds of a P06 (or a OB8, or any analog synth b.t.w.)
Decades ago, I expected my samples AND programs from my K2000 been read by the brand new K2500 when it came out; and yes, it did nicely!
I understand the A1 engine is different that the synth on the NS2, but:
1) In terms of parameters and configuration compared to the NS2 synth is not that far away
2) both Stages are virtual synths
3) The programs store information that it's IMO essential to the sampler's use
4) Clavia could write a "translator" software that would let us start a new synth's life with at least an approximation to our old library of sounds. (I mean at least the main parameters)

The Stage is also a sample player machine and for that use I keep my samples in a folder along with specific program archives.
This programming information is essential for the samples being played (filters, amp envs and so on...)

But maybe I'm just alone on this...

[analogika]

The Stage series' biggest forte apart from sound quality, IMO, is that it's so fast and easy to program.

So investing effort into writing software to convert sounds into an "almost" approximation on the new machine will still require adjusting - at which point, it will be faster and better for most of us to just re-do them from scratch, taking advantage of the new architecture (such as the new piano EQs instead of regular EQ) to get there faster and create better sounds.

For those who primarily use the machine as preset-players and don't program anything themselves, this is a bitch, I agree, but the new machine comes chock-full of great presets, all custom samples will work as before (come October and the software updates), and it will be only a matter of time before great sites like this one will start being filled with awesome patches for common songs.

[anotherscott]

4) Clavia could write a "translator" software that would let us start a new synth's life with at least an approximation to our old library of sounds. (I mean at least the main parameters)

It does seem like it should be feasible to cover the basics... i.e. read an NS2 synth program, and construct a reasonably close starting point equivalent in the NS3, based on creating a program that uses the same waveform, the same kind of filter, about the same cutoff frequency and resonance, the same milliseconds of attack/decay/release, the LFO waveform/rate, and so forth.

[DJKeys]

Since the A1 was actually based on the architecture of the Nord Stage 2 synth section, it may be possible (down the road) to at least get close. There is a very interesting excerpt in the original Sound on Sound review of the A1:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/cl ... rd-lead-a1

Excerpt below as well:

Many years ago, Clavia introduced a similar system on the Nord Stage, so I asked Hans Nordelius, the designer of the Nord synthesizers, whether this was pertinent. He explained, “The A1 was born when I was approached by one of our beta-testers, a musician in Sweden who is forever doing live shows and touring. He always uses Nord Stage keyboards, and told me that the best synth for him is the one contained in the Nord Stage 2 because there are many occasions when he has little or no time to prepare before a show. He said, ‘The Stage 2 synth is the fastest ever, and if I have a request for a specific sound I can tweak it very quickly. Could you build a synthesizer like the synth section in the Stage 2?’. This pushed some buttons in me. When we look at the synths from the 1970s, we love them even though they have a lot of limitations, so I went back to my personal favourite, the Prophet 5, and started thinking about the ideas that led to the A1.” So that’s a ‘yes’, then.

-dj