The Nord PITCH BEND - Fixed range? (with pictures)

[cleito]

Hello everyone!
I've seen people complaining about the PITCH BEND range that is just 2 up and 2 down.
Yes, I also would like it to be editable but after the problem that I had with my NS2 and I had to open it, I took a look at the pitch bend and I was like "wtf? "
I have opened other boards that I had and they used a very little board with a few circuits conected to the wheel of the bend, but NOT NORD!
What I saw was like a "real pitch bend", I mean, its like you actually bend the metal to make the sound bend, some like that.
I don't know a lot about circuits and stuff, but that thing made me think, how does it work?
Maybe, this is why the RANGE can not be changed, I don't know about the NW, NL if they have a bigger range but, this looks like will bend as much as you bend the metal?
take a look ate the pictures and maybe someone knows how this bend really work.

Nord Pitch Bend

nord pitch bend 1.jpg (144.78 KiB) Viewed 9610 times

Nord Pitch bend 2

nord pitch bend 2.jpg (70.66 KiB) Viewed 9610 times

[Bernard]

Nice pictures, thank you.

I think it works analog, with kind of piezoelectric effect or a strain gauge. The analog signal has to be digitized to control the pitch. So it doesn't matter, how big the analog range is - it's a question of software how it will be scaled.
Nevertheless the reason of the low bend range may be an hardware issue. If the resolution of the DAC is too low (because they used cheap components) the bending may end up in a stepped behaviour if scaled too much. Remember MIDI pitchbend, it is 14 bit instead of 7 bit for the standard controllers. This may be a reason that they can't change it.

Otherwise they have implemented a good scaling (and therefore a good hardware) in the NordLeads. So I think it's a question of philosophy.

cheers,
Bernard

[cleito]

So, Clavia may have to rethink the way it works and maybe replace somethings, make it work in another way.
Maybe an option to make the wheel work in a "one way" bend, so we can choose the range and if goes up or down.
I don't know how it could be implemented in the software, but I guess its the best option for now.

[bdodds]

the same pitch bend lever is in every nord product and the Lead/2/3 all can bend up to 12 semitones..

[jazzystu]

My guess is probably that it will be on the Stage 6 EX Rev4.

[cleito]

the same pitch bend lever is in every nord product and the Lead/2/3 all can bend up to 12 semitones..

Have you or someone else paid attention to the sound of the Nord Lead when it bends up to 12 semitones?
I haven't played one yet and I don't know if the quality of the sound changes or decreases when it goes up to 12.
Maybe as the synth section of the Nord Stage is more limited, I guess it can not do this like the NL does. The Nord Wave do it too?

[anotherscott]

The Nord Wave do it too?

yes

[mjbrands]

The output of the pitchbend is indeed 14 bit (instead of the regular 7 bits as used for most other MIDI controls) and I expect that the pitchbend can register very small movement. Whether it really is able to register 14 bits of detail, who knows. I don't expect stepping to be an issue however; if the sensor itself (pitch stick) would exhibit stepping, they (Clavia) could perform some filtering in software to make it much less obvious.

The total range of the pitchbend is a software issue, as that's where the scaling is done like Bernard says. Technically it is not that difficult to do all kinds of fancy things with the pitchbend (for example, bend up by 24 semitones, bend down by 12 - on a Kurzweil you can configure stuff like this). What you could do is turn local MIDI control off, plug the MIDI out port in some kind of 'magic MIDI box' that scales pitchbend differently and send that (and all the other unaltered MIDI data) back in to the MIDI in port. It would add some latency depending on the speed of this 'magic MIDI box' but it might be really small.

As for stepping: something I noticed on the Wave is that (for example) the filter frequency knob sends 7 bit MIDI messages (since that is what the MIDI standard specifies for filter cut-off), but actually generates 12-14 bits of precision (this higher precision is also stored when you save a program). If you change the filter cut-off with the knob on the Wave you hear a smooth sweep, if you send filter cut-off MIDI messages from some external MIDI controller (such as my Novation Remote SL) you do hear some stepping (because it is only 7 bit). They may only do this for filter cut-off since that is such an important parameter.

This does mean that if you record a performance solely by recording MIDI data, it may sound a bit different on playback (because filter cut-off is now controlled with only 7 bits of precision). But I digress.

[monsterjazzlicks]

Hi folks,

The Pitch Bend (lack of !!) facility is a real issue for me. My synth technique has always been pretty much centered around a Pitch controller (esp. for live bass-lines). So the range factor is a massive disappointment for me.

But more so, is the design and positioning of the damn thing. i never liked anything about it from the start but i thought perhaps i might be able to modify my technique to find a way around this (keeping an open mind in an 'artistic growth' sense). However, after gigging the instrument 6 x nights per week for over 12 x months i am left more frustrated than i was when i purchased it !! i have no idea what on earth the objectives were in designing such a contraption but it is totally impracticle for the professional player. Nord have tried to solve an issue which was never there in the first place, and created a big problem in the mean time !!

Best,

monsterjazzlicks

[pablomastodon]

I play bass on my G2E through the Stage's External section for full octave range bend...frees up an extra synth section slot for doing something else...