Everything about the Nord Wave Synthesizer

Comparison of Instruments

Postby mmarc » 23 Oct 2012, 01:15

interesting to know your opinion

Nord Wave

Prophet '08
Poly Evolver Analog Synth
Dave Smith Mopho x4

Studiologic Sledge Synthesizer

Roland JUPITER-80 and 50


similarities, advantages, your preferences, assessment of individual properties, capabilities, and unique merits etc
Last edited by mmarc on 23 Oct 2012, 01:26, edited 2 times in total.
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Comparison of Instruments


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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby mjbrands » 23 Oct 2012, 02:33

I wanted to buy a Prophet '08 a few years ago; the shop also had an Poly Evolver Rack and once I played both the Prophet and the Evolver the choice was very simple - the Evolver sounded much more intriguing to me. The Evolver can sound very analog like the Prophet, but also very digital (more like a Waldorf, I think). The Evolver also has a lot of options for distorting sounds in a number of ways, including with multiple delays, a high-pass filter and a bit crusher. It does wavetables too. The prophet does have double the polyphony though (8 v.s. 4 voices).

The Mopho/Tetra/Mopho x4 have two advantages over the original Prophet '08: a more convenient feedback mechanism and (more important) each voice has a sub-oscillator. The gives them a bit beefier sound than the Prophet '08. In general though, I think the Moog synths (Minimoog Voyager/Little Phatty/Slim Phatty) sound more 'solid' though; there's something really pleasing about their ladder filter.

For the Sledge Studiologic designed the case and the keybed and Waldorf supplied the synth engine. I would probably prefer the Waldorf Blofeld myself (will likely have more features), but the Sledge has a better control surface and is much more hands-on. The Blofeld has quite a bit of menu diving. I'd expect the Sledge to do a few things the Blofeld can't; vice versa, the Blofeld will probably do a lot of stuff the Sledge can't (it seems to have less features than the Blofeld).

The Jupiter 50/80 are the most expensive of the bunch (maybe with the exception of the Poly Evolver). They seem pretty interesting, but more geared towards 'natural' sounds, even though they can make nice sounding (virtual) analog-type sounds. I have no experience with these. Scott Tibbs make them sound very nice in his demos, but his demos also convince me this is not the synth for me.

I like complex synths (lots of programming options) that can sound sharp/harsh. The Poly Evolver and the Blofeld fit the bill well here.

I've owned a Blofeld module, DSI Poly Evolver (both rack and keyboard, don't ask), Moog Little Phatty, Roland Fantom G and a Nord Wave. I would rank the quality of the hardware (how sturdy, etc.) like this:
  1. Nord Wave
  2. Roland Fantom G
  3. DSI Poly Evolver (even though I had the encoder-issue)
  4. Moog Little Phatty (the keys felt really, really cheap and the interface worked really well)
  5. Waldorf Blofeld module (very solid case, but the knobs wobble a bit and I've had crashes)
Quality-wise (sturdiness, how the knobs and buttons felt) I'd say the Nord and the Roland were pretty close.

Looking at sound and (programming) features, this would be my ranking:
  1. DSI Poly Evolver
  2. Walford Blofeld
  3. Nord Wave
  4. Moog Little Phatty
  5. Roland Fantom G
(Not really fair for the Fantom G - it is a workstation and not a virtual-analog, but the pianos sounded o so plastic to me compared the Stage 2.)

For me there was quite a bit of distance between the Blofeld and the Wave. Note I like messing with sequencers, etc. Something like the Wave is really a player's board; my playing skills weren't nearly enough to make it shine. The Nord and the DSI definitely had the best user-interface (knobs, knobs, knobs :lol: ).

If I were to include the Access Virus TI, it'd score slightly higher than the Nord on quality. Sound-wise, I'd probably score it between the Evolver and the Blofeld; the Virus and the Blofeld can sound pretty similar.
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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby mmarc » 29 Oct 2012, 02:15

hello

Maybe it's the first impression, but when I tried Sledge I was impressed with the sound, it was very nice brutal space noise... and I like how works arpeggiator. but I have not yet tried Blofeld. just saw the demos, and I'm understand, it's the different things
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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby Darren » 22 Jan 2013, 20:10

I'd be really interested in a direct comparison between the Nord Wave and the Sledge. The wave is twice the price, but is it really twice the synth?

From what I can see, the sledge is more functional as it has the ability to layer and split. I think the key beds are the same though.

My main concern would be the plastic casing of the sledge - could it be survive being gigged or is it really meant to stay in the studio?

Also, would red and yellow go together if I were to hang a sledge over my Stage??? :)
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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby mjbrands » 22 Jan 2013, 20:28

Darren wrote:Also, would red and yellow go together if I were to hang a sledge over my Stage??? :)

Guess you'd have to paint your Stage pumpkin orange... :angel:
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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby Mr_-G- » 23 Jan 2013, 00:08

Shame polyphony is only 8...
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Re: Comparison of Instruments

Postby Darren » 23 Jan 2013, 00:12

Makes big analogue string sounds pretty useless then. Big shame.
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