Everything about the Nord Wave Synthesizer

Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby futureworld » 21 Apr 2013, 20:19

So my Wave has a mod wheel problem, and I hesitate to open the thing up because I'm not familiar with digital synth guts that much.

My mod wheel doesn't "return to zero," that is, the lowest point I can set it is now slightly above the lowest point it was when I bought it.
It's not a mapping/morphing/patch issue, we've confirmed that.

In other words, we have a really important patch that has a two-octave pitch morph and when the wheel is set all the way down, the sound is like 40 cents off the pitch played on the keyboard. This doesn't work obviously because the patch is out of key all the time.

Right now my synth player has the parameters morphed to an expression pedal, but this is unideal for the most part.

Halp! Anyone have this problem before?
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Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)


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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby mjbrands » 21 Apr 2013, 22:26

How old is this unit and has it seen a lot of playing? I can image this is due to normal wear and tear. There's a potentiometer in the modwheel and those do wear down very slowly.

I doubt there's very much you can do yourself by opening it. I suggest you contact the guy that does tech support for Nord in the US and Canada. He's a great guy and can help you get this solved asap.

You can send Pablo Mastodon a private message on this forum, but it would probably be better if you called or emailed him directly. Here's a link to the company he works work with his data on it: http://www.proaudioe.com/pages/nord-tec ... rt-usa.php
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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby pablomastodon » 22 Apr 2013, 05:44

oops....that info is severely out of date. my time at ProAudio E ceased effective May 1, 2011.

Current contact info:

pablo.mastodon@AmericanMusicandSound.com
800-994-4984 x3030

thanx for the kind words, mj

and I like the new pic very much :-)
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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby tabasco » 20 Jun 2013, 15:57

Did you find a solution?

Exactly same problem here :thumbdown: Probably not a wear down issue, as the unit has been like this since new, bought late 2008 (out of warranty now). Firmware update to v2.02 didn't fix it.

Is there a way to calibrate the mod wheel, to set the LO and HI positions? This hasn't been a major issue for me, but it's rather annoying and I'd like to get it fixed.
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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby Spider » 02 Dec 2020, 15:36

Well, some time ago I got an original Wave again (I had one many years ago, sold it and always regretted it) and my god, this thing sounds SO good!
The best synth Clavia ever produced IMHO (I never yet used the Wave 2, though).

Anyway, I hadn't used it for a while and stored it vertically in its bag, resting on its side. Yesterday I got it out, and...the mod wheel isn't working anymore!
I guess (and hope) it's only the usual mod wheel problem of Nords, it's much more common for the Stages (especially the infamous NS3 Compact WheelGate) but I saw that it happens sometimes to the Lead-Waves as well... hopefully it only needs tightening the pot screw and/or re-sitting the connector, as well documented in various places.
nord-stage-forum-f3/nord-stage-3-sw73-mod-wheel-calibration-issue-t19806.html?hilit=mod%20wheel
nord-stage-forum-f3/nord-stage-3-compact-mod-wheel-problems-t19132.html?hilit=mod%20wheel
nord-stage-forum-f3/please-post-only-if-you-are-having-mod-wheel-morph-issues-t14534-40.html#p125824
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUUWaQYacaY
https://www.instagram.com/p/B81IfO-KGl-/?hl=it

I prefer to put all the links in one place for future reference, to avoid the proliferation of multiple threads on this recurrent subject.
While we're at it, here's also another old thread I found, with very nice photos of the insides of the Wave where it's clearly seen that the mod wheel assembly is always the same among different Nord models.
nord-wave-forum-f11/nord-wave-from-inside-t13797.html

I'll open it up and let you know how it goes, just for the record. Finger crossed!
Last edited by Spider on 02 Dec 2020, 17:05, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby alex78 » 02 Dec 2020, 16:39

I have a similar issue with mine, bought 3rd hand a year ago. I put the wheel all the way down but after playing for a while it moves slightly upwards due to the vibrations. This causes morphing to apply in some specific programs.
I took it to a good friend who is a master technician on such things and he tightened the scew a bit, but he told me the potentiometer may also need to be replaced.

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Re: Wave Mod Wheel Problem (???halp)

Postby Spider » 10 Dec 2020, 16:22

Just for the record, my Wave's mod wheel was not completely dead, only working intermittently.
I opened the synth and it's really a super easy operation: just remove all the back screws and the two screws from the bottom panel holding the chassis (they're the only two "asymmetrical" screws, one under the left-hand controller and one in the power supply area; all the others are the screws holding the keybed assembly). Of the side screws, only remove the two front ones: the back ones can just be loosened a bit and will allow to open the chassis like a car's hood, without disassembling it completely: super easy, practical and without the risk of stretching-tearing the ribbon cables.

On first inspection, nothing looked disconnected or out of place. Anyway, I loosened and re-set the screw holding the wheel to its potentiometer, and fixed in place the wheel wire connector with a drop of hot glue. Crossing fingers, the erratic behaviour is gone and my 10-plus years old Wave is working like new!
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