Nord's classical Virtual Analog Synth Nord LEAD 1/2/2x/3/4/A1 and Nord Rack versions

nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 05 Jun 2018, 13:37

Hi,

let me just start by saying I'm a big nord fan, I love the interface (owned a stage 2 in the past). And I'm a synth newbye.
I'm thinking about a second hand nla1 but for the same price or actually a bit cheaper I can get a brand new waldorf blofeld keyboard. What intrigued me about the latter is the 16 part multitimbral, better keyboard action, aftertouch and programmable arpeggiator.

Obviously I'm biased towards the nla1, but was wondering what your thoughts are for a synth beginner with little time on his hands and whether there might be other alternatives to consider.
Oh I like blade runnery / 80's analoge/warm synths as well as the use of the arpeggiator

many thanks
Nord Lead A1, Korg Trinity 76 Pro, Kawai MP7SE, Guitars, Ukes
varignet
 
Posts: 208
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 23:08
Location: London
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Lead A1

nla1 and alternatives


Sponsor
 

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby Marlowes » 05 Jun 2018, 15:14

The Blofish is amazing, but the UI is far from easy. The NL's are more old school and easy to understand in classical terms ... IMHO!

If you're gonna "roll your own" a NL is the way to go!

EDIT: hot stuff https://waldorfmusic.com/en/blofeld-sof ... og-voltage
Last edited by Marlowes on 05 Jun 2018, 15:16, edited 2 times in total.
NE3HP, NP88, NS2, DPP1, NL2X, NL2X, NLA1, NL4, NE5D, NW2 (Collect Them All?), some classic Rolands, Arturias, a Waldorf, a Kurz, a WONOK3, a pile of guitars, a P-bass, loopers, amps and computers ...
I'm a gearslut! :oops:
User avatar
Marlowes
Patch Creator
 
Posts: 1342
Joined: 14 Sep 2011, 12:10
Location: Österlen, Scania
Country: Sweden
Has thanked: 1820 times
Been thanked: 594 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Wave 2
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Lead 4

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby starkaudio » 05 Jun 2018, 15:18

The Blofeld pairs nicely with the A1, and they sound very different.

Yes, the A1 is four part multitimbral and you can do a lot with four parts but if you need more than four parts the Blofeld makes sense.

Keybed and it's features is subjective and based on your needs so I won't mention them.

I believe the main point comes from workflow differences. With an A1 everything is on the front panel with (mostly) 1-knob per function. Do you plan to program the synth a great deal? The Blofeld is very different...not worse...but different. I find the immediacy of the A1 makes it very fun to program. I think your preferred workflow will have the deciding factor on which your purchase.

Ahh...edit/addition. Build quality: research the Blofeld build quality for both software and hardware. It's not that great. Nord on the other hand is stellar.

-L
Last edited by starkaudio on 05 Jun 2018, 15:27, edited 1 time in total.

The author starkaudio was thanked by:
Marlowes
User avatar
starkaudio
 
Posts: 72
Joined: 15 Jul 2014, 22:21
Location: Boston, MA, USA
Country: United States of America
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 32 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Lead A1
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Lead A1

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby CountFosco » 05 Jun 2018, 18:24

I think the key to your post is the "little time on his hands" bit. The A1 is amazing, if you have hours to spend, the sound creation possibilities are rather incredible. But if you just want a preset to sound like a prophet or a moog, they are there. Or you can download user created patches, or entire banks, I found good links on this forum for that. On the other hand, if the target is to emulate mono solos or moving pads to play covers from the 70s thru 0ies, I reckon just about any decent modern poly synth would work.

The author CountFosco was thanked by:
Marlowes
User avatar
CountFosco
 
Posts: 682
Joined: 16 Nov 2016, 11:23
Country: Switzerland
Has thanked: 152 times
Been thanked: 259 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Electro 5
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Lead A1

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby alcools » 10 Jun 2018, 00:27

I think the A1 will be the best for you, for the interface, and for the sounds you want too. The Blofeld sounds really digital, not warm analog and 80’s.
Actual synth: Nord Modular G2 - Nord Stage 3 73 - Virus Ti2 - Peak - Prophet 6
Before: Nord Lead 3 & 4, Stage 1&2, Wave, Virus C, DSI Tetra, P12, and few others...
User avatar
alcools
 
Posts: 210
Joined: 06 May 2011, 18:12
Location: Paris
Country: France
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 39 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Stage 3
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Modular

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 10 Jun 2018, 11:42

Many thanks.
I was wondering: after having changed a program, wouldn't rotate slightly a knob create a sudden sound jump as the phisical state of the knob might be in a different position than its stored state?
I know shift rotating knobs can help, but doesn't this prevent fiddling with programs on the fly?

Lastly nord3s surfaced on eBay for about the same price. Led rotaries and better Keybed are intriguing but I suppose the A1 timbre ( va bladerunnery kind ) would be more compatible with what I'm after.
Nord Lead A1, Korg Trinity 76 Pro, Kawai MP7SE, Guitars, Ukes
varignet
 
Posts: 208
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 23:08
Location: London
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Lead A1

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby alcools » 10 Jun 2018, 13:39

Sure.
Actual synth: Nord Modular G2 - Nord Stage 3 73 - Virus Ti2 - Peak - Prophet 6
Before: Nord Lead 3 & 4, Stage 1&2, Wave, Virus C, DSI Tetra, P12, and few others...
User avatar
alcools
 
Posts: 210
Joined: 06 May 2011, 18:12
Location: Paris
Country: France
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 39 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Stage 3
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Modular

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby CountFosco » 10 Jun 2018, 14:40

varignet wrote:Many thanks.
I was wondering: after having changed a program, wouldn't rotate slightly a knob create a sudden sound jump as the phisical state of the knob might be in a different position than its stored state?
I know shift rotating knobs can help, but doesn't this prevent fiddling with programs on the fly?

Lastly nord3s surfaced on eBay for about the same price. Led rotaries and better Keybed are intriguing but I suppose the A1 timbre ( va bladerunnery kind ) would be more compatible with what I'm after.


Yes the unknown current settings thing is an issue, which takes some time to get used to. But you can see what the current dial setting is at the {press of a button + twist of a dial} without changing it. Then you can manually move the dial to that setting as a starting point. But it is easy to get lost in LFOs and oscillators and envelopes after a while, but that's also part of the fun.
Last edited by CountFosco on 10 Jun 2018, 14:44, edited 3 times in total.

The author CountFosco was thanked by:
varignet
User avatar
CountFosco
 
Posts: 682
Joined: 16 Nov 2016, 11:23
Country: Switzerland
Has thanked: 152 times
Been thanked: 259 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Electro 5
Your Nord Gear #2: Nord Lead A1

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 11 Jun 2018, 19:21

Ok I've bit the bullet and getting a second hand nla1 :-)

Thinking about performing live and having the morph functionality programmed, would you recommend getting a sustain pedal / expression pedal or both?
I'd ideally like to limit the number of pedals down as I'll also have another keyboard next to it and hate having too many cables/pedals laying around :-)
Nord Lead A1, Korg Trinity 76 Pro, Kawai MP7SE, Guitars, Ukes
varignet
 
Posts: 208
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 23:08
Location: London
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Lead A1

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 11 Jun 2018, 20:11

Actually I started reading the manual, can you actually program 2 separate morphs using both the wheel and expression pedal on a single slot?
Nord Lead A1, Korg Trinity 76 Pro, Kawai MP7SE, Guitars, Ukes
varignet
 
Posts: 208
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 23:08
Location: London
Country: Great Britain
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 9 times
Your Nord Gear #1: Nord Lead A1

Next

Return to Nord Lead / Rack Forum



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests