Nord Lead 4 - NO KNOB VALUE PICKUP...

[tipostereo]

I'm posting this topic to share my sadness related to Nod Lead 4's lack of "Knob Value Pickup" function. I would have thought twice before purchasing it if I knew this. If there's a flaw in this synth is the fact that when you are doing a multi-voice performance, if you change to a new program or slot, as soon as you touch any knob, its parameter will snap to the current value of the parameter (frequency, for example), ignoring any stored preference and causing unwanted sounds.

My Microkorg, 3 times cheaper has this "feature", that is, the led light above each knob blinks and nothing happens to the sound as you rotate the knob until it reaches the stored value for that program/patch (to warn you that the current knob position does not correspond to the stored value for the new program). When the led stops blinking, if you continue to turn the knob, then the sound/parameter will start being affected by the knob (gees, my english is awesome). Nord Lead, on the other hand, will you give some nasty surprises because you never know where a certain knob value is in relation to it's knob after selecting a new slot/voice.

Bottom line, in live performances, you can get some annoying jumps, because when you select one of the voices/slots, after messing around with the knobs from previous slots, you never know to how much will the parameter jump.

Many costumers are requesting Nord to include such ability in Lead's operating system, but no promises so far. It's an unnecessary disappointment, considering Nord's reputation. This naive design stands out almost every time you use Lead 4.

Let me know if a quick video would help you to understand this whole messy text.

I know that this is not an "official" forum from Nord, but I heard that they sometimes read posts from here so, come on Nord, fix this one for us!

[chvad]

Couldn't agree more and have also mentioned as much. I'm really really really hoping this is addressed. This behavior is literally keeping this synth off stage for me right now.

[rickk]

"Nord Lead, on the other hand, will you give some nasty surprises because you never know where a certain knob value is in relation to it's knob after selecting a new slot/voice."

It's easy - push copy/morph lock button (on the right side of the pitch stick) and tweak knob you want to use - lcd will show you actual value.

[tipostereo]

Rickk, thanks for the tip. It works. But again, considering the highly intuitive nature of NL synths, this one feels like a miss.

Best regards

[Vileza]

I also find this really annoying. I hope Clavia fixes this issue and all the other problems mentioned in earlier posts.

[curvebender]

I would love if the NL4 had knob pickup, but I doubt very much they will implement it in any future update.

It's not an issue or a problem from their point of view because that function was never advertised or promised.

Of course, we could write them and ask for this update, but don't get your hopes up.

Having said that, I've written them and asked about implementing the FX from the A1!

[chvad]

Their lack of response to this stuff is a real bummer.

"It's not an issue or a problem from their point of view because that function was never advertised or promised."
I don't think things like this NEED to be advertised as they've come to be expected. Much older digital synths managed this just fine... they also managed stepping better as well. The more A1 updates I see the more frustrated I get about having purchaed the Lead 4 and makes me wary of future Clavia stuff.

[tipostereo]

All valid points. I've started using the process that Rickk shared above, and you can actually deal with "the thing" reasonably well. It's just a matter of practice.

[Rufus The Dog]

Interestingly, on my Moog Little Phatty Stage II you get the option to set the knobs to behave like the NL4, i.e. snap to the value of the knob when you turn it or to pickup the current value as you turn the knob through the current value. It is enhanced by the led ring around each knob though that shows the current value.



R.

[ricard]

Clavia are not big on the configurability side of their machines. You get what you get, basically. And they seem very much tied to the way things always have been. I mean, that the original Nord Lead had shortcomings in the form of 'snap-to' controls and limited mod routings, it was a first and a good one at that. While they've improved a lot of shortcomings of the original design such as the ability to save the unison detune amount with the patch, or see the parameter values and morph assignments of an existing program, they don't seem to like users to be able to configure things that aren't available on any knobs, such as detune amount or knob behavior. I suppose it's to get a consistent user interface, but I think in this day and age users want more configurability from their synths, even though it goes against the original concept of the Nord Lead series. (Oddly enough, the vibrato oscillator is hidden from the panel and has been since the NL3. So why not a couple of more parameters and configuration options then?)

I for one don't miss having knob pickup; if I twiddle a knob it jumps to where I point it which is usually what I want. With pickup, in the worst case I'd basically have to twist it to both extremes in order to pick up the value which would be cumbersome to do every time. LED rings would be better (or what about motorized knobs!), but makes the machine too expensive. On the A1 and NL4 I find myself using the Monitor function to check the value of a parameter prior to turning its knob. That way I can quickly turn it to its current position to minimize any jump in the parameter value.

One feature that I remember seeing in the Memorymoog (and in a couple of other machines since then): when you twist a knob the display shows both the original (i.e. patch) value and the new one. I really liked that. That way I could quickly see what the original value had been, and if the machine had had knob pickup I could easily have seen where to turn the knob to pick it up.