Top Effect Pedals for Nord Lead!

[Ricoche]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious what others are using for effects with their Nord Lead 3, 2x, 2, and 1 synths. The A1 and NL4 already have effects so perhaps most don't use additional effects with those.

Currently I use Lexicon for my reverb globally so I'll list the three pedals I use for the Nord Lead 3. ( This is all highly subjective I know ).

1. Boss PS-6 Harmonist. As an analog synth user I find the PS-6 fattens up the NL3 incredibly. It's on all the time and definitely gets me close to my analogs. There's something about it that just Rocks for me!

2. Boss DC-2 Dimension C - I usually have this on the lowest setting and it warms up everything nicely. I'm looking for a CE-2 and may swap this if I like better.

3. Boss DD-5/6/7 Digital Delay - I rotate these as I have multiple synths. Nothing helps a synth more than a decent delay. ( I sometimes use my DM-2 as well ).

Other pedals that have worked well so far are and are on my board usually are the Boss OD-3 Overdrive, PH-1r Phaser ( GREAT!!), RV-3 Reverb/Delay ( for portable select reverb ), and the PS-3 Pitch Shifter ( Alternate to PS-6 ).

I know the Nords sound great often without effects, but they also sound fantastic with them as well. Lately I find myself using effects more with the Nord Lead simply because they sound great not necessarily because I need to. It's fun to experiment.

What are your favorites?

- Jim

[Spider]

Hej Jim!

Once more I promote: "El cheapo:"
I bought an old Line6 Pod for 10:- EUR.
Lots of functionality for that price! Many knobs.
I played Juno106 & SH101 in the 80:ies - so the tube, chorus, delay, reverb softens up the sometimes harsh NL. IMHO.
Sits nicely accessible on top of my NL2X, to the right. And ... the color is perfect!

Vintage Pod

pod.jpg (210.2 KiB) Viewed 4543 times

/Amicalement
Michael in Scania

[stiiiiiiive]

You can find some more shared experience in this topic

[Ricoche]

Hej Jim!

Once more I promote: "El cheapo:"
I bought an old Line6 Pod for 10:- EUR.
Lots of functionality for that price! Many knobs.
I played Juno106 & SH101 in the 80:ies - so the tube, chorus, delay, reverb softens up the sometimes harsh NL. IMHO.
Sits nicely accessible on top of my NL2X, to the right. And ... the color is perfect!

/Amicalement
Michael in Scania

Hello Michael! Thanks for the tip. I actually have heard a couple of others claim that the Line6 Pod sounds great with the Nord Lead. Down the street here in Japan there is a shop with two of them but they appear to be different. One is a 2.0 version and the other is a 3.0 XT if correct. I'll have to look these up and find out what the differences are between the versions and models. I'm not sure which one to pick up as both are priced pretty cheap. Which one do you use?

Thanks!

Jim

[Marlowes]

Hej Jim!

I use the old 1.0 version. Hence the price. I am sure the later ones are much better.
And I do not use the MIDI functionality. Just rely on the knobs ... As I wrote; very easy to tweak on top of your Lead.
I run mono in and get stereo out from some effects.

But now I'm deeply in love with ny NLA1. And beginning to understand her.

/Amicalemet
Michael

[stiiiiiiive]

As far as amp sim goes, I find the Tech 21 more... natural sounding. They feel more like an amp under the fingers. However, they don't have any FX -except maybe the new Fly Rig. I tend to like using my keyboards like "guitars on stage" rather than "pianos in the studio", i.e. I prefer having a small set of stompboxes plus a amp/sim rather than a bunch of racks/plug-ins. I'm not sure I'm amongst the majority here...

BTW Marlowes, do you use only FX on the POD or the whole package?

[Marlowes]

Hej herr S!

The whole package?

I like to use
* Amp models; Tube preamp (makes the sound "softer"?)
* Effects; Delay+, chorus 1/2, reverb (=separate knob) ... and the "effect tweak" controls the amount.
Fit my old analogue ears! Simple to use.

Some days you have money for toys.
Some days you have money for toys not.

/Amicalement
Michael

[AdamStage2]

I Currently run my Nord synths 1/2/3(when i use FX) Via the Korg Oasys,I have this chained via an aux send from my mixing board into the Oasys's individual ins 3+4 then back into my Mixing board via another set of Individual outs on the Oasys,so i can use the FX on the Oasys as an individual fx source separate from the main Oasys Outs for when i want to use Oasys internal sounds at the same time.

I prefer to use the Oasys onboard FX as opposed to my mixing boards fx(Yamaha 01V96)which has some nice onboard FX but i prefer the sound of the Korgs options as it allows up to 12 IFX to be used along with final and master fx,so you can build up some massive modulation chains if you so desire,although its a little overkill as i don't use it to full capacity as i prefer the minimalist approach,to me the Nords sound good anyway unless you want a specific sound sometimes a little delay/reverb is perhaps all thats needed to add some depth/space to a sound on the Nords or sprinkle a little fairy dust.

I like this system and it works well,as i'm not having to plug in and out different external fx pedals and stuff,its just a case of a scene change or different patch routing on the Yamaha mixer at the flick of a button dependant on what synth i want to record with fx at the time,it also allows me to save these FX chains in a program/Combi slot in the Oasys for instant recall via a simple program change,due to the way you can chain different combinations of FX its a great source of external FX for the Nords.

I find the Oasys O-Verb is great for some subtle ambience to the Nord patches,i like to use this on Pads on the Nord Lead 3 It just sounds quite lush when using pads that use the NL3 unison mode,(why nord never carried this unison option over into the NL4/A1 I'll never know)theres loads of FX in the Oasys to cater for just about any combination of FX chains,plus the tempo delays follow the Midi clock sent from my sequencer into the Oasys so its easy to clock delays without constant editing if i decide to change tempos at a later date or use the same FX program combination on another song with different tempo.

I do hope that one day Clavia will release there own standalone Red Nord Style FX box which contains all the FX algorithms they've added to the Keyboards over the years,the Stage has some great FX with just the right amount of minimal controls to dial in the sound you want.I'd like that Ensemble effect on the A1 it sounds quite lush on pads(why Nord don't include an audio input on there synths to take advantage of their internal FX Is beyond me),plus that right hand side panel on the older Lead Synths is just begging for a little Red Nord Box of FX to be sat on it.

[stiiiiiiive]

The whole package?

Yep, I meant FX + amp sims, which you answered to Thanks!

[Ricoche]

As far as amp sim goes, I find the Tech 21 more... natural sounding. They fell more like an amp under the fingers. However, they don't have any FX -excpet maybe the new Fly Rig. I tend to like using my keyboards like "guitars on stage" rather than "pianos in the studio", i.e. I prefer having a small set of stompboxes plus a amp/sim rather than a bunch of racks/plug-ins. I'm not sure Im amongst the majority here...

BTW Marlowes, do you use only FX on the POD or the whole package?

Yeah, when I play live I'm pretty much a big pedal user too. I came from the guitar world as a kid, so I suppose that's why I use pedals more. It's also probably because I play at very different venues all the time and often find myself needing to adjust different pedals very quickly. A rack mount just wouldn't work well for me. Plus if I use my old Korg RK100, pedals just seem to work naturally when you're playing like a guitar player. It's funny.