Stage 4 - Issue with the Glide/Portamento Function (Bug?)

[fabian_janiczek]

Hey Stage 4 Users!

Im using the glide (portamento) function on the synth section to create risers and other effects (build up section in modern electronic music). On the new stage 4 I realised, that the glide behaves differently then on the stage 3. on the stage 3 I could set it to 10 (maximum) to make it that the risers move really slowly, which was perfect for a longer build up section (Mabe 8 or even 16 bars of riser madness ). On the stage 4 now the same setting - 10 pitches up much quicker. This really I strange and makes me sad. Can Someone owning a stage 4 try this out please if it’s the same on your device? I will attach an audio example from my stage 3 and stage 4, so you get the idea of how different it is.
I hope this is a bug and will get fixed with the next update. I wrote the support of nord, but they didn’t answer .

Thanks for your help in advance!

• NS4 Glide Problem.mp3

• NS3 Glide Example.mp3

[fabian_janiczek]

I had no idea the NS3 would glide for that long. Most synths have a maximum glide setting that is much closer to the NS4...at least all the ones I've used (Moog, Sequential, Arturia, Nord, Roland etc.) So it's not a bug, most likely they just reduced the range to make it faster to dial in a sweet spot that is useful for the majority of people.
You could map the mod wheel or pedal to pitch and do it manually, perhaps?

[fabian_janiczek]

Thanks for your reply! I hope they will still fix this, for me it’s a huge issue. Maybe they could add an option in the settings menu for „old“ and „new“ glide behaviour? I don’t know if that makes sense. As much as I like the new stage 4, I think I will go back to the 3 if they don’t do anything about this, because I use the long glide feature in many songs - it’s a must have for me.
Is there any way to contact nord directly? If I use the support Formular on the website, I always get redirected to a store in Germany.

[fabian_janiczek]

Thanks for your reply! I hope they will still fix this, for me it’s a huge issue. Maybe they could add an option in the settings menu for „old“ and „new“ glide behaviour? I don’t know if that makes sense. As much as I like the new stage 4, I think I will go back to the 3 if they don’t do anything about this, because I use the long glide feature in many songs - it’s a must have for me.
Is there any way to contact nord directly? If I use the support Formular on the website, I always get redirected to a store in Germany.

As you can read on the website, your point of contact for support is your local distributor; for feedback you can write to Nord on https://www.nordkeyboards.com/about-us/feedback but on that page they clearly say "We are very happy to hear your thoughts and comments! We read every mail that we get, but cannot guarantee to respond to questions or requests posted via this form."; so that's what you can do but don't expect them to start a conversion just with you.

Remember always that Nord is a small company, developers are just a handful: imagine if they had to reply to hundreds of users asking a question a day... they'd stop developing for months, so personally I see this as the right approach from Nord.

[fabian_janiczek]

I just got an answer from Clavia: "The glide parameters are currently the same as on the Wave 2, which is closer related synth-wise to the NS4". This sounds disappointing to me - might be the case, that this will not change in the future
But they said, they wrote down my problem and may be they will still change it some day, time will tell. I just returned my Stage 4 and will keep the 3 instead.

[WannitBBBad]

I just got an answer from Clavia: "The glide parameters are currently the same as on the Wave 2, which is closer related synth-wise to the NS4". This sounds disappointing to me - might be the case, that this will not change in the future
But they said, they wrote down my problem and may be they will still change it some day, time will tell. I just returned my Stage 4 and will keep the 3 instead.

I think it would good to provide Nord evidence of a lost sale to Nord. It would elevate the issue from something a NS4 customer wants to something a potential NS4 buyer requires, and they don't know how many more are looking for a similar NS3 (NS, NS2?) glide. From Nord's standpoint, they might have received feedback that the NS3 glide was too touchy (I thought as much, a lot with a little turn), so perhaps a global setting to keep what's currently implemented plus another option for a long duration might be the best solution.

[JackD]

I just got an answer from Clavia: "The glide parameters are currently the same as on the Wave 2, which is closer related synth-wise to the NS4". This sounds disappointing to me - might be the case, that this will not change in the future
But they said, they wrote down my problem and may be they will still change it some day, time will tell. I just returned my Stage 4 and will keep the 3 instead.

I think it would good to provide Nord evidence of a lost sale to Nord. It would elevate the issue from something a NS4 customer wants to something a potential NS4 buyer requires, and they don't know how many more are looking for a similar NS3 (NS, NS2?) glide. From Nord's standpoint, they might have received feedback that the NS3 glide was too touchy (I thought as much, a lot with a little turn), so perhaps a global setting to keep what's currently implemented plus one another option for a long duration might be the best solution.

The true is that this NS4 is good, really good. But NS3 is good as well and in some cases is only different, not worse.
I feel the same for the Juno-like way to mix synth sounds.

But I guess it is not easy make everybody happy