Should I buy an NW2 with my NS3?

[patmol59]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking about buying a synth to complete my rig.
To put myself in perspective, I play in a cover band with a varied style (from Pink Floyd or Deep Purple to a more "funky" register).
I own an NS3 for a long time, which gives me a lot of satisfaction, but I sometimes feel limited in the number of layers, particularly on the synth part.
I would sometimes like to be able to stack more than 2 synth sounds and samples, or simply create complex synth sounds, such as evolving pads.
I hesitated for a long time to upgrade to the new NS4, but the disappearance of the 2 oscillator configurations (present on the NS3), the problem with external session management and the lack of samples in the new library put me off.

In the end, I decided to invest in an additional keyboard, and leave the comfort of having only one keyboard on stage ...

The NW2 naturally catches my eye: 4 synth slots, polyphonic arpeggiator, boosted effects (reverb, delay, etc.). The "easy access" side is also reassuring for me who am used to Nord keyboards.
But I still wonder: are there other competing synths that could meet my needs? A workstation (of the fantom 0 type)? A real analog synth (prophet type)? A master keyboard + VST?

Furthermore, what simple solution can you consider to synchronize the program changes between the 2 keyboards?

Thanks !

[Wietze]

Yes.I have the same setup. No regret.

Midi in to NS3 and midi out NS3 to Midi In NordWave2.

[DJKeys]

I also have the same setup and would recommend it. Two Pianos, Two Organs, and Six Synths! Along with dedicated Extern section and song mode. It is a great combination-

-dj

[tsss27]

If you need to play both synths and samples, it'd be difficult to provide a better solution.
But the osc configurations on the Stage 4 are the same as on the Wave 2 (unless I missed something in the manuals) so if you feel the Stage 4 to be lacking something the Wave may also have the same problem. You can easily create dual oscillator sounds by either using the various multi saws or by stacking multiple slots and detuning them.

My setup is slightly different; it will be an NS4 Compact on the bottom when I buy one, and then a Sequential Prophet X on top which I already have. This gives me way more flexibility than 2 Nords with the same engine and samples. However, the Prophet is a deeper machine, and unless you take the time to create custom samples (the factory library is garbage,) it wouldn't be a strong recommendation. That keyboard requires a lot of work to get its best...but once the work is done I've been able to set up instruments that play like a high-end VST with many articulations etc. And the VA synth side is very powerful, it's an awesome performance instrument too with the wheels, aftertouch, pedals and 2 ribbons that you can assign to anything. But for only a cover band I think it would be overkill.

[NiCoX]

I also have a similar stage setup (NS4 88 + NW2), and I could not think of a better one...
The NW2 has a great keybed (to me) when it comes to organ and synths, and with its 4 layers, that's a great complement to the NS3/NS4, especially if you play Pink Floyd songs...
Also, a good think to note is that the NW2 is using the Nord Samples Library 3 (even though the NS4 has a similar engine, but which is, as you wrote, only compatible with the Nord Samples Library 4, which is currently weaker).

[patmol59]

I noted that the NW2 uses the Nord Samples Library 3 and ... wow today Nord released a new OS for the NS4 and made the conversion between Library 3 and 4 possible! And also added new dual oscillators configurations ! I have to say I'm seriously reconsidering the NS4 to replace my NS3 now...

What advantage does NW2 synth engine have over NS4 (apart from the 4th layer of course) ?

[NiCoX]

What advantage does NW2 synth engine have over NS4 (apart from the 4th layer of course) ?

The one advantage of NW2 over NS4 would be the ADSR envelopes...

Apart from that, NS4 definitely provides way more things than the NW2... what comes to my mind is: unison for samples, better drive, new oscillator configs from latest update...

Actually, to me, the NW2 is a perfect complement for the NS3/NS4, but definitely not a replacement...

[Nordlicht]

What advantage does NW2 synth engine have over NS4 (apart from the 4th layer of course) ?

Besides more knobs (I.e. also more morph sources) the NW offers velocity morph (I’m really missing this one at the NS4) and one impulse morph button (also very nice).

For me the these points weren’t enough to justify the price. (I sold my NS3C and my NLA1 for a NS4C.)
At the NW2 I missed the flanger in the FX section, there’s no unison function for samples and doing splits was more complicated and limited compared to the Stage.