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

Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby CountFosco » 12 Jun 2018, 08:19

Depending on context I use both an expression pedal and the wheel for morphing. If I'm playing RH lead on the A1, I'll use my left hand on the morph wheel and pitch bend. But sometimes I'm playing a LH pad on the A1, and RH is on another board. In this case it's convenient to use an expression pedal.

AFAIK, the wheel and the pedal can't be used as independent morph controllers on one slot. But to solve the problem you're envisaging, you have a lot of possibilities using multiple slots. Eg, copy slot 1 to slot 2 and set up a different set of morph parameters on slot 2. Or use the morph wheel to control a set of parameters, and manually control others using the dedicated front panel controllers.
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Re: nla1 and alternatives


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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 12 Jun 2018, 17:56

CountFosco wrote:Depending on context I use both an expression pedal and the wheel for morphing. If I'm playing RH lead on the A1, I'll use my left hand on the morph wheel and pitch bend. But sometimes I'm playing a LH pad on the A1, and RH is on another board. In this case it's convenient to use an expression pedal.

AFAIK, the wheel and the pedal can't be used as independent morph controllers on one slot. But to solve the problem you're envisaging, you have a lot of possibilities using multiple slots. Eg, copy slot 1 to slot 2 and set up a different set of morph parameters on slot 2. Or use the morph wheel to control a set of parameters, and manually control others using the dedicated front panel controllers.


Thanks, got it. I also saw somebody selling a nord lead 3 for about the same price, I like the interface a lot, but I'm worried about longevity (it's an old instrument afterall). Also being relatively a beginner (albeit I felt the limitations of the ns2 synth when I had it) I wonder if the intuitivity of the A1 would be more suitable for me
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby Puukka » 13 Jun 2018, 09:50

I´ve returned the Blofeld and have chosen the A1 instead.
Blofeld even with the last firmware is not bug free, USB driver stopped all the time, no pan control via MIDI possible, editing and patch library software didn´t connect,...
I´ve ask Waldorf support, if there is a possibility to send pan control by DAW, no response.
Thomann tested it for me with another one and confirmed the "bug".
The encoder pots seem to get jumpy after a while.
16 parts multitimbrality only when you use simple sounds, when you use the effects or complex modulation it gets down to only a few parts.
Regards,
Herbert
Last edited by Puukka on 13 Jun 2018, 09:52, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 13 Jun 2018, 09:55

Thx, good to hear.
I think it's down to either nla1 or nl3, for the same price.
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 14 Jun 2018, 13:34

varignet wrote:Thx, good to hear.
I think it's down to either nla1 or nl3, for the same price.


I was wondering, can the nord lead A1 achieve roaring aggressive lead sounds, think Derek Sherinian (I would dare saying digital-sounding)?
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby Duplobaustein » 14 Jun 2018, 20:41

Yes, it can do stuff like that.

The point of the A1 is, that it is so reduced, that you can achieve any classic synth sound, sometimes nailed, sometimes not so close to the original, in like 15min. Just because you ran out of parameters then. But on the other hand, after this 15min you’re stuck. But obe thing still remains: it sounds absolutely killer, imho the most analog sounding VA, maybe together with Rolands SNS/ACB, especially for 70/80/90 classic patches you mentioned. It can’t really do modern EDM sounds.

Here is my list of missing things from another thread. Maybe it helps. :)

Duplobaustein wrote:Here are my wishes for an A2.

+) The keybed is way too bad for that price range, the velocity transition is very bad and it has no aftertouch
+) the vibrato settings are global for all patches (WTF?)
+) I would really like to see a dedicated shape knob in an A2, so that you don't need an OSC config for that
+) per patch output routing
+) free upper/lower assign instead of fixed S1/2 to lower and S3/4 to upper assignment
+) extra HP knob which is missing for Juno emulations,
+) ADSR for the mod env
+) a proper display so that we don't have to remember D27s, A39s and B15s again. IT IS FREAKIN 2016!!

The only thing, that keeps me from selling it, is the awesome sound and me being a lazy tweaker, for which the A1 is perfect!


I did sell it then and bought a JD XA. If they come up with an A2, I will definitely take a look at it.
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 16 Jun 2018, 12:57

hopefully with my super limited synth experience i might still find it inspiring after 15mins :)

I'm now the proud owner of a nla1 :)
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby varignet » 16 Jun 2018, 23:01

CountFosco wrote:
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.


I've played with my brand new nla1 for an hour and whilst this is absolutely fine, I'm scratching my head regarding figuring out the two states of a knob when using morph. Pressing the button shows one value, but what about the other?
Thanks
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby Quai34 » 16 Jun 2018, 23:53

varignet wrote:Thx, good to hear.
I think it's down to either nla1 or nl3, for the same price.


OUPS, Sorry, I didn't see that you have already made your choice, great, congrats, happy new owner of an A1...

The interface of the Lead 3 is the best, really, look at all the encoders with the LEDs....That's why it keeps its value even if it's an older board....
I bought used an "anniversary" Nord Lead 2X, I know it's a bit more "recent" than the Lead 3, but I think with Nord, you don't have to worry a lot about Longevity....
Well, my D50 still plays like a charm and I asked on few forum if I should worry about it, all the othe D50 owners replied that they have no issue with it as it's a very well built synth...Same for the Lead 3...
It's up to you, ask Marlowes on this forum for advices, he collectes them, he has all of them...Also Adam, nice good looking picture in his profile, he also has all Lead, from Lead 1 to A1/Lead 4....
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Re: nla1 and alternatives

Postby Duplobaustein » 17 Jun 2018, 10:33

varignet wrote:
CountFosco wrote:
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.


I've played with my brand new nla1 for an hour and whilst this is absolutely fine, I'm scratching my head regarding figuring out the two states of a knob when using morph. Pressing the button shows one value, but what about the other?
Thanks


See my wishlist. A proper display is mandatory for an A2.
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