Nord User Forum

Hey.
I'm thinking of buying myself a polyphonic synth (module) to support the Stage 3 that I already own. A strong contender is Behringer Deepmind as it is very affordable, and the effects make it very self-contained. I've also looked at Novation Peak and the Nord Lead -series as well.

Would you recommend Deepmind or something else?

I had a Deepmind 12 and I sold it. It was fine for what it did (great value) it just didn't add much to what I could do with the NS3C alone. I've tried a few different polysynths, and I usually come away with the same impression -- the NS3C by itself can do 95%+ of what I need, and the other 5% isn't worth the cost/effort.

Instead, I'm now well down the iPad route. It's fiddly, but you can get some amazing sounds that are hard to get with other synths. Go check out the SWAM trumpets for example. Or a vocal synth. Or maybe the Moog model D. Or perhaps the FX chain from Mars. I'm scratching my sonic itch for a lot less money that way.

cphollis wrote:I had a Deepmind 12 and I sold it. It was fine for what it did (great value) it just didn't add much to what I could do with the NS3C alone. I've tried a few different polysynths, and I usually come away with the same impression -- the NS3C by itself can do 95%+ of what I need, and the other 5% isn't worth the cost/effort.

Instead, I'm now well down the iPad route. It's fiddly, but you can get some amazing sounds that are hard to get with other synths. Go check out the SWAM trumpets for example. Or a vocal synth. Or maybe the Moog model D. Or perhaps the FX chain from Mars. I'm scratching my sonic itch for a lot less money that way.

I see. Well that's what I've kind of had in mind. I'm actually getting myself a talk box to get those funky leads (Let me know if you have a favorite ).

Maybe I'll get a myself Nord Lead or Wave some day, cause I'm in love with the Nord architecture .

A serious factor in your occasion is the music you are playing.
For someone playing jazz, blues or rock a stage would be super efficient, as this kind of music involves mostly piano's and organ. But if you are more on pop or electronic music then the stage's synth might be kind of limiting so a pure synthesizer could be usefull or even necessary.
I think the deep mind is a prety good keyboard for it's money, but if the budget is not a problem for you then there are lots of synths you could also consider. The ASM Hydrasynth or the novation summit for example, are some very decent ones that could enrich a lot your sonic palette. Of course a wave or lead could also make a good pair with your stage, they are easy to learn since you are used to nord's way of working and they can give you a lot of flexibility.
But in the end everything depents on your wallet and the sounds you are after.

That is a good point. Thanks