Nord User Forum

This is a strange message, because (1) most Nords are pretty good at pads, and (2) just about every decent synth on the market is good at pads.

Also it's completely impossible to give a meaningful answer to the question since no-one knows what kinds of pads you need. We also don't know which Nord you have. Whether it's a Piano 2, Piano 5, Stage 1, Stage 3, Lead, is essential here as they all do synth sounds differently.

I would suggest either the Moog One (16) or the Korg Monotron. Both are pad beasts.

Hi,

which Nord do you use?

randomgrace wrote:

cphollis wrote:This is a strange message, because (1) most Nords are pretty good at pads, and (2) just about every decent synth on the market is good at pads.

Well, yeah. But there's something unique in every synth, maybe they all have the same structure, filters, oscillators etc... But in the end it all comes to sound.

There you go, every synth is unique and if you add that "pad" is a term that covers such a variety of sounds (from traditional analog 1 OSC pads to complex hybrid motion pads) you see that is impossible to tell you what is the "best", it is a matter of purpose (music genre) and personal taste in the end so you need to try as many synths you can (personally/physically if possible or at least listening to demos) till you find the one that you like.

PS: A1 can absolutely be a good pad machine too anyway, with all the different synthesis and effects it supports and being 4 parts multitimbral you could meantime create patches where you dedicate 1 or 2 of its parts to an external keyboard and use it for pads, keeping the other parts for Arpeggios & Leads, while you search for the "best" (for you) pad machine.

randomgrace wrote:Well, yeah. But there's something unique in every synth, maybe they all have the same structure, filters, oscillators etc... But in the end it all comes to sound.

There is immense capability in the A1 to make interesting evolving pads, especially considering you have 4 independent layers available. You've got tonnes of wave shapes, a bunch of modulation options, a good selection of filters and effects, great accessible live controls. When you say "sound", can you be more specific?

randomgrace wrote:Hi, i have Nord A1 Lead, mostly I use iy for arpeggios and leads.

randomgrace wrote:Moogs are very powerful. I have Mother-32 so I think that One will be a good addition to my collection.

You could also consider using the Mother for your leads and arpeggios, and the A1 for pads. But if you've got the dosh to add a Moog One to your collection as a simple pad machine, I'm sure it would be an awesome beast and I'm already jealous.

randomgrace wrote:Do you know what synth is best fo this pad stuff?

Hi randomgrace

and a very warm welcome to this wonderful forum of nord enthusiasts.

I‘d like to add another category of „synths“ for pads: apps for iPad. I use the app Minimoog Model D Synthesizer from Moog and must say I like it very much. Can‘t remember its price, but couldn‘t have been more than 30 Euro. Alternatively, if you can live with preset based sounds, even GarageBand with lots of synth styles is worth a try, and that one was for free.

Cheers from Germany