Nord User Forum

Hello all. Nice to find this place.

I recently purchased a brand new Nord Drum 2, along with Nord
Pad 6. I have been using the Nord Drum 2, with my iPad for several days
without problems.

Today i hooked up my Nord Pad 6 and noticed a very strange behaviour which is
difficult to describe, therefore i made a short video which shows the whole
situation. In short, three of the Pads are properly triggering their
corresponding channels, but the other three are always triggering the same 3
channels that remain. You will also note, that the red led NEVER lights up as
a result of hitting the problematic three pads...

I can not understand if this is a) a bad software setting, b) a hardware
malfunction of Nord Drum 2, c) a hardware malfunction of the Nord Pad 6, d) a
hardware malfunction of both units. I also tried a different cable, and i had
the exact same behaviour (the video was made with the original RJ-45 cable
that was supplied by Clavia).

What would you suggest? Unless i find some assistance i will be forced to return the units.

The video is available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D9gmdGpgjo

Thank you in advance.

Hi!

A while ago I reported Clavia 2 hardware related 'issues' with my unit, in short:

1) Spontaneous triggering occurs at some settings: [Thres=0 + Sens>94] - this setting is quite extreme b.t.w. -
even without any pads/triggers attached notes will be triggered randomly, perhaps caused by RFI. in my case channel 2 seems most sensitive for this (occurs most frequently on Ch.2), channel 5 to a lesser extent.
Work-around however is simple: raise Threshold to 1, or lower Sens...

2) Nord Pad crosstalk:
With some sensitivity and threshold settings [thres=0 + sens>74], or [sens=100 + thres<31], - again perhaps quite extreme settings - hitting pad#3 (top right) also triggers the channel normally triggered by pad#6 (bottom right), but hitting pad#6 does not trigger #3.
I thought perhaps pad#6 is more sensitive than the rest, but hitting pad#5 (bottom middle) does not trigger #6,
(but perhaps the piezos aren't in the centre of each pad, so that piezo #3 and #6 are closer to each other than #5 and #6).
I tried different cables to no avail, but the work-around is quite obvious here as well; change Thres/Sens settings..

Your problem seems very similar as what I describe in 2)? - but more severe

I didn't get an answer from Clavia yet, It could be mechanical crosstalk within the Nord Pad - combined with some slight variation in sensitivity of the piezos,
or electrical crosstalk within the Nord Pad, or electrical crosstalk within the Nord Drum2, - I wasn't able to test another Pad (or ND2) unit to check this

[EDIT: The dutch distributor contacted me after reading this, the support request form I filled in never reached them due to technical problems, the answer was:
other units show similar behavior as mine at sensitivity settings as stated above, so my unit is probably within spec]

In my case -luckily- these aren't issues in real life; the settings with which I encounter these anomalies are quite extreme in my view,

So -- what are the Thres and Sens settings you are using when this occurs?

Cheers,
Albert

Hi Albert, thank you for your answer.

I have tried most possible threshold and sensitivity settings, but the problem persists. I am unhappy with the fact that they have not replied to you about your issue, since this makes it more than possible that they will not help me either. I will be calling them in Sweden, really early tomorrow. If they fail to provide assistance within the day, the item will be returned and refunded.

To other people reading, please don't get me wrong - the Nord Drum 2 is an interesting sounding unit and the Nord Pad 6 appears to be built like a tank. This is way one has a hard time to determine the cause of this. Have they messed up the electronics, or have the messed up the mechanical parts? Unknown.

Panos

Sorry to hear, that sounds like a real malfunction - however - did you try another 'internet' cable?
Edit: sorry I now read you already tried another cable..
as if they are hardwired together, -do they all output the same velocity? do the rj45 ports look ok?

Warranty - Normally I'd contact your dealer first -perhaps distributor- before calling the mothership

I don't know why they didn't answer me this time, I used the form on the web-site which usually works well, I got swift replies in the past!
To be honest something strange did happen; after I submitted the form once I got several automatic confirmations..
- perhaps a faulty internet cable somewhere between NL - distributor and Stockholm ?

I didn't bother asking them again because for me it isn't a real problem - I was just slightly worried about my unit

FYI, inquiries submitted to the "mothership" are all read daily, but also forwarded to the national distributor of the country of origin of the email. Generally speaking, your national distributor will be better positioned to deal with issues for reasons of language, proximity, parts supply, etc. As a result, they are primarily responsible for responding to these inquiries.

It may still be best to make initial contact through Nord website rather than going directly to your national distributor just so that the team in Stockholm can know what is going on in the world.

Bless,

Pablo

Hi!

-When I'm in doubt I first ask around here, then contact Clavia + distributor through the form on the Clavia website, I am a bit surprised neither replied to me this time...
[EDIT: due to a technical failure of the web form my request went missing, the distributor contacted me after reading this, and I'm satisfied my unit is within spec]

-However, in case I'm really convinced I have a defective unit, I usually go straight to the dealer, - let them send it to the distributor for repairs -

So, perhaps I was a bit quick concluding Panos' unit is broken and needs to be repaired, - well, and Pablo is right - best to let Clavia know anyway - but that's why I suggested going to your dealer in this case..

Keep us posted..

Cheers,
Albert

Thank you all for trying to help. Clavia (after watching the video) somewhat confirms that this appears to be a hardware issue. Therefore i chose to return the items, just to be on the safe side.