NS2 Assigning sounds to keyboard split ranges

[jdmorris]

Hello there good people of forumland,

I'm a Nord newbie, and I fear my question could be answered in the manual - although I'm confused by the terms.

I have an NS2. What I'd like to do is quite simple... For clarity, let me refer to the settings in each program as a 'sound'.

I've arranged a 2-split and would like to assign a different 'sound' to each kb range. The sounds I would like are:

> ElectroHarp Pluck (from program A15/4 in the default setup) - which I would like to assign to the lower range
> Strings XL (from program A15/2 in the default setup) - which I would like to assign to the upper range

I note the manual refers to assigning 'instruments', 'effects', etc. to each range - but 'instruments' refers specifically to either 'organ', 'piano', or 'synth'. But I'm quite happy with the settings in each of these programs - so can I just use them as they are, and layer them together?

Or... do I need to somehow reverse engineer the settings in both of these programs and then combine them in one program?

My confusion arises as a few of the default programs already have such a layering.... ie. bass/piano/strings... etc. to a 3-zone kb from memory, was one of them. And the there's talk of setting up slots/panels - but isn't that for MIDI with external instruments?

I've overlooked something in the manual, I apologise. Please can you give me some guidance as to how I should approach this?

Cheers,
John.

[Frantz]

Hello John,

Welcome to the forum !!

I think you are right : spliting works for sections (synth, organ, piano) in a program, not for programs on the whole keyboard.

To make one new program with different sections from other programs, you can :
- start on a copy (shift-store) of the program that has global (non instrument) settings (effects, rotary, ...) you want.
- reprogram the organ & piano section (that's quick)
- save the synth sections of the programs you want to merge (shift-store synth)
- load those synth section on the new program (shift-load)

Hope that helps That's my way of doing.


PS : here is my attempt to write down the whole structure, from the bigest russian doll to the smallest :
1 NS2 has 4 Banks (A,B,C,D) of 20 Pages containing 5 Programs (with 1 rotary,1 reverb,1 compressor).
Each program has 2 Slots (A/B, with independent effects) made of 3 Sections (organ,synth,piano)".
One "exception" : the organ type (vox,b3,farfisa) is the same for the 2 slots.

[anotherscott]

there's talk of setting up slots/panels - but isn't that for MIDI with external instruments?

No. Slots are for playing two sounds at the same time. Each of the two sounds can consist of a maximum of one piano instrument, one organ instrument, and one synth/sampled instrument (as well as one external MIDI instrument), and these instruments can be assigned over either some or all of the keyboard's range.

I've arranged a 2-split and would like to assign a different 'sound' to each kb range. The sounds I would like are:

> ElectroHarp Pluck (from program A15/4 in the default setup) - which I would like to assign to the lower range
> Strings XL (from program A15/2 in the default setup) - which I would like to assign to the upper range

You can't play both those sounds simultaneously, since each of those sounds is, itself, a two-slot sound. Note that, when you play them, the lights above the Slot A and Slot B buttons are both on, which means that these "single" sounds from your perspective already consist of the layering of two sounds. To hear what's happening, press both Slot buttons at the same time, which will leave only one of them lit. Now you can go back and forth between the A and B slot buttons and hear each component sound by itself. The actual sound you want to play is a combination of both the A and B sounds being played together. (You can get back to that by again pressing both Slot buttons together.)

Strings XL consists of two synth/sample instrument sounds (one on each slot). ElectroHarp Pluck consists of three instrument sounds... a synth/sample instrument sound on one slot, and a combination of a piano sound and another synth/sample instrument sound on the other slot.

The closest thing you could do to create the combination you want would be to create a new sound that consists of "one slot's worth" of the dual-slot ElectroHarp sound and assign it to the lower range of the keyboard in one slot, while having "one slot's worth" of the dual slot Strings XL sound assigned to the upper range of the keyboard using the other slot.

So I'd suggest that you listen individually to the two slots that make up the ElectroHarp and Strings XL programs, make note of which slot has the most important component of the sound, and then put together a new Program that includes the key parts (single slot's worth of settings) of both of those sounds, assigned to the desired key ranges. (Note that, since the ElectroHarp sound consists of Piano+Synth on one slot and Synth on the other, you actually have three possible ways to bring portions of this sound to the single slot of a new program... you could use the Slot A Synth sound, the Slot B Piano+Synth sound, or you could even create a new single-slot sound that consists of the Synth sound from slot A and the Piano sound from slot B. As long as you don't exceed the one-sound-per-instrument-per-slot rule, you can create any combination you want.)

As frantzkb basically said, start with a copy of one of these two programs, so at least a bunch of the settings are correct to begin with (likely an entire slot's worth, apart from your split point); and then into the other slot, bring over a copy of what you like best from the second program. As as I was just talking about in another thread, you can't "lock" the contents of one slot when switching to another program, nor can you copy the contents of one slot from one program to a slot of a different program, so a lot of this kind of thing often has to be done manually, but frantzkb's tip about being able to store and load synth program's individually would be a great time saver here.

One last complication... global settings apply to both slots. ElectroHarp includes global compression, Strings XL does not. So when you create your own program made up of elements of both of those sounds, you'll have to decide to either have the ElectroHarp's compression apply to the strings as well, or have the Strings' lack of compression apply to the harp as well. (Actually, you can get around this by sending the sounds for the different slots out different outputs... the compressor is applied to outputs 1/2 but not 3/4... but this probably gets more complicated than you really need to deal with at this point. But I figured it was worth mentioning in case that compression variable really gets in the way of your getting the combination sounding way you want.)

[jdmorris]

Thanks guys (auidoird and anotherscott) for your quick responses.

Your advice certainly makes a lot of sense, and clarifies the functional architecture somewhat more than my read of the manual.

It's been 20 years since I was last in synth-land - and that experience faded because my chosen instrument was the then 'state-of-art' DX7. Although I understood the theory of FM-synthesis, I really struggled to get the sounds I wanted from it. And it really lacked an authentic piano or organ! I'm looking forward to a new adventure with the Nord, and to rediscover my passion for creating music. No doubt a lot has changed in that time.

Please be patient though, as it might take some time to put your advice into practice. I will let you know how I go.

Thanks again ,
John.

[Choco_Panna]

Hello everyone,

Could someone please explain to me the described above process in step-by-step details?
Taking for an example the two mentioned programs -- ElectroHarp Pluck and Strings XL.

I read the manual, read all the instructions you gave in this thread, but I still can't figure out how to put to practice this "workaround" you're talking about, in order to assign two different programs (not instruments) to different kb zones.

Thanks a lot in advance!