Nord lead 4 vs A1 before purchase questions..

[dtray187]

Hey guys, I am kinda confused as to what the perks/weaknesses of the A1 are vs the LEAD 4.

I noticed that they added a super unison type of mode to the A1, is the same thing possible on the lead 4?

Is there anything that the a1 can do that the lead 4 cannot?

Thanks!

[Myrmur]

Is there anything that the a1 can do that the lead 4 cannot?

That's the question.
Hard to answer as long as A1 doesn't come out in stores.

[dtray187]

Does the A1 have 1 osc or two? Does anyone know? It has to be dumbed down somehow?

[Mr_-G-]

As I understand it, the oscillator is similar in principle to that of the synth in the NS2. In the A1 you can have a "hidden" oscillator that can be detuned.
But all these (8 in total) configurations would appear (not sure) to be "exclusive", i.e if you have a detuned hidden oscillator you cannot change it shape and so on. If that is how it works, then it is a bit rigid architecture. If I understood wrong, please correct me.
That being said, since there are 4 slots available you could make a very complex sound and use each slot as a different oscillator, at the expense of polyphony reduction.
To me, the NL4 still looks more powerful than the A1.

[Myrmur]

If I understood wrong, please correct me.

According to demos and front panel, yep: I think the same as well, A1 synthesis structure is similar to NS2 one.

Therefore, imo,

the NL4 still looks more powerful than the A1.

[ricard]

The focus on the A1 I think is ease of use and accessibility. By having the oscillator configuration concept, you don't have to figure out how to set up a number of common (and some not so common) oscillator configurations from scratch, you just dial up a preset. Whether this is good or bad depends partly on how much you want to be able to set up and also of course on how well Clavia have selected the preset configurations.

Yes, the NL4 is more powerful than the A1, and I think that is the intention. But like a Moog Rogue compared to a Minimoog, the A1 is designed so that you quickly can put together a patch, and while you might be sacrificing some of the flexibility, it may actually be more direct and inspiring.

A big difference for me is that the effects section on the A1 allows both reverb and delay simulatenously. The main drawback as I see it on the A1 is the lack of a dedicated filter envelope; there's a only a single mod envelope which is shared between the filter and anything else you'd want to use it for.

The A1 was shown at the Frankfurt Musikmesse last week, so a large number of people should have gotten their hands on one by now, if even only for a short while in Clavia's exhibition booth.

I think the A1 is a machine that on the face of it doesn't look that interesting, especially when compared to the NL4, but which come alive once you start playing with it.

[Gustavo]

What the A1 can do that doesn't seem to exist anywhere else is that string machine chorus.