Nord-Lead 4 mono outputs vs stereo

[Kibosh]

Hey all,

I'm wondering what I will loose, or what is the advantage for using the 4 outputs of the Nord-Lead 4R as stereo or mono outputs. When I set them as mono, I can play all 4 programs simultane, as stereo only two sounds. (or I could use a 1,2 3-4). All outputs are now connected to my audio interface and go into to Ableton Live (DAW).

So about the sound design, what is stereo in it? I'm only a beginner.

[Ledbetter]

I view it this way: Four mono channels are good in the studio, two stereo channels are good for live performance or listening through headphones.

[Kibosh]

so there is no real difference in the sound? I'm using it for studio.

[Ledbetter]

I believe not, but I own a 2X. As always, your ears are your best reference. Try it both ways and let us know what you think.

[Kibosh]

Was planning to do just that. Hopefully I have some time today. I will test it with some standard presets and do some A/B.

[Kibosh]

Ok, did some hearing... For now, the only difference is when the "unison" feature is used. When "on", the sound is much wider in stereo then in mono. Also the details are better to hear in stereo. When listening to patches without "unison", I hear no difference between mono or stereo.

I guess I have my answer then. For fatter sounds with "unison" use stereo, for all others mono.

[chvad]

Is the reverb in stereo?

[Ledbetter]

Page 46 of the manual addresses slot routing. Depending on how you program this parameter, slots 1 and 3 are routed to the left, and 2 and 4 to the right of the stereo image.

[Kibosh]

Is the reverb in stereo?

Good point. Yes, the reverb and delay effects sound wider in stereo then mono. The sound I've used as a test was exact the same in mono or stereo. Adding the effects made it wider in stereo.

Thanks Ledbetter, but I already knew how the routing worked. I'm just wondering wat makes the difference to choose between stereo or mono outputs. For now we have discovered follow parameters:

• Unison
• Reverb
• Delay
• LFO2 to Pan (not yet tested but sounds logic to me)

I guess it will depend what kind of sound I want. For the more basic basslines, addon sounds,... I can go for mono, and for the fatter sounds like leads, strings,... go stereo. It will also depend if I'm using the effects of the Nord-Lead or from a plugin in Ableton.

I've now set it up so channels "A" en "B" are Mono, channels "C" and "D" are stereo. So I can play 3 sounds at the same time.

Since I have the NL4R I'm trying to use it as much as possible. I love all those buttons on it. The only thing I wished for is that Clavia makes them with "pickup values". Then I can switch better between the patches without the sound jumping that much.