Nord User Forum

Here comes the Sun.
Strings on the left, synth on the right. Use the Mod Wheel to open the filter during the big synth crescendo on the interlude.

Hey Jude.
Although it's a simple 3-zone split (strings on the left, horns center, piano right) this was a tricky one: there are simply not enough keys (and fingers!) to play correctly all the parts. Also, during the big final crescendo with full piano, strings and trumpet chords, polyphony is severely put to the test and voices dropping out are noticeable. Still, it was the best I could do with the NS2 resources.

I am the walrus.
Two different string sounds on the left and right, to play the interweaving parts which characterize this amazing song.

I Want You (She's so heavy). Overdriven hammond organ, use the mod wheel to bring in the wash of white noise during the outro

I'm Down. Nothing too special, just a simple organ sound for the solo, that John used to play abusing his poor Vox Continental.

The weird harpsichord-like sound for In My Life, which in reality was obtained by recording a piano at half speed and then speeding up the tape. I tried to get close by layering an harpsichord with the Velvet Grand and heavily EQing everything.

for Lady Madonna I layered two pianos an octave apart, to get a fuller sound with a kind of phasing, honky-tonk vibe. No saxophone here, sorry... on a few gigs we had a horn player, but most often I was playing it on kazoo!

Two programs for Let it Be.

The first is relatively straightforward, and I used it when we had a second keyboardis playing the horns. So it's basically just piano and organ, with the attention of pressing down the control pedal on the middle and ending breaks, to bring in the distorted Rhodes. Oh, and switch between Organ Presets I and II for the soft chords during the first chorus, as opposed to the distorted riff in the mid break.


This second one is probably the most complex sound I used: not so much from a programming standpoint, but rather because it was quite an act of gymnastics to play it correctly in a performance! In order:
- acoustic piano on the upper split for the whole song (avoid to play octaves in the bass, to avoid running out of keys).
- 1st chorus: enter the organ in the middle keyboard zone, on Preset I
- 2nd chorus: the organ is replaced by the horns in the left section.
- Interlude: this is where things get interesting. Use the mod wheel to bring in the Rhodes on top of the acoustic piano. Play the rhodes section of the break, then press Organ Preset II to switch to a fuller organ sound. Play the organ break, bring down the mod wheel to go back to acoustic piano and revert to Organ preset I. Now you have all the guitar solo to breathe again.
- Now things are easier all the way to the end, just remember the mod wheel for the closing Rhodes riff!

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.
A simple split program with the phasing clavinet-something sound (it was actually a Lowry organ) on one side and the organ for the chorus on the other.

Magical Mistery Tour. Horns on the right, piano on the left.