Lead 4 Update?

[pablomastodon]

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but it is wrong to assume that creating wish lists here in this (or any other) forum and/or sending emails to Clavia will cause them to produce a new OS to conform to those wishes. As many others have (thankfully) pointed out, instrument purchase decisions should be made on existing feature sets. When occasionally they are able to actually add a new function to an instrument via OS update, this should be considered as an extra special bonus, not an entitlement, and received thankfully.

There are design considerations which are not commonly known to us mere mortals. For example, the subtle click tweaks, and the not subtle new Leslie models, that were introduced with the C2D release caused quite a clamor among C2 and NS2 owners: "we want the new changes ported to our instruments," they wrote in. The C2 owners got what they wanted and the the NE4 was released with the changes, but the NS2 owners were "left out in the cold." It is wrong to think that Nord failed to port those changes to the NS2 just to pump up future sales of some future instrument release or any other similarly idiotic theory as some have suggested. The reason this was not done is that it is not possible. The available memory on the NS2 is consumed with other code, other responsibilities, and there simplly isn't room to accommodate the code/data needed for the task.

There are some who have viewed an interview of a Nord rep, Kristofer, on the NAMM floor last January who have interpreted his words to suggest that A1 f/x will be ported to the NL4. There is no basis for that in what he said -- just wishful thinking. What he was talking about was porting some of the more practical things of the A1 such as multi focus and the option to let the NL4 listen to both usb and midi ports for midi at the same time. Nord will very, very rarely implement a feature in an old product that requires a new print on the panel in order for people to understand. And they would never release an update that completely eradicates some older sounds made by the users. This would cause HUGE outcry from people whose custom programming was destroyed, and rightly so.

This is not to say that Nord is oblivious to the wants and needs of the community which supports them by purchasing their instruments, but design decisions are necessarily made many months in advance of an instrument release. Then the software guys need to figure out how to write the code to make that happen, then the hardware guys need to figure out how to make the software work. Because they are a small and tightly knit organization, they are able to be significantly more fluid than "the big boys" are, but this doesn't mean that the realities of making complicated electronics can be entirely thrown out the window.

It is true that the NL4 and NLA1 are instruments with different character. This is not an accident. Unlike those "big boys," whose product lines are largely a homogenously blurred mess, Nord designs their instruments with focused purpose. The C1/2/2D series makes organ sounds. No pianos, no strings, no horns, no nothing else. The original Piano was a piano. Period. The Electro has stayed true to its original roots by remaining monotimbral and having no pitch bend or mod wheel. The Stage does it all. Synths are synths. Bruce Hornsby said it best: "That's Just the Way It Is." Personally, I like it that way. There is singularity and clarity of purpose.

Lastly, I reiterate something I've expressed before: Nord has evolved from humble basement beginnings to become one of the principal keyboard makers on the planet, and has done this in the face of huge competition from huge corporations with huge volume (in terms of numbers) output. The MI (musical instrument) business landscape is littered with the graves of companies which did not make it, yet Nord is still here and still offering a meaningfully competitive alternative to the "other guys." Give 'em some credit. They've learned a thing or two along the way and know something about this business. There is much more to making these bright red monsters belch out these wondrous sounds than meets the eye. Those who think that they can do it better should go into business and produce their dream instruments. Good luck with that. I'll happily accept what Nord is producing and where they may happen to diverge from what I would consider to be my ideal dream design, well...I guess I'll just suck it up and be grateful for what I have, which is a darn sight better than what I would have without Nord.

Bless,

Pablo