Nord User Forum

Monkator wrote:Got my Nord Wave 2 with OS 0.84 and the old panel print today. Version 1.0 has a new panel print. I'm now considering whether to return the synth and order a new one because of its already outdated look.
My question is now: Can this cause problems in case of resale?

To me, it seems reasonable to return the unit, using the argument that it is faulty. The buttons don't do what they say.

I am hesitating to order one until the dust settles ... and the price will drop a bit ...
The hardware version is a seriuos issue, IMHO.

That's probably the price to pay to be a "First runner". Same happens to the Nord Stage series as well as on other hardware from other brands. It would be nice to get some small stickers from Nord to rearrange the layout when they have decided where everything should be, but they van suddenly get a good idea 2 years from now. What then ? How long will you wait?
I do not think the price will drop much, as seen compare to other models, they seem to be pretty stable.

My take on the Wave 2 topics.

Only one LFO: Well this depends on the way you use the new Group feature, you may have 4 LFO's in one sound, at the expense of multiple layers. But if you think about it though, a huge sound with multiple LFO's making movement, would leave less space for more layering anyways so it's a trade-off that makes sense for most situations.

The Keybed: It's a semi-weighted keybed with aftertouch. The Fatar TP/8, is one of the top end keybeds, regardless of the shape of the keys. Semi-weighted is the most common on synths in general, including all Sequential synths. The TP/8 runs deep below the front panel, making the key-travel more even and more comfortable to play.

No FM with Samples: It was interesting on the original Wave. But to be frank, I didn't find use for it. Being able to use samples on it's own is very usefull, and the sample editor 3 seems pretty good.

Too big compared to the Lead's: The Wave 2 isn't a big keyboard, even though it's slightly larger.

Can somebody who lives in Sweden explain to me why the price of the Nord Wave 2 around here is so inflated costing virtually as much as in the United States even though it's produced two blocks away from my house?

US: 2700 USD, Sweden:2600 USD

Whereas we have the following prices for other products:

Lead A1, Sweden: 1200 USD, US: 1800 USD
Stage 3 compact, Sweden: 3000 USD, US: 3600 USD

And I remember the Lead A1 launching at 11990:- and today 5-6 years after it's still 11990:-

I can't wrap around my mind around the math...

I can't wrap my head around Sweden being two blocks away from Brazil. j/k

musicaldudeist wrote:I can't wrap my head around Sweden being two blocks away from Brazil. j/k

I was thinking the same thing! hahaha

robinkle wrote:Only one LFO: Well this depends on the way you use the new Group feature, you may have 4 LFO's in one sound, at the expense of multiple layers. But if you think about it though, a huge sound with multiple LFO's making movement, would leave less space for more layering anyways so it's a trade-off that makes sense for most situations.

From my perspective, 1 LFO is less of a problem compared to the fact that it can only be routed to one destination, unless I totally misread the manual. Even the Stage 3 with a stripped down synth section can do 2 destinations at once.

To give an example, I often like having an LFO modulate pitch for vibrato but I also add in a lesser amount of filter modulation, sometimes also amplitude when it's available. For softer leads, this produces a more natural sound than just pitch mod (more along the lines of vibrato on an acoustic instrument.) This appears to be impossible on the Wave 2. It's not a complex feature -- even the Minimoog can do it!

I'm also a little surprised that there is no polyphonic glide...thought that was standard these days.

tsss27 wrote:

robinkle wrote:Only one LFO: Well this depends on the way you use the new Group feature, you may have 4 LFO's in one sound, at the expense of multiple layers. But if you think about it though, a huge sound with multiple LFO's making movement, would leave less space for more layering anyways so it's a trade-off that makes sense for most situations.

From my perspective, 1 LFO is less of a problem compared to the fact that it can only be routed to one destination, unless I totally misread the manual. Even the Stage 3 with a stripped down synth section can do 2 destinations at once.

To give an example, I often like having an LFO modulate pitch for vibrato but I also add in a lesser amount of filter modulation, sometimes also amplitude when it's available. For softer leads, this produces a more natural sound than just pitch mod (more along the lines of vibrato on an acoustic instrument.) This appears to be impossible on the Wave 2. It's not a complex feature -- even the Minimoog can do it!

I'm also a little surprised that there is no polyphonic glide...thought that was standard these days.

You are correct. There's only one destination and by design, since the two LEDs indicate the Filter destination, there is not even possibility of a firmware update to do that (unless you include a weird, albeit cool, blinking LED code). I do this all the time on my A1 so I know what you are talking about...

musicaldudeist wrote:I can't wrap my head around Sweden being two blocks away from Brazil. j/k

Hahaha! Sweden is where I belong now, Brazil is where my heart was left

tsss27 wrote:

robinkle wrote:Only one LFO: Well this depends on the way you use the new Group feature, you may have 4 LFO's in one sound, at the expense of multiple layers. But if you think about it though, a huge sound with multiple LFO's making movement, would leave less space for more layering anyways so it's a trade-off that makes sense for most situations.

From my perspective, 1 LFO is less of a problem compared to the fact that it can only be routed to one destination, unless I totally misread the manual. Even the Stage 3 with a stripped down synth section can do 2 destinations at once.

To give an example, I often like having an LFO modulate pitch for vibrato but I also add in a lesser amount of filter modulation, sometimes also amplitude when it's available. For softer leads, this produces a more natural sound than just pitch mod (more along the lines of vibrato on an acoustic instrument.) This appears to be impossible on the Wave 2. It's not a complex feature -- even the Minimoog can do it!

I'm also a little surprised that there is no polyphonic glide...thought that was standard these days.

You are correct about one destination. But remember, this is per layer. So if you do not group the LFO's, but you group the filter section, then you can have multiple LFO's on one filter. Or one LFO to each grouped section representing the destinations of the LFO. So if you have sections of layer A and B grouped together, but the LFO from Layer A and B isn't grouped together, then you have two LFO's at your disposal.

it seems a bit similar to how the algorithms in Roland synths work, where you can change the arrangement of each synth section, but on the Nord Wave 2 it seems to be freely assignable.

In regards to vibrato, there is already a dedicated vibrato LFO. (bottom of Page 17. in the manual).
It's a shame the LFO can't modulate amplitude.Your best bet on the Wave 2 is to use the tremolo effect.

Polyphonic Glide might be one of the compromises. It's a cool effect. Could be it's not that popular among performance synthesists.

In general, this instrument is a performance synthesizer. It's probably not the right toy for the synth enthuisasts and noise makers, it's for players in mind. There will allways be compromises, but in return you get a very tactile, hands on, time efficient instrument you can just grab and be creative with a steep learning curve.