Nord Wave 2 introduced :)

[Blemished]

Feeling pretty sad about this so-called Nord Wave 2 (as a devoted owner of two of the originals). The bad choices are mounting up - oversized keyboard, weird Stage look rather than the beloved synth style; the strange single-oscillator decision, the loss of the comb filter, the apparent (not 100% sure) loss of the phase and frequency modulation options for samples which are the absolute core of the Wave's capabilities (it is meant to be a machine to mess with samples), the joke of a single LFO (you just HAVE to have 2x LFOs on Nord synths to get interesting movement in sounds), limited storage...

Of course there are some good things - OLED screen, arpeggiator and gates, clock control, 4 layers not 2. But struggling to see much more. Impulse morph has always seemed just a gimmick to me. And really, a Nord Wave 2 worthy of the name could and should have built on the original and added things, not taken them away. On other forums some have commented that this is more of a follow up to the Nord A1, which seems plausible. Finding it very hard not to see this as a missed opportunity. When I first saw the announcement I was really excited and assuming that I would just have to buy one. As more of the details have become clear I think this is more likely to be another debacle like the NL4, which made the same kind of mistakes in terms of capability and is being end-of-lifed prematurely. I've never understood who would buy such a limited instrument as the A1.

Clavia Nord have such a great heritage in synths that I hate to see them becoming mostly a maker of cheesy keyboards for cover bands (and I say this as someone who also loves his Nord Piano 2 so has appreciation of the wonderful Piano lines even if organs make my toes curl). The sound quality, the interfaces, the pitch stick, the great sample libraries - these are all such a valuable heritage. Maybe there'll be some redeeming features that will become apparent when the full capabilities are known.

[Execbat]

Nord:

The LFO amount needs be be bi-directional, positive and negative!!!
Not just positive!

Change the knob values!!

[cgrafx]

Actually, a real B3 action is considered probably the fastest possible, because there are no weights or springs.

Not sure what your talking about here, B3 actions have springs. Real B3 actions had two different spring types. Earlier model years were fully weight adjustable with an adjustable tensioned spring assemble at the back of each key before they moved to a leaf-spring type assembly.

But we aren't talking about real B3 keybeds we are talking about modern keybeds and in general (assuming similar build quality) a synth action will always be faster than a semi-weighted waterfall action

[Spider]

Not sure what your talking about here, B3 actions have springs. Real B3 actions had two different spring types. Earlier model years were fully weight adjustable with an adjustable tensioned spring assemble at the back of each key before they moved to a leaf-spring type assembly.

Sorry, I wrote in a hurry and got things a little mixed up, and anyway I didn't know about the two types of B3 actions. Thanks for the corrections!

[cambe]

The primary difference between a semi-weighted waterfall keybed and a synth keybed is articulation. How fast can a key be pressed and return. If your playing fast lead lines or things like horn parts a semi-weighed keybed will be sluggish compared to a synth keybed.

Personally its an odd choice and one that is a pretty big check in the negative column.

The Wave2 is not an organ or piano, it will not function well in either of those categories so why cripple a synth with an organ keybed.

You get me.

It seems like Nord really forgot about their synth costumers to focus solely on Electro/Stage oriented market

I really, really hope Nord realizes it and releases a proper Nord wave 2 with a proper synth keybed (or a module/rack which would be even better)

Playing synth riffs on such weighted keyboards is weird and unresponsive

[cambe]

" The bad choices are mounting up - oversized keyboard, weird Stage look rather than the beloved synth style... "

Exactly...

[tsss27]

I always assumed synth and semi-weighted actions were roughly the same thing to be honest. There are factors such as spring tension, key travel, etc but those same factors appear in piano-style actions too, not all of those are identical by any means. Some are heavier than others etc.
I would have been perfectly fine with 49 keys as long as they had aftertouch and were responsive. Waterfall style is a nice bonus.
However if all these other limitations are true I will be a bit more hesitant to order one. I'm optimistic but really need to hear the thing first and read the manual to see what its full limitations are. That is how I discovered the Stage was probably not going to work for me after all, because the synth section has some seriously large holes in its design that would have been simple to add.

[Rusty Mike]

One of the ironies of the Nord waterfall action is how fast it returns. It's very quick. It's one of the key action attributes that makes it weird to play piano on, at least for me.

I would not think the waterfall action is going to be sluggish compared to the synth action used on past Leads/Waves. If anything, the soft landing of the aftertouch strip will be the thing to throw people off.

I guess we will see when it hits the stores.

[kimuz]

The more I dig into the wave 2 and the more I cannot like it... Nord forgot its synth - player customers and just release a synthy stage 3 keyboard... That's a real pity considering how good and ahead of time was the original wave. I guess I do not sell my original wave for the wave 2... Actually this is not the wave 2 that nord should design and we deserve

[LewTheKeysGuy]

As I understand it, it's a complete redesign, it takes on the physical principle of the G2X as a 61 key instrument, breaking away from the 49 key aspect, that in itself pleases me. changing the key profile ad action again is. a bold step forward. What you have to think of is this, the original Wave opened up doors for synthesis with sampling and was a bold move for nord especially with the electro and stage series, etc and well worth it. I personally loved the Wave as it was a nice, compact sampler synth and it felt right. Though I miss owning one, The Wave 2 to me would be a welcome replacement. For me, what it offers meets what I need in my production basis so I've no scope to complain. Personally, I see this as a complement to the stage 3 and grand as more of an actual synth than a stage piano. I honestly have to say that there are people looking at this the wrong way by trying to compare it against the original wave. Think about why the original wave was discontinued, you'd be surprised about the answer as to why. This was a bold move for Nord and I'm pleased they've done this. I wasn't expecting a stage 3 replacement, etc and I'm glad of that, that means that I have a working scope that's more comfortable for my needs. I can't wait to feel this instrument, run my fingers across the controls and get to know every parameter and of course, start recording and performing with it.

lew