Nord User Forum

I have my Nord Stage 3 compact and the new Nord Wave 2 i got a couple of days ago, side by side.
I see that the filter drive on the Nord Wave 2 isn't as aggressive as on the Nord Stage 3. In fact, when i set it (on the NW2) to '1' it's barley noticeable - whereas on the NS3 a filter drive set to '1' would make a difference. Not to mention level '2' and '3'.
Do you guys hear the same difference?

I don't have a stage, so I can't answer, but I have a comparative question for you since YOU have a stage.

The range from 0-10, when you're dealing with lower settings there are noticeable and comparable differences in the amount of filter drive between the two. How do the higher settings compare? If you're going from a 10 down to a 9(or 8, or 7) do you find that you notice an equally big difference between the stage and wave? Does the Wave get up to the same 10 that the stage does, does it go further, does it not get up to the same level, etc.?

My initial thought (again, without having a stage) is that the wave would be designed to have greater control of synth-levels than the stage. Maybe the levels on the stage ramp up and flatten out at a certain point between 0-10, where the wave just keeps going steady?

That being said, I wish I could really go balls out with literally every parameter, but I've noticed the same thing you have. It's just not particularly aggressive, which is a great way to put it.

beepbeepjacob wrote:I don't have a stage, so I can't answer, but I have a comparative question for you since YOU have a stage.

The range from 0-10, when you're dealing with lower settings there are noticeable and comparable differences in the amount of filter drive between the two. How do the higher settings compare? If you're going from a 10 down to a 9(or 8, or 7) do you find that you notice an equally big difference between the stage and wave? Does the Wave get up to the same 10 that the stage does, does it go further, does it not get up to the same level, etc.?

I think you're confusing "Filter Drive" (which is in the filter section) - and the drive in the amp/eq section.
The filter drive in the filter section has only 3 levels: '1', '2' and '3'. '1' being the lowest level of drive, '2' in the middle and '3' the highest.

I think you're confusing "Filter Drive" (which is in the filter section) - and the drive in the amp/eq section.
The filter drive in the filter section has only 3 levels: '1', '2' and '3'. '1' being the lowest level of drive, '2' in the middle and '3' the highest.

YUP! You're right, I was imagining THAT knob in the filter section where it DEFINITELY isn't! (I was taking a break from an all-day-job making and replacing a weirdly sized door frame for my house, so my brain wasn't SUPER present!)

My question still stands though. Does the Wave 2 fall short of achieving the level of filter drive that the stage does when set to the max? Is there a noticeable difference when lowering from 3 to 2 on the wave and stage? These sorts of things are what I'd like to know, how they compare. I was imagining a larger range than there is, but the question is still applicable.

beepbeepjacob wrote:

I think you're confusing "Filter Drive" (which is in the filter section) - and the drive in the amp/eq section.
The filter drive in the filter section has only 3 levels: '1', '2' and '3'. '1' being the lowest level of drive, '2' in the middle and '3' the highest.

YUP! You're right, I was imagining THAT knob in the filter section where it DEFINITELY isn't! (I was taking a break from an all-day-job making and replacing a weirdly sized door frame for my house, so my brain wasn't SUPER present!)

My question still stands though. Does the Wave 2 fall short of achieving the level of filter drive that the stage does when set to the max? Is there a noticeable difference when lowering from 3 to 2 on the wave and stage? These sorts of things are what I'd like to know, how they compare. I was imagining a larger range than there is, but the question is still applicable.

That's what i'm experiencing here: the filter drive on the Wave 2 seems more subtle and the filter drive on the stage 3 seems more aggressive.
And my question to other owners was exactly that: do you experience a similar difference?

This seems strange, one would think the Wave would have an equal or greater amount of drive available.
Do you feel that the extra drive in the Stage is missed -- I.E. does it sound good when driven harder than the Wave2 can provide? I wish they'd fix the actual drive effect too, that's probably the only thing in the Wave2 I will never use.

tsss27 wrote:This seems strange, one would think the Wave would have an equal or greater amount of drive available.
Do you feel that the extra drive in the Stage is missed -- I.E. does it sound good when driven harder than the Wave2 can provide? I wish they'd fix the actual drive effect too, that's probably the only thing in the Wave2 I will never use.

I can get more aggressive leads or basses when using one layer on the stage vs one layer on the Wave 2, just by applying the filter drive.
For example if you compare one vs the other, sawtooth vs sawtooth, same filter type, same amount of cutoff, resonance and envelope.

I only have a wave2, but I've noticed that the filter drive seems to affect different waveforms by varying amounts. Applying drive1 to the FM waveform I was playing with this morning had much more effect than applying it to some other waveforms.

ChrisCopeman wrote:I only have a wave2, but I've noticed that the filter drive seems to affect different waveforms by varying amounts. Applying drive1 to the FM waveform I was playing with this morning had much more effect than applying it to some other waveforms.

That's also true for the Stage 3. Filter drive affects differently, different waveforms.
Which is why i tried comparing something like sawtooth vs sawtooth on both boards.

Just got my new Nord Wave 2 and tried to compare filter drive vs A1. The Nord Wave 2 filter drive is really weak.
On the A1 with filter wide open and no resonance the drive almost turn a saw waveform into a square waveform at max. Even at max drive the Nord Wave 2 dont change the saw waveform at all whereas waveform change starts at 40% on the A1.

Needless to say i LOVE the drive on A1 since it can make such nice overtones which is handy for Guitar'ish, Flute and Acid leads.