Nord User Forum

Hi guys,

I'm interested in getting a sound module that I can run MIDI with my AX Synth. The main band would require brass, strings, some synths, accordion and a few other bits.
My question is- would the Nord Rack allow me to load in my own samples? I have a Stage 2 and have been doing this a bit and was hoping for a similar function from a
sound module. Have also looked at the the Waldorf Blofeld and I know about the Motif/Fantom but my budget is about £500. Don't mind buying used but would appreciate
some input from you.

Thanks
JB

johnbudding wrote:Hi guys,

I'm interested in getting a sound module that I can run MIDI with my AX Synth. The main band would require brass, strings, some synths, accordion and a few other bits.
My question is- would the Nord Rack allow me to load in my own samples? I have a Stage 2 and have been doing this a bit and was hoping for a similar function from a
sound module. Have also looked at the the Waldorf Blofeld and I know about the Motif/Fantom but my budget is about £500. Don't mind buying used but would appreciate
some input from you.

Thanks
JB

Hello JB
Nord doesn't have any rack instruments that allow the use of samples.
My recommendations are Roland Fantom XR (about $500 USD)
or possibly Korg Triton Rack (about $450 USD)

What is the possibility of taking a computer to gigs?
Cheers, Hanon

Thanks Hanon,

Well, there's a chance but I'd rather have something hardware as the gigs can get messy! The band are really party orientated
and sometimes it gets a bit crazy with drunk people on stage dancing and interacting. I wouldn't like to take my computer to these!

My main priorities would be something with a good base of sounds that I could load in samples to. I understand the XR and Triton are
capable of this, what about their stock sounds? I'm leaning to the Blofeld because it's SO compact and that really appeals to me.

Thanks for your help.
John

johnbudding wrote:Thanks Hanon,

Well, there's a chance but I'd rather have something hardware as the gigs can get messy! The band are really party orientated
and sometimes it gets a bit crazy with drunk people on stage dancing and interacting. I wouldn't like to take my computer to these!

My main priorities would be something with a good base of sounds that I could load in samples to. I understand the XR and Triton are
capable of this, what about their stock sounds? I'm leaning to the Blofeld because it's SO compact and that really appeals to me.

Thanks for your help.
John

Hi John,
the Blofeld is a great little virtual analog machine with some wavetable features of the Waldorf Wave and PPG Waveterm, but it won't do samples.
As I understood your initial question criteria, the ability to load and use your own samples was important.

When you have that ability, the factory preset patches almost become irrelevant.

Cheers, Hanon

Hey Hanon,

If it has good enough stock samples I don't mind using them too.
I thought you could load your own samples in to the Blofeld with the addition of the sample licence or am I incorrect on that?

Thanks for your reply,
John

Hello,

I bought a motif es rack for 450$ and I use it with my NS2.

Regards,

I've also seen the SonicCell and M3 Module, but it's hard to know where to look!
Can you load samples in to the Motif?

johnbudding wrote: I thought you could load your own samples in to the Blofeld with the addition of the sample licence or am I incorrect on that?

It seems that you CAN.
I had an acquaintance with one last year.
I spent quite a bit of time fiddling with it, I loved the module, but it would have been so much cooler with the SL sample option.
It looks like the combination of the two are just inside your budget too.
Cheers, Hanon

Thanks Hanon,

The reason I like this is that it's so slim and small and would sit on my NS2 whilst I go out to the crowd with the AX.
I think I'll buy one to try it out, though I don't know how far 60MB will get me for sampling!

Best wishes
John

johnbudding wrote:The reason I like this is that it's so slim and small and would sit on my NS2 whilst I go out to the crowd with the AX.
I think I'll buy one to try it out, though I don't know how far 60MB will get me for sampling!

It is a bit like using samples on the Nord Wave or Nord Stage 2: you cannot do velocity switching, like you could do with the Triton, Motif or Fantom modules. Unless you're mostly interested in synthetic sound sounds (leads, bass, etc.) a module like the Triton/Motif/Fantom might be best. Something like a Roland Sonic Cell might also be interesting - as far as I could see, it looks like a slimmed down version of the Fantom XR.