Nord User Forum

Some VA and DCO synths can simulate the pitch instability of the oscillators. The Ion/Micron calls this "analog drift" while the Prophet 08 calls is "slop." Do any of the Nord Leads have a setting for this? If not, has anyone tried to simulate this using an LFO with a random wave to modulate pitch?

There is no such setting in a Nord Lead. The synth is always pitch perfect unless modulated otherwise. You can of course use a smooth S/H LFO at a slow rate to modulate pitch to simulate analog drift to some degree. A dedicated control (which could in theory also slightly modulate other parameters such as volume and filter) would be preferable. Movement in sound is one of the things that make real analogs so alive.

Seems a strange omission for a 'virtual analog' but I don't think emulating unstable oscillators is where Clavia want to go with the NL series.

Thanks for the info. I downloaded the KingKorg manual and found that they also have an oscillator drift feature called "analog tune." So, yes, it does seem like a strange omission for a high-priced VA synth.

As far as I know, synths with this type of feature only target the pitch, not the volume or filter. But it would add to the realism to target the latter parameters as well.

For what its worth, Clavia don't really pimp this is a VA anymore. On the product page it says Performance Synth. No mention of analog (aside from delay description) or virtual analog. Perhaps then, with the added wavetables and such, it's better to view this as a digital performance synth doing it's own thing vs emulating anything. With all the real analog stuff on the market these days maybe the assumption is if you want analog you can have it easily enough?

I see your point. However, the addition of Moog and TB 303 filters suggests they are interested in analog emulation. Maybe they are trying to have it both ways for marketing purposes?

yeah that's def fair. I was thinking about that as I was writing. now that you mention it.. according to the manual those filter emulations even go so far as to emulate the VCA and envelope response of those filters.

I think Clavia are trying to emulate analog synthesis without the downsides. For what it's worth, I find 'oscillator slop' and similar parameters on other synths don't really go very far in actually emulating how a real analog behaves, it's basically too random, whereas the primary effect on a real analog is usually that yes, the oscillators drift, but very slowly, so you don't notice it from one note to another. This leads to a cyclic effect when playing repeated notes as you cycle through the voices, e.g. every 6th (on a six voice) note played being more out of tune than the rest.

Quite frankly I don't miss the randomness or noise in virtual analog synths, just as I don't miss tape hiss or dropouts (but it seems some people do). As a matter of fact, without absolute pitch stability, FM wouldn't be at all as effective on a VA.

Apparently Moog has been working on making their (analog) oscillators more stable. There is definitely something to be said for stability.

Clavia was the first brand to make a virtual analogue. At that time, there was neither any hype to go so far in the detailed downsides of analogue synth nor any will to conserve a former analogue design (I'm refering to DSI here).

They did it steady, period.

I used to gig with Moog Prodigy in the '80's. Every time the temperature in the room changed (like if someone opened the door) I'd have to retune. I don't miss it either, it's not a very "musical" effect. You can re create it by slightly detuning the osc's after selecting a patch. Pitch drift is not really discernible in a three or four minute song.