Nord Lead 4 No New Update For Ages ? Why

[Banal]

Just Wondering When Any New update is coming out for the Nord Lead 4 ?
Just Dissapointing that no new Features have been added...

[Muziksculp]

nord-lead-rack-forum-f12/lead-4-update-t6707.html

[ricard]

to the Mods: I won't be offended if you delete this one since it is a cross-post, but I thought I'd drop a copy here just in case that makes sense.

Also, I'm happy to point out that the post from which I'm cross-posting was my 1000th, something of a milestone, I think. I gotta say that I got nothing by love for this forum. It continues to be a shining example of the best and highest purposes that this internet can be put to.

Bless,

Pablo


I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but it is wrong to assume that creating wish lists here in this (or any other) forum and/or sending emails to Clavia will cause them to produce a new OS to conform to those wishes. As many others have (thankfully) pointed out, instrument purchase decisions should be made on existing feature sets. When occasionally they are able to actually add a new function to an instrument via OS update, this should be considered as an extra special bonus, not an entitlement, and received thankfully.

There are design considerations which are not commonly known to us mere mortals. For example, the subtle click tweaks, and the not subtle new Leslie models, that were introduced with the C2D release caused quite a clamor among C2 and NS2 owners: "we want the new changes ported to our instruments," they wrote in. The C2 owners got what they wanted and the the NE4 was released with the changes, but the NS2 owners were "left out in the cold." It is wrong to think that Nord failed to port those changes to the NS2 just to pump up future sales of some future instrument release or any other similarly idiotic theory as some have suggested. The reason this was not done is that it is not possible. The available memory on the NS2 is consumed with other code, other responsibilities, and there simplly isn't room to accommodate the code/data needed for the task.

There are some who have viewed an interview of a Nord rep, Kristofer, on the NAMM floor last January who have interpreted his words to suggest that A1 f/x will be ported to the NL4. There is no basis for that in what he said -- just wishful thinking. What he was talking about was porting some of the more practical things of the A1 such as multi focus and the option to let the NL4 listen to both usb and midi ports for midi at the same time. Nord will very, very rarely implement a feature in an old product that requires a new print on the panel in order for people to understand. And they would never release an update that completely eradicates some older sounds made by the users. This would cause HUGE outcry from people whose custom programming was destroyed, and rightly so.

This is not to say that Nord is oblivious to the wants and needs of the community which supports them by purchasing their instruments, but design decisions are necessarily made many months in advance of an instrument release. Then the software guys need to figure out how to write the code to make that happen, then the hardware guys need to figure out how to make the software work. Because they are a small and tightly knit organization, they are able to be significantly more fluid than "the big boys" are, but this doesn't mean that the realities of making complicated electronics can be entirely thrown out the window.

It is true that the NL4 and NLA1 are instruments with different character. This is not an accident. Unlike those "big boys," whose product lines are largely a homogenously blurred mess, Nord designs their instruments with focused purpose. The C1/2/2D series makes organ sounds. No pianos, no strings, no horns, no nothing else. The original Piano was a piano. Period. The Electro has stayed true to its original roots by remaining monotimbral and having no pitch bend or mod wheel. The Stage does it all. Synths are synths. Bruce Hornsby said it best: "That's Just the Way It Is." Personally, I like it that way. There is singularity and clarity of purpose.

Lastly, I reiterate something I've expressed before: Nord has evolved from humble basement beginnings to become one of the principal keyboard makers on the planet, and has done this in the face of huge competition from huge corporations with huge volume (in terms of numbers) output. The MI (musical instrument) business landscape is littered with the graves of companies which did not make it, yet Nord is still here and still offering a meaningfully competitive alternative to the "other guys." Give 'em some credit. They've learned a thing or two along the way and know something about this business. There is much more to making these bright red monsters belch out these wondrous sounds than meets the eye. Those who think that they can do it better should go into business and produce their dream instruments. Good luck with that. I'll happily accept what Nord is producing and where they may happen to diverge from what I would consider to be my ideal dream design, well...I guess I'll just suck it up and be grateful for what I have, which is a darn sight better than what I would have without Nord.

Bless,

Pablo

[DJKeys]

Fantastic post!!

-dj

[ricard]

+1

[SB-SIX]

On the one hand I completely agree with the post, on the other hand, the FX section is not what I expect from an 1800,- synth. Not everyone has the luxury to test their instruments before buying it so you'll have to do with expectations on some fronts.

I have to say I'm very happy how the OS turned out but highly underwhelmed by the FX. I mean, the delay is basically a retrigger, no character/dampening/panning/nothing, the talk fx, anyone seriously use them? That's why I hoped they would implement some better fx, maybe with a switch in the global section so existing patches would still sound the same, but to be fair I think the chances for that are minimal.

[Frantz]

Just Wondering When Any New update is coming out for the Nord Lead 4 ?

I guess that's because firmware updates are primarily for maintenance.

[chvad]

I think it's the communication from Clavia that also causes some issues. I've received two responses from them. one months and months ago saying a update would be released shortly. then one much later saying there would be an update but that it's taking longer than expected. other have had similar responses. of course regardless of response there hasn't been any update. nothing is inherently broken but for the price of the instrument I personally feel a number of the requests for certain changes are reasonable. we also live in a time when communication with manufacturers is a great deal more open and many companies embrace this. moog, another company that hand builds and isn't the largest, is very active with the community. Clavia not so much. not a criticism more than an observation. I like my lead but some of it's behaviors are antiquated and as others have mentioned some of us have to purchase blindly. I live in NYC and not one store in the area had one on the floor to demo. the support from clavia for the drum 2 has been stellar. based on that alone I feel like we will probably get a reasonable for the lead... but the A1 release and no updates or news on progress for updates... I think people feeling slighted or abandoned is a reasonable response. it's a synth with a premium price tag. other companies with comparable products all, in my opinion, communicate far better than Clavia.

[Professor]

• NL4OBDXLive.mp3

The Nord Lead 4 is a dream-synth as-is.
The talk effects are luscious, I use them.