Nord User Forum

HI, There are some sounds on other keyboards that I would like to be able to use on the Nord (NS2) . I gather that the only way to do this is to sample the sounds using the Nord sample editor. However, I don't know how to do this. Please may someone go through how this is done? (I have Logic pro x)

Sorry if this has already been posted about elsewhere however, I did try searching but there were 10 pages of results.

Thanks in advance,
Ed

1) Read up on sampling in EXS24. Ensure you're happy with the principles. Maybe even make one.

2) Ask what questions you then have about applying general sampling theory to Nord here.

Notes: you build a sampled instrument in the Nord Sample Editor, but the actual samples (the WAV files or whatever) are recorded using something else, like Logic. Also, Nord sample libraries, unlike their pianos, cannot hold multiple velocity layers.

Hi,
thanks this may be a silly question but what is EXS24?
Ed

EXS24 is the sample instrument making program you will have as part of your Logic program. I am assuming that it has a decent manual (online, of course) that includes the basics of recording samples to create a sampled instrument.

My experience of using the Nord sample editor is that it's clever in many ways, limited in others, but it helps to have a basic knowledge and experience of building your own instruments first. Hence my suggestion to try EXS24, which is more likely to have extensive support.

However an alternative is to leap in with the manual from http://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/ ... ple-editor as well as Berretje's simple guide. To start with you could record a few notes into Audacity (free download, audio editor) and avoid the complexity of Logic altogether. The simplest sampled instrument by definition has just one sample, so try to make one, and discover the problems with that for yourself. I think if you try to do something, then you will discover some things for yourself, the manuals will start to make more sense, and you will come up against some new questions to ask here.

Al

Hi!
This is how I usually create samples of my other keyboards with Logic Pro X and Nord Sample Editor, step by step.

Recording in Logic

1. Connect both midi in and out of the instrument you want to sample to the computer, as well as audio.
2. Create a Logic project with a slow tempo, around 60, and enable the metronome.
3. Create a midi track in Logic
4. Record a series of midi notes (I typically play dotted half notes) with a fixed interval, e.g. major thirds, from the lowest note that you want to sample, up to the highest.
5. Quantize the midi data to quarter notes
6. Edit the midi data and set the velocity to 100-110 depending on the sound I want to sample.
7. Play back the midi track to see if it plays the sound you want to sample. At this point, you might want to switch off effects, like reverb and chorus in the instrument.
8. Create an audio track in Logic
9. Record the audio from your sampled instrument
10. Mute the midi track and play back the audio track to make sure it sounds correct. It should have silence between each note.
11. Bounce the track to an audio file (wav format), enable the "Normalize audio" function.

Nord sample editor

1. Start a new project
2. Save the project and give it a meaningful name
3. Import the audio file that you created above
4. Set the Start Key to the first key that you sampled, e.g. C2, and Interval to the number of semi notes between your samples (4 for a major third)
5. Click on Assign
6. Now you should see that each sample in the audio file is mapped to a key
7. Go to the Sample Loop/Stop page
8. Press the Play button so that you can hear the looping of your sample
9. Select Long Loop and adjust the Loop Start, Length, XFade and XFade Curve until the loop sounds smooth
10. Click on Apply Loop so that all samples get the same loop settings
11. Go through all samples and make sure that the loops are smooth
12. Go to the Samp Preset page
13. Set Amplitude to High, Filter to 150 Hz, Attack time to None and enable VEL DYN
14. Keep the default values of Decay Time and Release Time
15. Click on Generate to download the new sound to your Nord
16. After playing the sound, adjust the Sample Loop and Samp Preset settings and download it again, until you are satisfied...

Hope this makes sense, and good luck!
/Anders

Thanks, that clears things up. I will try it sometime soon and post if it worked or if I have any questions.
Thanks again,
Ed

NOTICE: Anders' recommended Step 2 in the Nord Sample Editor list may seem like a trivial detail which can be ignored. It is not. Or more accurately, you can safely ignore it the first time around, but will greatly regret it if you ignore it the second time around.

Explanation: if you leave your project file unnamed, Nord Sample Editor will create a name for you when you click the GENERATE button and the resulting .nsmp file is downloaded to the instrument. This name will be "UNNAMED." So once you have everything exactly the way you want it you move along to creating another sample based on your happy first experience. If you again leave your project unnamed, Nord Sample Editor will again create a name for you -- it will again use UNNAMED. When you click GENERATE this time, it will again download the .nsmp file with the same name...

AND OVERWRITE YOUR PREVIOUS PROJECT!!

Naming your new project early in process will avoid this issue.

Pablo