Nord User Forum

Hey guys, I'm considering getting a ND2 to experiment with but I've never played one before and don't know what to expect from it. I will be heading off to university next year and so the ND2 would be a good compromise for an actual drum kit seeing as I'll have no room for it when living on residence. Is the nord drum 2 a good choice for someone who's never played anything other that acoustic drums before and what sorts of sounds and beats can be made with it? And Is it something which could be easily worked into songs within a band situation or is it more for solo electronic music styles?

Hi Elislater!

Depends very much of what you expect...

Sound:
Have a listen here: http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-drum-2 - for some sound demos + 2 videos..
Apart from some very nice sound banks that you can download from the Nord website, it's quite easy to create your own sounds, and there are a lot of sound parameters at your disposal.
As expected from a drum synth It's very well suited for 'electronic' sounds & beats. However, though synthetic, the sounds can have a nice 'organic' touch to them, and the sound responds very dynamically, lifelike to your playing -
It's also good at mimicking tuned percussion - and it can mimic acoustic drum sounds to some degree, but perhaps not as realistic as some sample based drum modules do...

Playing & Expression:
If you want to play like you do on a drum kit, you'll need pads, or triggers, the ND2 is compatible with all big brand pads, but in contrast to some of the big brand drum modules the ND2 will only register striking force (velocity). It is not compatible with dedicated hi-hat triggers, will only use one zone of 'multi-zone' pads, and will not register striking position on the head like with the Roland 'supernatural' V-Drums. - However I have to say that the ND2 does a lot with just striking force alone, as said the sounds respond very dynamically to your playing, a lot of sound parameters depend on velocity - in that way you can even mimic hi-hat open & close playing a bit - for example -

Size of your kit:
With the ND2 you can build kits of 6 sounds, as it has 6 channels: e.g. bass drum + snare + hi-hat + 3 toms, (- or 2 toms and a ride... ) (or a set of wind gusts and sea noises)

Taken together, it's great for making beats, it is truly an excellent addition to an acoustic drum kit, but whether it can replace one.. is up to you!

Albert

Thanks heaps Albert! Lots of good stuff I've just learnt thanks to your reply
I'm just a little shaky with all the pads and triggers as I don't really get how it' all works, would you suggest buying the nord pad to go with it or look elsewhere at other pads? And as far as triggers go how do you set them up and all of that? Is it difficult to learn how to do all of that?

Hi Eli,

If you're looking for a compact dorm room solution, the Nord Pad will DEFINITELY be a good solution, though you will probably still want at least a kick trigger. Of course, setting up a rig with pads arranged to simulate the acoustic experience you're used to will feel more natural to you, but it will hog lots of space. You may benefit from having a completely different setup, like the Nord Pad or similar, so that you can broaden your skill development. When dorm days are done the Pad can be integrated into your acoustic kit.

Pablo

Thanks heaps Pablo, all sounds pretty good I reckon! As you say I can use it with the pad at first and expand from there, seems like the best option to me!