nord

i fell in love with Clavia after getting the 2nd generation rack version. they are the most flexible synth i've seen, which have been a few over the years. i haven't used it as the main focus of much but have for backing sounds and atmospheric stuff. i did record one nord-centric jam though (a longggg way back).. which kind of showcases the arpeggiators.

http://soundcloud.com/mafted/clowd-9

but i want to hear what you guys have done with it.. post your nord shit!!

track i did a while ago when i had all my hardware

I use 2 nord modular g2s (1 keyboard, 1 rack) and I love them to death... The sound, the editor, all of it. But I do not like the company. Bad customer support, and they have discontinued the modulars. I'll use them until they die.

I pray that they some day make a vst if the modulars, as it us my favorite

environment to patch in.

Except I'd like a better company to put it out... One that cares about it's customers and all of it's products... Not just trying to sell stage pianos.

I also have a virus ti, so my stuff isn't full on nord, but they are centerpiece... All of my drums and most of my abstracty sounds are made on the birds, and I use the virus for more polyphonic, bread and butter stuff.

how would you rate the flexibility of the virus vs nord? i need to check out the modulars.. looks fun, it's always awkward trying to sequence anything with the rack.

  On 5/12/2010 at 8:55 PM, mafted said:

how would you rate the flexibility of the virus vs nord? i need to check out the modulars.. looks fun, it's always awkward trying to sequence anything with the rack.

when i first got into synths, i wanted my first synth to be the Virus Indigo (the original one). it always sounded really dirty, and seemed to be quite suited to "industrial" sounding stuff (which is what i wanted to do when i first got into making music). also it looked like a fucking DeLorean.

sorry i'm not really bringing anything to the table here, but i thought i'd share that.

a semi-finished noodling on my G1 with Monomachine bass drum

osc: likewise! that thing looked like a dream synth, never would of thought it sounded gritty tho. thanks for the post though, interesting mix.

  On 5/12/2010 at 9:03 PM, mafted said:

likewise! that thing looked like a dream synth, never would of thought it sounded gritty tho. thanks for the post though, interesting mix.

yeah, the virus synths (at least before the TI stuff) always had a certain "grit" to them, at least in my view. if i could afford to build up a studio again now, i'd definitely try to get hold of a virus to throw in the mix.

The virus vs the leads? I'd say the virus is more flexible... More modulations and types of synthesis.

Better? That's up to peoples opinion.

If I wanted just ONE synth I'd get either a modular, or virus.

As a workhorse, the virus wins. Flexibility? Modular.

The virus ti is still in production and has rediculously awesome customer service. They are still making updates for discontinued products. My ti is on os4, andeach upgrade has included a bunch of new features.

don't virus' have pretty bad aliasing (up to the C anyway)?

also I don't think a Virus could match the Nord Modular in flexibility

  On 5/12/2010 at 11:16 PM, soundwave said:

don't virus' have pretty bad aliasing (up to the C anyway)?

 

also I don't think a Virus could match the Nord Modular in flexibility

yeah i remember hearing something about that. if i had to choose between a Virus KC and a Nord Lead 2x, i'd easily choose the Nord

the Blofeld/Q is also a good contender for ultimate digital although there's something about how the Nord still have an edge in the higher frequencies which puts them a cut above the rest

everyone talks about the TI aliasing. I've never been working on a patching, and suddenly said "oh shit, aliasing!"

not to say it isn't there... dunno, but I've never noticed.

Anyways... yeah, the modulars are more flexible for sure... because, well, it's modular.

the virus has a sound, and the g2 has a sound (as does the G1, and the leads). if you really care that much about it, I'd try to find one of each, and mess around, and compare them all.

what it comes down to though, is you are never going to find the perfect system. it doesnt exist! the nord, it doesnt have enough polyphony or slots. the virus? its not modular, and the aliasing bothers some people.

so you know what?

do what I did...

get both!

maybe I'm alone on this, or maybe i have shitty ears... but minute things like "cutting higher frequencies" or "aliasing" etc are not, and never have been things that have sold me, or turned me off from a synth. what are we comparing to? analog? other digital synths? there is no one "right" execution of synthesis.

i'm much more interested in how you interact with a synth, and the workflows they provide. it's the architecture of the synthesizer....

*shrug*

  On 5/12/2010 at 11:59 PM, Kcinsu said:

maybe I'm alone on this, or maybe i have shitty ears... but minute things like "cutting higher frequencies" or "aliasing" etc are not, and never have been things that have sold me, or turned me off from a synth. what are we comparing to? analog? other digital synths? there is no one "right" execution of synthesis.

 

i'm much more interested in how you interact with a synth, and the workflows they provide. it's the architecture of the synthesizer....

 

*shrug*

filter aliasing is quite noticable on some synths. i'm not sure what you're talking about here...are you saying that you are unable to hear aliasing, or that you don't know what we mean?

I don't hear it.

ive never been playing with my virus, and suddenly consciously thought "aliasing!"

i mean, i have heard aliasing... i know what it is, but its never stood out to me on the virus enough to catch my attention, or jar me, or ruin a patch, or make me not want to own the virus.

  On 5/13/2010 at 12:15 AM, Kcinsu said:

I don't hear it.

 

ive never been playing with my virus, and suddenly consciously thought "aliasing!"

 

i mean, i have heard aliasing... i know what it is, but its never stood out to me on the virus enough to catch my attention, or jar me, or ruin a patch, or make me not want to own the virus.

well like you say, it's down to personal preference really. if you're happy with it, then that's cool.

also, electro-music.com has a great nord modular subforum. many gurus there!

nice, will definitely check those out

couldn't listen earlier... but I just did.... I love some of the sounds in your first post mafted. I think you'd love a modular. go for a G2!

hey thanks a lot. i've noticed we've had similar tastes in things from around the board. didn't know they were quite that much but it does seem like a good investment.

Yeah, it's really too bad that they have been discontinued. If they were still in production and I felt like they would be continuously developed and supported for new OS's I'd probably get 2 more racks.

Also there are expansion boards, but they are very hard to find now. A 3rd party company actually took the initiative to make a clone of the expansion card. A little pricey, and I believe also limited quantities.

I really wish they made a vst... Just open up a new track, the editor opens up, make your patch, and blam!

: (

Also, there is the demo software (so I know it's possible). But that can be a great way to sketch out ideas. It doesn't sound as good, and if you wanted to use the audio, there is no export feature... You'd have to use a audio capture program. But that said you can save those patches and load them in the hardware.

Also, the demo has a few modules that don't work, and it is monophonic.

When I moved to SF, I didn't move my gear out for several months, so I just made patches in the demo, and once my gear arrived, I just loaded my patches in and I was ready to go!

  On 5/13/2010 at 10:02 PM, Kcinsu said:

Also, there is the demo software (so I know it's possible). But that can be a great way to sketch out ideas. It doesn't sound as good, and if you wanted to use the audio, there is no export feature... You'd have to use a audio capture program. But that said you can save those patches and load them in the hardware.

 

Also, the demo has a few modules that don't work, and it is monophonic.

 

When I moved to SF, I didn't move my gear out for several months, so I just made patches in the demo, and once my gear arrived, I just loaded my patches in and I was ready to go!

so it has the same parameters.. sounds useful. i'm going to have to get one at some point. thanks for the input!