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rsi
Joined: Oct 28, 2004 Posts: 2 Location: scotland
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:20 pm Post subject:
Nord modular G2 or something else? |
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Hello forum..
first post here and its nice to see an active forum...
just wanted to ask ppls general opinions of the g2?
Im about to buy a new synth.. i have a good main synth all ready (and just sold a cpl) and have been thinking hard about what i want next.
ive gone through moments of being decided on buying old analogue gear like an oberheim or roland jupiter, but the lack of controllabilty with them has put me off..
ive thought about the g2, although i had a nord rack 2 a few yrs ago but i wasnt hugely impressed with it..
but ive heard alot of good things about the g2.. obviously because its modular, and the options on it are pretty vast..
i want a new synth though, not to be a main synth but something which complements what ive got (an access indigo 2) but also be a bit different.
bleeps, basses, pads
i make electronic music, some idm, techno
now that youse have the g2, what would make you buy another 1 if it was taken away from you?, (say the police came to the door because you were bassing up the neighberhood too much)
and is it best to have a second monitor if already using a software sequencer?
i really love a warmer filter sound, would a valve compressor work well with them?
sorry for the long post, but the next synth i get has to be the right 1...
cheers _________________ just because im insane dont mean everyone isnt trying to kill me.... |
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Fozzie
Joined: Jun 04, 2004 Posts: 875 Location: Near Wageningen, the Netherlands
Audio files: 8
G2 patch files: 49
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:47 pm Post subject:
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This is what I think of G2:
etc etc etc
Maybe the wrong place to get a lot of negative thoughts on those red wonders. Get one, now!!! |
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modular
Joined: Jul 26, 2004 Posts: 185 Location: Rome, Italy
Audio files: 5
G2 patch files: 72
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 1:32 pm Post subject:
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Fozzie wrote: | This is what I think of G2:
etc etc etc
Maybe the wrong place to get a lot of negative thoughts on those red wonders. Get one, now!!! |
he he..
Underwrite. |
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jksuperstar
Joined: Aug 20, 2004 Posts: 2503 Location: Denver
Audio files: 1
G2 patch files: 18
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:29 pm Post subject:
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Yes, for bleeps, bloops, and pads, there is no synth that is better, IMHO. You can also use it as an effects engine on your Virus.
The control surface really is the most efficient (and musical) surface I think possible for this type of device. Having knobs that instantly update with the patch is fantastic, and the fact you can assign 120 of them really makes the modular...well, like a modular: lots of knobs to tweek so you can really dive into sound development.
It can do so much, without the need for a computer in your live show. |
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Afro88
Joined: Jun 20, 2004 Posts: 701 Location: Brisbane, Australia
Audio files: 12
G2 patch files: 79
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:34 pm Post subject:
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When I bought my G2 I was looking for something that sounded warm and analogue but also massively flexible. Modular synthesis interested me and I had used Reaktor a bit, so I went with the G2 engine. At first I was blown away by how phat it sounded, but then I was dissapointed at how I couldn't make it sound as warm and round as "analogue" as I would have liked. But then as I learnt more patching techniques and got to know the G2 I really grew to really like it and now actually much prefer it's sound (which IMHO is much cleaner and punchier than analogue but still warm... warm in a "Nord" way) to any other digital synth out there. There are many patches out there that emulate analogue gear, and perhaps they emulate the characteristics that you like in an analogue synth. For me, the G2 can't sound as phat as my DSI Evolver, especially for round bass type instruments, but that's just my opinion and the reason why I've held onto the Evo. Perhaps with some valve in the signal chain it might? I've read on the mailing list that someone tried this and were very happy with the results.
Now that I've got my only gripe about the G2 out of the way, I think it's safe to say if you buy it, there's no doubt you'll fall in love with it like the rest of us have. If you want something that will keep you going for years, that sounds absolutely amazing and better IMO than any other VA out there, that can literally do anything synth (or electronic effect) and has the best live control surface available on a synth, go for it! The flexibility of patching is mind boggling, and for the morph groups alone I would place the controlability of this synth above any other. Definitely play around with the G2 for a while and get a feel for how it sounds before you buy it to make sure it's the sort of sound you would want in your music. Although with many patches you can't tell it's coming from a nord synth, the most basic patches will sound "Nord" unless you specifically try to make them sound different. I'm simply stating this because you said you weren't too impressed with the Nord 2.... but remember the sound engine is closer to a Nord 3 than 2. |
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mosc
Site Admin
Joined: Jan 31, 2003 Posts: 18197 Location: Durham, NC
Audio files: 212
G2 patch files: 60
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 7:09 pm Post subject:
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If I only could have one synth, it would be a G2. I would keep it over my Kurzewiel, my KYMA, my Moog Modular, or my Steinway Grand piano. _________________ --Howard
my music and other stuff |
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rsi
Joined: Oct 28, 2004 Posts: 2 Location: scotland
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 11:59 pm Post subject:
thanks |
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hi mosc, afrokid and jksuperstar... thanks for that!!
yeh, i plan to try the g2 out a few times before i decide...
the problem i had with the rack 2 when i had it was that i had other equipment that could sound like it, and although i liked the filters, they were a bit too clean...
is there links on this site for mp3s of patches that ppl have made here?
theres alot of patches, but i couldnt find any mp3 examples of what the g2 can do.
i always find that the demos on the manufacturers sites tend to be pretty uninspiring... _________________ just because im insane dont mean everyone isnt trying to kill me.... |
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Lifted
Joined: Jul 14, 2004 Posts: 6
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 12:43 am Post subject:
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This is how I feel about the G2.
A friend of mine bought the G2 a couple of days when it was first released. I immediately went to his place to demo and mess with the thing. After about a week, I decided sell my Virus b, Waldorf XTK and my MS2000R to get a G2 and a dual screen video card and two flat panels.
I also use a lot of soft synths too, but the only hardware synth I have left in my studio aside from the G2 is my Pulse.
My suggestion is get a real hands on feel of thing first along with the editor and see if it tends to sound to your liking. It may not have sounded as warm as my virus when it comes to pads but there are a lot more things that this baby can do that my Virus, XTK, MS2000R and most VAs in the market can only dream about.
To me its sound is just right, not too digital and it doesn't try too hard to sound analog either (unlike my virus), agian it sounds just right.
I fell in love with the G2 because it produced the sound that is exactly what I have been looking for, plus it really seems limitless in it's sound shaping capabilities.
That is how the G2 change my studio, I got a lot more space now too. |
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Tim Kleinert
Joined: Mar 12, 2004 Posts: 1148 Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Audio files: 7
G2 patch files: 236
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 2:29 am Post subject:
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I have a love/hate relationship with the G2.
On one hand, its entire concept -the modularity, the user-interface with the displays and LED-graphs, the 4 slots with 4 outputs, etc. -have influenced my way of working so strongly that I cannot imagine working without that anymore! I have two G2s (and 2 hooked midi-keyboards) and hereby can store entire synth stage rigs (meaning: up to 8 parts all with individual FX, processings, EQs, sequencers) into just 2 performances: call up 2 performances and bling!- everything is there, with the correct mix, EQ, FX, etc.. Never before could I use synths in such a complex manner within a live context before and still have it so easy to use and so controllable. Incredible!
On the other hand, I do have a gripe with the G2, which Afrokid already phrased well: the "Clavia sound". I have always been a big Clavia-fan concept-wise, but somewhat a Clavia-hater sound-wise. However, I once had a Nord3, which I sold to a friend after some initial disappointment, only to learn afterwards that he could evoke the type of sound from it I was looking for, by using various "analogue" tricks I hadn't known at the time! Made me look stupid.
So I've learned from that experience and haven't given up on the G2. Because, everytime I've almost given up on it, I discover a patch (mostly it's one by Rob Hordijk -thanks so much, Rob!) that does what I'm looking for. In other words, the G2 can do almost anything, but be prepared to pay your dues in order to get there! I'm no newbie to synthesis and have had the G2 for over 6 months, but boy, the G2 makes me feel like an absolute beginner most of the time!
Ultimately, it's a question of time. If you have the time to invest, the G2 is fantastic and highly instructive (and addictive) and can deliver almost anything you want.
I want to add that I actually did try to "warm up" the G2 sound with a valve stage -playing it through 2 Manley Voxboxes: gain-stage only (no Pultec, no compression). I experimented with various settings and the result was nice... but not effective enough to justify the price . So, what works best for me at the moment (I say "at the moment" because there's always the possibility of figuring out better stuff) is to use Robs "Tone Control" frequency processor in adjunction with a saturation stage. The V1.24 factory patch "3VcoPolysynth" has this circuitry in the FX area.) |
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blue hell
Site Admin
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 24079 Location: The Netherlands, Enschede
Audio files: 278
G2 patch files: 320
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:35 am Post subject:
Re: thanks |
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rsi wrote: |
is there links on this site for mp3s of patches that ppl have made here? |
There are some mp3's (mainly of self playing patches) but they are not in the media list, you can try a search on mp3 in the clavia forum but it will show up some extra stuff as well (there is a serach link at the top of this page).
Clavia has some demos on their website as well.
Jan. |
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ThreeFingersOfLove
Joined: Oct 21, 2004 Posts: 162 Location: Greece
Audio files: 3
G2 patch files: 1
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:27 am Post subject:
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Hmm,
for bleeps, blops, pads, fx and the like any modular will do pal. A lot of people miss that one of the greatest things in a synthesizer is uniqueness. The G2 is easily one of the most flexible synthesizers ever built. This is unquestionable; but listen to it and see if you like the sound quality. Don't pass judgement quickly, though. With clever programming you can coax amazing sounds.
Yannis |
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NoiseLab
Joined: Mar 02, 2005 Posts: 68 Location: Zandvoort, the Netherlands
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:24 am Post subject:
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mosc wrote: | If I only could have one synth, it would be a G2. I would keep it over my Kurzewiel, my KYMA, my Moog Modular, or my Steinway Grand piano. |
I doubt that I will ever go for the G2, but reading this... |
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davep
Joined: Jul 05, 2004 Posts: 467 Location: Oakland, CA
Audio files: 10
G2 patch files: 73
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 12:34 pm Post subject:
Re: thanks |
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rsi wrote: | hi mosc, afrokid and jksuperstar... thanks for that!!
yeh, i plan to try the g2 out a few times before i decide...
is there links on this site for mp3s of patches that ppl have made here?
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Don't know if you were aware of this, but there is a demo version of the G2 on the Clavia site. Not just the G2 Editor, but a complete virtual G2 that actually lets you make sounds. It's only monophonic, and some of the more DSP-hungry modules are disabled (like the reverb) but if you have a decent computer with a decent sound card, you can really take your time to explore the thing.
Of course, getting your hands on the real thing will reveal how cool the hardware interface is, and polyphony makes a huge difference, but if you can't spend endless hours playing with one in a music store, the virtual demo version can show you a lot. _________________ Dave Peck |
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ThreeFingersOfLove
Joined: Oct 21, 2004 Posts: 162 Location: Greece
Audio files: 3
G2 patch files: 1
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Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:15 am Post subject:
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The demo version of the G2 has some significant bugs, especially when it comes to drones, sync oscs, and lfo modulating lfos. I managed to hang the app like 10 times.
Yannis |
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