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joey swound!
Joined: Sep 14, 2005 Posts: 1 Location: Nottingham, UK
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:34 pm Post subject:
New to Nord Modular - some questions |
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Hello all, Been a lurker on this site for a while, but thought it was time to join.
I just bought a 2nd hand modular as new for £250. Firstly, I would like someone to reassure me that I haven't been ripped off and that this is a good price!
Secondly, for gigging, is it practical? I want to use it for home recording, but also live. Does anyone have good experience of this?
Lastly, what are the main differences between this and the Nord lead in a live environment (apart from the obvious). Can this little thing create the same sounds as the Nord Lead?
Sorry for what might seem dumb questions - thanks for your time! |
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Kassen
Janitor
Joined: Jul 06, 2004 Posts: 7678 Location: The Hague, NL
G2 patch files: 3
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:14 pm Post subject:
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It's a good price.
It's a excelent machne for gigging; I did so fairly extensively; I made it do drones to 10 people sitting on couches and made it do disco beats in disturbingly large clubs; I'd never seen any other synth that was more suitable, as far as I'm concerned it beats even the G2 in this regard since the size makes it so much better for traveling. Do take care to cover up the jog-dial and protect it from force.
The NM can do all the sounds of the Lead. In fact in comparing versatility, sise and stability I think it beats nearly everything, including laptops in many cases.
How well it will do for you will depend heavily on how deeply you'll get into patching it. I think this can be extremely rewarding but if you turn out to be the sort of person that doesn't like that then you are left with a decent synth with a ocean of free presets which isn't so bad at all.
You haven't been ripped off, you did well, now read the manual, read the tutorials, start patching and ask questions. You'll be up and gigging in no time. _________________ Kassen |
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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: Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject:
Re: New to Nord Modular - some questions |
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Congrats on the purchase! Personally, I think you got a good price (but I think the NM has always been a steal even at list price considering what the thing can do).
One possible drawback to using the NM live is the way it behaves when you change patches or turn the four 'patch slots' on & off. To maximize polyphony, the NM uses a very clever scheme of allocating the available DSPs to the required voices of the active patch(es). This is generally a very good thing, but it means that the NM must go silent for about a second to recalculate DSP requirements & reallocate resources when you change patches. So if you're planning on using it as your one-and-only techno box for long dance sets or something like that, it could be a problem. Many people who use it live have devised workarounds like crossfading to some other simple synth or recorded drone or whatever when they have to change patches, or perhaps the best solution - get a second (or third!) NM and crossfade back & forth like a turntable DJ. This practice has been referred to as 'Gear-J' and Roland Kuit is one of the masters of the craft. He does long rave sets with nothing but three NMs synced together by midi clock. Check out his patches in the archives.
I use mine for studio stuff and it 's not an issue for me. I love that synth!
And BTW, the NM can do anything the Nord Lead can do. But you may want to get a voice expander card if you want to do lots of keyboard oriented sounds (like me). It makes a huge difference. With the expander card, you can make huge complex patches that reach 100% DSP usage and you will still get eight voice polyphony. _________________ Dave Peck |
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OAO3
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 70 Location: 60618
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:10 am Post subject:
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man, that price is a steal! i will add to the praise of the NM, as it is my only other instrument besides guitar. i use it and it alone to play live, except for ambient tracks i use while i'm switching between patches. the nord is great for any sound. there's something about the NM that just clicks with me more than any other hardware or soft synth i've tried, making it, for me at least, super intuitive. i myself focus on glitchy weird stuff, which the nord is great before, but have also used it to make tracks in about every other genre of music.
i've posted this on here before, but here is my library of patches: teamabunai.org/nord _________________ music: teamabunai.org/oao
everything else: teamabunai.org |
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Wout Blommers
Joined: Sep 07, 2003 Posts: 4529 Location: The Hague - The Netherlands
Audio files: 123
G2 patch files: 12
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elros
Joined: Jan 22, 2006 Posts: 13 Location: Norway
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:23 am Post subject:
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Hi all,
I'm also new to the Nord Modular things. That is, I don't own one yet, but since I was made aware of the beta editor for OSX I've been looking for a Micro Modular.
Here's what I want to do with it:
I'm a drummer, and I play with loops. I use a Roland R5 drum machine, and would like to run the sound through some filters and stuff in the Micro Modular, to make the sound more suitable for background to my live drum playing. (I also run the loops through a volume pedal, and have a click track in my ear)
My two questions:
- Will I be able to synchronize a sequencer inside the Micro Modular with the drum machine tempo, using MIDI?
- I'll use my iBook to program the Micro Modular, so I'll need a USB MIDI interface. Are there products I should avoid? The Clavia web site says something about some interfaces not being able to keep up with the amount of data between computer and Micro Modular... is this something that isn't a problem with modern MIDI interfaces?
- What power does the unit use? (AC or DC, what voltage, how much current? In case I'll need to buy one from the US or something.)
I know, that's three questions....
thanks! |
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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: Mon Jan 23, 2006 12:58 am Post subject:
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Regarding question #1, YES. you can sync the NM or Micro to external midi. There is a module specifically for this purpose, the Midi Global Module. This module provides either the Micro's own internal midi clock or whatever midi clock signal is connected to the midi IN jack on the micro, depending on a selection you make using the "Synth / Synth Settings" dialog box from the toolbar. You connect the outputs of the Midi Global module to things like clock inputs on sequencers, etc. More info in the manual.
Dave Peck _________________ Dave Peck |
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Kassen
Janitor
Joined: Jul 06, 2004 Posts: 7678 Location: The Hague, NL
G2 patch files: 3
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Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:33 am Post subject:
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To adress the other questions; in case you are are unsure a safe bet is the midisport 2x2; lots of people use that one. Anything modern should work perfectly fine, I think.
Not sure about the exact power but the adapter is a quite regular one and it works perfectly fine with other models that are readily available. _________________ Kassen |
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klangumsetzer
Joined: Jan 23, 2006 Posts: 513 Location: Sweden
Audio files: 32
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Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2006 4:52 am Post subject:
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elros wrote: | My two questions:
- I'll use my iBook to program the Micro Modular, so I'll need a USB MIDI interface. Are there products I should avoid? |
i got an emagic mt4 midi interface which i use for sequencing and editing patches on the nm key. it features 2 ins and 4 outs.
Thomann has them on sale for EUR 49,-.
you might want to check what drivers you need, though. i know it works with win 98/me and xp.
best reagrds
eike
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elros
Joined: Jan 22, 2006 Posts: 13 Location: Norway
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:40 am Post subject:
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Excellent! Thanks. I'll probably get the Midisport or something like it. They are fairly cheap, too. Very nice.
I hope to get my Micro Modular soon. |
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