A New Modern Editor for the Nord Modular G1 (Mac/Win/Linux)

animatek · Joined: Apr 05, 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Granada Spain

Hello everyone!

I know this forum has been the absolute heart of the Nord Modular community for decades, so I wanted to officially share a project I've been working hard on: I am developing a brand new, universal editor for the classic Nord Modular G1.

As many of us know, keeping the original editor or the old Java-based Nomad running on modern operating systems has become a massive headache. To solve this, I am rebuilding the editor from scratch using the JUCE (C++) framework. The goal is to have a fast, native application that runs seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux—no Java required!

🛠️ Current Progress (What is working right now):
Developing this alone is a massive undertaking, but the core engine is alive:

The editor successfully connects to the synth and parses the SysEx protocol.

It accurately reads and renders patches, modules, and cables on the canvas.

I recently finished coding the Patch Browser. It now queries the synth, loads all 9 banks (891 patches) in about 3-4 seconds, and features a real-time search filter.

You can double-click a patch in the browser, and it loads directly into the hardware!

(You can see some screenshots/GIFs attached to this post!)

🚧 What's Next & Beta Status:
Just to manage expectations: There is NO functional beta available for download just yet. Right now, I am deep into coding the most complex part: the interactive canvas (adding, deleting, moving modules, and routing cables). It’s a slow process, but making steady progress.

🤝 How to follow the development & support the project:
Since coding a cross-platform editor from the ground up takes hundreds of hours, I have decided to not post every minor update on social media to avoid burnout. Instead, I have set up a Patreon page to host the development journey.

If you want to read the technical dev-logs, support the countless hours of coding, and guarantee your spot to receive the very first Early Beta builds as soon as they are compiled, you are more than welcome to join the dedicated Nord Modular tier here:

https://www.patreon.com/collection/2038913?view=expanded

If you can't support it right now, no worries at all! I will make a big announcement back here on the forum when the first playable beta is finally ready for everyone.

Thank you for keeping this legendary red gear alive. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

[/img]

dean · Joined: Jun 06, 2013 Posts: 8 Location: Berlin

Hey,

Great to see another move on this. I don't know if you seen the other post below yours - I have an almost complete build that is built on JS and works on anything that accepts midi and has a browser. I'm aware of some of the problems you may be having and can potentially offer fixes / advice on where to look as I've a fair bit of recycling the Nomad code base using LLMs.

My version is testable and open source though it's core aim is a stable redesign with extra functionality that a working nomad.

Feel free to reach out!

animatek · Joined: Apr 05, 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Granada Spain

Hey! how cool is that!!

Thanks so much for reaching out. It's really great to connect

A browser-based JS editor sounds like a fantastic approach, especially for cross-platform compatibility. I’m definitely interested in taking a look at your build and seeing how you've tackled the redesign and the extra functionality.

Since you mentioned you might have some fixes or advice, I'd love to pick your brain. Right now, I'm hitting a wall with module management when saving to the synth. Specifically, some modules aren't clearing properly when deleted, and sometimes the synth just completely freezes/crashes during the deletion process. Did you happen to run into this issue with the Nomad codebase?

I've also been diving deep into using LLMs to refactor the old code, so it would be awesome to exchange notes on workflows and see how we can help each other out.

Where can I check out your repo or test your current build?

dean · Joined: Jun 06, 2013 Posts: 8 Location: Berlin

Drop me a PM with your email address and I can invite you to the repo. It's private until I tidy it up. It's a disaster currently!

If you'd like we could arrange a call and I can show you where it's going, what's different etc.

Yes I hit this a while ago - It is resolved and i hope you can pull something out of it to fix it on your side!

Most of my time on this project has been listening to sysex comms between the original editor and the device and using this to diff codex's solution that it created from nomad context. Context has been critical (obviously) for the LLM and it struggles with it because there is so much. Overall this has been a tedious project - but it is at a 'usable' stage.