Studiologic Numa Compact 2x

[kenheeter]

Just got mine. The keybed is definitely synthy with a slightly short throw. It is possible to play piano on it with a little extra care. It is amazing value for money. The organ is actually quite usable except for the too heavy chorus vibrato, and I think I could get through a gig with the Leslie sim too. It is tiny and light and should play a useful role in my roster of gear. It's nice and easy to set up programs with splits and layers. Pretty cool!

[RandyFF]

Now that there seems to be more actual users out there, I wish you all would chime in. There was such alot written in anticipation of the board and questions everyone had, but very very few reviews.

 

I, and I'm sure many, would love to see your reviews about:

 

- does the keybed work for you, for AP and everything else? Aftertouch well implemented?

 

- how do you like the organ, the leslie effect, etc.

 

- the synth?

 

- user friendliness

 

- the quality of onboard sounds? the onboard speakers?

 

- the use of the joysticks

 

- use as a MIDI controller, both for iOS and PC/Mac

 

 

This board is pretty unique, features considering price, and there's precious few reviews out there, so your contribution is appreciated!

 

Randy

[Bobby Simons]

Ive had it for a couple of weeks but with literally no time to spend with it. But my initial impressions [uPDATED]:

 

- I'm happy with the piano sound, which was most important. Not in love with the action (for piano playing), but didnt really expect to be. (It's currently sitting directly atop my beloved KX88 and so consistently being compared unfairly, lol.)

 

- What can I say, the organ is weak.

 

- Navigation is a bit tedious, I guess. Im not overly concerned about that.

 

- But a little concerned that the back panel plate where the various connector jacks are mounted seems flimsy. I'd not want to knock into a connected 1/4" jack with any force, but hey, sh*t happens.

 

- Also the labels marking the jacks are in a small, barely raised font molded into the plastic, black on black. Unreadable unless brightly lit, you'll need to memorize. I was just using my 'reader' glasses and my iphone light - and still squinting.

 

- I haven't figured out how to save patches. I'll make one, think I'm saving it to a open slot, but it's never there. Must be doing something wrong, I'll have to look it up.

 

- Bottom line, it will be fine for knocking around, rehearsals/jams, grab-and-go situations.

 

- The case was backordered when I ordered the board - it showed up yesterday. its unexpectedly nice: sharp-looking, more robust than I expected, sufficiently padded, various carry-strap options, very sturdy zippers.

[kwyn]

I have had it for a few weeks. Haven't played With it too much. Not in love with the action. Hate the Leslie and CV is awful. I kinda like the acoustic piano.

 

I've been using it as a lower manual for a NE5d. It's good for that. I usually end up using the Nord for piano. Even though it's midi to the Nord, I only use the 2x for piano if the song absolutely needs the extra octaves. I actually like the Nord action better. Just a personal opinion.

 

Overall, with the little I've played with the Numa, it's ok. Not super impressed. Obviously, YMMV

[cgiles]

If you want something in your home office for when you're bored and too lazy to go down to your basement studio, it will work for that. Piano is ok, organ doesn't do it for me, joysticks suck, the shortened keys aren't really a problem but for some reason, tick me off anyway, acoustic bass (with or without the 'ride') is not bad at all, navigation is 'funky' but features are very practical and well thought out. Okay for rehearsals but wouldn't gig with it (unless it was a charity gig). A good sound system with a high quality mixer would probably greatly improve/enhance the sound. Let's just say, it's NOT underpriced. It's a great 'grab and go' board (as long as you're 'going' to rehearsal. I always play it BEFORE I play my SEVEN or KeyB.

[kenheeter]

I have a bunch of grab and go type gigs coming up in the next couple of months. I plan to use the 2X for rehearsals and for some of those gigs too. I`ll report back.....

 

[kenheeter]

I find I can tame the chorus vibrato a bit by creating a layer, lower sound with C1 and upper sound without. I can then vary the amount of chorus by adjusting the balance lower to upper. It's better but not great.

[The_Star_Guy]

I find I can tame the chorus vibrato a bit by creating a layer, lower sound with C1 and upper sound without. I can then vary the amount of chorus by adjusting the balance lower to upper. It's better but not great.

 

One of the best features of this board is how well the Split & Layer functions work. You can Split & Layer pretty much ANY two sounds, including the same voice. For example, I programmed a Montuno Piano by layering the same piano voice an octave apart. I have also made some enhanced EP programs by layering FM & Mark I Rhodes in varying degrees. I also made some performing voices for stage use by adding Strings and Brass layers that are separately controlled by my FC7 pedal while playing Piano & EP's live (unchanged). The controller editing capability is pretty good once you start to get a handle on it.

[BenWaB3]

A good sound system with a high quality mixer would probably greatly improve/enhance the sound.

 

If you're referring to the internal speakers vs. an external sound system, yes, the difference is night & day.

[The_Star_Guy]

Ive had it for a couple of weeks but with literally no time to spend with it. But my initial impressions [uPDATED]:

- Navigation is a bit tedious, I guess. Im not overly concerned about that.

 

- I haven't figured out how to save patches. I'll make one, think I'm saving it to a open slot, but it's never there. Must be doing something wrong, I'll have to look it up.

 

- Bottom line, it will be fine for knocking around, rehearsals/jams, grab-and-go situations.

 

- The case was back-ordered when I ordered the board - it showed up yesterday. its unexpectedly nice: sharp-looking, more robust than I expected, sufficiently padded, various carry-strap options, very sturdy zippers.

 

The key to navigating the board is understanding what MODE you are working in, which is always displayed by where the highlighted OLED segment is. If the top one is highlighted then you are in Program mode, and if either of the two bottom Sound or MIDI Zone displays is highlighted then you are in either Sound (e.g. Voice) mode or MIDI Zone modes. Use the rotary encoder knob to both Select and Switch. Push the rotary knob to switch between MODES, and spin the rotary knob to choose either Programs, Sounds (voices), or MIDI zones. Simply highlight the top display area and then spin the rotary knob to scroll all available Program patches. Lots of space available above # 50.

 

The keyboard ships with space for 99 Programs, but only the first 50 actually are loaded. So you can easily experiment and save your custom programs to patches 51 & above.

 

 

[The_Star_Guy]

A good sound system with a high quality mixer would probably greatly improve/enhance the sound.

 

If you're referring to the internal speakers vs. an external sound system, yes, the difference is night & day.

 

I think that the internal speakers are mostly for operational convenience when practicing or using an IOS device or laptop, although they are not bad when you consider both their size and weight. It is a lot like the speakers of your flat-screen TV.

[Bobby Simons]

Lots of space available above # 50.

 

The keyboard ships with space for 99 Programs, but only the first 50 actually are loaded. So you can easily experiment and save your custom programs to patches 51 & above.

 

 

Yes I got that. I made some changes to voices and settings and tried to save to 51. I was suspicious that it didn't offer a chance to rename. I then moved to patch 50 and back to 51, and it had returned to its original settings (same as patch 1). So I'm doing something wrong.

[AnotherScott]

Let's just say, it's NOT underpriced. It's a great 'grab and go' board (as long as you're 'going' to rehearsal. I always play it BEFORE I play my SEVEN or KeyB.

If the issue isn't so much price but capability of a lightweight rig, I think it would make a nice pairing with a Gemini module, giving you all the Mojo and Seven sounds (and then some) with 88 keys and aftertouch, with a total weight of about 19 lbs, price of $1850. It would be nice if you could repurpose the sound select buttons for patch selection instead of having to use the scroll knob, though.

 

I don't know about it being "underpriced" but it's certainly a good value. Moderately priced alternatives I like:

 

Roland Juno DS: better in breadth of sounds, split/layer versatility, seamless sound switching, sound editability, direct patch selection, left/right sound assignment, custom sample loading, trigger pads, vocoder. But no lightweight 88, no aftertouch, lesser MIDI functions, no clonewheel engine, no speakers. Lesser 61/76 action, esp. for piano.

 

Casio MZ-X300/500: better in breadth of sounds, split/layer versatility, seamless sound switching, sound editability, direct patch selection, left/right sound assignment, custom sample loading, trigger pads, arranger/sequencer functions. Unlike the DS, also has clonewheel engine and speakers. But limited to 61 keys, and again, no aftertouch, minimal MIDI functions.

[ClayHill]

I have had the Numa Compact 2x for a month now after waiting 6 months to receive it. I had researched and read all about it by the time it arrived so I wasnt sure What to think by the time I actually got to play it.

I am primarily a guitar player in a band. We gig once a month or so and rehearse weekly. I had inherited a Roland VR700 a few years back and was lugging it around. Before that I had a Juno Stage. I wanted something lightweight with pianos and organs and maybe some strings and horns.

After a month of playing the Numa Compact 2x and carrying it to rehearsals and 1 gig (in the gig bag with shoulder straps!!) I can say that I love the board.

It is far from perfect. I had hoped that the Leslie sim would be better than the Leslie Sim on the Roland VR700.It isnt. its slightly worse. The drive effect for the organ is awful and unuseable. I bought a Lester K pedal for the Leslie effect and it adds a 3 dimensional swirl that the internal Leslie is severely lacking.

The piano sounds are a mixed bag. To my ear the Stage patch is the best sounding. The Wurli is good and the Rhodes is good too. I have lots of music apps on my IPad that I would like to integrate into my live setup but that is still in the testing stages.

The usb audio to and from iPad works. I notice that there are some glitches with certain apps. I think you have to turn on the Numa first and then fire up and load the midi apps.

The draw bars are great. When I had the Roland Vr700 and wanted to set up a dual manual patch there was no way to adjust the octave for the lower manual. You would have to use the drawbars to cheat. I Can now set up dual manual organ patches.

Saving patches is easy and the ability to Turn on and off pedals on a split gives you lots of room to create different layers and splits.

Overall Im very happy.

And its light as a feather!!

[kenheeter]

I have the Numa Compact 2X as well as a Gemini module. I tried to drive the module from the 2X but the drawbars and other controls don't seem to be sending midi data. The keys do as well as the sticks. Am I missing something? I looked at the data stream with MidiOX but there was nothing there. The documentation isn't great regarding midi implementation. Any help would be appreciated.

[conundrum]

djdisbro on page 18 said he was able to map the drawbars as midi controls.

[kenheeter]

Hi Derek,

How did you manage to map the drawbars? I haven't had any luck.

Thanks, Ken

[AnotherScott]

How did you manage to map the drawbars? I haven't had any luck.

The last section of the manual is "Sliders Programming", it's within the Zone Edit function. Looking at that, can you point to which part is hanging you up?

 

A questions for NC2X owners:

 

I know it has 20 synth sounds in it, which you can modify with the 9 sliders (for filter cutoff, attack/release, etc.). Do those sliders also work on non synth sounds? Not the organ sounds, obviously, where the sliders function as drawbars, but I'm talking about the other sounds, like the electric pianos, strings, etc.

 

 

[The_Star_Guy]

Hi Derek,

How did you manage to map the drawbars? I haven't had any luck.

Thanks, Ken

 

Hi, Ken! Just got back from a band rehearsal with the NC2x, and things went well as usual. My band really likes it! I am considering a Gemini module as well so let's see what is going on.

 

First, as you have probably already figured out, the manual is kind of light on certain details, especially for MIDI operations so hopefully there will be an update released soon.

 

As for accessing the MIDI ZONES, certain parameters are turned OFF by default (including the sliders) so you will have to turn them ON. To do this, first press the MIDI button so that it is lit, then push the Selector knob to highlight the ZONE that you want, either ZONE A or ZONE B. Once it is highlighted, then press the EDIT button. This should then bring you to the ZONE EDIT mode, and the first of 16 options (assuming that you are on firmware version 1.00). 1st parameter is PRG Chg, which set to 0. At this point you should scroll thru the parameters and make any changes that you need to, and then press the EDIT button again to exit. Please try this and then let us know. As I said, I am seriously considering the Gemini also.

[The_Star_Guy]

 

A question for NC2X owners:

 

I know it has 20 synth sounds in it, which you can modify with the 9 sliders (for filter cutoff, attack/release, etc.). Do those sliders also work on non synth sounds? Not the organ sounds, obviously, where the sliders function as drawbars, but I'm talking about the other sounds, like the electric pianos, strings, etc.

 

 

The default Slider operation is as follows for the 3 sound engines:

SAMPLED voices always have the first 2 (orange) Sliders available for filter cutoff & emphasis...they are always "live", even for EP's, guitars, clav, etc

ORGAN voices use the sliders for the typical organ drawbar footage adjustments; and

SYNTH voices use the sliders for real-time adjustment of synth parameters

 

 

I use the first two sliders a lot on voices like Clavs and the plucked strings like guitar voices, as it really helps and to match a voice to the song that I am playing

 

[kenheeter]

I got a swift response from Gianni at Studiologic and he explained just like the explanation above how to do this, I have done it and it works perfectly. As usual, it's mostly a matter of me getting my head around their approach. This thing is awesome and I think it will be killer with my Gemini...

[Radagast]

Now if Studiologic would just tell us when theyre going to give NC2X owners the user sample import option.

[Synthaholic]

Are yall happy with the action? Is it synthy fast? Or sluggish?

[AnotherScott]

Fast. (Is there any non-hammer action that has ever been considered sluggish?)

[Bobby Simons]

I returned mine today. I just couldnt warm up to the action and the general playability.

[kenheeter]

Well, I think there's a bunch of updates coming for the 2X so I'm going to hang onto mine and see what they come up with. So far it has earned a spot in my collection.

 

 

[AnotherScott]

I returned mine today. I just couldnt warm up to the action and the general playability.

How would you compare it your Edirol PCR-800?

[Bobby Simons]

Hmm, I wish you asked me when they were both sitting within reach downstairs. But Id say it compared quite favorably. Both were great for organ and synth playing. Unfortunately the 2X organ is weak and the synths are limited, and lately I spend most of my time on solo piano work. Its not great for that either. That said, if I was still in band rehearsal situations, I would definitely have kept it. I liked the speakers, I loved the case.

I still want an 88 with some speakers, and am now eyeballing that PX S-3000. That last demo (Rudi?) that someone posted sounded excellent, iOS app looks handy, runs on batteries. . . and Im a sucker for a pretty board. Its got feng shui, baby.

[Tom Williams]

(Is there any non-hammer action that has ever been considered sluggish?)

1st generation Ensoniq Mirage.

[Bobby Simons]

1st generation Ensoniq Mirage.

Sigh... one of the boards I lusted after but never got. Then, a couple years later I came into a little money and got myself an Emax HD, which I still have. Samplng was so new and fun in those days.