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Nord Wave 2


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True, it is a flexible synth, but for me personally, I don't think I can justify 2600 euro's on a VA synth. So maybe I shouldn't have used the word "steep", but I think it is a lot of money to spend on a VA. Especially when the modulation and routing options are limited, which we yet have to find out.

Rudy

 

 

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It's time for the same old "are Nords too expensive?" debate.

 

Anybody might conclude that given its particular features the Wave 2 is not for them. The same person might say "but I'd buy it for $500." That's not the same as making an objective assessment of value for the dollar. A serious discussion about value has to try to weed out anyone's subjective needs.

 

Quality hardware is expensive, and Nords are bristling with it. My biggest criticism of legacy Nord synths is that they pair quality control surface hardware with a budget keyboard. Finally Nord has stepped up its game, but of course that entails a cost.

 

It's often been pointed out that operating out of Sweden means meeting tougher environmental and recycling standards. Speaking for myself, I'll pay extra for that and consider it an investment in my children's future.

 

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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It's time for the same old "are Nords too expensive?" debate.

 

Anybody might conclude that given its particular features the Wave 2 is not for them. The same person might say "but I'd buy it for $500." That's not the same as making an objective assessment of value for the dollar. A serious discussion about value has to try to weed out anyone's subjective needs.

 

Quality hardware is expensive, and Nords are bristling with it. My biggest criticism of legacy Nord synths is that they pair quality control surface hardware with a budget keyboard. Finally Nord has stepped up its game, but of course that entails a cost.

 

It's often been pointed out that operating out of Sweden means meeting tougher environmental and recycling standards. Speaking for myself, I'll pay extra for that and consider it an investment in my children's future.

Argument well made.

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It's time for the same old "are Nords too expensive?" debate.

 

Anybody might conclude that given its particular features the Wave 2 is not for them. The same person might say "but I'd buy it for $500." That's not the same as making an objective assessment of value for the dollar. A serious discussion about value has to try to weed out anyone's subjective needs.

 

 

I think I agree but maybe I would phrase it this way:

 

- All opinions on the value are necessarily personal, i.e. related to the specific needs/wants of that person. So it's perfectly valid for one person to say "it's way too expensive" and another to say "fair price" ...as long as everyone understands that there is an impliciit "...for my needs" in these opinions.

- The only "objective" judgement of the price will be made by the market. If people buy it in quantities that support the business case at Nord...then it was priced correctly.

 

 

 

Yamaha CK88, Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, Moog Sub 37, Yamaha U1 Upright, Casio CT-S500, Mac Logic/Mainstage, iPad Camelot, Spacestation V.3, QSC K10.2, JBL EON One Compact

www.stickmanor.com

There's a thin white line between fear and fury - Stickman

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It's time for the same old "are Nords too expensive?" debate.

 

Anybody might conclude that given its particular features the Wave 2 is not for them. The same person might say "but I'd buy it for $500." That's not the same as making an objective assessment of value for the dollar. A serious discussion about value has to try to weed out anyone's subjective needs.

 

 

I think I agree but maybe I would phrase it this way:

 

- All opinions on the value are necessarily personal, i.e. related to the specific needs/wants of that person. So it's perfectly valid for one person to say "it's way too expensive" and another to say "fair price" ...as long as everyone understands that there is an impliciit "...for my needs" in these opinions.

- The only "objective" judgement of the price will be made by the market. If people buy it in quantities that support the business case at Nord...then it was priced correctly.

 

 

 

Very true, in particolar with Nord that do not try to cover all the user needs, but are clearly oriented to performance (vs sound design, for exemple).

Maurizio

Nord Wave 2, Nord Electro 6D 61,, Rameau upright,  Hammond Pro44H Melodica.

Too many Arturia, NI and AAS plugins

http://www.barbogio.org/

 

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Sounds great, build quality is good. They just need to source a better action than the TP-8O.

A synth of this caliber and price deserves a proper quality synth action like you get on a Jupiter-80 or Montage.

Well, they got Kawai to sell them an action to put in the Nord Grand, so never say never, but I wouldn't count on Roland or Yamaha selling their actions to Nord.

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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of course it's a capable digital synth, but you can get a Kronos 2 61 for the same money and it's one of the reasons I don't own that one either. ;)

The Kronos 61 is a fully blown ROMpler but it does not provide the same level of real-time control when it comes to sound design as the Nord Wave 2. :)

 

A synth with knobs and buttons and a sampler under one hood could make the Nord Wave 2 an attractive instrument to me.

 

The price tag is a non-issue. It is the color of which I'm not particularly fond. :laugh::cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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of course it's a capable digital synth, but you can get a Kronos 2 61 for the same money and it's one of the reasons I don't own that one either. ;)

The Kronos 61 is a fully blown ROMpler but it does not provide the same level of real-time control when it comes to sound design as the Nord Wave 2. :)

 

A synth with knobs and buttons and a sampler under one hood could make the Nord Wave 2 an attractive instrument to me.

 

The price tag is a non-issue. It is the color of which I'm not particularly fond. :laugh::cool:

 

ProfD, I would forgive you for calling the Kronos a glorified PC with a piano keyboard slapped on, but a ROMpler!??? How dare you!. :laugh:

Not that there isn't a ROM in there or tons of ROM libraries. But that's miniscule compared to the SSDs! :cop: And the Sampling - KORG format, AKAI S1000/S3000 data (with advanced Program parameter conversion); SoundFont 2.0, AIFF, and WAVE formats. And the synthesis engines in software... EP-1, HD-1, AL-1, CX-3, STR-1, MOD-7, MS-20EX, PolysixEX. There's a Korg IP festival in there! And the FX and audio routing, and the workstation/DAW features, KARMA, Sequencing, hard disk recording. If you want more knobs buy a bigger house. (tee hee)

 

As suggested many times, the price tag is an issue, it's just more or less of an issue dependent upon the person.

 

Indeed, color is not for me. :cheers:

 

If the Wave 2 were about $2k and had a quality synth action on it, I'd grab it. Probably vinyl wrap it later though. :laugh:

 

A clonewheel / synth combo remains elusive short of the Stage 3.

I wonder what it would take to get Korg to do a water fall key edition of the Kronos with drawbar caps for the faders (this is easily done by the user though).

The Wave 2 with a Legend Exp is interesting - but the price of the two is ugly.

A Stage 3 Desktop would be cool.

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Sounds great, build quality is good. They just need to source a better action than the TP-8O.

A synth of this caliber and price deserves a proper quality synth action like you get on a Jupiter-80 or Montage.

Well, they got Kawai to sell them an action to put in the Nord Grand, so never say never, but I wouldn't count on Roland or Yamaha selling their actions to Nord.

 

Very true, and nice to see them acknowledge that their piano sampling and sound design work can be an even nicer experience with input from something other than an "HA" or "HP" action.

 

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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ProfD, I would forgive you for calling the Kronos a glorified PC with a piano keyboard slapped on, but a ROMpler!??? How dare you!. :laugh:

 

Not that there isn't a ROM in there or tons of ROM libraries. But that's miniscule compared to the SSDs! :cop: And the Sampling - KORG format, AKAI S1000/S3000 data (with advanced Program parameter conversion); SoundFont 2.0, AIFF, and WAVE formats. And the synthesis engines in software... EP-1, HD-1, AL-1, CX-3, STR-1, MOD-7, MS-20EX, PolysixEX. There's a Korg IP festival in there! And the FX and audio routing, and the workstation/DAW features, KARMA, Sequencing, hard disk recording. If you want more knobs buy a bigger house. (tee hee)

 

A clonewheel / synth combo remains elusive short of the Stage 3.

Yeah mayne. The Kronos is awesome but it is still and will always be a fancy ROMpler. :D

 

I doubt that any muso does major real-time programming of the 17 synth engines using that crowded screen that screams 1993. :laugh:

 

I have pondered the choice between a Kronos 88 and Nord Stage 3 EX. It is a tough call.

 

A Nord Stage 3 EX and a Moog Matriarch would make a killer clonewheel/synth combo.

 

But, as the monkey said as he peed in the cash register, this is going to run into the money. :roll::laugh::cool:

 

 

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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ProfD, I would forgive you for calling the Kronos a glorified PC with a piano keyboard slapped on, but a ROMpler!??? How dare you!. :laugh:

 

Not that there isn't a ROM in there or tons of ROM libraries. But that's miniscule compared to the SSDs! :cop: And the Sampling - KORG format, AKAI S1000/S3000 data (with advanced Program parameter conversion); SoundFont 2.0, AIFF, and WAVE formats. And the synthesis engines in software... EP-1, HD-1, AL-1, CX-3, STR-1, MOD-7, MS-20EX, PolysixEX. There's a Korg IP festival in there! And the FX and audio routing, and the workstation/DAW features, KARMA, Sequencing, hard disk recording. If you want more knobs buy a bigger house. (tee hee)

 

A clonewheel / synth combo remains elusive short of the Stage 3.

Yeah mayne. The Kronos is awesome but it is still and will always be a fancy ROMpler. :D

 

 

 

+10000

That friggin 1993 screen was my second biggest frustration with the Kronos!

and that stupid joystick!..also not a fan of the Korg UI

Great sounds, tho, thats undeniable!

 

On topic, the Wave 2 looks and sounds great and I can"t wait to try one!

 

"I have constantly tried to deliver only products which withstand the closest scrutiny � products which prove themselves superior in every respect.�

Robert Bosch, 1919

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Well, since a rompler's sound sources are sampled, and some of the Kronos engines are partially or completely modeled (modeled clonewheel organ and modeled VA synthesis use no samples at all), and the FM engines is a pure FM synthesizer, I can't see calling it a rompler. I mean, it essentially incorporates the equivalent of an actual CX3 organ and Yamaha DX7 (even directly loading DX7 patches), and no one would call those boards romplers. Also rompler originally meant a sampler where the sounds were unchangeable and burned into rom, whereas the Kronos actually includes a full sampler and rewritable storage, so that functionality is kind of a modern Emulator, another board no one would call a rompler. Of its 9 engines, most, if sold as boards by themselves, would not fall into the rompler category.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Well, since a rompler's sound sources are sampled, and some of the Kronos engines are partially or completely modeled (modeled clonewheel organ and modeled VA synthesis use no samples at all), and the FM engines is a pure FM synthesizer, I can't see calling it a rompler. Of its 9 engines, most, if sold as boards by themselves, would not fall into the rompler category.

Brotha Scott, as always, technically you're correct. :D

 

The Kronos is not a ROMpler by definition. However, most end users aren't going to explore the depths of the Kronos' synth and modeling and sampling capabilities.

 

Goes back to the statement a service tech made regarding how most KBs come into the shop with a high percentage of the factory programs intact.

 

So, through no fault of Korg and their willingness to provide musos with a box of several synths, modeling and sampling, the Kronos in the hands of many is still a fancy ROMpler. :laugh:

 

Back on topic, I look forward to taking the Nord Wave 2 for a spin. First, I'm curious to hear whether or not the synth engine still has that almost too clean sound and also how well samples can be manipulated once imported.:cool:

 

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I know, we're not really talking literally here, but the fact that so many DX7 owners played nothing but presets didn't make it a rompler. ;-)

 

Though personally, I think the word "rompler" has gotten a bad rap to begin with!

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Hi,

 

Anybody have an idea if the Wave 2 keybed can be set to high trigger point mode? That would make it a perfect top tier board for Stage 3 - could double as a luxury organ manual.

 

Jyrki

Nord Stage 3 88, Prophet 6, Moog Voyager OS, Moog Little Phatty TE, Crumar Mojo Classic Suitacase, Kawai US-50 upright, Beltuna Studio 3 and Fantini cassotto accordions
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