GAS for a Nord Lead 3 vs. Lead 2x...

[eric]

Folks, here's a conundrum for you.

 

I'll preface this with the admission that "My name is eric and I have insatiable gear lust." There, I got that off my chest.

 

About a month ago, I sprung for a Nord Lead 2x and I love this synth. I was a longtime Nord Lead 1 user and had been missing this synth in my rig. I briefly considered a Lead 3, but the price was almost double the 2x and so I passed.

 

Now that I have the 2x, I have spent quite a bit of time with patch management...finding my favorite sounds, moving them around, tweaking them etc. Which brings me to the brunt of my problem...the 3-digit LED display is really killing me when I try to recall sounds during performance. I made all these great sounds, but I can never remember if the one that I want is Patch 38 or 48 or 84 or Performance A0, D3, etc... I can use a cheat sheet, but I tend to make edits and changes so often that keeping up with a cheat sheet is laborious. If Clavia made a Nord Lead 2x with an LCD and patch-naming functions, I would pay several hundred dollars more, just for this feature. Tonight I was at rehearsal and we are in the process of learning about 6 new songs that are heavy on keys. I had made a bunch of sounds, but was having a real struggle remembering which was which. If I could have just named the sounds by song, that would have saved a lot of grief. The 3-digit LED is killing spontaneity for me.

 

Seeing that I really need an LCD for patch naming, my only Nord option is the Lead 3. I have stumbled upon a potentially good deal and so it won't be a huge leap to upgrade to the NL3. My main concern is losing some of the NL2 sounds I have grown to love.

 

So my questions for you Nord users:

 

1) If I am upgrading mainly for user interface, can I still get the basic NL2 sounds from the NL3?

 

2) Do other improvements in the NL3 outweigh the NL2 so far that it is worth it in any event?

 

3) Is there anything the NL2 does that the NL3 cannot do?

 

Thanks a million.

 

Regards,

Eric

[Unsound Practices]

Hey Eric,

 

You have an S90, right? Why not create a few multi-zoned Masters named after the songs to send program change data to the Nord?

 

You can also do a few multi-zone generic Masters (Comp&HardLd, Piano&Nord, etc) for general use.

 

It will take a bit of time to program but if you have a relatively stable set list it should make things easier.

[eric]

That's a great suggestion and I actually have a little bit of that going on already, more on the generic side - Piano & NL2x, Split NL2x, etc. My main issue with this is that it makes me dependent on using the S90 to drive it and I prefer to have the two separated for spontaneity's sake. So I can play piano/clav/EP etc on the S90 and then whatever VA sound I want on the fly.

 

I am going to think about this some more. The other is that since my Nords have no MIDI thru, it makes it hard to control both the Electro and NL2x from the S90 unless I use a MIDI thru box. To avoid this degree of gear fussing, I usually only use the S90 to control one or the other - more than likely the Electro.

 

Thanks,

Eric

[radiospace]

According to Clavia's website, the Nord Lead 3 has MIDI thru.

[RABid]

Some good suggestions above. Also, here are a few tips from my memory of times when all programmable keyboards only had 2 digit led's.

 

If you have a set list you can write the patch numbers next to each song.

 

If the sets are usually the same night after night, put those patches in order so you can just step through them.

 

Cut back on the number of patches you use in the performance. 40 different patches may be hard to remember. 10 different patches is easy.

 

Group your patches in a logical manner that you can easily remember. 1-10 for bass, 11-20 for lead, etc. Within those groups you may then sort patches by another method such as soft to hard sounds.

 

Maybe the most important, give yourself some consistency with the patches. If you keep changing them around then you will never be able to memorize them. Make a patch you like, put it in a location you can remember, and use it.

 

Robert

[mildbill]

eric:

 

wow, this really sounds familiar - i posted something similar back in march, when i got rid of a NL2 and was considering a 3 - check here for a lot of info:

 

http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=009772

 

also, to get a small idea of the raw sounds from each, try to check here:

 

http://sayersweb.com/studio/html/Nord_Lead_2_versus_3.html

 

the link still works for me.

 

anyways, i posted here and at HC for input on the merits of the 2 and 3, then i asked what people thought about me getting a G2 or 3 and the general consensus was that i would be happier with the 3.

 

to make a long story short, i went against the advice and got the G2 and don't regret it.

 

you won't find many people who agree with me on this, but i think the 3 can do everything the 2 can and a lot more. and in the same regard, the G2 can do everything the 2 and 3 can do and then some.

 

anyways, if you want to maintain the 'nord sound', there is more than one option.

a tad bit more, pricewise, but i think it's worth it.

[Bartolomeo]

I have the lead 3, though I've never used the 2, and being basically a piano and organ guy am still trying to really understand synthesis. So, it is with due humility that I offer advice here.

 

I believe that the user interface of the Lead 3 is among the best I've seen on any piece of computerized equipment. The rotary encoders with the LEDs combine the ease of interaction of old-fashioned pots with the store-and-recall ability of up/down pushbuttons. This is of considerable value if you like to experiment with sounds (as I do) or if you want to tweak sounds during the course of a performance.

 

If I understand correctly, you can dump lead 2 patches to a lead 3 via MIDI. Might want to check on this before you count on it, though, 'cause I'm not sure. The synthesis paths are very similar, though they've added FM for the 3, I think, and a few other things that are useful for certain sounds.

 

The LCD is nice - easy to read in a variety of lighting conditions and sufficiently large (though barely). Entering patch names is tedious with the knob but you only have to do that once.

 

Overall, I find it to be a great board, and its limitations are those that you would expect in a board that is strictly a synth. No sampled sounds, limited keyboard compass, synth action. So, not a workstation, but a great complement to a stage piano for live use.

 

I held out for a good deal on a 3, passing up a 2x in the process, and I'm glad I did.

 

Bartolomeo.

[eric]

Thanks for all the great replies. For the present, I am going to keep my NL2x and try to vanquish that evil GAS monster from my head. I have done variations on what Robert said (patch sheets, set lists with patch numbers, organized patches, etc.). I had a system down on my original NL1 that worked for me and it is taking some time to get my mojo working again. I'm going to keep at it and avoid that additional expense that I feel I am mainly doing for the patch naming function. I am sure the NL3 would blow me away, but I cringe at having to flip more gear and then learn another new instrument!

 

Thanks again,

Eric