NL3 & VIRUS users...suggestions

[mooghead]

Hi everybody.

 

The topic:

looking for suggestions between the Clavia Nord Lead III and the Access Virus KC

 

What I play:

everything, any style that a cover band can do. All the possible songs which can be defined classic hits from the 50s to the 90swe probably skip only the most recent hits. We only play livevery rarely recording.

 

The rest of the rig:

Nord Electro 73, a Studiologic 161 master keyboard, and a dedicated stage piano (considering the P90 and the RD170). So Ill have the stage piano with the new sinth on top; on the left the SL 161 with the Electro on top (the master will control both the Electro and the new sinth).

 

My approach to sounds:

Im not a programmer, Im a preset guy. I could learn to program my own sounds but it takes time and I prefer to spend my short spare time playing rather than programming. Why do I buy a VA if I dont really want to program my patches? Because I hate static samples, because I want good-great analogue sounds, because I want real-time controlIm not going to program from scratch but I already can modify subtractive sinthesis patches to my needs.

 

Sounds Ill use it for:

Leads, pads, sinth brass, sinth strings

 

Pros I see in the Nord Lead III:

Much easier to use, smaller to carry, its a Nord!

 

Pros I see in the Virus KC:

Much better keybed, larger user-base for ready patches, more complex sounds available.

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK:

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Thank you all :-)

[Yoozer]

Originally posted by mooghead:

[QB]Hi everybody.

 

The topic:

looking for suggestions between the Clavia Nord Lead III and the Access Virus KC

 

What I play:

everything, any style that a cover band can do. All the possible songs which can be defined classic hits from the 50s to the 90swe probably skip only the most recent hits. We only play livevery rarely recording.

Score one for the Nord, because it's easier to tweak (you can't see the setting of the Virus knobs, and several aren't as 'direct' as the Nord.

 

My approach to sounds:

Im not a programmer, Im a preset guy. I could learn to program my own sounds but it takes time and I prefer to spend my short spare time playing rather than programming. Why do I buy a VA if I dont really want to program my patches? Because I hate static samples, because I want good-great analogue sounds, because I want real-time controlIm not going to program from scratch but I already can modify subtractive sinthesis patches to my needs.

Both the Virus and the Nord can handle 1024 patches (and the Nord has 256 performances extra). I see more patches available for the Virus, though (unless I'm mistaken).

 

Sounds Ill use it for:

Leads, pads, sinth brass, sinth strings

 

Pros I see in the Nord Lead III:

Much easier to use, smaller to carry, its a Nord!

 

Pros I see in the Virus KC:

Much better keybed, larger user-base for ready patches, more complex sounds available.

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK:

I think you shouldn't forget that the Nord doesn't have any on-board effects; that might prove to be somewhat irritating when playing (unless you get an external box) when you have the right sound but it lacks just that bit of reverb or delay.

 

The Virus is in that respect complex - there's a lot of stuff you don't have to use, but I find myself somewhat peeved diving in menus to change what are (for me) rather trivial parameters.

 

I'm loving the sound of the Virus though - it can be "dirty analog" while the Nord is cleaner (but can do a nice clean vintage, too - I've rebuilt an Arp Axxe lead pretty well according to some folks )

[mildbill]

WHAT DO YOU THINK:

how about this?:

a NL2X rack and a used virus B rack.

dump the sl161, use the electro to control the NL2X rack and a P90 to control the virus rack.

 

cost will be less than either keyboard.

 

the Nl3 keyboard is pretty crappy, and the virus c compared to the b basically gives you more polyphony and eq.

 

i really like my VKC, so if you want a better keyboard, i'd go with this and then you could flip-flop and get a module that has good piano sounds that you're looking for - maybe a motif, or pc2r, or whatever suits your taste.

 

lots of ways you could go.

[mooghead]

No modules please. I've been using modules for nearly five years and I'm going back to keyboards for ease of set-up and real time control...less midi cables, no rack case...

 

Having both the Nord and the Access would be cool but controlling them from the Electro and the P90 I would not have wheels, aftertouch, easy to grab knobs...

 

Thank you for your opinions :-)

[mildbill]

ok - keyboards only, no modules.

 

my experience with these are: for clavia i've had a NL2 keyboard and a G2 keyboard (no NL3).

for access i've had a b and 2 c desktops and currently have a virus c keyboard.

 

if your main concern is for the keyboard, there is no comparison - get the VKC. it's got more keys, a much better feel and supports release velocity.

 

both have a good amount of sounds available, but i believe the virus has the edge here.

 

for on the fly tweaking, they both give you knobs for most of the major functions, but if you ever do eventually want to get into programming, the virus will take you further.

 

for live use, i think the nord lead may 'cut thru' better, but the virus is no slouch here either. (but you have to program it to do so).

 

as you stated, the NL3 is lighter, more convenient to move around, and takes up less space.

 

as always, your best bet is to try them both if you can and see if one 'grabs you'.

[Jeebus]

IMO the NL3 is overpriced and underpowered. The Virus provides the better soundset, better poly, and much more flexibility out of the box. The Nord has it's merits, but if you're gigging and are only going to carry one VA, the Virus wins, hands down. If you are a preset guy, there's no shortage of presets available for the Virus.

 

Oh yeah, it sounds great too.

[mooghead]

Thank you for replies :-)

 

I tried them both, twice.

 

I think that I could learn the NL3, not the Access.

 

But should I use one out of the box I think I would prefer the Virus...a reason also being the keybed.

 

What about preparing the Virus to cut better through the mix? Just taking reverb away from patches and a bit of eq...or is more of a science?

[clusterchord]

if you're doing songs from 50s to 90s, that means lot of vintage synth sounds like moog, ob etc. imho NL3 will give you much more on that front. it is more ballsy by itself, with fatter oscillators than virus. for playing hit songs , i dont see much use for more advanced synth arhitecture than nord's. it can do great strings, leads and brass. crappy keyboard and no sound fx, of course. but if u can live with that , i cast a vote for nord as well. seing settings in the dark and small weight helps a lot, unless you have roadies.

 

numbers of how many nords are used in bands live, compared to virus , says something as well.

[RABid]

Originally posted by clusterchord:

...

 

numbers of how many nords are used in bands live, compared to virus , says something as well.

I've noticed that. If you make trance music the Virus is supposed to be a "must have" keyboard. But a lot of bands use Nord keyboards on stage. You don't need reverb on stage, and when you take that away the Nord sounds better to me.

 

Robert

[clusterchord]

Originally posted by Rabid:

You don't need reverb on stage, and when you take that away the Nord sounds better to me.

you can always get a Roland SRV3030 used for $200, it sounds GREAT with synths. dual engine, one for delays, one for reverb, and you're all set.i use it for A6 and other analogics. works suprisingly well.

 

another thing that might make your synth battle guitars even more is some subtle tube processing. check a device called LPB 2ube from EHX. it is not intended for all-out overdrive but for subtle thickening, its stereo and works with line-level (synth level) signals.

[Jeebus]

I disagree that the NL3 can do a better moog emulation than the Virus, especially since Access released the free OS6 filter upgrade.

[Yoozer]

Originally posted by Rabid:

I've noticed that. If you make trance music the Virus is supposed to be a "must have" keyboard.

Mostly because of the absolute crapload of presets that's geared towards trance. Access has some very good commercial programmers for exactly that genre and signature sound.

 

The Q can actually do a lot of the same (just hear Manuel Schleiss's presets on Vengeance Sounds) - but the Virus already has like, 700 of those right out of the box.

 

When I got my Virus (bought the C secondhand, saved myself 400 euros - ka-ching!), no own user programs were made (you can recognize 'm because of the names), and even after OS6 was released for a month or 3, it still got 5.5 where it (I think) shipped with. The guys I got it from had it for a year already. I know at least 2 tracks that have literally used a factory preset, and I have no doubts that there are lots more, using those in the Vengeance Sounds commercial sets.

 

You could check 'm out here ; http://www.vengeance-music.de/Virus2/eng/sounds.html

 

Notice how similar (that is, if you can stand listening to these more than a minute or so ) the Q and C sets are - so it's all a matter of programming.

[mildbill]

i really, really like my VKC, but will admit that no amount of programming will get it to 'cut thru' a mix, or a wall of guitars like the nord stuff can.

that's what i like about the NL's - clean, clear, sharp, digital.

i agree with jeebus that the virus can probably do a better job of imitating the moog type stuff - it's all in the filters.

in a studio setting, i'd prefer the virus.

for playing in a band, i'd probably go with a nord lead.

[RABid]

I notice that SamAsh is closing out the Virus C. I wonder if that means the D is nearing release?

 

Robert

[Jeebus]

Originally posted by Rabid:

I notice that SamAsh is closing out the Virus C. I wonder if that means the D is nearing release?

 

Robert

There have been rumors circulating about the D for months, including speculation that it will feature endless rotaries.

 

It's possible that the D is nearing release, but I'm not holding my breath until I hear something directly from Access.

[mildbill]

no doubt access will be coming out with something else soon, but they probably won't stray too far from the winning virus formula.

 

i'm curious to see if clavia comes out with another lead instrument, or if they'll stay focused on the G2 series.

[Jeebus]

Originally posted by mildbill:

i'm curious to see if clavia comes out with another lead instrument, or if they'll stay focused on the G2 series.

I'd be surprised to see another Lead come out so soon. They just released the NL2X, and the NL3 hasn't sold very many units, undoubtedly due to it's high pricetag.

 

I don't see any holes in the market left for Clavia to fill, unless they came out with something VERY revolutionary.

[mooghead]

It's a pity that a "live" instrument has crappy keybed.

 

I could bear a "studio" sinth to have crappy keybed, you can sequence, use other sinths as masters...

 

While I think that a good (or great) keybed adds something to the experience...a NL4 with the Virus 5 octaves pro keybed? That would be cool...

 

I'm really torn :-(

[Analogaddict]

Originally posted by mooghead:

It's a pity that a "live" instrument has crappy keybed.

IMO, the Nord key bed isn´t crappy when you play the internal sounds. As a controller it´s more "crappy", espescially since you have no velocity curves to choose between...

 

[MikeT156]

You guys have been kicking around different controllers and some of their shortcomings. I'm not referrng to a stand alone synth that subs as a controller, but just a controller. Does ANYBODY make a great keyboard with enough front panel controls without all of the "Its great for this but it doesn't have that" kind of stuff I always read about? Seems like controllers always come up short. Any board out there that can handle racks and modules without control problems?

 

I would love a DSI Poly at some point but my ES8 doesn't "have enough knobs" on the front panel and I've read some other stories that its a bear to implement as a full fledge controller for the Poly. It sounds like I'd need a separate controller just for racks and modules so I don't foul up my main live board.

 

Mike T.

[RABid]

Don't let us fool you with our complaints. No controller can satisfy every player, or even every situation for a single player. What works great with a standard subtractive synth and ADSR eg's may not be at all helpful with an FM synth and 32 stage eg's. Then throw organ VSTi's, effects and mixing into the mix, weighted or synth action keys, wheels or levers, ribbon or touch pad, etc...

 

The perfect controller is like the perfect synth. It does not exists, even in imagination.

 

Robert