Old Virus, Old Nord, for that matter all "Old" versions

[synthmax]

I previously heard that for some reason Nord Lead 3 sounded differently than the 2. This begs the question, for these series of VAs, are you pretty much buying the same sound when you get Virus A vs Virus TI or Nord 1 vs Nord 3? This is assuming the same features are used on patches for both.

[otto]

I previously heard that for some reason Nord Lead 3 sounded differently than the 2. This begs the question, for these series of VAs, are you pretty much buying the same sound when you get Virus A vs Virus TI or Nord 1 vs Nord 3? This is assuming the same features are used on patches for both.

I remeber this being talked about on the Nords quite a lot and that many swore there was a big variation in sound. The Virus TI does have better converters which apparently makes it sound cleaner.

[Solderman]

I'd say the most radical difference in the Viruses is between the A and B versions. The latter supported more effects per voice, had ringmod and a 3rd oscillator, and an extra LFO. They also added such goodies as arpeggio presets, more distortion types between the filters when in series, and a global-mix reverb effect. Beyond the B, the feature creep was mostly extra voices, more mod routings and a better interface, from what I've seen. I never upgraded from the B, and never found a reason to, when playing the newer versions at music shops. I don't personally care for the "super saw" or the newer lowpass filter they added. Only sonic difference I appreciated on the TI was they finally got rid of the oscillator aisling in the higher pitched notes.

[clusterchord]

ive spent substantial ammount of time with NR2X and NR3, side by side - i was intrigued to find if there are indeed differences in charracter.i knew from bfr i liked the sound of the NL2, but was drawn to additional features of the 3.. anyways, after noodling for cpl of hours with simple saw and square sounds, changing the resonance and filter, tryin to match them, i concluded that oscillator code sounds EXACTLY the same, at all positions. however what differs is the filter. the sound, the character, the resonance as function of cutoff position etc.. not night n day but NL3 filter is less smooth/warm, got more harshness in some areas i.e. its uneven when swept under resonance. never the less, i like it for what it is. so, if u want a unique sounding and very capable digital synth go NL3, if youre looking for something more sucessful in "virtual analog" context then its NL2X - more musical and rich sounding machine.

i recorded with NL1 many moons ago, dont remember much cept that it was rather gritty and kinda boring. but i do remember the excitement when soon after i played a brand new NL2 in a store in Stockholm in 97, thinking "wooow" this is something else. that may mean something. or not.

Nord Wave i played a lot in the store too. altough i like some aspects of it like sampling and fx, the general sound of the filter is going even further away in the direction that 3 went after 2. its more like a G2. metallic and harsh.

down the line im gonna pickup a NL2X. ideally, it be nice to have NL3 too, for some very special lead n pad sounds unique to this machine tht i really dig. but, you cant have everything.

cheers

[Solderman]

And since we're talking VA here, anyone A/B a Nord Lead 2 to DiscoDSP Discovery 2? Last time I played the VST, it sounded much smoother than a Nord to me.

[OriginalJambo]

I don't personally care for the "super saw"

Would a hypersaw change your mind?

Seriously though, is that 16 detuned sawtooth waves?

[Joey]

between the virus series there isnt really much of a difference, I upgraded straight from a B to a TI and compared patches before I sold the B, no real difference...

between the old nords and the nord 3, major major difference

their sound engines were built by two entirely different teams, and they sound entirealy different

the nord 3 has a sort of permanent bite to it, almost a distortion

the 2 is much cleaner sounding...

i have my bandmates 3 lying in the closet right now, and I used to own a 2x

the 1 sounds the same as the 2/2x

[Rusty O'Hara]

A friend has done a fair bit of stage management involving psy-trance acts, they always specify a Lead 2 over a Lead 3 for what it's worth.

[sentientprogram]

the 1 sounds the same as the 2/2x

To my ears the NL1 sounds a little warmer.

[deathbycubicle]

i've been playing a nord lead 3 for some time now as my main synth. i think many of the reviews of it unfairly categorize it as "thin" or "cold" sounding. as always, it's in the programming. to be honest, when i first got the synth i wasn't impressed...but i spent a day reading the manual and started programming, and now i'm hooked. as always, YMMV

[Yoozer]

And since we're talking VA here, anyone A/B a Nord Lead 2 to DiscoDSP Discovery 2?

Micromodular with a Nord 2 patch good enough? I find that it's nothing like the NL2.

[Skwege]

I have both a Lead 2X and a Lead 3. As a previous poster had mentioned, the main audible difference is really in the filter, well as far as I have noticed. Another difference is when you stack voices, it comes across better on the 2 IMO. Though the 3 gives you the awesome option of stacking them wherever you want (5ths, octaves, etc.) Where the 2 just gives you the one option of stacking 2 of the same notes for poly, and 4 notes for mono.

I personally use both of them equally. Though if I was forced to choose I would select the Lead 3 without a second thought. It's special Unison Detune function is really cool for FM Pads, not to mention the 3 has all those additional FM features and more features overall.

Man, I would so buy a full on Nord FM synth if they ever made one.

[nSCOURGE]

And since we're talking VA here, anyone A/B a Nord Lead 2 to DiscoDSP Discovery 2? Last time I played the VST, it sounded much smoother than a Nord to me.

Yikes!

Couldn't disagree more.

http://www.gearwire.com/discovery-v-nord.html

Only sonic difference I appreciated on the TI was they finally got rid of the oscillator aisling in the higher pitched notes.

That's somewhat surprising.

I've heard that the Virus TI, is powered by a couple(?) DSPs with a 56-bit accumulator and capabilities for double precision(an advantage for fixed point in audio applications), so I would think that things like effects, and low-end filter sweeps should sound more defined.

[nSCOURGE]

I have both a Lead 2X and a Lead 3. As a previous poster had mentioned, the main audible difference is really in the filter, well as far as I have noticed. Another difference is when you stack voices, it comes across better on the 2 IMO. Though the 3 gives you the awesome option of stacking them wherever you want (5ths, octaves, etc.) Where the 2 just gives you the one option of stacking 2 of the same notes for poly, and 4 notes for mono.

I personally use both of them equally. Though if I was forced to choose I would select the Lead 3 without a second thought. It's special Unison Detune function is really cool for FM Pads, not to mention the 3 has all those additional FM features and more features overall.

Man, I would so buy a full on Nord FM synth if they ever made one.

I am incredibly nostalgiac for 90's VA's, and even though the NL3 came out after 2000, It's the remaining VA that I would most like to own.

[Skwege]

I am incredibly nostalgiac for 90's VA's, and even though the NL3 came out after 2000, It's the remaining VA that I would most like to own.

Well I believe it to be a bit of a misnomer to even refer to the Lead 3 as a VA. It doesn't sound very analog at all, and to Clavia's credit its referred to as a Advanced Subtractive Synthesizer, unlike its predecessors.

That having been said I really think its one of the best digital synths ever made. Great interface, lots of good performance features, lightweight, built well, looks sexy and most important of all it sounds fantastic, even without FX.