I think I hate my Nord Lead 2??

[Omniant]

I've had it for a few weeks now and granted I'm not as savvy with synthesis as many of you are, but I have made some of my own patches but regardless, I don't feel like I'm getting that much out of it. It's possible that my opinion would change if I put a lot more time into writing patches but to be honest, I really don't have that much time or energy to put into creating patches. The other possibility is obviously the fact that there are no on board effects. In a band environment in which we are playing electronic music, the sounds seem so sterile and dry that they just don't sit well in the mix at all, and I find that I use hardly any patches. Perhaps if I were to accompany it with some reverb and delay I would be more inspired by the sounds but as of right now I'm thinking of selling it and trying something else out. Any opinions or suggestions?

[memory cords]

On professional recordings or live performances the synths are ALWAYS put through external reverbs/effects processing (either at the recording, mixing or mastering stage).

I recommend you buy one of the following effects units (they are reasonably priced):

TC Electronics M-One or M-One XL
Lexicon MX200 or MX300

With one of these units the Nord Lead 2 will sound MUCH better. Be aware that it make take several days or weeks of experimenting to find out which effects settings bring out the sound you want.

[nuketifromorbit]

I've had it for a few weeks now and granted I'm not as savvy with synthesis as many of you are, but I have made some of my own patches but regardless, I don't feel like I'm getting that much out of it. It's possible that my opinion would change if I put a lot more time into writing patches but to be honest, I really don't have that much time or energy to put into creating patches. The other possibility is obviously the fact that there are no on board effects. In a band environment in which we are playing electronic music, the sounds seem so sterile and dry that they just don't sit well in the mix at all, and I find that I use hardly any patches. Perhaps if I were to accompany it with some reverb and delay I would be more inspired by the sounds but as of right now I'm thinking of selling it and trying something else out. Any opinions or suggestions?

Adding some efx couldn't hurt. I love the sonic character of the nord modular g1 and original nord lead personally, but all this is highly subjective and it could be that this synth simply isn't the right one for you. h**l you could just bum a delay pedal off your guitarist just to see if your opinion of the nord is improved. At any rate shelling out 75 bucks for a cheap effects processor is going to be far less of a pain in the a*s than swapping the nord out with something else, and you'll probably end up wanting an fx box eventually anyway. If you do end up going with a new synth, just research it throughly, listen to as many demos as you can, and if possible try it out in person.

*memory chords is right, efx do go a along way.

[supermel74]

Have you seen these? I'd try it out through some effects before you decide to let it go.

[Omniant]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Understandably those effects will probably make a difference. My concern though is how efficient will I be with these processors in a live environment in which I constantly need to be playing (with multiple keyboards), sweeping filters with a foot or hand, paying attention to the other musicians etc. I feel like I wouldn't be capable of switching patches on an effects rack as well but maybe you all know something that I don't. If I'm right, then I'm paying a decent amount of money for a rack in which I might only use 1 or 2 effects. What do you think?

[memory cords]

My concern though is how efficient will I be with these processors in a live environment in which I constantly need to be playing (with multiple keyboards), sweeping filters with a foot or hand, paying attention to the other musicians etc. I feel like I wouldn't be capable of switching patches on an effects rack as well but maybe you all know something that I don't. If I'm right, then I'm paying a decent amount of money for a rack in which I might only use 1 or 2 effects. What do you think?

You can save the effects patches you create. then you just need to press one button on the effects unit to change to the effect you want for each song. It's just like a guitarist putting his guitar through different pedals.

You just need to ensure that all your synth sounds are roughly the same default volume level, otherwise you'll have to adjust the gain on the effects unit every time you change synth patches.

It's very easy to do, but you need to spend some time adjusting the parameters on the synth and effects unit at home, save and name your patches on the synth and effects unit, and then do a full rehearsal before you do an actual gig just to check everything works and fine-tune it.

It's easy to do, you just need to do some preparation and organization.

If you want to be get a pro sound, or even a semi-pro sound you will need to use decent external effects and processing. There's no other way. So it's not a waste of money unless you only want an demo/amateur sound.

[Omniant]

Alright memory chords. I think I'm going to go with your advice and pick one up. I am actually somewhat familiar with the M One but haven't used one in several years. Out of curiosity, do you know the difference between the standard and the XL?

[memory cords]

Alright memory chords. I think I'm going to go with your advice and pick one up. I am actually somewhat familiar with the M One but haven't used one in several years. Out of curiosity, do you know the difference between the standard and the XL?

As far as I know the M-One is discontinued, so the only way to get one is used. The M-One XL is still available new I believe.

The M-One XL is supposed to have slightly better quality reverbs than the M-One. It also has double the presets, this might be useful if you don't like creating your own patches.

Check out the following review for more info.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr02/a ... monexl.asp

And here's one for the Lexicon MX200:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov05/a ... nmx200.htm

Be aware that although the Lexicon is marketed as an intergrated unit for DAWs it works fine as a stand-alone unit.

You'll be able to use either of these units for other stuff besides your keyboards - you can put your vocals, guitars, drums etc through them too. Or you can hook them up to a mixer or hard disk recorder if you want to do studio production. So they have many uses.

[braincandy]

Since this thread has become more about which effect processor to buy, I'm moving it over to Buyer's Guide.

Btw, if you're short on funds, you could pick up an Alesis Wedge for around $50 or less. It's a tabletop unit that could actually sit on top of your Nord and is pretty easy to edit. Just an idea.

[madtheory]

For real ease of use, you can save your effects patches at the same program number as the one it is for on the Nord. Send MIDI out of the Nord to the FX unit. Now when you change patch on the Nord, the effects changes with it.

The Nord is a really great synth. However, IMO the Novation KS is just as good, and it has effects built in. A different character to the sound, slightly harder to program, but it is very very good, and stupidly cheap.

[devetron]

You can save the effects patches you create. then you just need to press one button on the effects unit to change to the effect you want for each song. It's just like a guitarist putting his guitar through different pedals.

You just need to ensure that all your synth sounds are roughly the same default volume level, otherwise you'll have to adjust the gain on the effects unit every time you change synth patches.

It's very easy to do, but you need to spend some time adjusting the parameters on the synth and effects unit at home, save and name your patches on the synth and effects unit, and then do a full rehearsal before you do an actual gig just to check everything works and fine-tune it.

It's easy to do, you just need to do some preparation and organization.

If you want to be get a pro sound, or even a semi-pro sound you will need to use decent external effects and processing. There's no other way. So it's not a waste of money unless you only want an demo/amateur sound.

If the effects unit has midi, you could even set up the patches on the effects unit to change with the corresponding program changes that the synth makes. Just change patches on your synth and the effect patch will change automatically.
Make sure you enable program changes to be sent by the synth and to be received by the fx.
Of course this is nothing new, but something nobody bothers to tell you either.

**EDIT** Oh hi Madtheory. Great post. Oops.

[Phollop Willing PA]

On professional recordings or live performances the synths are ALWAYS put through external reverbs/effects processing (either at the recording, mixing or mastering stage)......

'ALWAYS' seems so final. I disagree and have made recordings where the synths weren't treated. They didn't need it.

[memory cords]

On professional recordings or live performances the synths are ALWAYS put through external reverbs/effects processing (either at the recording, mixing or mastering stage)......

'ALWAYS' seems so final. I disagree and have made recordings where the synths weren't treated. They didn't need it.

Can you post these recordings of yours? I'd like to check them out.

In my own experience of over 15 years doing live music, working at radio stations, in professional studios I've never encountered a pro-level band/artist that didn't use outboard processing to enhance their sound.

[Phollop Willing PA]

On professional recordings or live performances the synths are ALWAYS put through external reverbs/effects processing (either at the recording, mixing or mastering stage)......

'ALWAYS' seems so final. I disagree and have made recordings where the synths weren't treated. They didn't need it.

Can you post these recordings of yours? I'd like to check them out.

In my own experience of over 15 years doing live music, working at radio stations, in professional studios I've never encountered a pro-level band/artist that didn't use outboard processing to enhance their sound.

If you google 'Phollop Willing PA' you'll find all kinds of file sharing sites that have taken my tunes and are trying to make a buck with them. You can hear examples/excerpts there.

Not all my recordings are untreated but my 45 recording 'Orphan Baby/Sea Cruise Blues' is untreated and was done using an Arp Explorer. It occasionally sells for $110 - 250.

[memory cords]

If you google 'Phollop Willing PA' you'll find all kinds of file sharing sites that have taken my tunes and are trying to make a buck with them. You can hear examples/excerpts there.

Not all my recordings are untreated but my 45 recording 'Orphan Baby/Sea Cruise Blues' is untreated and was done using an Arp Explorer. It occasionally sells for $110 - 250.

OK mate, I will have a search for your tunes and let you know what I think. Always on the lookout for new music!

Looking at my own record collection of over 2000 titles I can't think of a single one that doesn't have reverb on it.
Sorry to hear about those file sharing sites ripping you off, sincerely. Those people are scum.

UPDATE: well I listened to some samples of your "Plantin Seeds" release (I presume this is you?) and I can hear reverb and delay all over it.