Nord Lead 2X with a sequencer

[elwoodblues1969]

I was doing some more research on the Nord,as thier is a American website of Clavia that they call NordUsa.

There is forum for Clavia products and a section specifically for the Lead 2X and a Nord user had complained that the midi functions between the Lead & a sequencer
interact very differently than most other keyboards and that he said it was a tedious way to do midi sequencing.

Since I have no experience with midi,I could not really grasp what this person was explaining,but nonetheless,it should prove to be very useful information,once I get my Nord & the Akai MPC500.

This discovery does in no way,disuade me from buying the Nord,but it does make me curious & any thoughts anyone might have on this would be helpful.

http://www.nordusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=212

Thanks,

Thom

[elwoodblues1969]

 I Checked out the NordUsa forum again & discovered another Nord Lead user's turmoil with the Lead in regard to midi sequencing...which seems to consistently prevail amongst those who try to sequence with the Nord.

From what I have read about all this thus far,I've concluded that the Nord Lead must be more compatible with computer sequencers,rather than hardware sequencers and I will have the same inherant problems with the Nord in conjunction with the Akai MPC500.

At this point,I am uncertain as to whether or not it would be worthwhile for me to buy the Akai MPC500 for recording?
Perhaps I am better off just recording everything in real-time with my Zoom recorder?

http://www.nordusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=196

[Moon]

Thom,

I was wondering. I don't have a Korg Triton and I'm looking getting myself a workstation. Obviously, the Korg M3 is a very strong contender. Korg has aslo a Radias plugin board, adding a massive 24 voice VA synth (like the Nord2X)  inside. Combined with Karma, I believe that this synth wil cover many needs.

So, if you would't have the Triton,would you consider the M3 with Radias plugin board?

[elwoodblues1969]

Moon,

If I did not have the Triton,I would still want a full size 88 key board & the Korg M3(full size) is $3500(USD),plus whatever this Radius plug in costs-which means that if I had that much money to spend,I would just go with a Kurzweil,because that would have everything I would want for my particular needs.

Since I do have a nice workstation already,I really like the manual control & unique sounds of the Nord Lead 2X-and if I should run into any midi sequencer problems with the Nord,I imagine there must be a way to work around the apparent inconveniences with hardware sequences.

In any event,I think the Nord would be a very siginificant purchase & a must have for what I want to do,as I think the Nord is a excellent suppliment for what my Triton does not offer.

I personally want to try something different other than Korg,so I am not really the ideal person to ask for advice on what may be ideal for you.

I really don't know enough about the Korg M3,so I am not in the position to suggest it to you as a workstation for you,because like I had said in some of my earlier posts,I have always owned Korgs-so I want to branch out & try other brands.

If you have the money to spend Moon,I think perhaps you should at least consider the Nord Wave,along with some alternative means for sequencing the Wave sounds,as I think the Nord wave is the most interesting keyboard out there,as it seems to have infinite possiblities.

If you really want a self contained workstation,then I would not suggest the Nord Wave,but it is such a fascinating synth & probably the best virtual synth out there right now.
It's very possible that the Nord Wave may not be available until the end of this year,or until the beginning of January,but it is worth waiting for and if I had the money to freely spend like that,I would probably get one for myself,especially so,if i did not have my Triton.

Speaking out of pure fantasy,I would love to have both the Kurzweil K2600XS and the Nord Wave together!! That would be keyboard heaven for me.

Thom

[Moon]

We still have to wait for the Nord Wave though.

I hope this one is going to live up to the expectations !

[rharv]

Elwood, if the Triton does sequencing for you, why not use it for the sequencer? You are familiar with how it works and it should ahve no problem driving another soundsource like the Kurzy or Nord..?

You'll still need an audio recorder but your Zoom should work for that for now.

[elwoodblues1969]

Bob,

Driving another sound source with my Korg?I still need an audio recorder even though I already have an 8 track audio recorder?

I am totally missing what you are saying,as I cannot follow you at all-I guess that's my fault,because I am pretty ignorant when it comes to midi networking.

Anyways,I generally will be using my Triton as the backbone of my songs and just sweetening my tunes with the Nord-via my Zoom,but in the event that I decide to do a particular song solely using the Nord,I would like to have the ability to midi sequence just the Nord sounds.

Of course,the Akai MPC500 is not a dire need and I can do without it for a while,but at some point down the road,I think the Akai would be very useful for certain applications.

Elwood

[rharv]

If you can sequence in the Triton you should easily be able to use it to tell the Nord what to play, just hook the midi out of the Triton to the midi in of the Nord.. and throw the switch that allows the midi to go to the out port in the Triton..

You'll be able to figure it out and will likely enjoy it as you are already familiar with how the Trion sequencer works.

[elwoodblues1969]

Thanks Bob,that is a viable option of which I will undertake once I get the Nord.

That is certainly a good improvisational avenue to take until I get the Akai.

Elwood

[rharv]

You may never need the Akai.
 For many years I ran rock shows from a W-30 sampler. The sequencer in that keyboard would control itself and three other keyboards, two guitar FX boxes, a vocal reverb/delay unit and the lights. It is an older board but the sequencer in it was great.

It is very possible to do, and not too complicated once you get a system down.
 MCHammer ran his show with 2 W-30's sync'd together in his heyday..

[kara]

A Roland W-30, that's an oldie 
The only thing I remember of it is that it had a great accoustic guitar sound in it. Was quit a revolution at that time

k

[Marc JX8P]

MCHammer ran his show with 2 W-30's sync'd together in his hayday..

STOP!

Hammertime...



And I do think you mean his 'heyday', unless he had a farm and produced straw and hay (could very well be, I mean, those giant trousers had to be filled with something, didn't they...).

[rharv]

Yes- it's an old board, which is why I used it as an example. If the W-30 could do it, certainly the Triton can.

I fixxed that 'heyday' Marc, thanks.
 I'm battling a flu and things are kinda foggy this morning..

What I liked about the W-30 is that it could read the S-50 and S-30 sample formats, so it had access to a very large library of sounds, and the built-in sequencer was top-notch for the time. Actually there were DOS programs out back then that would convert Akai,etc., to wave format and then into the S-series format, so it was a pretty impressive machine for a while there. I used it so much the bulb in the LCD burned out.. only keyboard I managed to do that to.

[elwoodblues1969]

Rharv,

The thought of not having to spend another $700 on a external sequencer sounds good to me-I have too many other small items of gear to get yet.

Thanks again,

Elwood

[folderol]

You know you have too many 'small items' when the electric company comes to fit an industrial 3 phase fuse panel