Nord Lead 3's Dual sine Wave Synthesis in Zebra?

Official support for: u-he.com
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

beatz wrote:all i can say is no plug in ever comes close to sounding like my nord lead 2. i have no idea what kind of magic they throw into those machines, but it definitely sounds good. it's difficult to compare virtual with hardware, and i'm glad to have both!
True enough, though we know it's also a VA (in a box). Regardless, Clavia most certainly infused much love into those algorithms, not to mention the lovely stereo unison. A dream to program and it amazes me every time how well it sits in a mix without hardly any post-processing at all. A definite classic in the VA arena, despite its age.

Silly to try comparing it to something like Zebra though. They're very different from one another, though both fantastic in their own ways. While Zebra may not perfectly match the tone and character of an NL2, its aural palette is also much more diverse, eclipsing the NL by miles in that regard. That complexity coupled with an ergonomically-challenged onscreen interface could also be seen as a hindrance, depending on how you work, but it's definitely one of the finest VST instruments I've heard. :tu:

Post

Tronam wrote:(Zebra's)aural palette is also much more diverse, eclipsing the NL by miles in that regard. That complexity coupled with an ergonomically challenged onscreen interface...
Ergonomically challenged? :-o Surely you jest, Sir! I think Z2 has the best interface of all large modular synths.

Post

Howard wrote:
Tronam wrote:(Zebra's)aural palette is also much more diverse, eclipsing the NL by miles in that regard. That complexity coupled with an ergonomically challenged onscreen interface...
Ergonomically challenged? :-o Surely you jest, Sir! I think Z2 has the best interface of all large modular synths.
I agree... the Zebra GUI is outstanding.

Post

Howard wrote:
Tronam wrote:(Zebra's)aural palette is also much more diverse, eclipsing the NL by miles in that regard. That complexity coupled with an ergonomically challenged onscreen interface...
Ergonomically challenged? :-o Surely you jest, Sir! I think Z2 has the best interface of all large modular synths.
I think perhaps you misunderstand. Compared to a dedicated tactile interface designed specifically for the instrument, I will always find computer bound onscreen interfaces ergonomically challenged. :)

Post

Tronam wrote:Compared to a dedicated tactile interface designed specifically for the instrument, I will always find computer bound onscreen interfaces ergonomically challenged. :)
Ah, that's what you meant. I tend to agree (although above a certain level of complexity, on-screen is better - a hardware Zebra2, for example, would be a monster!)

Post

Tronam wrote: I think perhaps you misunderstand. Compared to a dedicated tactile interface designed specifically for the instrument, I will always find computer bound onscreen interfaces ergonomically challenged. :)

That is why so many hardware synths have onscreen editors? Oh the misery of small lcd screens and endless menus on lots of dedicated tactile interfaces that were designed specifically for the instrument!

:-)

Post

pdxindy wrote:
Tronam wrote: I think perhaps you misunderstand. Compared to a dedicated tactile interface designed specifically for the instrument, I will always find computer bound onscreen interfaces ergonomically challenged. :)

That is why so many hardware synths have onscreen editors? Oh the misery of small lcd screens and endless menus on lots of dedicated tactile interfaces that were designed specifically for the instrument!

:-)
I think the Oasys' touchscreen idea is a good one. You touch a parameter on the screen and then change the value with a slider, alpha knob or type in the value with the numerical keypad. It's a good compromise to tactically edit what can be thousands of parameters.

Other than that, a better implementation of Novation's Automap might be a better idea.

Post

pdxindy wrote:Oh the misery of small lcd screens and endless menus on lots of dedicated tactile interfaces that were designed specifically for the instrument!
oh how i dont miss my S2000 sampler :hihi:

:D

Subz

Post

auricle wrote:
I think the Oasys' touchscreen idea is a good one. You touch a parameter on the screen and then change the value with a slider, alpha knob or type in the value with the numerical keypad. It's a good compromise to tactically edit what can be thousands of parameters.

Other than that, a better implementation of Novation's Automap might be a better idea.

I wonder why computer screens have not been thus improved. 1280/800 32m color touchscreen.

Oasys would dry up.

Post

Tronam wrote:
beatz wrote:all i can say is no plug in ever comes close to sounding like my nord lead 2. i have no idea what kind of magic they throw into those machines, but it definitely sounds good. it's difficult to compare virtual with hardware, and i'm glad to have both!
True enough, though we know it's also a VA (in a box). Regardless, Clavia most certainly infused much love into those algorithms, not to mention the lovely stereo unison. A dream to program and it amazes me every time how well it sits in a mix without hardly any post-processing at all. A definite classic in the VA arena, despite its age.

Silly to try comparing it to something like Zebra though. They're very different from one another, though both fantastic in their own ways. While Zebra may not perfectly match the tone and character of an NL2, its aural palette is also much more diverse, eclipsing the NL by miles in that regard. That complexity coupled with an ergonomically-challenged onscreen interface could also be seen as a hindrance, depending on how you work, but it's definitely one of the finest VST instruments I've heard. :tu:
I bought my Nord Lead 3 when i sold out all of my analog gears, like my Elka Synthex, my Cs80 and my OSCar, i can surely affirm that Nord Lead 3 is the best "sounding" gear i have ever put in a live gig and in a studio mix too, it sounds amazing in every condition, has an outstanding hardware user interface and is a small machine to travel with.

Zebra 2.2 i have in demo mode on my Receptor is a fantastic software synth and it's the best one in this category to me, it has an outstanding software user interface and is fantastic to play with (or without) all other plugs in my Receptor.
Whenever possible, i'll build a Nord Lead 3 recreation on Zebra, hoping to join these two pearls amonst musical gears.
PGi

Post

pdxindy wrote:
Tronam wrote: I think perhaps you misunderstand. Compared to a dedicated tactile interface designed specifically for the instrument, I will always find computer bound onscreen interfaces ergonomically challenged. :)

That is why so many hardware synths have onscreen editors? Oh the misery of small lcd screens and endless menus on lots of dedicated tactile interfaces that were designed specifically for the instrument!

:-)
Well, perhaps you are thinking of hardware synths like the DX7 and Roland D50 in that regard. I am referring to VAs like the Nord Lead, where LCD menu diving is almost non-existant.

Post

I bought my Nord Lead 3 when i sold out all of my analog gears, like my Elka Synthex, my Cs80 and my OSCar, i can surely affirm that Nord Lead 3 is the best "sounding" gear i have ever put in a live gig and in a studio mix too
Very much agreed. I have recently been paring down the number of hardware units I use, trying to only hang on to the essentials to make a super-simplified but very usable setup tat translates to stage performance easily.

The NL3 is one synth I will never sell off. It's sound is remarkable. In fact, until I discovered the Zebra softsynth, I could honestly say I didn't think any softsynth could match the NL3 sound. However, I wouldn't be surprised if someone could come very close, if not emulate it, using Zebra2...


Cheers,
atom(x)


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
latest release:
The Big Bang by atom(bang)
www.myspace.com/atombang
www.atombang.com

Post Reply

Return to “u-he”