Clavia nord lead 2 Good for trance?
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 23 posts since 14 Oct, 2009
Apparently Its a really good synth if you are looking for that analog feeling type of sound, but if you are looking for those heavy Trance sound, you should buy something else like for example the virus TI.
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- KVRian
- 816 posts since 4 Sep, 2007 from Los Angeles
Nord Lead = The Brighter side of trance
Access Virus = The Darker side of trance
IMHO
my personal fave and most inspiring is the Nord Lead 3 with the unique routing setup and blasting sound it cant be beat
i dont like the virus because it seems to me everyone has one and you know when you hear one on a trance record - its a good synth true enough but PLAYED OUT!!!!...
Access Virus = The Darker side of trance
IMHO
my personal fave and most inspiring is the Nord Lead 3 with the unique routing setup and blasting sound it cant be beat
i dont like the virus because it seems to me everyone has one and you know when you hear one on a trance record - its a good synth true enough but PLAYED OUT!!!!...
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- KVRist
- 151 posts since 25 Oct, 2004 from Liverpool, UK
I own a virus TI a JP8080 and a nord rack 2:
IMO virus is definetly the alround best for trance, it can handle anything well, leads pads bass etc etc. The nord lead is good imo for thinish mono leads and bass aswell, it cant do pads anywhere near the TI for me, although if you detune two saws slightly and turn on its unison and play some nice LP filter + ENV plucky leads this sounds VERY nice.
The JP8080 has more functionality than the NL2 but doesn't sound as good for me. It can do a super saw but is still quite weak when compared to a TI.
So basically, the TI is the best, the nord is limited but does what it does very well, the JP8080 is like a weaker TI lol.
All in my opinion ofcourse!
IMO virus is definetly the alround best for trance, it can handle anything well, leads pads bass etc etc. The nord lead is good imo for thinish mono leads and bass aswell, it cant do pads anywhere near the TI for me, although if you detune two saws slightly and turn on its unison and play some nice LP filter + ENV plucky leads this sounds VERY nice.
The JP8080 has more functionality than the NL2 but doesn't sound as good for me. It can do a super saw but is still quite weak when compared to a TI.
So basically, the TI is the best, the nord is limited but does what it does very well, the JP8080 is like a weaker TI lol.
All in my opinion ofcourse!
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 23 posts since 14 Oct, 2009
Well, The TI would be the better choice then, I dont have the ammount of money to buy different synths for different purposes, i think I'll just save up for the virus TI, most flexible and good sounded synth maby it would suite me best.
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- KVRist
- 111 posts since 25 Jul, 2005 from los angeles
Honestly I wouldn't get the TI frankly the b, c series sounds better to me. Get a used one on top of a nord lead and you will really have a great set of sounds. You can find a b series desktop for a great prices at this point.
Look if you get a nord lead 2 (which many have argued sounded better than the 3.. the leads according to many seemed to sound thinner with later releases..but I wouldn't know from personal experience) you can find a good deal even on the bay for 5-600 and then get a virus desktop. Both of those options beat a TI by more than half the price. About 1200 bucks as opposed to 2500.
That is what I would do at this point. I know it is nice to have the option of the TI but for what it does I just wouldn't pay the price. I'd rather spend that extra 1000 on a decent interface if I didn't already have one.
Look if you get a nord lead 2 (which many have argued sounded better than the 3.. the leads according to many seemed to sound thinner with later releases..but I wouldn't know from personal experience) you can find a good deal even on the bay for 5-600 and then get a virus desktop. Both of those options beat a TI by more than half the price. About 1200 bucks as opposed to 2500.
That is what I would do at this point. I know it is nice to have the option of the TI but for what it does I just wouldn't pay the price. I'd rather spend that extra 1000 on a decent interface if I didn't already have one.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 23 posts since 14 Oct, 2009
Hmm.. i haven't tried the previous virus synths yet, it would be a good thing to do, and as i said before I've heard and played the First version of the virus TI and it sounded MASSIVE. The "Cliche" goes; "ones you own and start working with a virus, you can't understand how you could have been without one".
But Still i would really like to try the previous ones too.
Also i feel i need to buy something that suites my needs, the question is (as many asked before), are some synths (and I'm talking mostly about the expensive ones like the Virus TI) worth the money.
Haha It's weird when money comes crashing down and blocks the way for the passionate musician
But Still i would really like to try the previous ones too.
Also i feel i need to buy something that suites my needs, the question is (as many asked before), are some synths (and I'm talking mostly about the expensive ones like the Virus TI) worth the money.
Haha It's weird when money comes crashing down and blocks the way for the passionate musician
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- KVRist
- 111 posts since 25 Jul, 2005 from los angeles
I never liked the nords when I played them which is why I don't have one. However with that said I've seen some cool stuff done on youtube namely this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ek7jelLYAo
and I thought it sounded pretty good considering the crap sound on utube. Also a favorite musician of mine from the 80's analogue heyday swears by his.. I figure he probably knows something I don't
Anyway my first introduction was to the virus C. I played a redback and could not keep my hands off the thing. The C also has the moog style filter mode which the B does not. Actually even back then there were people going on about the indigo 2 (c engine) not sounding quite a nice as the (b) and selling off their c and keeping the b. Good news for me because the B is a pretty decent price these days.
The two things about the TI were really some of the effects and the integration. I don't need the integration but the effects seemed cool and boy does that polar look and feel really high quality. It is a beautiful synth. But it doesn't sound 1500 bucks better than the C. In fact I thought it sounded weak in comparison. I was disappointed when I was at NAMM 06 and got to play with it. I kept wanting to have that same feeling I had when I played the C and it kept not happening. So I went to AH and played it a bunch there and had the same response. It made me sad actually because I wanted a great reason to buy it and couldn't come up with one other than its newer features. Its been years and I still don't have one.. I will probably pick up and b or a c sometime in the next year maybe but there has been so much good analogue stuff coming out that it has been hard to save for that.
I know the virus has been done to death but if you want trance sounds and are willing to explore the machine you can create your own stuff it does other things quite nicely too. I think you'll love having both and this is the way you can do it. Quite honestly there is something to be said about not having too much gear but it really is nice having more a few pieces that compliment each other. Consider some of the best trance was made quite a while ago and much of it was done on the earlier virus's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ek7jelLYAo
and I thought it sounded pretty good considering the crap sound on utube. Also a favorite musician of mine from the 80's analogue heyday swears by his.. I figure he probably knows something I don't
Anyway my first introduction was to the virus C. I played a redback and could not keep my hands off the thing. The C also has the moog style filter mode which the B does not. Actually even back then there were people going on about the indigo 2 (c engine) not sounding quite a nice as the (b) and selling off their c and keeping the b. Good news for me because the B is a pretty decent price these days. The two things about the TI were really some of the effects and the integration. I don't need the integration but the effects seemed cool and boy does that polar look and feel really high quality. It is a beautiful synth. But it doesn't sound 1500 bucks better than the C. In fact I thought it sounded weak in comparison. I was disappointed when I was at NAMM 06 and got to play with it. I kept wanting to have that same feeling I had when I played the C and it kept not happening. So I went to AH and played it a bunch there and had the same response. It made me sad actually because I wanted a great reason to buy it and couldn't come up with one other than its newer features. Its been years and I still don't have one.. I will probably pick up and b or a c sometime in the next year maybe but there has been so much good analogue stuff coming out that it has been hard to save for that.
I know the virus has been done to death but if you want trance sounds and are willing to explore the machine you can create your own stuff it does other things quite nicely too. I think you'll love having both and this is the way you can do it. Quite honestly there is something to be said about not having too much gear but it really is nice having more a few pieces that compliment each other. Consider some of the best trance was made quite a while ago and much of it was done on the earlier virus's.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 23 posts since 14 Oct, 2009
hmm... well the i should set out on a quest and search for a virus C to try out and listen to.
Personally all the videos and stuff i have seen on Youtube and all that, i got the feeling that the Virus C is Weaker than the TI...
But still i haven't tried it and i need to hear it personally and not make a decision from what I've seen on Youtube.
Personally all the videos and stuff i have seen on Youtube and all that, i got the feeling that the Virus C is Weaker than the TI...
But still i haven't tried it and i need to hear it personally and not make a decision from what I've seen on Youtube.
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- KVRist
- 111 posts since 25 Jul, 2005 from los angeles
yes definitely give them a whirl if you can. I'm sure the TI has far more features and integration and if that is what you are after then you really should throw down and just get it. IT is a beautiful synth anyway and I'm sure you won't be sorry.
I was just speculating on how you could have both and still be very happy. But again our tastes may be different so from what I experienced and what I read a few reviewers seemed to notice the same things I did that the TI has the features none of the others do to be sure but is slightly less stable as a consequence, it is smoother sounding and seems to lend itself better towards pads and other types of cleaner sounds (strings) than the other virus's. It also has more effects and the extra hypersaw. The C has the moog style filters and the b has fewer oscillators than the other two. The B was more dirty sounding than the TI or the C and that is what I heard between the b and the c when I tested them out. The TI did seem smoother to me and maybe that is why it didn't seem quite as ballsy as the previous series to my ear. I wasn't expecting that out of the synth when I tested it but knowing it is the sound of it I could work with it I'm sure.
I like the idea of the features of the C over the B better but I still play with the idea of getting a B for just the raw simplicity of it. And sometimes they can be found for $500 and that in and of itself is appealing. I'm not sure I really need 80 polyphony of the TI, although nice, other people were making great tunes with the limited functions of the A and the B back almost 10 years ago so it seems to reason that it is enough of a synth to do what I would need.
I haven't seen many good demos of the b or the c on youtube and I've looked nothing stood out actually. There were a couple of demos of the indigo 1 & II that are better though showing just straight up trance but nothing really reflecting the flexibility of the synth.
What has simply stopped me from making this purchase myself has been the great addition of analog mono synths in the last few years. So I instead bought a spectralis, a moog, and an elektron machinedrum and I'm still paying them off. And I was really tempted by the Future Retro XS...I mean really. I would be hard pressed if I were going to spend about 2 grand to not get the future retro or some other analog piece of kit and the virus b or c, it's just my particular weakness you know? But anyway I'd love to hear what you think either way when you make a decision.
The Polar Ti and the Redback are two of the most attractive synths I've seen as well as the lunar whitewash moog and the mahogany fire which is the one I have. I know looks shouldn't matter but damn it is nice to have both a great sound and an awesome looking piece of gear to go with it.
I was just speculating on how you could have both and still be very happy. But again our tastes may be different so from what I experienced and what I read a few reviewers seemed to notice the same things I did that the TI has the features none of the others do to be sure but is slightly less stable as a consequence, it is smoother sounding and seems to lend itself better towards pads and other types of cleaner sounds (strings) than the other virus's. It also has more effects and the extra hypersaw. The C has the moog style filters and the b has fewer oscillators than the other two. The B was more dirty sounding than the TI or the C and that is what I heard between the b and the c when I tested them out. The TI did seem smoother to me and maybe that is why it didn't seem quite as ballsy as the previous series to my ear. I wasn't expecting that out of the synth when I tested it but knowing it is the sound of it I could work with it I'm sure.
I like the idea of the features of the C over the B better but I still play with the idea of getting a B for just the raw simplicity of it. And sometimes they can be found for $500 and that in and of itself is appealing. I'm not sure I really need 80 polyphony of the TI, although nice, other people were making great tunes with the limited functions of the A and the B back almost 10 years ago so it seems to reason that it is enough of a synth to do what I would need.
I haven't seen many good demos of the b or the c on youtube and I've looked nothing stood out actually. There were a couple of demos of the indigo 1 & II that are better though showing just straight up trance but nothing really reflecting the flexibility of the synth.
What has simply stopped me from making this purchase myself has been the great addition of analog mono synths in the last few years. So I instead bought a spectralis, a moog, and an elektron machinedrum and I'm still paying them off. And I was really tempted by the Future Retro XS...I mean really. I would be hard pressed if I were going to spend about 2 grand to not get the future retro or some other analog piece of kit and the virus b or c, it's just my particular weakness you know? But anyway I'd love to hear what you think either way when you make a decision.
The Polar Ti and the Redback are two of the most attractive synths I've seen as well as the lunar whitewash moog and the mahogany fire which is the one I have. I know looks shouldn't matter but damn it is nice to have both a great sound and an awesome looking piece of gear to go with it.
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- KVRian
- 1255 posts since 18 May, 2004
I also have a nord rack2, jp8080 and a TI, the nord is good for sounds that you want to cut through the mix, very solid. The JP simply owns when it comes to trance (not that I make trance anymore) the TI is very versatile and probably your best option depending on viability for your host.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 23 posts since 14 Oct, 2009
thx allot you guys, this helped me allot, I'll just set out on a quest and test and tweak all the knobs om the synths I'm interested in. But the info you guys have given me has been very helpful, THX!
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- KVRer
- 7 posts since 11 Sep, 2016
For any intrepid souls who stumble onto this thread, I'm just chiming in to say, being an owner of both a Virus TI2, a JP8080, a Mininova, AND a Nord Lead 3, as far as the Nords go for trance, you can't go wrong with an NL3
In terms of sound, it sounds like a cross between a JP8080 and a Prophet Rev2, with the FM capabilities and mod flexibility of a stripped down Blofeld
It sounds as bright and fizzy and pops like a JP or a Prophet, but can do polyphonic supersaws (which you CAN stack up to 4 layers of, to create speaker-destroying monster sounds), and it has 24 voices of polyphony, which the Unison Stack does NOT impact.
So you can do monster 8 osc Supersaws and still be able to play out some huge pads and leads without voice stealing - to get as intense of a sound as a JP8080 or a Virus (or just wanna achieve that modern Spire type hiss), you'll want to run it through an EQ with a hefty boost between 7-10 kHz, and use some external FX like reverb, delay, and chorus/phaser to get the full Trance sound. But one of the NL3's great strengths is that its sound is fairly neutral, tonally.
By which I mean the sound isn't overemphasized naturally in any specific band, so you won't encounter wonky EQing issues with sounds from it when using it in a mix the way you would with say, a Moog with its pre-saturated low-mids, or even a Virus, where the sound designer padded a bass with +10 dB at 70 Hz, and made the bass bone-rattling, but also a nightmare to sit in a mixdown against a kickdrum.
The NL3 just... if it fits it sits, is the best maxim here. A sub bass off it probably won't shake your fillings loose, but it won't clash excessively with your kickdrum and cause squashing and clipping during mastering, and it'll punch right where it needs to, with little to no extra processing
As far as how it stacks up on bread & butter trance sounds vs other famous VAs, comparisons are kinda meaningless, and Better vs Worse ones, equally so. Each VA designer took different approaches to coding the waveforms, detuning techniques, unison methods, etc, so no two synths will sound alike, and ultimately, if you want a JP80x0 Sound, get one of those. Or if a Virus Sound is what you like the most, get one. These synths can all do similar classes and types of sounds, but each one is unique, and has its own place in a track. The NL3 does NOT sound like a JP8000, or a Virus, and I wouldn't want it to, personally. I look at each of my synths the way a guitarist who has a few different electrics, and a few different acoustics looks at theirs - the materials for the bodies and the strings, and the types of pickups influence their sound, and each suits a specific need at certain times, and it's good to have a variety on hand to create subtle (or obvious) variations in sounds from song to song.
I'd call the NL3 the VA-Lover's Answer To The Prophet Rev2, but with even better featursets, but even that doesn't truly fit
For more practical examples, look at these 2 Nord Lead 3 soundset demos I did that highlight both for trance, and for dubstep and future bass, and decide for yourselves if this particular model generates the sounds you'd want
....that last bit was directed at whatever curious explorer comes along also curious about the Nord Leads for Trance... even if all ya'll originally made this post like 12 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5hTlBZ0wRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V36jL14lUm4
In terms of sound, it sounds like a cross between a JP8080 and a Prophet Rev2, with the FM capabilities and mod flexibility of a stripped down Blofeld
It sounds as bright and fizzy and pops like a JP or a Prophet, but can do polyphonic supersaws (which you CAN stack up to 4 layers of, to create speaker-destroying monster sounds), and it has 24 voices of polyphony, which the Unison Stack does NOT impact.
So you can do monster 8 osc Supersaws and still be able to play out some huge pads and leads without voice stealing - to get as intense of a sound as a JP8080 or a Virus (or just wanna achieve that modern Spire type hiss), you'll want to run it through an EQ with a hefty boost between 7-10 kHz, and use some external FX like reverb, delay, and chorus/phaser to get the full Trance sound. But one of the NL3's great strengths is that its sound is fairly neutral, tonally.
By which I mean the sound isn't overemphasized naturally in any specific band, so you won't encounter wonky EQing issues with sounds from it when using it in a mix the way you would with say, a Moog with its pre-saturated low-mids, or even a Virus, where the sound designer padded a bass with +10 dB at 70 Hz, and made the bass bone-rattling, but also a nightmare to sit in a mixdown against a kickdrum.
The NL3 just... if it fits it sits, is the best maxim here. A sub bass off it probably won't shake your fillings loose, but it won't clash excessively with your kickdrum and cause squashing and clipping during mastering, and it'll punch right where it needs to, with little to no extra processing
As far as how it stacks up on bread & butter trance sounds vs other famous VAs, comparisons are kinda meaningless, and Better vs Worse ones, equally so. Each VA designer took different approaches to coding the waveforms, detuning techniques, unison methods, etc, so no two synths will sound alike, and ultimately, if you want a JP80x0 Sound, get one of those. Or if a Virus Sound is what you like the most, get one. These synths can all do similar classes and types of sounds, but each one is unique, and has its own place in a track. The NL3 does NOT sound like a JP8000, or a Virus, and I wouldn't want it to, personally. I look at each of my synths the way a guitarist who has a few different electrics, and a few different acoustics looks at theirs - the materials for the bodies and the strings, and the types of pickups influence their sound, and each suits a specific need at certain times, and it's good to have a variety on hand to create subtle (or obvious) variations in sounds from song to song.
I'd call the NL3 the VA-Lover's Answer To The Prophet Rev2, but with even better featursets, but even that doesn't truly fit
For more practical examples, look at these 2 Nord Lead 3 soundset demos I did that highlight both for trance, and for dubstep and future bass, and decide for yourselves if this particular model generates the sounds you'd want
....that last bit was directed at whatever curious explorer comes along also curious about the Nord Leads for Trance... even if all ya'll originally made this post like 12 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5hTlBZ0wRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V36jL14lUm4
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- KVRAF
- 35435 posts since 11 Apr, 2010 from Germany
I think the Nords were frequently used in the music, so, they definitely should be a good choice. 
Although, I would say, as far as supersaws go, the JP-8K is still the machine to beat.
Although, I would say, as far as supersaws go, the JP-8K is still the machine to beat.
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- KVRAF
- 1574 posts since 28 Jul, 2006
Nord Lead 3 is so much better than the NL2X. The ONLY issue with the NL3 imo is that it lacks bass, sounds kinda thin IMO for bass sounds. I formerly owned both
At. From the ayn zahev preset bank in the soundwate section, the NL4 seems to be killer too. Haven't tried it in person though.
At. From the ayn zahev preset bank in the soundwate section, the NL4 seems to be killer too. Haven't tried it in person though.
