Hardware synths that blew away your expectations

[OllieBoi]

That's just reality intruding into your little fantasy world. You will always be better off working ITB!!

People may quibble about the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3 saying it sounds too clean and doesn't have any analog warmth. Okay, there is some truth to that (though in fairness it is a digital synth after all).

But there is no denying that the Nord 3 has THE best interface ever designed on a hardware synth. It's truly knob per function (with encoder rings always showing you the exact position of every knob). And yet the Nord 3 has an incredibly wide range of sounds even though the number of mod routings is by necessity limited to only the most musically useful. The experience of using this synth simply can't be replicated ITB (and I own practically every synth plugin so I think I know what I'm talking about here).

[cryophonik]

Seriously, can we stop turning every thread into a stupid hardware vs. software debate? It’s juvenile and should be left to those who can’t formulate an original thought.

[javierpad]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

[Scotty]

Seriously, can we stop turning every thread into a stupid hardware vs. software debate? It’s juvenile and should be left to those who can’t formulate an original thought.

Agreed. Pretty sure this thread is called "Hardware synths that blew away your expectations" NOT "Bones invites himself to the party and sh*ts in the punch bowl... again". Enough already. Plenty of other threads for that.

[Scotty]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

I don't have room for the Behringer Wasp for the modular desk so I just bought a Wasp A-124 filter for my smallish eurorack setup. That thing has some crazy character in it.

[BONES]

The experience of using this synth simply can't be replicated ITB (and I own practically every synth plugin so I think I know what I'm talking about here).

Of course it can and DiscoDSP have been selling Discovery 15 years+ now. There is nothing in what you describe that pretty much any softsynth doesn't offer. In fact, it's front panel looks like it could be any generic softsynth GUI, I see nothing special in it at all and apparently neither did Nord because they changed it quite a bit for the A1, in response to user feedback. Nord stuff has always been way over-priced for my money, I've never had even the slightest interest in it.

[vurt]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

I don't have room for the Behringer Wasp for the modular desk so I just bought a Wasp A-124 filter for my smallish eurorack setup. That thing has some crazy character in it.

have you seen andy cytomics mod for that module?
he posted specs in the doepfer/cytomic thread in "modular synthesis"

[Scotty]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

I don't have room for the Behringer Wasp for the modular desk so I just bought a Wasp A-124 filter for my smallish eurorack setup. That thing has some crazy character in it.

have you seen andy cytomics mod for that module?
he posted specs in the doepfer/cytomic thread in "modular synthesis"

No I haven't seen it but I will look it up for sure. Thanks for the tip.

[vurt]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

I don't have room for the Behringer Wasp for the modular desk so I just bought a Wasp A-124 filter for my smallish eurorack setup. That thing has some crazy character in it.

have you seen andy cytomics mod for that module?
he posted specs in the doepfer/cytomic thread in "modular synthesis"

No I haven't seen it but I will look it up for sure. Thanks for the tip.

last couple of pages here...
viewtopic.php?t=581350

[OllieBoi]

The experience of using this synth simply can't be replicated ITB (and I own practically every synth plugin so I think I know what I'm talking about here).

Of course it can and DiscoDSP have been selling Discovery 15 years+ now. There is nothing in what you describe that pretty much any softsynth doesn't offer. In fact, it's front panel looks like it could be any generic softsynth GUI, I see nothing special in it at all and apparently neither did Nord because they changed it quite a bit for the A1, in response to user feedback. Nord stuff has always been way over-priced for my money, I've never had even the slightest interest in it.

Hey genius, DiscoDSP have been selling a cheap, craptastic knock off of the Nord 2 (not the Nord 3) for 15 years and it's still a complete POS compared to the actual Nord 2.

You have clearly never used a Nord 3 because then you might (might) actually know what you are talking about. Yes, Clavia keyboards sell at a premium. That's because they are premium products that are incredibly well designed and sound great.

Incidentally, used Nord Rack 3's sell for almost $2K. That's more than I paid for my Nord Rack 3 over 20 years ago. The synth is a classic as is reflected in its second hand market price.

[Uncle E]

People may quibble about the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3 saying it sounds too clean and doesn't have any analog warmth. Okay, there is some truth to that (though in fairness it is a digital synth after all).

But there is no denying that the Nord 3 has THE best interface ever designed on a hardware synth. It's truly knob per function (with encoder rings always showing you the exact position of every knob). And yet the Nord 3 has an incredibly wide range of sounds even though the number of mod routings is by necessity limited to only the most musically useful. The experience of using this synth simply can't be replicated ITB (and I own practically every synth plugin so I think I know what I'm talking about here).

The Nord sound is great. It's its own thing. I specifically got the Nord Lead 2 (not the 2X or newer) to get the Nord-iest of the Nord sound but you're right that encoder rings are a massive improvement in usability.

[Scotty]

Behringer DeepMind 12, Behringer Wasp.

I don't have room for the Behringer Wasp for the modular desk so I just bought a Wasp A-124 filter for my smallish eurorack setup. That thing has some crazy character in it.

have you seen andy cytomics mod for that module?
he posted specs in the doepfer/cytomic thread in "modular synthesis"

No I haven't seen it but I will look it up for sure. Thanks for the tip.

last couple of pages here...
viewtopic.php?t=581350

Thanks, that saved me some time for sure. Much appreciate the assist.

[chk071]

People may quibble about the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3 saying it sounds too clean and doesn't have any analog warmth. Okay, there is some truth to that (though in fairness it is a digital synth after all).

But there is no denying that the Nord 3 has THE best interface ever designed on a hardware synth. It's truly knob per function (with encoder rings always showing you the exact position of every knob). And yet the Nord 3 has an incredibly wide range of sounds even though the number of mod routings is by necessity limited to only the most musically useful. The experience of using this synth simply can't be replicated ITB (and I own practically every synth plugin so I think I know what I'm talking about here).

The Nord sound is great. It's its own thing. I specifically got the Nord Lead 2 (not the 2X or newer) to get the Nord-iest of the Nord sound but you're right that encoder rings are a massive improvement in usability.

Just wondering, which soft synth do you think comes closest in terms of sound to the Nord Lead 2?

I always liked that sound as well, when I listened to sound demos of the Nord Leads.

[BONES]

You have clearly never used a Nord 3 because then you might (might) actually know what you are talking about.

Why would I need to use one to understand the layout? I can do that by looking at a photo, FFS.

Yes, Clavia keyboards sell at a premium. That's because they are premium products that are incredibly well designed and sound great.

That's equally true of much, much cheaper synths, too, not something you need to pay double for. It might help to prop up a flagging ego but that's about it.

Incidentally, used Nord Rack 3's sell for almost $2K. That's more than I paid for my Nord Rack 3 over 20 years ago. The synth is a classic as is reflected in its second hand market price.

What was it P.T. Barnum said... "... there's one born every minute". And the only one on ebay at the moment is $1600 and who knows if anyone will buy it at that price.

[Uncle E]

Just wondering, which soft synth do you think comes closest in terms of sound to the Nord Lead 2?

Doesn’t exist! I would guess that some Korg’s can get close (since the OASYS PCI could do that sharp/pleasantly harsh sound) but I haven’t spent enough time with them to know which ones.