Nord Modular vs modern vsti alternatives

[bmanic]

I still have a Nord Modular G2 and would not part with it, no plugin can replace it

What’s unique about it?

The sound of early Clavia was definitely "unique" in my opinion. Personally I was never a fan of it at all. Never understood the hype and like for the Nordlead. But it was definitely unique.

Same as with the Waldorf Q, I never understood how people could like it. Sounded so brittle, cold and weird to me.. but it too was definitely unique sounding.

Then again, I absolutely loved the sound of the Yamaha AN1x and I had colleagues who couldn't understand my love for that thing. As usual, there's no use arguing taste.

[zerocrossing]

I still have a Nord Modular G2 and would not part with it, no plugin can replace it

What’s unique about it?

The sound of early Clavia was definitely "unique" in my opinion. Personally I was never a fan of it at all. Never understood the hype and like for the Nordlead. But it was definitely unique.

Same as with the Waldorf Q, I never understood how people could like it. Sounded so brittle, cold and weird to me.. but it too was definitely unique sounding.

Then again, I absolutely loved the sound of the Yamaha AN1x and I had colleagues who couldn't understand my love for that thing. As usual, there's no use arguing taste.

I guess I have nothing against any of those, but to me they are all sort of disposable. I really can’t think of any all digital synths from that era that make me want to own them (again). To me, it felt like people were starting to figure out the digital thing, and the hardware wasn’t up for the challenge to be really good. There are plenty of old synths that I do really think were the old analog stuff, the early hybrids like the PPG and Prophet VS, but the 90s-00s VA? It was great in its time, but I just don’t have any nostalgia for it.

[Muied Lumens]

Whether you like the sound or not is subjective but keep in mind that the software is not up to date and can cause problems on modern operating systems.

An obvious software alternative is Wren: https://bluehell.nl/wren/

Not a VSTi, standalone only.

[Shabdahbriah]

Whoa... I'd forgotten all about that one. Will revisit it, for some variety.

[thecontrolcentre]

I still have a Nord Modular G2 and would not part with it, no plugin can replace it

I have the nord micro-modular and feel the same about that. The only hassle is needing at least 3 midi ports (2 out/1 in) in order to edit it.

What’s unique about it?

The sound

[mjudge55]

I'm actually not especially attuned or partial to the sonic idiosyncrasies of synths but I have to admit these David Moufang/Benjamin Brunn albums, which made heavy use of the micro modular, were very influential for me and got me started on my journey with these red devils. I'm not saying the albums would be any better or worse using different equipment, but you definitely hear that clavia sound and it's imprinted on my brain, along with the experience of using NM. It doesn't have to be rational, if the gear gets you excited to do what you want to do with it, it's the right gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_qApTXB1f8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rFX_Gc ... 7kqQo5GGhP

[zerocrossing]

I still have a Nord Modular G2 and would not part with it, no plugin can replace it

I have the nord micro-modular and feel the same about that. The only hassle is needing at least 3 midi ports (2 out/1 in) in order to edit it.

What’s unique about it?

The sound

I guess I just never found the sound compelling.

[gentleclockdivider]

I still have a Nord Modular G2 and would not part with it, no plugin can replace it

I have the nord micro-modular and feel the same about that. The only hassle is needing at least 3 midi ports (2 out/1 in) in order to edit it.

What’s unique about it?

The sound

I guess I just never found the sound compelling.

I remember you saying on gearslutz you liked the classic nord sound and now...
... you say the sound doesn't do it for you ?
FFs , the nord modular IS the sound of the classic nord lead + lot more .
Just admit you never took the time to explore the nord modular and stop making silly arguments .
YOu're a complete joke

[RPH]

Whether you like the sound or not is subjective but keep in mind that the software is not up to date and can cause problems on modern operating systems.

Run the software in a Windows 98 or XP VM.

[chk071]

Same as with the Waldorf Q, I never understood how people could like it. Sounded so brittle, cold and weird to me.. but it too was definitely unique sounding.

Interesting. I always found the early Waldorf synths to be remarkably warm sounding for digital synths (especially the Q). And, there's something uniquely "un-harsh" to them as well. Very airy, soft and pleasant sounding (but, can be aggressive as well).

That said, I never played the hardware, only ever listened to sound demo, but, the microQ in the Motorola DSP emulator confirms my impressions precisely.

Unfortunately, their newer synths, pretty much since the Blofeld, don't have that kind of sound anymore, but sound more hi-fi, and therefor harsh in the upper registers. Still a nice sound, but, different.

[gentleclockdivider]

Whether you like the sound or not is subjective but keep in mind that the software is not up to date and can cause problems on modern operating systems.

Run the software in a Windows 98 or XP VM.

Origninal editor runs perfectly fine on win 10

[Ah_Dziz]

The Nord modular 1 & 2 are the only synths I've owned that could easily make sounds that I have a hard time making with plugins (including Softube modular/ Reaktor /Bazille etc). Many of those sounds could ultimately be made with software, but it was not as straightforward as with the nords. The way high frequency and high amplitude modulation is handled in the NM makes it so that any signal.(damn near) makes a pretty neat sound, whereas in many VST modulars it seems like maybe the modulation is hard clipping at the input maybe and can cause some crappy artifacts. Anyway I'll be keeping my G2 forever even if it's just for playing on live or processing my pocket operators through for sampling.

[Ah_Dziz]

However I wouldn't recommend spending the money on one (over a VST )unless you need hardware (live stuff etc). The neat parts about the sound are not so neat that it's really worth the price difference between a nice plugin. By all means grab one (or any other hardware) if you want it/ love it/ can't live without it, but don't expect it to be live changing. It's a very very nice digital synth and it comes in a very very nice red package.

[zerocrossing]

The way high frequency and high amplitude modulation is handled in the NM makes it so that any signal.(damn near) makes a pretty neat sound, whereas in many VST modulars it seems like maybe the modulation is hard clipping at the input maybe and can cause some crappy artifacts.

Which ones? I’ve gotten very clean results from Reaktor, VCV Rack Pro (running them at 96 kHz) and Softube Modular. The last time I can remember getting a lot of nasty digital artifacts from a software modular was VAZ, but that was a long time ago.

[slugware]

The Nord modular 1 & 2 are the only synths I've owned that could easily make sounds that I have a hard time making with plugins (including Softube modular/ Reaktor /Bazille etc).

Can you post examples of these kind of sounds ? that got me interested ?