Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 I'm trying to decide between a Nord Lead 2x and a Roland JP8000 or whatever you think might be better. The Roland is cheaper of course...I'm a guitar player, so this is a dive into something new for me. Looking to create Pink Floyd like synth sounds, prog rock sounds and just stuff that generally meshes well in a rock - hard rock band situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 Either one would work OK for you. But - I'd suggest trying to find an Alesis Ion. Listen to the sound clips on this page: http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Alesis-ION-Analog-Modeling-DSP-Synthesizer?sku=702220 especially the 1.7 MB 'Vintage' mp3 - it sounds like what you're looking for. If you can't find the Ion, the Alesis Micron is available, is less expensive, has basically the same sound engine, and it adds some features - but you lose some keys and knobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 Either one would work OK for you.But - I'd suggest trying to find an Alesis Ion.Listen to the sound clips on this page:http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Alesis-ION-Analog-Modeling-DSP-Synthesizer?sku=702220especially the 1.7 MB 'Vintage' mp3 - it sounds like what you're looking for.If you can't find the Ion, the Alesis Micron is available, is less expensive, has basically the same sound engine, and it adds some features - but you lose some keys and knobs. Thanks, Bill. The ION looks like a strong candidate after checking that clip and others. It seems a real good deal and to me sounds as good as the Nord for less. Do you own an ION? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dereksljuka Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 -Nord is the best sounding VA synth-Ion is by FAR the most programmable if you want to pull 10,000,000,000 different sounds out of your synth-JP-8000 has one of the best user interfaces (sliders for envelope control!) and is a staple of modern trance I'd say go with the Nord Lead, it's very easy to use and it'll really cut through the mix. Just keep in mind you can do Pink Floyd and classic prog sounds with any of the above because they are all virtual analog subtractive synths and those sounds are simple to program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members urbanscallywag Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 I say Nord Lead 2 or JP-8000. I don't think the ION's interface is intuitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundxplorer Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 I say Nord Lead 2 or JP-8000. I don't think the ION's interface is intuitive. +1 Sold my Ion to get a Nord. The Ion sounds great, I just didn't like using the screen/menu buttons for a lot of things. The Nord interface is much more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 +1Sold my Ion to get a Nord.The Ion sounds great, I just didn't like using the screen/menu buttons for a lot of things. The Nord interface is much more fun. Does the Nord sound better to you as well? I think sound quality is the utmost importance in what I'm looking for. Also, can you get a good Rhodes piano sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Logicat Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 But why so many people like the NL2 ? Is it a so awesome synth ? Why there is no love for - say - the Prophet'08 ? There must be a reason beyond this (i never owned none of them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 ... Sold my Ion to get a Nord. ... . Ha ha - I sold my Nord to get an Ion. Just goes to show, people have different criteria. The Nord sounds really good, and it's simple to program. But that simplicity carries over into programming - the Ion is much more capable in that area, and that's what I was looking for. The Nord Leads might be better as a first VA for that very reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundxplorer Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 Ha ha - I sold my Nord to get an Ion. Just goes to show, people have different criteria. Absolutely. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what you really want, and you have to play (or buy) several. Another thing I didn't like about the Ion was the endless encoder knobs. I like real knobs with definite 0 and 10 values. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundxplorer Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 But why so many people like the NL2 ? Is it a so awesome synth ?Why there is no love for - say - the Prophet'08 ? I'm sure there are a lot of people who love the Prophet '08.Pick any synth and I'll bet SOMEONE will say it's their favorite.The Nord was/is popular because it has all of the elements: sounds great, easy to use interface and a decent price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moog man Posted October 17, 2008 Members Share Posted October 17, 2008 But why so many people like the NL2 ? Is it a so awesome synth ? Why there is no love for - say - the Prophet'08 ? There must be a reason beyond this (i never owned none of them) Well first of all a new NL2x is half as much as the P08. That's a pretty big reason right there. Plus the NL2x has 24 polyphony for layers/splits. And the NL sounds pretty damn good. For many synth newbies a P08 is probably not what they're looking for. I love RAs but they most cost much more and often have less features than VAs. Though that of course doesn't take in the incredible sound one gets from an RA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2008 Well, I decided to hunt a used Nord Lead 2X down. I don't think I can go wrong...worst comes to worst I can sell it back. Thanks for everyone's help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dereksljuka Posted October 18, 2008 Members Share Posted October 18, 2008 Does the Nord sound better to you as well? I think sound quality is the utmost importance in what I'm looking for. Also, can you get a good Rhodes piano sound? You can get an 'OK' Rhodes sound but realize that the synths you're looking at are not good at everything. The thin pulse wave through 24dB/oct LPF trick: http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/everything-in-its/apr-07/26746 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2008 You can get an 'OK' Rhodes sound but realize that the synths you're looking at are not good at everything. The thin pulse wave through 24dB/oct LPF trick: http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/everything-in-its/apr-07/26746 Yeah, I'm aware. I just want to get the best VA synth I can afford and pick up a workstation synth in the future. Thanks for the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 22, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 How does the Access Virus TI or Novation Supernova compare to the NL2X? Should I consider looking into one of those as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloopbleep Posted October 23, 2008 Members Share Posted October 23, 2008 How does the Access Virus TI or Novation Supernova compare to the NL2X? Should I consider looking into one of those as well? I owned all 3 and they all sounds great and have strengths and weaknesses of their own. They do sound different from one another, and the TI and Supernova are on the higher price bracket. Like all things you just have to go and try it out for yourself and see what works for you. I didn't like the Nord back when they first came out 'cause it looked too simple of a machine, so I bought Waldorf Q, Virus, SupernovaII, Micron, Prophet 08... I have a blast with them all but diving into the menus on some of these machines put me in the endless tweaking mode and never create much patch cause there's some dissatisfaction with the end results and not being productive at the same time. I recently bought the nord 2x over this past summer and man that thing rockxxx. I cranked out patches after patches that are very pleasing to my ears and productive with making music. The interface is excellent and simple that you can easily get comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Lucky Pants Posted October 23, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2008 I owned all 3 and they all sounds great and have strengths and weaknesses of their own. They do sound different from one another, and the TI and Supernova are on the higher price bracket. Like all things you just have to go and try it out for yourself and see what works for you. I didn't like the Nord back when they first came out 'cause it looked too simple of a machine, so I bought Waldorf Q, Virus, SupernovaII, Micron, Prophet 08... I have a blast with them all but diving into the menus on some of these machines put me in the endless tweaking mode and never create much patch cause there's some dissatisfaction with the end results and not being productive at the same time. I recently bought the nord 2x over this past summer and man that thing rockxxx. I cranked out patches after patches that are very pleasing to my ears and productive with making music. The interface is excellent and simple that you can easily get comfortable with. Thanks for your insights. Basically I'm figuring I can't go wrong with a Nord and I can buy another synth later if I need some other sounds. Good to know it's a solid synth, even in relation to more expensive products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.