Softsynth Closest to a Nord Lead?

Are there any soft synths out there that come close to the sharp, abrupt sound of the Nord Lead?

Synth1

yep - synth 1 pretty much nails it. you can't 'morph' with it, but you get fx as a trade-off. i think it only runs on PC's, and you've got to have a host program, but it's one of the best free synths:

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/214.html

I will try it too.

Thanks for the recommendation!! Just what I was looking for...nice and crunchy:) Amazing its free, thats one of the better sounding softsynths Ive heard...the filter is pretty wicked, reminds of the Z1's filter but a little smoother. Nice digital whistle though:)

There is also DiscoDSP Discovery. It will even load Nord Lead 2 patches. I don't know exactly how close it is, but it sounds decent. It had some sound quality issues in the older versions (when I tried it,) but I hear that a lot of them have been improved.

There is a new soft synth coming soon (SynthMaster), it can do Nord sounds quite well.

hey, Musique, you beat me to it. That was what I was going to say.

Now, go out and download some software!

Synth1 has its flaws though.

When you change the envelope modding osc2's pitch when osc2 is synced to osc1, the envelope will restart each time you turn the knob a little.

the clavia softsynth is a great idea, but with synth 1, you don't have to build it first.

while i think it's a good idea for people to learn that stuff, some just want a pre-built softsynth that they can load up and play.

synth 1 is also set up to have a somewhat similar look and flow to it. so, if you're a bit familiar with the NL series, it won't have too much of a learning curve.

there are so many presets for the Clavia system that you really dont have to explore the modular aspect if you dont want... just find a patch with the same arcitecture as the lead and save it as many times as you need, using your 8 variations per patch of course.

back from the dead.

i haven't tried the softsynth, but i've got a G2.

i must admit, i wasn't too much a fan of the whole idea at first. i also think the editor is rather plain-jane looking.

if you use the stock components to make patches, it does have a kind of thin, sharp, cutting sound to it.

but i thought a lot of people liked this aspect of it, when they refer to it as being able to cut thru a mix.

but, there are some very knowledegle people out there who are capable of coaxing some very warm sounds out of it - as reflected in some of the patches.

there a programming manual floating around the net (can't find the url for it at the moment), that goes into pretty good detail about how to get the best out of the system.

if i run across it, (or anyone else has it), post back.

anyways, it just goes to show that not everyone will like every synth. but there's more to the nord mod system than first meets the eye.