Clavia Nord Lead 1(1995-97) Retro Review and Tutorial
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- Clavia Nord Lead 1 Retro Review and Tutorial
This is my Clavia Nord Lead 1, an early virtual analog synthesizer from 1996. The first Nord Lead was manufactured between 1995-1997 and originally came in a 4 voice version which was later supplemented with an expansion and an updated 12 voice version that had the same functionality as the expanded synth. I'll show you how to use most of the functions, showing how the oscillators and filters sound and talking about some of it's strengths and weaknesses.
The version I'm using is the 12 voice version with firmware v2.7. It has the later case design with extra functions printed around the knobs rather than being added by stickers on some expanded models and has one sloped edge at the bottom left corner rather than 2 sloped edges as can be seen on some models.
I've made a couple of jams just using sounds from this synth with external effects that can be found here:
• 100% Nord Lead Ambient...
• 100% Nord Lead 'Lord N...
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Thx for the demo. I,m really curious about the second sound engine youe talking about. Where can i find info for this? Thx
No problem. It’s called the Pelle Mode and can be accessed on a few of the first Nords through a series of settings. It’s a physical modelling synth I seem to remember
@@ChrisLodyMusic and how do I access that?
@@danl9407 If you search for 'Nord Lead Pelle Mode' you'll find instructions. I must get round to making a video about that
@@ChrisLodyMusic thanks man, do you know where I can get a cheap PCMCIA card for mine (12 voice rack)
Dan L Sorry no, the only one I’ve ever seen is sticking out of my Nord Lead 😄
King of Nord Leads, and cheap as chips. You can make a good sounding album just with this. Frequency range is as complete, solid and well balanced as something like a Juno. It already kills without effects… with effects it can take you to heaven.
Where can you fine em cheap?
@@hardspank 400 euro is quite cheap for such an instrument. Be patient and track local ad boards for good opportunities.
Lemon D made some of his best with this bad bwoye.
Thanks for an excellent tutorial, very clear and understandable, and also touching on some more esoteric features like what happens you go really high with the oscillator pitch.
Thanks very much. I’m hoping to find time to make more tutorials for hardware like this
This was very interesting. I’ve always been curious about the original Nord, and have never had a chance to try one in person so I really appreciate your detailed demo of it! Cheers.
Thanks very much. I thought some people might appreciate a nice deep dive into it :)
Same here - thanks for uploading. its unpaid work and you're doing a good deed sharing it. Once I learn more about the G1 and G2 I picked up I will prob pop up some videos myself.
No problem. I’ve never had the chance to look at their modulars so that would be interesting
I remember when Roland came out with the JP-8000 announcing the "First ever VA". Everyone was like, "Excuse me, what? There is this little red synth, came a year before you guys."
Ha I didn't know about that 😄 Sounds like someone forgot to tell Roland's marketing department!
Fantastic review!! I have the same nord lead 1, non slanted top corner, latest os 2.7 and I also have a nord wave....the lead 1 is so much raw and piercing. Love it specially for cut thru the mix arpeggios.
Thank for the vid. I learned a few new things.
Oh cool I would love a Nord Wave too, pretty much everything they've made actually 😄 Thanks for watching 👍
Feel like I’ve probably commented on this before, but thanks for doing this. Really cool synth. I’ve got a Lead 2, but ought to use it more. I love the wild sounds you can get out of these, especially the unintended ones (osc freaking out at the high end, special filter, etc). Hope to see you using it again in future vids. Thanks!
Thank you. Yes it's always those 'i can do this with other gear' bits about synths that I find the most interesting and the Nords seem to have plenty of that. Thanks for watching 👍
I get my Nord Rack 2 in the mail tomorrow!! Thanks of posting this, I just wanted to get a quick intro to the synth.
Awesome, I'm sure you'll have fun with it 👍
Thanks and great job! Remember wanting a Nord Lead back in the late 90s (ended up with a Roland JP-8080, as it was bit cheaper), so it's interesting to revisit it 20+ years later...
Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoyed your 8080, always looked like fun!
@@ChrisLodyMusic Yeah, it was a great starting point, but I ended up selling it pretty early on when I started making a bit more money and the offerings for VA and even analog started to take off. Got a used AN1X and Access Virus C around the time I sold the 8080, and I preferred the sound of both over the 8080 (though I DID miss the SuperSaw, I have to admit).
Uh oh. Look out. I have a 2X heading my way! I cannot tell you how excited I am! The early Nord range are very special - I have always wanted to own one but way too expensive back in the day. Thanks for this great overview!
Ha glad you found this useful 😁 To me they still sound as fresh as ever, I've just recorded the opening notes of a pad sound for a feature film score with mine and it works perfectly
Man, all those noises! That thing is perfect for some industrial machine synth stuff!
Yeah it can be seriously aggressive. I should try to sequence something industrial actually 🤔
NotSnarl it was used heavily on the fragile by NIN.
I got a NL1 when I was 16y/o (ages ago), my first synthesizer - learned SO much thanks to the easy and quick on-board control. Still sounds good, miss it :')
Yes it’s an excellent all rounder like that. Good to learn on but also really powerful
hold up, how did you afford this although it is still at the same price?
excellent tutorial
thank you this video just inspired me to wire my one back up . i got the nord rack version.
You're welcome, thanks very much for watching
Cool Review ) Thnx
Nice tute! That could easily pass as an intro to basic synth on it's own!
Thanks. I have more of this sort of stuff planned, tutorials and reviews if you’re interested
@@ChrisLodyMusic Well, b'duh! 👍
That’s good then 😄
Love this video man! Part 2 coming soon? Maybe you could share some of your personal patches.
Thanks very much. I was planning on making an extra video where I cover the hidden synth mode or Pelle Mode as its known which I’ve still not got round to trying 😄 I suppose I could do some sort of Jexus style exploration of it at some point too
Best synth EVER! I managed to recreate most of my old Roland gear such as; JP-4, Juno 60 etc. Great at Moog bass too. The closest I've ever got in recreating these old beasts, trust me I've owned most of them over the years. Nord is the one you want! Don't be a Devo and buy into Chinese junk.
Must add; it's very fast at dialing up the tone you want.
leesimeone how does it compare to the JP-8000? I have one but am interested in getting a Nord Lead.
leesimeone I have one and only using presets. can you give an example/ guide of how to begin doing that?
@@thefastandthefurious1 Did you ever find out? I mean obviously the JP8000 has the supersaw, so dont think it can be compared like that. But curious what you think of the nord as i might get a nord 1 tomorrow and got a sh201 already
@@AnalogFlava I ended up getting a Nord Lead 3. They’re both great synths for trance and supersaw type sounds. The NL3 is pretty incredible in terms of what you can create sound wise. I haven’t had a ton of time to play with it but it’s amazing. I can actually make more analog type sounds out of the JP and just amazing trance sounds out of the NL3. But I have a virus too and that tops them all. I also have a supernova 2 and that’s my favorite for sound.
Got one on the way. Scooped up the rack mount version for a killer deal.
Ready to explore some sounds that my heros created and used back in the 90s era of bigbeat/breakbeat. Lunatic Calm, Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, ect!
Awesome. Hope you have tons of fun with it 😁👍
9:24 The sound a tea kettle makes when it explodes
Just bought one of these things, excited to mess around with it once it arrives. Nord Leads are all kind of strange, metallic sounding synths, probably what makes them so unique.
Catonator Ha yeah 😄 Just played that back and made my self jump! Hope you have fun with it when it arrives 👍
Amazing
Band mate has one. Dumb easy to create sounds. I created a nice E-Piano\Rhodes like sounds. Great to learn synthesis on. May not be the most versatile synth for genres of music. I recommend running it through a fx box that can let you patch together phaser, flanger, chorus, reverb, and delay.
Best video about the NL2, thank you very much!
no Dick... this is NL1
I want to get my hands on an expanded Nord Lead 1 if I can find one at a stellar price. I just love its sound. I had a Nord Lead 2 for quite a while and I liked it a lot but the first one sounds so rad. I'd like to hear this running through a stellar reverb like a Ventris or Eventide Space
Oh yeah I think it would would really shine through a lush sounding reverb as it's quite a bright and clear sounding synth in a lot of ways
Hi Chris, great video. any tips on external effects units to use with this? Thanks
Thanks. Anything with a line in really, I say that because I’ve used it with guitar fx pedals and it tends to overload the inputs of them because the output of the Lead is quite loud, so you need to turn it down a fair bit. I don’t have a lot of outboard in the studio but I’m quite fond of my old Zoom Studio 1201, though as I understand it’s not particularly highly regarded. Must get round to running it through the Korg NTS1 as it can be used as an effects unit with 3 slots that can be added to by uploading code via usb. Sounds awesome too.
I have the NL rack and it’s prob my fave of all
Just bought one these days, it’s an amazing synth. I’ve got the 12 voices without the card. Physically there’s the hole for the card but it’s empty and you can’t use it. I think only the first batch made needed the card for the expansion, but mine (probably from 97) they arranged a way to deliver the expansion inside on the board directly. So, if you want to buy one of those without the card, (but has the empty hole), probably it’s 12 voices same way.
danmalo That’s interesting. There seems to be loads of different versions of the original Lead but that isn’t one I’ve heard of before. How many program memories does it have if it doesn’t have the card storage?
@@ChrisLodyMusic I was wrong, mine is a 4 poly synth, not 12. Now I’ve had the proper time to sit and play, and not in the heat of the moment when you buy a new toy… It has 99 bank factory presets plus the drums kits, like the original one and that’s all. For the rest of the party, you really need the card like you said. It sounds amazing the way it is anyway, worth the pennies. Sorry for the wrong information!!! : |||
danmalo Hey no worries, I think we can blame Clavia for making it so damn complicated 😄. Sounds like you’ve got the later firmware so you’ve got most of the benefits of the later models anyway
@@ChrisLodyMusic 2.3 OS and up had the 12 voices added, no card needed. I just recently found out that there was a final version OS 2.7 that came out a couple of years ago. You have to open up the keyboard itself and insert an eProm in the required spot. Search ebay for Nord Lead 1 Final OS 2.7 and it should show up. A guy over in England or Japan I can’t remember which, has a couple of them for sale. 🤙🏼 Oh also I forgot to mention the body of my Nord Lead 1 has the upper right corner slanted like the lower left corner. 🤷🏼♂️
Oh right, that's news to me too. The one have is a v2.7 model so I guess it's one of the final firmware ones, got it from eBay too so it might have been the guy you're thinking of. It was a bit more expensive than the other ones listed at the time so I wonder if that's why. What's the voice count and version of your model?
Listening to this, I understand how RZA was able to get those crazy synth sounds on Liquid Swords. I always thought the Nord was a polite piano synth!
😄 Yeah it definitely isn't polite. I think I know the tunes you're talking about, but I'll have to go a check that 👍
@@ChrisLodyMusic Check out GZA - Fourth Chamber. I really like the sounds these VA synths from the 90s can make with aliasing. I have a Novation K-Station which can also get crazy if pushed. Missing that from modern synths. Even VSTs are too clean.
I sold my Roland Jupiter-8 with Encore MIDI upgrade in Mint condition back in the Mid-90ies for only 2k, because I wanted that brandnew Nordlead VA from Sweden so desperately ;-)
The Nord Lead is a fine machine, but damn 😬 Do you still have it?
Great review, I'm lucky enough to have the expanded rack plus a Nord lead 3. I've also owned the Lead 2 and Lead 2x rack. I have to say, this original one is my favourite. It's just so aggressive. I've read that the guy that coded the original Lead left Nord after a short time and took the code with him and that's why it sounds very different to what came after. I'd go as far as saying this is a modern classic and not too many people realize how analogue and big this sounds. Get one quick before they rocket in price! What do you think?
Thanks very much. It would have been really nice to compare the original to the models that followed for this review to give a bit of context, but unfortunately I've never heard any but this one, but yeah I've heard people before mention how aggressive the original was. Though I do still have reservations about the filter at high resonance, but I suppose they were working within the limits of the time. If I had to guess I'd probably say that the Leads will probably increase in value yes. They are decent bit of kit and pretty damn iconic which will always help hold value.
@@ChrisLodyMusic I bought the Nord Lead 2 in 98 when it came out. I was really disappointed with it, I thought it lacked guts. Swapped it with my music colleague for his Juno 60 which was a good deal.
Then I bought a 2nd hand Lead 3 for about the quarter of the new price. Still have it today but.....mehhhhhh, I think it's overrated. Then bought a Nord Lead 2x rack....I think it has more guts than the 2 but was not overly keen so sold that as well at a massive loss.
Finally, after reading reviews about what people had to say about the original Nord Lead, 3 years ago I got hold of the rack version but unexpanded for a really good price. Amazingly, there was the voice expansion board also for sale at the same time and the memory card too on Ebay. The rack came from Germany, the expansion board from the UK and the memory card from the US! The expansion board was really expensive, and so was the memory card for what it is, but as you have written, they are essential to get the most out of the synth.
I have to say, for me, it's absolutely the most gutsy out of all these Nords I have owned. In fact, it's my favourite polysynth and I own a Prophet 6, a JD800 and an ultra rare Creamware Prodyssey Klangbox which tries to be an ARP Odyssey emulation and fails but is actually quite a good sounding 8 note polysynth. Over the years I've owned a couple of Yamaha's horrible FM synths (the DX9 was my first "proper" synth) a couple of Ensoniqs and some modules...
I've tried loads of other polysynths too and I really think the original Nord Lead is up there with the greats...In fact, the only vintage polysynths of great popularity I've not tried are the Jupiter 6 and 8. Even had a quick go of a sick CS80...I've heard that the 8 is now fetching somewhere in the region of 16K which is absolutely insane.
Very curious to see what happens with Behringer as Uli has pledged to reissue the whole range of vintage classics...
@@GNeuman Wow that swap for the Juno 60 sounds like a damn good one! You did really well putting together all the pieces of the original Nord too, sounds like it was meant to be. I'm also intrigued to see what Behringer come up with. Some people slag them off left right and centre but the more tools there are to make the music the better I say.
I used to own a Nord Lead 2 and did a comparison against the original Nord Lead and one point. In fact, I thought they sounded identical, except that the output of one was inverted compared to the other, so bass sound in headphones lacked bottom end on one but not the other. The original one though is said to have some adjustments for the audio DAC, which if maladjusted cause distortion in the output, which might make the sound more gritty. I did not try this though. A few years lager I compared the 2 against the 2X; again there was no discernible difference.
Yes, it was Peter Jubel, later and still at Propellerhead Software, who did the original Nord Lead DSP code. However, I'm quite convinced that the copyright belongs to Clavia so code stayed with Clavia and consequently the 2 and 2X use basically the same DSP algoritms. In fact, Peter added an inofficial alternate synthesis mode in the original Nord Lead which is normally called 'Pelles mode' (Pelle being the Swedish nickname for Peter), which was carried on in the 2, but taken out of the 2X. The Nord Lead 3 was a different story however, it sounds vastly different from the other Nords; I'm speculating but I think they redesigned most of the DSP code from the ground up, with mixed results.
Hi Chris. Any idea what a ball park figure might be for the rack mount version of this second hand? Thanks
I usually do an eBay completed listings search for that kind of info. Most of the ones in the UK that have sold recently are the Rack 2 model which are from about £250-400.
5:30 squad goals
😄
The interesting thing about about the nordlead, it came out before the prophecy, jp8000 and an1x and it had superior hardware, it was 32bit with 24bit dsp while the others were still 16bit
Oh wow, I knew about its bit depth but I didn't realise it came before those other synth, if assumed they were much earlier.
One thing I neglected to mention in the video is how noise free and clean the output is which I assume is down to that extra bit depth giving it extra dynamic headroom
@@ChrisLodyMusic it was the first, of course the an1x and jp came out a out a year or two after. But they were 16bit synths, like the prophecy.
I looked at buy a Prophecy once actually, wouldn't mind a go on one. They seem like a pretty weird bit of gear and I like the sound of that
@@ChrisLodyMusic i have one also recapped it. Its a monosynth, and interesting same amount of dsp as an1x and jp. Challenging to program but it really cuts through a mix
Any tips in here about how to best utilize the stereo outs?
That’s something I totally forgot to mention actually. They’re not very stereo at all. You can choose one output or the other for different layers or voices in multitimbral mode but they’ll be hard panned. You can also get a nice rich stereo sound in unison mode but it’ll still be in the middle. There’s no way to pan voices around in the stereo field or anything like that unfortunately
During the viewing I was even able to sample something )
When I was a Teenager they Had this in our music store. I was amazed. But the money
Yeah I can imagine. I got mine second hand and it was quite pricey. Bloody solid bit of gear though
podes me recordad nos 4 canais abcd como predefenir midi ? obrigado
just picked one up but can't get the midi working, am i missing a hidden function or something painfully obvious?
Jim Barker Hi. The midi might be turned off. Hold down shift and press the unison button. You can adjust the midi channel from there. Let me know if that gets it going
Thank you for this!Can you save patches on this synth?
Yes you can. There's space you 40 presets internally and if it's a later model or an early one with an expansion it can take a pcmcia memory card that can hold hundreds
i have one😁
All over trance from 1998-2004.
Do you know if there's a way to add LFO? I own a Lead 2X, The LFO 2 is just odd to me...it's only used for the arpeggiator it seems. I wonder if there's pedals I can use for more LFO?
Yeah there must be a way of sending a midi LFO to whichever midi cc you'd like to control. You can certainly do that in software so there must be a midi pedal or something that will do it
@@ChrisLodyMusic Yeah, I'm not sure what software to use. I don't have a laptop right now unfortunately I really don't wanna spend wayy too much money on a laptop or computer.
Do you have a DAW like reaper or logic etc? There will be a way of doing it from with that
@@ChrisLodyMusic Yeah I don't have a computer or anything right now. Do you know any laptops that are compatible with those? Laptops that are affordable that is?
@@ChrisLodyMusic Does it matter what brand I use? because alot of people seem to use apple mac for midi software and stuff.
Sonically are really different the NL1 and NL2? did you try to compare them?
I'm not sure to be honest. I've never had the opportunity to try a Lead 2
Hi, do you know if is possibile import existing sounds from Mac or Pc? Thx in advance
You can transfer synth presets on and off the Nord Lead via midi. But this isn't like transferring an audio recording onto it as that isn't possible with this machine
@@ChrisLodyMusic wich software i can use for that?
The presets are sent and received in midi sysex format so your best bet is midi-ox on windows and sysex librarian on Mac. Either those or you can send and receive those from most DAWs too. The manual covers sending presets out of the keyboard which requires a few key presses where are it's ready to receive them at any time
had mine for over 25 years sadly never got big into it other than the organs and drum kits
5:57 or 5:58 or so... Crystal Method sound for sure
I bought the rack when it first came out for £1300 and then another £200 plus for the expansion card, I will never sell because It would never be a good plan to do so, but Chris do you know where I could get a copy of the manual? Coz somehow mine was thrown out by mistake!
Glad you're still loving yours, mines still here and I'm keeping it too 😁 The manual is available on the Clavia website if you dig around in the legacy section of the downloads. You should find it here www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/nord-lead
@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks Chris I will check that out..
I managed to get It Chris but wanted to ask you about the software version 2, does the manual (for the most part) apply to software version 1 also? As that is what my model is I believe, it should still be relevant I guess? I bought mine very early in the production/manufactured line..
Most of it will I believe yes. The later versions had the drum synthesis added and I think the multitimbral mode, but apart from that I believe it will be the same. There is a way to check your firmware version but I can't remember without checking
@@ChrisLodyMusic Yeah I thought as much and really appreciate your responses many thanks
You seem approachable. Forgive my ignorance but can you explain what keyboard tracking is?
Thanks very much :) Keyboard tracking is the option to send a control signal (that is high for high keys on the keybed, low for low keys on the keybed) to other parts of the synthesizer. So in the case of the Nord Lead it can send a signal from the keybed to the cutoff of the filter depending on which is key is pressed, so the higher the note that is played the more the cutoff knob is turned clockwise internally, giving a brighter sound with higher notes. This is designed to make the synthesizer sound a bit more like an acoustic instrument as they tend to have a more 'open' sound when higher notes are played. Hope that helps!
@@ChrisLodyMusic Thank you very much for your time Chris. Explained in such a way that even a complete simpleton, such as myself, can understand, without it being obvious that it is being explained in such a way that even a complete simpleton (such as myself) can understand it! If you had to give up either the Nord Lead 1 or the MS10 behind you, which one would it be?
MisAnnThorpe Ooh now there’s a question. I think I’d have to go for the Nord. The Ms10 is a lot less polite sounding, but the Nord more than makes up for that with midi, polyphony, multitimbrality, velocity sensitivity, drum synthesis, multiple oscillators etc. I think 🤔...
@@ChrisLodyMusicThe reason I asked Chris, is because I've owned a good few Poly synths - despite genuinely not knowing what keyboard tracking is - including a Roland Juno 6, JX10/8P, D50, JD800, Yamaha AN1x, Korg Polysix and MS2000. I bought an MS10 on a whim, having previously failed to see the point of mono synths and that little machine changed everything for me. I found it, along with the similarly basic (in terms of architecture) ARP Axxe (which I THINK I might just prefer to the Odyssey), to be the best synth for encouraging my creativity, I've yet to own. I'd say that it was a classic example of less, sometimes being more and technical specifications in themselves counting for very little.
MisAnnThorpe Wow that’s quite the gear list! 😍 I know what you mean, the Ms10 has a hell of a lot of character and in that it certainly has the advantage over the Nord. I’d agree that less is more too. I’ve spent most of my time over the last couple of years making music on Volcas. They require some out of the box thinking to make the most of, especially the Modular
5:58 you accidentally created the opening high-pitch synth sound from Crystal Method's "Busy Child" lmao
Oh wow yeah I hadn't noticed that. Haven't heard that for years 👌
How do you transpose on it? Any help?
Sorry for taking my time to reply. Sorry but that's not possible beyond making octave shifts, oscillator 1 can't even be detuned. The only other way is to just use oscillator 2 which can be tuned in semitones. It's something i think they added in the Lead keyboards that were released later.
Great fucking video. thanks Chris. i just subscribe your chanel!
Glad you like it and thanks for the sub 😁👌
Was this used in dream trance?
Difficult to know for sure but the era is certainly right and they were very popular when they were first released. So probably yeah.
Ok this is a nord lead 1 with the top right corner. Why did they do that?
Ha, I have no idea 😄 There seems to be a lot of variation in the Lead 1 models for some reason. I'd be interested to know why too
@@ChrisLodyMusic I think it's the year. They were made from 94-97
HI MATE, HOW CAN I RESET MY PRESETS BACK TO THE FACTORY SOUNDS?
You'll need to download these midi files from the Clavia website and play them into the Nord. There's some simple instructions there too 👍 www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/product-libraries/synthesizers/nord-lead/nord-lead-factory-sounds
@@ChrisLodyMusic still cant work this out
@@ChrisLodyMusic how do i play it on the nord?
You can load .syx files in with software like MidiOx or Sysex Librarian. Or play the .mid files in from a DAW like Reaper or Logic. You'll need to set up your midi connection so that whatever software you use is sending midi to the instrument properly for it to work
@@ChrisLodyMusic ok, but the files in your link is not sysex
1 or 2 ? 🤷♂️
It's the Nord Lead 1
budding Goa trance musicians called it the screamer for good reason
Levi Partridge Ha i didn’t know that. I can see why 😄
and they also call it "the red Devil" if I remember well :)
pfff i like this synth..pouet pouet..tuuu tuuuu tuuuuu coiiii cooiiiii .biip bip bippp bup bup ....boup boup..omg very horrible sound..if you buy this for play ..ok...it s ok
Sounds like every other synth