Hi I'm Chris from Future Music were are at the Nord stand, and looking at the new Nord
Lead 4, here with Thomas, who's going to take us through some of the features.
>>So this is the lead 4, the 4th member of the lead generation, the performance synthesizer
with the digital, virtual, analogue synthesizer engine, same engine that we've been working
with since 1995 and this is one of the most exciting things that we've ever done I think.
It has a traditional analogue style architecture with 2 oscilators, amplifiers, envelope,
filter envelope, selectable filters we have 6 different types. I'd like to mention 2 of
those; the one is emulation of the latter filter from an old vintage unit and the other
is an emulation of the 303 filter also from a vintage unit. At the end of the thing that's
changed, we have a couple of effect, the vid crusher, 2 overdrive and we have 3 talk effect.
If you ever wondered how a synthesizer would sound inside your mouth, this is what the
talk effect does. I'm going to show it to you in just a couple of seconds. We have delay
or revurb and we have a modulation section with elefolds and modulation envelope. One
really cool thing is the performance oriented synchronisation concept that we have, whereas
you can syncronise the elephobes, the arpegio and the delay 2 a clock or a clock coming from
an external unit and create loads and loads of rhythmic effects. Again I'm going to show
you that in just a couple of minutes, seconds. 20 voice polyphony, 4 parts multi timbral
so you can have 4 sounds running at once either in layer configuations or in split configurations.
You have 4 outputs if you want to take it to.
>>So you can have one voice per output if you want.
>>Yes. Also along with the performance controls we have of course the Nord modulation wheel
which can act as a morphing controller, I can move the wheel and thereby turn a knob and
change your parameters, we'll see on this one or that variation buttons I have 3 buttons
and they can recall a new setting for almost any parameter on the panel so you can have
one filter setting when you're playing, hit the button and instantaneously the filter
will open up to another setting. You can do quite a few cool things with that. Let me show you.
This is a synthesizer feed type sound with 1st the talk effect, which I'm controlling
through the modulation wheel. And I push the variation button and activate the modulation
envelope dropping the pitch on this particular sound.
[music]
Here's another sound. With the talk effect and of course in the normal Nord style all
the controls are active instantaneously on the panel if you want to do something on the fly.
[music]
>>So those variation modes are a real performance enhancer aren't they?
>>Oh yeah, 3 buttons gives you 7 possible combinations
>>and are they switches or do you have to hold them down, how do they actually operate,
can you hold them to lock them? >>I believe the english work is momentaneous,
so you hold it and then it's on, you release it, then it's off.
>>And what if you did want to, can you shift lock it or something?
>>Only during programming, but if you want to do stuff like that then it's better to
do it through the modulation wheel.
[music]
Let's move over to the synchronization features if you have the time.
>>Yes. >>I believe this is a little thing that
[music]
>>Has the virtual analogue engine been tweaked as well. >>Oh yeah, we're working on that all the time.
>>So in what way has that been enhanced? >>We have high resolution on the inside, a few
times over camping as it's called. We have done editing through the oscilators, improved the
sound quality and of course the filter section. With these 2 new filters. Let me just point
out that all the numbers I was playing here, wasted on the German environment are single
performance, single programmes. So let me go over to the performance mode where we out
use 4 sounds at the same time, to each side of the split. Going to be a bit complicated,
so I'm going to walk you through it. On the right hand side, I have percussive thing and
some freaky soundwave flowing, doing its thing and on, down here, only basses.
[music]
>>And when you have a split like that, seems like the mod controller, the variations, can
you assign them to whichever side of the split you want, or does it control the whole keyboard.
>>They are controlled, they are working towards the programmes, you have 1 programme on A1 programme,
and one on a B1 programme. >>So you can switch between?
>>Yes. So I'm going to bring in the bass again higher ok?
>>So you can almost use those variations for solos
>>Oh yeah.