Clavia Nord Modular! Opinions please!

pbanken · Post by **pbanken** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 5:12 pm

Hello everyone!

I am seriously thinking of buying a new Clavia Modular synth, but as with all buys in such a price range, I am quite careful before stepping to my bank account. It is, after all, quite an investment ... I would very much like to hear your opinion on that machine. Have you got one? Are you satisfied? Would you recommend one?

Here's something about my needs in terms of synths ...

1. I am looking for a versatile machine. Basslines, Pads, crazy FX's, I want it all! Tweakable, of course. But the machine should not be such a monster that I get completely lost when building a simple patch.

2. I'm a hand's on type of guy when it comes to making music: I love to tweak the filters, decays and such when recording a bassline, for example, therefore soft synths sometimes get on my nerves (haven't got a decent midi ctrl. to do so properly).

3. Electronic music is my thing, think of a cross between old Prescription 'House' records, Maurizio / Basic Channel style Dub 4/4's, Redshape's bone dry take on Detroit, UR's 'softer' moments ... things like that. A proper House / Techno record doesn't need 25 different HH sounds. BD, Clps, HH, a bassline, some pads, a vocal sample, some FX, less is more, keep it simple stoopid ... Having said that, from time to time I like to let the machines take control and see what 'they' come up with. Chance is quite a good addition to every production.

One question is already there: Does the software editor of the Modular work on its own (like the demo version you can get on Clavia's hoempage)? Or is it absolutely necessary to run both the hardware and the software at the same time? For example, I'm on a long trainride, got my laptop with me, and suddenly I want to create a very basic BD sound. Would that be possible with the hardware, given that I've installed the software editor on my laptop?

Second question: How does the hardware feel in terms of knob adjusting and pressing? It was a major turndown when I first tried the Little Phatty in a music store, and the gum-buttons felt very non-responsive ...

Many thanks in advance! Feel free to share any thoughts!

Cheers, pbanken

kraze · Post by **kraze** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:21 pm

I'm saving up for a Nord modular (g2 that is, since it's far superior to the first and pretty much has nothing in common with it).

From my time playing around with it, i've found it to suit my needs down to a tee, but from what you need, there's nothing that really defines you to seem like the modular is a must-have for you.

You'll probably be happy with most popular general synths, be it from the 80's, 90's or 00's. If you bought a modular, chances are you'd only use 10% anyways so there's really no need for you to spend the cash for it.

Visit as many stores as possible and try as many as possible, you be glad you did.

pbanken · Post by **pbanken** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:02 pm

Dude, I don't mean to be rude, but what kind of response is that?

Why is it a machine that's found its way on your wishlist? What exactly are your desired feat.'s? And how do you know what I need? All I did was to give a very rough descriptions of a few things that I considered relevant.

Again, I don't want to step on your shoes, but your comments, especially in the last two paragraphs, sound a bit condescending. Since I gave some of the major synths a number of good trys during the last months (DS MonoEvolver, Moog's Little Phatty, NordLead Rack, e.g.) and stuck with the G2, it might have occured to you that I was not looking for a MicroKorg, but indeed a Clavia Modular, hence the thread.

Soooo ... this might sound a bit 'Coming on too strong', but do you care to elaborate a bit?

Cheers, pbanken

kraze · Post by **kraze** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:36 pm

Well, i did not mean the be either rude or condesending, i guess it's all in how you read it.

What i was trying to say is that Modular G2 is a different beast to others. From your 3 points about what you need, buying a Modular G2 would pretty much mean you'd be using a third of the machines capabilities, at max.

Do you know what the difference between Modular G2 and other Nord Synths is?
For me, it's all about the modular system. What my rig misses is a synth where i can just totally geek out and spend way too much time on patches, and the Modular G2 with its expansive modular architecture is right on the money for that stuff.

From what you were describing, it'd seem that any popular synth used by major artists in the last 20 years would fit you like a glove. And what makes you even consider that this means that i want you to buy a microkorg? I said that it doesn't matter if it's modern or classic. Go nuts on sonicstate/vintage synth explorer and you'll see what i mean.

I'm sorry if you find it condesending but hell, even Nords staff themselves has said in interviews that it's a total geek product that has loads of components that will be used in upcoming synths and was pretty much intended to be a frankenstein-prototype not for sale because of its ratio between technicality and musicality being way too high than the company agreed to set its standard.

chapelier fou · Post by **chapelier fou** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:12 pm

A friend showed me the patching program for the G2, and I must admit I was really amazed. It's is really more than a synthesizer. You've got sequencers, you can make very complex algorythmic patches, generative rythmic sequences, etc...
It seemed not far from reaktor yo me.

memes_33 · Post by **memes_33** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:14 pm

well i have the original nord modular and love it, although i'll admit i've never mussed around with a G2 (although i'm sure it sounds a little better with higher fidelity outputs). the modular layout of the modular is what i wanted- i was using a buchla in school and really wanted something completely user programmable from the ground up. i would suggest the modular if you already understand how a synthesizer works, or if you would like to learn (its really not that hard).

that being said, be forwarned that shortly after i bought my nord modular, the G2 came out and clavia stopped supporting the original, meaning i couldn't use the software on new emerging operating systems. in order to even use my nord modular's software, i have to fire up my old G4 with OS9 to make any edits. if clavia comes out with a G3 anytime soon and you plan on upgrading your OS, you might be SOL.

oh, and you can create patches with the software, then load them whenever you want into the modular. they need not be connected to create a patch (although it helps when creating a patch to actually hear it). patches you have created with the demo software should work as well. there are plenty of preconstructed patches to work with/tweak as well.

esky · Post by **esky** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:23 am

I use a Nordlead II and Reaktor and i had a Nord Modular 1, but i sold it. To my ears the sound charakter of a Nordlead and a Nord Modular a quite identical, a lot of patches that you can do with a Modular are possible with a Nordlead. Apart from the sequence stuff of course. As a modular system i prefer Reaktor which has so much to offer, tons of effects and synth with very different characters...

aeon · Post by **aeon** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:44 pm

you can download the modular software environment as a demo - it even lets you listen to (monophonic) patches. check out the Nord website... it's worth doing even if you don't have the hardware. you can get some idea of how much you'll use everything the modular has to offer.

i guess it really depends on how much you wish to compromise immediacy / tweakability for sound programming power. a modular can do anything. it really is insanely flexible.

if you're the type of programmer - and more importantly the type of musician - who will benefit from spending an hour or two using the mouse to stack comb filters and granular oscillators into some hell-borne bitches brew of cable mess and demented evolving noise, then hell yeah. go for it.

if however you're looking for a hands-on, grab-n-tweak standalone workhorse synth... then i'd look for something with fixed architecture and dedicated soundshaping knobs.

Lo-Fi Massahkah · Post by **Lo-Fi Massahkah** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 4:04 pm

The G2 is a great synth. So is the original Nord Modular. The two have quite a lot in common. The G2, however, has way more and developed features. The coolest being midi out modules (and internal midi between patch slots) and some memory to allow a couple of seconds of delay.

The original Modular is a bit tweaky to get running in a modern OS. There is an OSX beta editor and an open source editor. These work with quirks and some instability. Some people run an old dedicated lappy with Win98 or OS9. The editor takes almost no juice. So a used 100 euro lappy will get you far.

The G2 editor is connected by USB. The old Modular needs a dedicated pair of midi ports for the editor. And then of course another pair for regular midi control.

The editor (old & new) can run by itself but won't make any sound without the hardware. Patches made in the G2 demo version will load on the hardware.

Having said this. Tweaking decay, filter and what not does not really (in my book) justify going for a high end synth like the G2. Any hardware synth with a bunch of knobs will let you do this. A good midi controller (Faderfox, UC33, BCR2000) will let you do this with all your soft synths for a fraction of the cost.

.m