Clavia Nord Lead 2

1.06,Presets are good enough and in seconds you have your won sound anyway. Manual as it should be.

16 voices, good enough to play,but I am tempted to "midi steal" some like the creamy 80% fat bass drum. Effects -who wants a radio in Ferrari or reverb in PRS guitar ? PCMCIA ext for more voices. Assignig anything you want to the keys sensitivity makes it superbly expressive. No sequenzer but super easy to hook it to my laptop.

The most inspiring synth sounds ever tried, enough of variety of high Q sounds to fit any style. No other synth is so responsive. I never liked aftertouch so its absence does not bother me

Had used Nordlead one for a week (sold it to get this one) it was lust like new. Probably my grand children will be using it. If there is reliable electronic instrument then this is the one.

Met them on a trade fair,competent and friendly. Got response to few times over Email within 24 hours.

Having extra money would get NL3 and all other Clavia products. I am guitar player first and as producer used Yamahas, Korgs. I used them for productions but never liked to play them, hardly even listen others playing ( except Zawinul, Herbie and Jan Hammer) feeling digital synthesis destroyed most keybordists individuality. This one I really play and not only to check out ideas , I actually love it and its sounds inspire me. The only competition , to my ears is Virus. Too bad that they go for quantity ( of voices) rather the quality. Clavia is the only 24/96 resolution synth on the market. They do not compromise and I suspect this high resolution as one of the secrets of its increadible sounds. I will definitely get some more from Clavia like the Modular, hope they will make a drum machine some day.

Software Version 1.04. Presets are pretty average, I've got a PCMCIA card and all the libraries off the clavia site but often I will just make my own. Editing is a breeze, as is storing patches. Everything is clearly laid out with nothing in menus aside from a few functions that require the use of a shift key. Manual is good.

16 voice, 4 individual parts with an output for each (output configurations can be changed). As I mentioned above, memory can be expanded using a PCMCIA card. No midi thru which is a little annoying but I intend to get a new interface soon so it wont matter for me. All controls transmit midi. No full on fx processors as such but it does have distortion and ring modulation not to mention FM capabilities. Great pitch bend and mod wheel.

Typical VA sounds, I dont think they sound as thick as some other VAs but you have to remember that there are no chorus, reverbs etc. I find the NL2 has a real character of its own.

This thing is built like a tank. And with a four octave keyboard it is a great size to transport, I gig without a backup no problem

I emailed a query to Clavia in Sweden and the got back to me within 24 hours!

If it were lost or stolen I would buy it again (at the price I paid for it). Ive been playing for several years and programming for several more. My setup consists of - NL2, A-station, XP 10, heaps of software, fair bit of outboard. The nord definately fills a space in my studio, I tend do use the A station for the really searing basses and leads, but most of my pads, strings and little atmospherics come from the nord. I do wish it had a couple more parts, but i could say that for any synth. I make psy-trance mostly but i do mess around with techno, breakbeat, hip-hop and i play keys in a band.

A retarded left handed monkey can fire this baby up in two seconds flat. Quite simply one of the easiest synths in terms of use ever created. Plug it in , turn it on and go.

16 notes of polyphony, 4-part multitimbral, and has four separately addressable outputs. No built in effects, but you dont need them. Its almost an insult to suggest adding effects to the sounds coming out of this thing... theyre simply some of the richest, fullest sounds you will get from this type of synth.

The Nord Lead 2 has full midi capabilities and can be expanded via PCMCIA cards. This allows you to save an additional 3 banks of 297 total memory slots and 30 programmable percussion kit locations, plus 100 performances. I was surprised to find that there were programmed percussion kits that came with the factory settings. Ive given them a once over and although usable, Id have very little use for them for what Im currently doing, abstract drum & bass. I can get more out of some loops and a sampler in this case, although I wouldnt quite disregard the kits completely. I can think of alot of great uses for them especially for creating sounds for minimal techno and deep tech genres.

Sound editing is about as easy as it gets. Tons of knobs and buttons to create just about any sound you can think of. This isnt a Triton or a Motif. There are no "sampled" sounds. This synth was built with for sound programming, as in "make your own shit". I'll even admit that coming from a synth module mentality, its a bit hard to get used to the idea of creating your own sounds. But the satisfaction of creating something completely unique and apart from sound patches or presets that everyone and their mom is using, is pure bliss.

Prepare to wet your pants. For a virtual analog synth, this replicates that distinct analog sound like no other synth in its class. Hell, it even over 40 of the original factory sounds from the classic vintage Prophet 5 synth! Full, rich fat sound that slaps you on the face and calls you a bitch. Its the dope shit.

So far so good. The damn thing is heavy for such a small synth and made out of durable metal. The control knobs have the best feel out of any module/synth Ive ever had the pleasure of violating which is definitely reassuring of the fact that the thing is solid as a rock. The wooden pitch bend is a nice touch but personally, I would have rather had them add pitch bend withthe same rubbery feel as the control knobs instead. That goes the same for the stone modulation wheel.

Havent had the need to call or write, and hopefully I wont need to.

Id have to replace it if it where lost or stolen. Its a very unique piece of equipment and one that isnt easy to live without once youve owned one. There are plenty of synths out there which try to emulate but cant quite replicate this synth. There are even a few virtual analog softsynths available that arguably come close (Native Instruments FM7), but I would consider theyre sound quality mediocre at best compared to the Nord Lead. This is a rock solid synthesizer that cant be faded.

My God, I thought my Moog Rogue was easy to use. If you can't get up and writing your own patches after spending 5 minutes with the manual, then you might want to look into another arena. The way the manual is setup will first teach you about the synth, and then about synthesis in and of itself. Very easy read. Where I go, the manual goes, its just one of those things :)

If you've been reading the reviews of this board, you already know its poly, and all that other good stuff. One thing that should be noted about this board is that it has its own tonal character. The unison mode on this keyboard is really good to for fatting up your tones, and making spacing. Those of us who have not used FM synthesis before may find Clavias implementation of FM a little odd, but give it an hour and you'll go from thinking of sounds in your head to hearing them come out of your keyboard.

One area that this board definitly needs improvement in is its LFO2/ARP area. The ones they give you to me are ok at best. You can't set gates, slides, or anything like that, so you come out with these sub par sounding arps. Theres no way (that I know of, email and correct me if I'm wrong) to sync the LFO's to the ARP, nor is there anyway to see what BPM the ARP is running at. Would be an excellent option if the future OS's had this.

Also, most synths within this class and above have the ability to let the LFO modulate any perameter of the synth, but thats not the case here. With the LFO they give you, you can modulate the following

AMP
Filter
Pulse Width
OSC 1
OSC 2
OSC 1+2

This is ok, but I feel that Clavia could have done better in this department. No onboard fx, but they really are not needed. Keyboard action felt exactly the same as my moog rogue (note: there is none) and this is my first "real" synth, so I have nothing to base it off of. Only reason the NL2 doesn't get a 10 in this catagory is because of the arp/lfo sync deal.

You can create some of the creamest, lushes pads you've EVER heard or navigate into some of the darkest territory, all with simple twist of knobs. One of the coolest things (to me) that the nord can do is velocity mapping where you basically can apply velocity to any perameter, not just gain. This means that you can set the FM knob to be at 1 when you strike the lowest, and 8 when you strike the hardest. VERY good feature for getting those gooooshy, choclately sounds we all know and love.The drum sounds on here are great for those custom drum sounds, but you will still need good drum samples or a drum machine to fit the bill. I think this synth has a place in every genre of music out there, but thats just me.

Like everyone else has said earlier, this board is a tank. Not only that, it looks cool as hell (red, gotta love it :)

Haven't really had a chance to deal with them, but from the manual and the website alone, looks like that will never be an issue

If it were stolen, I would bring the pain and the hurt upon my tresspassers. I currently own a 12 string guitar, and Moog Rogue, I know it will fit in just right with everyone else. The flow of this synth is really logical and well thought out, all the knobs are where you would "expect" them to be (if you've worked with any analog gear before). I would really love to see this gear teamed up with something like a MPC2kXL or Supernova 2. This synth is here to stay within my aresonal of destruction and badassry :)

I bought a Nordlead 1 in '95. Bought a NL2 in '97 after I left the NL1 in the train to Paris. It's probably just my imagination, but the sound of the 2 never moved me the way the first one did, even though I have sys-exed all my old sounds into the newer model. good thing is the polyphony though, you really need those 16 voices. If you are a preset user don't buy the nordlead as its stock sounds are generally not very powerful and rich. do your own programming or -like me- get someone to program great analog-style bass and lead sounds. This will unveil the NL's potential as you get most of the fatness and characteristics of analog synthesis, but with digital control and reliability. Nice for the engineers, if I hold a note with one of my basspatches, the meters on the console will not move but stay at one fixed position. The NL bass really needs no compression or any other dynamics as it sits perfectly in the mix. Negatives? The wimpy keyboard action really make this synth much less fun to play. Also I find the sounds not very velocity-responsive, but i guess that comes with the analog-emulation territory. I really wouldn't trade this synth (not even for the 3, which i find way to expensive for what it offers), but I so do wish I still had my old Nordlead One, especially those swedish designer sawed-off edges.
Keyboardists, there are now a lot of alternatives for the Nordlead 2, some of them cheaper and offering much of the same functionality and even multi-FX, so be sure to check those out. But nothing quite sounds like this one, and only you can decide whether that is good or bad.

see above.

see above.

see above.

Had them replace the power transformer once, because it started humming. They did the job nicely, and within a week.

see above.

Software version 1.06.
It can't get easyer than this.
Manual is good.

Keyboard action could be better.
Features is the only weak area - no effects, no memory, no display,
no audio input.

Not bad, but could be better.

OK so far.

Never dealt with Clavia.

I think it's a bit over-priced. It is a great synth, but could have
more featurs for $1300. I'd never let it go, but still keep thinking
about Access Virus. I really miss on-board effects and vocoder.
I could have got MS2000, but there isn't enough poly, could have got
Virus if it wasn't so pricy. So i guess i somewhat happy with NL2.
It improved my sound without any doubt.

One of the reasons I bought this synth is because I was sick of huge LCDs with menus and multi-function buttons. With the Nordlead II, each knob does one thing, and that's all it does. Anyone familiar with the basics of analog synthesis with have no trouble making predictable modifications to almost any patch on the instrument. I have had the need to consult the manual on occasion, which is always helpful.

No, there are no on-board effects, or aftertouch, or a sequencer, but I don't really care. I love the rock-solid wooden pitch-bend stick and ground-stone mod wheel. You can set up the latter to change ANY knob or combination of knobs using the slick "morph" feature, and you can use an expression pedal to do whatever the wheel does, and more. I also use the split/layer capabilities a lot, and the arpeggiator.

I use mine in a live setting with a five-piece "indy-rock" band with LOTS going on sonically, and the Nordlead cuts through with flying colors. I run it directly into a Roland KC-500 (which compensates for its slight lack of low end) with no effects, and it suits me fine. The sounds I use range from analog lead and bass reproductions to rich pads to abstract noises that simply can't be described.

I had my unit shipped to me and it was damaged en route (the retailer's fault). I had it repaired and haven't had a problem since.

My repairs took a lot longer than I expected, as a new knob had to be ordered from Sweden. Never dealt with them directly.

I've been playing my Nordlead II for over three years and I love it. More features would be handy, but would only complicate the elegant interface. I love being able to grab any knob at any time. It's great for anolog reproductions, but the bottom line is that it doesn't sound like anything else in the world.

All editing is done directly with the knobs. no menus you have to go through, and it's very easy to understand if you have created sounds on synths before. The presets are good, but who cares about presets on a synth like this? you create your own sounds...thats the whole fun! The manual is very good.

As far as i have noticed all knobs send midi data to your sequenser.. so you can record knob movements in realtime! theres no effects built in, but i dont think it needs any. you can make the the sounds sound reverbreted by using the deley. but like i said this synth sounds great like it is. the only think to complain about would be that you will prolly have to buy the pcmcia memory card to save your stuff...allthough you can overwrite the presets.

The nord 2 really has an awesome sound. you can make it sound very soft and dream-like, now just pull a knob or two and you have a roaring screaming lead or ultra-phat bass sound. The unison button really makes it sound wide, and i love the distortion button. I love this in-your-face sound.. it can really jump out the speakers and hit the listener in the face. It's the perfect addon for my Korg Triton Pro-x.

Only had it for 2 weeks, seems very relaiable and solid. it's in metall and the knobs feel really good..i think it's rubber in them. it's a tank.

never needed it.

Awseome sound. Very easy to use. Really makes my music sound more alive and "organic". I use it with my Korg Triton Pro-X... and i dare say that this is all you need.

I think that the software that I am using is 1.06. The presets are perfect. Editing a patch is too easy: touch the "store" button and it's in memory. It's just that simple. The manual is so easy, I believe that Clavia uses complete dummies to review the manual before they released it(just kidding). The manual is so, so simple: the best!

Polyphony is 16 with 4 parts. This keyboard does not come with effects and it sounds better than many other keyboard with effects. It also has expansion capabilities too. The NordLead has full MIDI capabilities. This is a V.A. synth. It does not come with an on-board sequencer.

BOY OH BOY OH BOY! This baby sounds so, so good: Heaven! I am impress. This keyboard is in a class all by itself: nothing comes close! Just check out the other reviews.

This baby is built like a tank! If it falls off a truck, it probably will still work. This keyboard is made out of real metal!

I never had to deal with them and I hope that I never will!

The Nord Lead is sweet, red hot and Swedish. The sounds from it is indeed astonishing. Clavia is the King of the V.A. synth industry.

V 1.06
The presets on this machine are good starting points for making more
beautiful sounds.
Editing the patches seems quite easy with many knobs making it immediate. I am Ok at getting around the control panel when it comes to the analogue knobs. I will have to look at the manual when it comes to the FM part of the synth.The FM part of the synth really adds some extra sonic power, allowing the creation of some less overused synth sounds, the synth really has a character and since I own a few other synths the Nord really adds something to my set up.
The manual seems Ok, so far I have not really used it that much
too much knob twiddling.

Poly is 16 notes / 8 notes when in unison/poly mode
This dissapointed me slightly as to have a sound which has some stereo
width you have to have unison on it seems. The sounds are great in unison/poly mode but 8 note poly for stereo width? this shows the synths lack of processing power. Still it did first come out 4 years ago. If you buy this synth it will be for sound not poly/multitimbrality.

No built in effects I can live with this no problem, Unison creates
a nice spacial effect.

I will consider a PCMCIA card in the future I do not know how much these cost.

All MIDI features that I need are present.

No onboard sequencer on this synth this is not a problem as I use
a computer based sequencer.

This is a synthesist's synth in my opinion not good for real sounds
Great for analogue pads/bass/303/effects and FM weirdness + unusual drums included too.
Will work for Drum and Bass/techno/trance/electro/psycadelic/electronica/experimental
As far as I can tell the synth reacts very well to my playing, If I am honest here do not play as such, more build and layer sounds.

This synth looks and feels very robust, thick steel top plate
and sides, reassuringly heavy, strong responsive controls.
I guess It would be OK to gig without a back up, unless your a superstar.

Bit slow getting back to me by e-mail in pre-sales questioning, still this is a small company from what I understand .They were helpful when they did get back to me.

I got this synth for a good price GBP 695.00(Rack version) New in box
Considering it was GBP 1,295.00 when it came out that is not bad at all.I think I would get another one If lost as it really has a sonic character which pleases my earsand is quite unique.I have a Nova, Juno 106 plus other bits and bobs.I wanted to hear the Virus Rack but it's taking ages to arrive in the UK. I think the Virus rack will probably have quite a big range of sounds on it as it has these other "spectral waves" The filters on the Virus sound really, really smooth with no audible stepping. I always think you can never have too many outputs 6 or 8 would have been great. I cannot beleive the Nord Lead 3 still has only 4 outs, Very bad move Clavia.
The sounds will definitely help me make music. If I want plenty of Nord in a track I will definitely have to multitrack it a hassle but if it has got to be done, tough shit.
One thing I did not like was having a moulded Swedish mains electrical plug on the synth power lead, I wanted to plug it straight in and get synthin' not cut wires,look for plug with right fuse
and wire the plug up. This really killed my buzz.
This synth is close to the top of the list for "best looking synth"