Clavia Nord Modular

If you have some good overall knowledge of synths then you're already half way there it's just getting you head round the logic control routings and how the modules interact which isn't too hard to understand with the excellent manual.
The software editor is breeze to use and very stable when run in Win98 mode on XP, assigning knobs is also a doddle.
The only problem is that you find huge chunks of your life going missing when getting deep into this machine but I think that also goes to show how open the work flow is as soon as you get to grips with it.

It does have its limits but thats still way beyond most hardware synths out there even today. It has tons more features than any of the 'Leads'. No delay or reverb FX but I always use external units for this purpose anyway. The four morph control groups allow you to assign any parameter at any amount -/+ and is a very powerful feature almost like a global mod matrix.
The onboard sequencers and drum oscillators can also make this into a very decent electronic percussion module.
The NM covers most synthesis types (FM/Subtractive/VA/Addative/Vector/Percussion) but the ability to combine them however you like makes for an almost endless sound source. You can also use the NM as a custom sound processor with its audio in's, vocoding, multiband dynamics, ring mod, phaser it's all here in a totally modular environment.
I would like the polyphony expansion but they're hard to find these days and you might as well get another NM for double the knobs and more outputs.
I know this is a synth I won't get bored of in a hurry if at all.

I've never been a fan of the Nord sound and at first wasn't blown away with the NM either but I think this is because I always expect VA's to sound analogue but I've come to appreciate how the NM sounds, it's a refined good solid digital character that doesn't sound thin, overblown or excited like many other big brand names which are often drowned in onboard FX to hide their shortcommings.

The NM has far more sound variation then the Lead's with the many filter types and endless audio routings to achieve many unorthodox feedback effects and tones. If your into digital style experimental music like glitch/lo-fi or avant guard there's little else like this in the hardware world.

24bit outputs like the NL2 but you can easily make it sound like a NL1 with the bit reducer, some argue that the G1's have better outputs than the G2's but thats open for debate.

The software programmer has been 100% solid so far and the build quality (rack)is as good as it gets with solid silky smooth knobs and decent spring load buttons all housed in a sexy red metal case.

Sadly discontinued now but you can still download the programmer, manual and soundbanks from the Clavia site plus there's a huge NM community out there on the electro music forum who are very helpful.

Ok so why buy this when you might as well use a softsynth like Reaktor you may ask but for the price they go for 2nd hand next to a decent soundcard, MIDI control surface and modular softsynth then your still getting a bargain.
I can't think of any hardware synth that has the versatility of a decent software modular yet will integrate seamlessly into a hardware setup without having to deal with the pain of DAW latency or software crashes.
The G2 is still a beast but for around 25% of the cost you still get about 75% of the power in the G1.

Preset... not for that synth... the fun is in creating patches
A very rewarding synth... patching is easy but not as easy as the G2

It is not a traditional synth... so you built what you need using module like oscillators filters enveloppes etc...

Midi is minimal but ok... great stand alone machine if you dont need sample base stuff...

Sound is great, not for realistic stuff but great for exploring sound... It got it's own sound

For the time being never had trouble with it

Great machine, not realy for keyboardist but for sound experimentation...

Version 3.03
Patching is very cool and can get very complex....
I usualy work with 4 patches to create a piece of sound

Keyboard miss after touch, would love to replace those key by after touch sensible one (dont know if possible).
2oct is small but i realy like the size of this machine. If there was a NM g2 of that size i would buy it instantly.
Mine is expanded. For more noise making
Midi is minimal (use it for midi sync with a beatbox), no midi out module in the patching area... (g2 as)

Love the old style 16 step sequencer, it fit my musical style.

Realistic... who cares... GREAT SOUND
It for creating new noises sounds and everiting.
It sound a bit "arsh", but i very much like it.

For onboard fx, Chorus etc... ok...
It as 2in 4out so you can include external fx in your patches, or use it to process sound....

Great and realy stable...
The knobs are a little bit fragile for my style of play
I gig with it very often, never had a back up... (only have one NM)

By e-mail, very cool

If stolen or lost, i'll get another one used, just to have access to all the patches i've made.
The prices are very low these day (600$ expanded), so i'm looking to buy another one...
I'll buy a G2 soon to....

I have owned Nord Modular Rack for few years ago and I have to admit that I have made only few sounds with it. I really hate using PC for editing and there should faster port for it, not MIDI. WORKING usb2 would be nice, but this is "old" synth so I should buy the newer Modular. When I at the same time had Nord Lead 2, I was going to sell Modular but then I thought to keep it and let NL2 go (great machine though). I use it in every song and I would buy Modular keyboard right away if it had that cool wooden pitch-stick as NL and new G2 has. I don't know why they didn't include it. Patches are ok. Few times I have read the BIG manual. Ease of use is 7 because it can be very complex (as you want) and you have to use editor.

Polyphony is ok because I use only one voice out of it. I was going to sell it few times and tried to trade it for other synth many times but nobody wasn't interested. So I think it's a bit underrated synth(?) There is tons of features.

Full ten points. Clavia tone is hard and can be nasty and a bit Obey -sounding(oberheim pads/brass). I have used it for electric piano sounds (listen "Silently"), pads, fx, bass sounds (usually use analogs for bass/leads) and wide variety other sounds. I play it thru effect unit for a bit reverb/delay. I have also tried some vocoder stuff and they are fun and few times played bass thru the effects and filters - lot's of fun.

Works fine. Maybe some problems with editor but it works fine also..

Great

If it were lost or stolen, I would buy G2 or maybe NL3. I really like Nord Lead interface, keyboard and controllers. But I would definitely buy Clavia -synths again. Feel free to contact.

There is already a lot of information about the modular hear so I'll try to fill up some missing opinion. i have over 32000 presets patches and altough some sound really good I found to be way more interestering to start from 0 and compose your own. It is really user friendly and easy to use, if you know anything about synths. I think the manual is not bad but it lacks some patching examples or tips and, even more important, it does not explain how to use the modules together nor it says how do the multi-stage envelopes really work. I Guess clavia suposes that if your buying a modular you already know a great deal about synth modules.

If you do not have an expansion card for your polyphony you will have to learn how to patch using little load modules ( the salves). if you like very big polyphonic pads or whatever the nord modular (without the expansion) will quickly loose polyphony. It is not easy to make a complex patching and then request for more than 6 or 8 voices. The nord manages the it automatly...Midi is good, effects too, the possibilities are infinite. It is a very time consuming synth because you will be draged into it's world, just like a child. Some people say it should have one more octave keyboard, More audio inputs, bend, wheel and polyphony. i agree completly and so do clavia since they know issued the nord modular 2 with almost everything it was missing. So, the features of the nord modular, altough pretty good are know down rated by the new modular.

The sounds are great. It is nord lead sound: it sounds very sharp and defined and, altought you can destroy it pretty well it will never sound dirty as a really analog synth. It will do for any type of music. Realisitc to analog synth emulation.

It fell on the floor and still works great. Any nord is very realiable. Good for gigs

Clavia

I would beat the hell from the guy who stoled it. This synth is great. I have a nord lead 2 also and now that I have a modular I realy don't now if I should keep the NL 2. My little synth collection also includes: Korg MS-20, Oberheim OB 12, SID Station, Prophet VS and some drum machines synths

im using software version 6. the presets are good. editing patches is not so hard. a patch editor is there. manualis good

it has very much polyphony and a very good keyboard. some built in effects which are not so hard to use. it has expansion capabilities. there are lots of MIDI capabilities, good ones. it has an onboard sequencer.

the instruments are very realistic, you wont get good analog sounds out of this box, but youll get very good pianos, sax, guitars, drums and flutes. it works perfectly for rock (those heavy e-guitar sounds) and for classical (all types of orchestral sounds). It doesnt work for dance, as there are no dance sounds on there.
it is not static

its very reliable, i use it in a rock band to replace all the instruments needed there (guitars, drums etc.) and it works very well

very good customer support, they always mail me good, realistic guitar and piano patches

i would buy another one, if it was lost or stolen. I love the good rock and piano sounds on this box. i compared it to some other products, and they are not so good. It helps me a lot in my rock music.

The Nord Modular is probably one of the most complicated synthesizers at the moment due to it being a modular synth. That said, it is extremely easy to create your own patches from scratch, provided you have a basic background in subtractive synthesis.

There are a lot of presets that come with it. However, I found that I quickly started making my own instead of modifying the old ones. However, if you don't like doing this, there are literally thousands of patches on the internet - I have around 15,000.

The manual is extremely well written. It provides basic tutorials on subtractive synthesis as well as giving detailed descriptions of what every module can do. Despite this, I found that I did not really need the manual as the Modular Editor was so easy to use.

Feature-wise, the Nord Modular can do anything that you want it to do, except for sampling and (long) delays. You can create emulations of a Minimoog, ARP 2600, Nord Lead or you can create effects such as pitch-shifters, vocoders, etc.

The manual says that the Nord Modular can play up to 32 voices with 4 part multi-timbrality, however, you will never get 32 voices with 4 different sounds playing at the same time. Polyphony is confusing, however, you are carried 4 voices if you are only using one sound.

It does have a voice expansion card which doubles the polyphony, however, I do not have it so I cannot write anything about it.

It seems to have fairly extensive MIDI capabilities, however, I do not use most of them as I play everything live. I do know that you can assign any of the 18 freely assignable knobs to any MIDI number (?) and sequence knob movements in your sequencer.

The sounds are what makes the Nord Modular such a great instrument. It sounds great! While the presets are good, I'm sure most people will find that they can get any kind of electronic sound out it.

Sounds that I have found that Nord Modular can do especially well are bass, strings, pads, leads, fx and long evolving sequences and sounds.

I make mostly ambient, industrial and rock (like Sigur Ros, Labradford) music so I find that the sounds it produces are perfect for these. However, I could also see it being used in dance, pop, hip-hop, soundtracks, Vangelis type music and even classical (like Switched On Bach).

I have never played with it live. However, I don't think that I would hesitate playing it without a backup as it has always worked without any problems.

Clavia are extremely friendly. I have sent them a few e-mails asking mostly stupid questions and quickly received replies with useful information. Because of this, I would not hesitate to buy more equipment from Clavia.

It it got stolen, I would be extremely unhappy as it is my favorite piece of equipment. It is definately worth what I paid for it. The only things that I wished it had were a larger keyboard and pitch and mod wheels, however, these are minor problems considering what you get.

It is extremly easy to edit the sounds of this synth. Couldn't be better!

Every unit in this synth sound better than any other digital synth on this planet today! You can use it as an external effect if you want. Two line-inputs lets you connect any source. Phaser, Chorus, Many Filters, Vocoder, Distortion, Bit-Crusher and much more...

I have used it both in studio and live for about 3 years and no problems whatever so far!

You probably never need to contact them but I've heard that they are nice.

I play complex electronic music, like Stockhausen. I have used electronic-equipments for 15 years. The Nord Modular is better than I am!

If you have at least a basic knowlegde of modular synthesis, this synth is easy to get into straight away - if you don't, then you have some reading to do, and the in-depth manual is a good place to start. The extent of your interactivity with the editor (current V3.03) is up to your patience and creativity.

You could survive using presets - there are hundreds provided on the accompanying CD, let alone the internet resources available - but where's the fun in that? If you don't want to build your own sounds, then this isn't the synth for you. It would be pointless just using presets with this machine, considering its main advantage is in its incredible editing interface.

Once you get into the editor, you start to realise the massive potential of the software.

The keyboard, though small (2 octave) is wonderful to play. The keys feel of a high quality, and the knobs are sturdy. The buttons make satisfying clunks, too.

There are a ridiculous number of features, far too many to try and review, so just look at the spec page on the clavia website to see the facts. Suffice to say, there are a lot of options available, with pretty much everything being mappable to MIDI control, along with the 18 assignable knobs.

My only gripe is the lack of reverb. This can lead to a quite disapointing flatness to the sounds. A way around this is to emulate reverb with use of envolopes, but I found it better to buy a cheap FX unit (Zoom RFX-1000, for example). The addition of the external unit is definately worth the extra - it makes the synth sound much richer.

As I say though, thats the only problem. Everything else is of very high quality.

This synth can do pretty much everything, and it does it all very well indeed.

No problems. I've used it for gigs with no worries.

N/A (see reliability)

This is an amazing machine. I had some reservations, until I got the extra reverb, now I wouldn't part with it for love or money. Unless it was alot of money. Then I'd buy another one.

Version 3.03 software. I am eagerly awaiting the new OS update which should add some new killer modules for this beast. The presets are AWESOME. Really shows off the potential for the synth. Let's see here, editing patches. It's actually surprisingly easy. Just drag and drop modules into the workspace and wire them together. I don't reccomend it for beginners though, modular synthesis is a bit hard if you don't already know some basics. The manual is easy to read, complete, and very helpful. There is also a book by Wizoo that gives you some excellent tips and tricks, and it usually ships new with the modular if you buy from a major retailer like Sweetwater.

Dear God. Looking at the list of modules is impressive. Over a hundred. It seems rather daunting at first, everything you can do. You can even use AND and OR gates for basic logic processing of sound... it's that badass. Polyphony depends on your patch. You have 4 parts multitimbrality, so if you use 100% of the DSP power for 1 patch, and your not using any other parts, then you have 4 polyphony. Rarely though do you ever use 100%. There is a card you can get to double the polyphony, which gives you a max of like 32 voices. Effects? Just create your own. No conventional Reverb/Delay, but none of the Nords have that. Besides, you'll want to put this through an external effects unit anyway. 2 sets of midi ports; one for sequencing purposes, the other specifically for editing via computer. 4 outs, 2 ins, control/sustain pedal. Unfortunately no midi thru, but who cares.
Finally, its expandable by the OS. :) Can't wait for the new modules.

The nords have the BEST Virtual Analog sound, period. Couple this with the fact that it's modular, and you can create ANY synth you want, and the possibilites are literally limitless. Go to a store, play with it. Download sound samples. Nothing can beat its raw power, its punch, its completely wicked sound. I use it for all of my projects, not only for synth sounds, but to process my other synths. As far as I am concerned, it's the best sounding (digital) synth on the planet right now.

Depending on what kind of computer you have, I do have some problems with the synth losing contact with the editor. I personally attribute it to Windows, but you never know.

Never dealt with Clavia, but they have a great website and it's a small company, as far as I know, and they stand behind their products.

I don't think the modular got really that popular because of its interface. People would rather just twist knobs, I suppose. But even if you NEVER made your own patches, and you NEVER even edited a patch at all, there are literally hundreds of thousands of sounds you can download from the net for this monster. With a mailing list that has sometimes 60+ messages a day with people sharing patches and techniques, you would have to be an idiot to NOT WANT THIS SYNTH! Heheh. If you have the rescources, GET IT. If it even crossed your mind to purchase one, GET IT. If it was stolen, I would cry like a little girl. Like I said before, I use it for every project I do in some way. In all honesty, it's probably the most powerful synth on the market today aside from somthing ungodly expensive like a KYMA.

well, here you can act in a lot of ways: just download thousands of patches from the net, listen to them, maybe change something in some sound with the editor and just load them into the unit; or the extreme opposite option: create a sound completely from the beginning, chaining together an oscillaor, an envelope etc etc etc, ....too much to mention....
it can also be a bit confusionary
i'll use now about 15% of the potentiality of the beast, and think i won't ever dicover all the sound souces it can create, so i don't give avote to this cathegory: it's a future synth.

4 parts, 4 sep outs, 4 voices expandable.
a killer: you just can create exacly what you want
the sequencer is WIKED,a s the effects and the vocoders...
this thing it's a monster

the sounds are to die for; you can create from extreme noise to the best pads and leads i've ever listened; this unit is PERFECT for industrial (remember that NIN, all people under Warp abuse of this beast).
anyway, you recognize that it's a nord....it has that tipical fm edge when you work a bit ona sound.
this synth screams AUTECHRE, AFX, NIN each time you switch it on, even if it's the first time and you use all presets.
the only thing that can make someone a bit disappointed: this synth, even if it can recreates really all old analogues (best of all the Arp and Moogs, it's incredible!), has an hard character, absolutely hard, so, maybe, someone (difficult) could be more satisfied with, for example,a Supernova if he/she wants to make trance....
i do hard break, hardtekno, warp style things, xperimental and noise;
it's perfect for me, and i see it's used by everyone, from rock bands to masters of electronica.

i depend on it, yes!
i need this hard edge on my synths sounds, i love it to death, even if i know perfectly it's easier any other synth with the fucking arpeggiator button in front of you

you have to wait a bit, but after you'll get what you need.
never had to get repared....

i suggest this unit, absolutely.
i raved a lot on a Korg MS2000R, and i like it a lot, but i needed this, so i sold the korg and got the nord.
it has everything i need, ...i had also a thought of taking also a Micromodular....guys this things makes addiction
the main factor is the base of sound: this one can generate THOSE sounds i'm crazy for, that are Warp like ones, old thing revisited to modern, FM touch, pure techno as pure electro as pure long dreamy pads...
so, as always, it's personal taste, but for me it's the most powerful thing ever created on earth, and i don't work for clavia,...this unit is fucking expensive!!!

I have the latest version, 3.03 i think. Once you get a handle on loading patches before you can use them, this keyboard is very cool.
The presets are ok, once again they do not show you the true power of the synth. I think the only keyboard i did buy that the presets ruled was the access virus b. I mean sure the presets arent important, especially for the modular, but they should make some cool ones, its not like you can make your own sounds in the store.
Editing is very easy, once you understand modular synthesis, the editor is very helpful and easy to use. just wish my screen was bigger. The manual, is huge, i also have the wizoo book. Man i hate manuals.

Polyphony as you know depends on the dsp power used for each patch, just as the patch storage does as well. The keyboard action to me feels kinda cheap, kinda like the access virus indigo, i wish the nord mod was built asw ell as that was. The knobs on the mod, are tighter than a catholic girl "before" prom night. The buttons do feel kinda "tyco" or "kenner" or "mattel". But as long as you dont mistreat you stuff should be ok. new voice exp. blah blah, midi yeh it has it. On board sequencer, well it has many old style step sequencers, that are very cool. one key music masterpieces.

Hmm the piano sound doesnt sound like a piano....doh! oh yeh this keyboard was made for you to make your own non realistic sounds. which it is unstoppable. good pads, basses, almost blew my speakers out. every sound you can think of or not think of.
id say this keyboard works with most styles, especially when you use it creatively. No effects, save a delay and distortion, and you should get a outboard reverb...blah. yeh it reacts to my playing, when i push c5 it plays c5, and so on. i think it has velocity ..seems like it.

Yeh i could use it for a show, i would use a backup if i could afford one, then .... i would have two modulars mwuahahahahahaha (evil villain laugh)

Clavia rules, very cool company, im very confident they will help me out if i need it, you know hook me up with chicks, bail me out of jail.

If it were lost or stolen id go postal, then id buy another. Ive been playing for 8 yrs. I also own a kawai k5000s, yamaha a3000v2, waldorf xtk, and i have a S.E. omega 8 coming soon.
I love the power of this machine, i hate that its red so people who know nord will steal it at a show.
Compared to a novation the nord is red and small, and the novation is blue. hehe you cant compare them, very different beasts. Overall killer machine, my drunken review wont help, play with one.

The MIDI interface to the computer for the editor can sometimes be a bit of a pain.

A wonderful synth! I wish Clavia would develop more modules!

using the rack version 3.03. it's a real modular synth so it's as easy and as hard as you want to make it. the interface design is flat out gorgeous - even if you just want to download the over 6000 presets available on line and tweak around with them - you'll end up patching your own synths inside of a month. it's totally addictive and once you start down the path 'prewired' synths start to seem like a rip-off.

polyphony depends on the DSP power required per patch. if it sounds confusing - it isn't really. the lower the DSP per patch (depending on number and type of modules used) the higher the polyphony. they also make an expansion board that increases polyphony (not dsp availablity - people never seem to understand this) built in effects? oh yeah. i've used this thing as distortion box / compressor for bass - a vocoder for samples and vocals - and a mangler for everything else. if you run out of ideas for this box - it's your fault.

midi on the pc works flawlessly - i use the midi in/out on my soundblaster for the editor and an AMT-8 for the rest. i've heard the mac users complain about OMS but that's more of a computer issue than a nord issue.

i was going to buy a nord lead 2 which i'd heard and loved, and then someone told me that the modular has a patch called nord lead 2. so it doesn't take a genius to figure out that for the same price as a nl2 - everything else in this box is gravy. so instead of the nord lead - i now have a minimoog, an arp2600, a DX7, a TB303, an MS20....(insert list of every vintage synth here) plus all the audio in effects you can think of (phaser, chorus, flanger, vocoder) there's not really much of delay due to the lack of memory but you can fake it really well - ditto for reverb but believe me, you'll want to hook this thing up to a sweet external reverb unit.

the filters are definitely on the bright side and people have mentioned that it has that classic nord sound i.e. very clean and a little cold. i personally like it and find that i can dirty it up with stomp boxes and software to my hearts content.

built like a tank - solid metal, knobs have great feel (a little tight) never used the keyboard version but the rack sits right in front of my pc keyboard for easy access. never gigged with it but i would.

never dealt with them but the news groups are unbelievably helpful. join the wizoo nord modular mailing list if you're thinking of buying one. they'll convince you.

i'd get it again immediately. no question. in fact, i'd like to get a micro modular just for the office.

Version 3.03 for Macintosh. Once you sort out the MIDI interfacing using OMS (mildly hard) the software editing is slick and ergonomic very very easy. As you build your virtual synth the sounds (or noises if like me you are experimenting in unknown territory) are playable as you edit. easy. You can assign most of the virtual parameters such as oscillator frequencies or filter cutoffs to one of the 18 front panel knobs with 1 mouse click and there you have instant hands on real time tweaking, easy.
You have to have some idea of what you are trying to achieve, (hard). With infinite possibilities some discipline is needed and this machine requires you have to have some background knowledge about synthesis - mildly hard, however this is more a comment about the nature of doing modular synthesis - the machine itself makes it as easy as could be imaginened.

Others have commented on polyphony etc. 2 octave keyboard is adequate for doodling and means this machine can be squeezed into a rack case for live use although I use my Kawai K5000s as controller if I want to be more expressive.
What is so distinctive and unique about this machine is the way you construct your synth using the PC/Mac editor and with the 100 plus virtual modules which range from oscillators through to vocoders and filters, LFO's and effects. However whilst the editing is virtual this is a hardware unit with onboard DSPs so once you have created your peculiar arrangement of modules via the PC/Mac you just save it in the synth and away you go. Tweaking of parameters is possible without the editor but involves menu surfing via buttons and the 2 line LCD display . Having said this the parameters that you have assigned to the 18 realtime control knobs are instantly adjustable and great for gratuitous experimentation. These knobs are also MIDi assignable though this is not automatic and requires you setup this facility. Because the modules are software new sound modules should be easy to add so the system is open ended. There are 4 slots (so 4 part multi-timbrality) and a patch can be assigned to each slot. Slots can recieve MIDI on seperate channels. Apparently 9x99 patches can be stored. It is a matter of a couple of mouse clicks to transfer patches from the editor into the hardware so you can store 1000s of patches in your PC/Mac and load whatever you need for the occasion into the beastie for live use. Speaking of live use you can recreate architectures of your favourite mostly analogue synths and have them in a 19' rackmount sized keyboard weighing just a few kilos.
Audio inputs mean you can treat sound from other devices through the virtual matrix so in a sense the CNM is an effects unit. For example lately I have been trying out routing sample based sounds from my sampler through the modules and give them far more 'treatment" than the sampler could alone.
So the strength of the unit is in original sound creation and manipulation, rather than multitimbrality and use as the hub of a studio.

No not at all realistic if by that is meant sounding like piano, harp, french horn, tuba. This is a synthetic sound source. If I want more "realism" in the conventional sense I have got pleasing results by feeding sampled sounds through the device to get the sample based attacks for instance. Overall intrinsic sounds are broadly in analogue territory as distinct from say Sand S or FM. I cant really comment on how close to the "real thing" a moog or ARP2600 recreation is for example, but I have compared my virtual juno 106 to my own and have to report that its pretty close missing only the dirty noisy bits, Because you can moduate just about anything with anything else the sounds step outside the boundaries imposed by the architecture of non-modular synths. You can do say "additive synthesis" by using multi oscillators through a mixer however the CNM is not set up say like the Kawai K5ooos to control 128 bands of harmonics.

In terms of sound the modular doesnt quite have that sparkling clear ethereal metallic sound quality of the Kawai K5000S or the delicacy of a Waldorf XT in my humble opinion, so whilst it sounds great I don,t feel it is "outstanding" hence the "9" rating. However, I would give a "10" for expressiveness in the sense that you can express yourself a lot through this instrument in the mind boggling variety of sounds you can create. The fun lies in the lack of boundaries of this machine within the limits of processing power and good taste (or bad taste if you are that way inclined) You can reshape a given sound in a larger variety of ways than on a non modular setup so the scope for expression is as much about how you build your virtual synths and the sounds you put through the CNM as much as any intrinsic quality of the instrument inself.

The software and synth work fine, no glithches so far in 4 months of daily use. However I do have occasional gltches with the MIDI interfacing and OMS more than anything when this happens my Mac cant see the CNM. I use it live just disconnect it from the Mac first!

Never had to deal with the company. Support over the web is great with user forums and 1000s of patches online and various books written on how to program the beastie.

If it were lost or stolen I would replace it if I could afford it again. What I love about this machine is that it such an education more than just an instrument. By building up your own synths switching modules and routings around, testing the sounds as you go you get a deeper understanding for how sounds are created and how they are percieved I know this is true of any synth but with this synth the satisfaction is deep. I can hear what each component does to the sound as I add it. So its a sort of virtual electronics kit which happens to generate sounds as well. If you get satisfaction out of creating (or trying to in my case) raw sounds from scratch you will have a lot of fun with this machine. This quality has a downside in that I sometimes go off on tangents of sonic exploration as an end in itself. Some of these patches end up being used musically so I guess by keeping my palette of sounds fresh this thing helps me to make music.
I compared this at the time I was buying it with the Waldorf XT which sounded great and was very intuitive to program, but the scientist in the white lab coat in me won out and the virtual electronics tool kit aspect of the CNM tipped the balance.
I have been following mostly electronic dance music for some 15 years now "hip-hop, house, techno", but have only discovered the joy of making it in the last three years. I also own a number of conventional synths representative of different types of synthesis such as a FM DX100 and a Kawai K5000S as well as an expanded Roland JV1080 for my "conventional" sounds.
If you arent into programming there are tons of patches on the net but in that case maybe you should just borrow a CNM from time to time and sample it.

Well, using a Nord Modular is no trivial task. Why? Because it's incredibly complex. Why? It's a modular synthesizer. This mainly means that you BUILD your own synthesizer. You need to know how sound generation works. If you don't, programming this synthesizer will be daunting. But since you program it via a computer program (PC or Mac) doing this is a breeze. SO you need to understand what you are doing, but then it is a breeze!

The features are virtually everything! You build your synth yourself, and have loads of modules to choose from. Oscillators with ringmodulation, sync and FM, filters, amplifiers, multipliers, compressors, expanders. You can make a subtractive synth, or an additative, or an FM or anything inbetween. And it's also a multi-effects box! You can use a 3-band compresor patch to use it as a mastering processor, or maybe construct an autowah? It has two ananlog inputs, so you can use it as a stereo effects processor (or two mono processors). Oh, yes, it has a vocoder too! The flexibility and possibilities are simply endless.

It has 4 to 32 voices at one time, depending on how much processing power you use, and you can double that with an expansion. It is multitimbral with up to four simultaneous sounds.

This is simply the most versatile piece of equipment I have ever seen or heard of. It doesn't deserve a 10 rating, is deserves 15. :)

The only thing the Nord Modular doesn't do is things that require a lot of internal memory, like sampling, reverbs, delays, pitch shift and other "digital" type of sound effects. So as you realize, you will be hardpressed to get realistic sounds out of it. But any analog-type of sound is possible to get, and it sounds great too. The keyboard is velocity sensitive, and you can assign aftertouch or any other controller to exactly anything you like!

I have never had any problems, and the steel casing feels very sturdy. Clavia has made stuff for a long time and is known to make realiable stuff.

I've talked to them, and visited them. Really nice guys, and very friendly. But I haven't had any problems, so I can't answer for the customer support...

This is the best piece of equipment I have, and I love everything about it. There are of course room for improvements, and I'm sure Clavia is thinking up new modules to include in future softwares,
but there is so far nothing I have wanted to do that I haven't been able to do. The greatest limitation is that you only have two analog inputs. With four simultaneous voices, you would be able to use eight of them. But if I would ever need more analog inputs, I'll buy a Micro Modular, which is basically a quarter of a modular, i.e. only one sound at a time.

I never worked with a modular synth before so I decided the nord modular is a nice small package. currently using version 3.0 of the os the presets are very useful and out of the box you can make music. the best part though is the editing software, basically its like having a lego building block set for sound. very easy to visualize what you want to do and its fun to tinker with the different modules. This is the ultimate classroom synth I recommend this to schools teaching synthesis. great manual and excellent resources on the net.

minimum poly is 4 but its not hard to get 8 or 12 voices. it has chorus and phaser, distortion and clipping,wavewrapping. no delay or reverb. but I dont miss it I have a dedicated hardware anyhow for that function. for about 300 dollars you can double the voices. they keyboard is a single octave with velo no aftertouch but I like the fact that its 1 octave since I can carry my nord and a laptop and have a powerful package for sound. the modular is really meant to be used with a midi controller and the keyboard is a bonus but I find my self using it it alot. if your into classic sequences this keyboard has it all. tons of modules to create all kinds of instruments the only limitation is your mind

the nord modular has some shitty grand piano sounds, very unrealistic piano :) seriously buy a piano if you want piano sounds for 999 you can get a real true upright piano. if you want sounds that are out of this world then the nord modular is it. I have heard sounds come out of that synth that cannot be described only heard to believed. I honestly believe any real studio should atleast have 1 nord modular. Excellent for movie scoring and electronic and experimental music. the sounds on they unit cannot be duplicated elsewhere trust me I have lots of stuff in our studio and everyone is amazed by this synth

Excellent construction, steel and laquer paint. remember the 1950's studebaker or other classic cars. the paint on this keyboard is amazing, it is hefty and feels hand crafted (are they???) this is the volvo of keyboards.

excellent support, I get quick replys to my email from the actual developers of the keyboard. they take pride in keeping the synth up to date with software features and excellent user resources. who everthought you can get newer versions of software with more functionality for free. imagine buying logic audio 4.0 and getting the new versions for free as opposed to (paying for upgrades)
Clavia in my opinion sets the standards for other keyboard companies and I will sure keep buying thier products

Im going to purchase another one, its that useful its been almost 2 years of working with this product and I use it on a day to day basis with my other studio equipment. It has been an asset to my scoring and basically there is no competition to it. Get one if you can there are thousands of presets so you can use it right out of the box and then when you are ready to create your own you can.

I am using OS 3.03. I've had the modular for about 2 weeks and the more I explore it the more I am completely blown away-I think I will be selling some synths that I thought i would never sell, this thing has made them seem practically useless ! The presets are excellent with some of the most novel sounds and sequences I have ever heard- as well as the classics- it is all here- . The PC editor is like rebirth on steroids and, unlike rebirth- you will probably spend years learning from the modular. Let this be your master. The computer editor makes editing the patches a breeze- in fact the whole approach to editing and programming is through the pc. The manual is superb- explains everything- it is a very large and dense spiral bound manual with great printing. like any machine, as you learn to use the mod it will get less and less intimidating but it is very imposing at first- don't be afraid. It's only as complex as you want it to be.

Polyphony varies depending on the dsp allocations but you basically have 4 completely independent "slots", routable to one of 4 outputs, that allow user defined "patches" each having a variable # of voices. It has expansion that cost about 500$, that will double the polyphony. The synth is packed with features that would take too long to detail here suffice to say it has everything except sampling, reverb and delays. The kybd version appears to have velocity sensitive keys and they're great. The onboard sequencer modules are very flexible- midi in and out and pc in out. You can have a synth drum rhythm in one slot- the bassline sequenced in another slot, use another slot for routing effects from any input- like your sampler and use the last slot to improvise. this is just an example the possibilities are virtually endless.

Absoultely prstine sound quality when removed from the pc. When hooked to the pc i get some noise associated with the computer- its minor. When you remove it from the pc though the thing is fat, punchy deep, liquidy everything analog is- but better- what can I say to convince you this thing has any other synth beat hands down. Suffice to say this thing has killed my craving for any other synth and I am in the process of selling all my old analog "crap" for the expansion and a micromodular!! I am sold 100% and the only reason I am giving this review is so that the people who created this thing get filthy rich! they deserve it- this is the greatest thing since the minimoog-it will innovate music as we know it! it is the closest thing to "god" that i can think of. BUY it buy it buy it buy it buy it!!!

ULTRA RELIABLE UNLIKE ANALOG IT WILL STAY IN TUNE and clavia will fix it for you since there is no lack of parts.

I never had to deal with this small Swedish company but I hear its the best- user downloadable OS revisions are regulaly posted to their website and they offer thousands of patches which will keep you snowed in for years- I am serious!

This is one of the best pieces of gear I've ever owned- I love it- and would buy it again if It were somehow destroyed- the only thing it needs are a few sliders ala roland jp80-80.

Just a quick addendum to my previous posting: recently, after working with the Modular for extended periods, I've noted that many sounds have a slightly metalic edge when "fading out". Also, if you're after FAT analog emulation, this one's not really the ticket - I managed to get some nice strings out of it, but the real analog fat is missing. If you want a virtual analog for fatness, try the Yamaha AN1-X or the Novation (Super)Nova.

For experimental sounds, this thing is still untouched in HARDWARE (some software really beats it at the modular game). Currently I'm creating models of acoustic instruments - that is, I'm modelling acoustic instruments using the Modular, itself a model of an analog, modular synth.... These sounds are produced by a resonator and a 'tube' (a delay of between 4 and 16ms works great); at the moment I'm using noise to feed the 'feedback-circuit', because the modular won't create sound from feedback unless you're feeding some signal in (probably a treshold 'problem').

Freaky stuff.

Using the last version before 3.0 arrives (2.01 I think). The software-interface is the best ever.

Amazing features, even for a (virtual) modular synthesizer. Would-be-nice-though: self-resonating filters, amp+speaker simulators, build in (modular) reverb, delay and pitch-shifter (would require a seperate CPU though).

This is for experimental music and any analog/fm sounds. Makes very aggresive bass-sounds for dnb and techno, strings (with fat chorussing) and fat analog drums, although I haven't found a way to get really TIGHT kickdrums - dunno why, some small internal delays. Something like the Jomox XBase 09 walks all over it for hard-edged drums. The vocal-filter and quantiser modules are particular favorites

Sure.

Incredible software-updates. Quick response to e-mail.

Would buy it again - nothing else in it's league, not even the new modulars (although I'd buy them as well!). Had it for about a year now. What I DON'T LIKE: its output is, well, noise, maybe even VERY noisy. Haven't noticed noise-levels like this before on digital synths. For really clean recordings you're going to need a good noise-gate.

Dont forget that this virtual (synth) system can also be used as a great effects processor. With its 2 inputs (4 out)and the 19" housing it can be mounted in a rack, featuring 18 assignable knobs.
See "Clavia Modular" in the Synth Database.

Its modules can be patched (with a PC editor) to really strange sound processing "sculptures". Cant describe them... If you need/want this kind of "obvious", unusual effects, that are offered for example by the TC Fireworx, you have to really think about Clavia Modular. It's flexible (a synth too of course...), user friendly (editing on PC screen) and even a bit cheaper than the TC and similars. Interesting modules for sound processing: vocoder, filters, dynamic processors, phaser, distorsions, sequencers, envelope follower. And of course all the rest like oscillators, LFOs, EGs, logic processing. New modules announced.
See "Clavia Modular" in the Synth Database. "Sound quality" is same as "Nordlead 2" in the Synth Database (Almost the same algorithms, but of course more of them in the Modular)

Studio use. So far no problems.

? A very little (~10 pers.) company located in Stockholm, Sweden. Are said to be cool but I never met/phoned them.

Take a look at it - then you'll know why you need it ;)