Nord Modular G2 Engine

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Fortun Bawa

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Aug 5, 2024, 11:11:54 AM8/5/24

to precadlicmo

Clavianever got around to making a stable editor for MacOS X and I no longer have any Mac capable of running MacOS9.2.1 to edit the beast and If I had I've already forgotten how Opcode OMS worked to set up the midi routings from scratch.

Even thought the MicroModular was considered a '1 voice' synth it was possible to create polyphonic patches for it.

If I recall correctly I squeezed out 9 voices out of the thing before it choked...

Oh yeah. I loved how easy the UI was, and connecting things. That set the standard for me. Higher level, not too low, easy on the eyes, just right (for me). G2 Editor works on the latest Windows, does G1's editor???

@samu Yes, it was actually a stripped down one-DSP version of the Modular which could be expanded to 8 DSPs if I remember correctly. With "current editors", do you mean alternative ones that run on latest OSes?

Making the editor talk to the Modular can be a challenge indeed, mainly because finding an appropriate MIDI interface and drivers is an art.

@StudioES said:

I think for its time, it was maybe the most revolutionary instrument ever. And that mailing list was the greatest - coming home daily and opening up amazing patches right from an email - are you kidding me?

@rs2000 from the point of view of someone who I consider a Drambo expert, is there anything you miss from the Nord Modular environment when using Drambo? Software UI? Specific DSP modules? The hardware itself?

@Grandbear said:

Hmmm, Drambo has evolved a lot since 2020 and the modules I'm missing are becoming less and less.

One of my favorite features, the Morph Groups and N-to-1 / 1-to-N switches have been added now and there's a new Formant OSC too.

Other significant additions are the Wavetable Oscillator and the Analog Filter modules, giving me a sound quality that I wasn't able to get from the NM.

I have to say that after diving into Drambo and getting more and more Nord Modular type modules over time, I'm now not looking back anymore except for good memories and yeah, a little box that can be powered on and used almost instantly.

But even that can be done now in a better way using an old iPhone (I'm using a 6 Plus) or iPad Mini attached to a class compliant MIDI controller with audio interface.

A significant difference in using Drambo is simplicity of patching. And using racks and foldable sections, patching has become a much more fun process for me.

Add to this the genius polyphonic property of signals and the new Many-to-Poly module.

And also add to this the now quite powerful sequencer and the fact that there is a time signal that can be hacked easily for doing nonlinear sequencing with modules that support it.

Another significant difference, as funny as it may sound, is the Graphic Shaper module. It's only a simple X-to-Y curve but it has so many useful purposes! Wave shaping, oscillator waveform drawing (now also with splines), velocity curves, nonlinear calculations, hysteresis, freely definable note scales, you name it.

A similar advantage is in the Graphic Modulator which is a somewhat hidden gem - Polymetric sequences with mixed meters inside the same sequence combined with the time input makes it a powerful "analog" step sequencer that goes far beyond what CV and Gate/Vel sequencers can do.

So no, from the feature standpoint I don't miss it anymore today but I wouldn't want to miss the Nord Modular experience at all!

I have learned so much during a period in which I had much more spare time than now and I think that I still profit from it.

@rs2000 Thank you so much for this comparison of Nord Modular and Drambo. NM has always been something I've wanted to try, but I was always afraid it would be too complicated and I'd be overwhelmed by the possibilities. So I'd better stay with the Drambo and focus on it.

Wow, that editor makes me want to buy a used Nord Modular G1 again, but the used prices are outrageous. One of my most productive music-making periods was when all I had was the G1 keyboard and a Yamaha A5000. G2's MIDI modules were a pretty cool upgrade. Some folks preferred the sharper rawer sound of the G1 though. Wasn't it Autechre's Cichli Suite (or EP7?) that was made mostly on the G1? Before they discovered Max/MSP?

@StudioES said:

@rs2000 said:

Anyone remembering these (and the Micro Modular)?

They've been my entry drug into DSP based modular synthesis.

Still got my MicroModular as an exotic standalone effects unit.

Literally first hardware synth i ever bought, more than 20 years ago !! Pretty amazing little machine .. owned it a long time and then sold it just to finalise funds for Modular G2 engine .. extremely great machine, it's a pity they don't make it anymore (from totally fucking ridiculous reason - they stoped because EU motherfuckers blacklisted some material which was used in chips they used for modular G1/G2).

I wouldn't describe the G1 sound as sharp or raw, more like Roland synths probably. Filters are not as beefy as the Moogs or Oberheims but not as aggressive as a Wasp or MS-20. It can basically be all Nord Leads in one, although its DSPs would be greatly exhausted when trying to build e.g. a Nord Lead 3 with it, not to speak of a barely usable UI compared to the NL3.

G2 was definitely more round and firm in terms of bass .. i remember i tried recreate few patches from micro modular at G2 and they had much better sound in bass spectrum.. much more powerful bass .. rest was very similiar ..

I would say G2 engine vas very very close to sound of Nord Lead 3 (i was always suspicious NL3 inside contains just code reused from G2), and Micro Modular was more like Nord Lead 1/2 .. it had nothing with D/A, it was very clean they re-worked some basic code elements (mainly oscillators, but a little bit also filters) between NL1/2/micromodular and NL3/G2 ...

The Nord Lead 1, Lead 2, and the Modular G1 sounded the same - to my ears, very sharp with aliasing.

The Nord Lead 2X, Lead 3, and G2 had a rounder, more modern HiFi sound. To my ears. The later models used higher resolution DACs, and higher internal resolution when patching audio modules together, or something along those lines. It's been years since I owned them, but I was pretty OCD about the differences. Kinda like the A3000 being crunchier for drums versus the A4000 and A5000.

Lead 3 had updated firmware - different code for oscilaltors, filters, so it sounds lot different from 1/2/2x/G1 ... G2 had most likely same code base as Lead 3 (but i don't have proof for that, just when i compared in depth sound of oscillators and filters)