I will go out, this is the first Clavia synth (to be precise Clavia DMI AB owner of the Nord Keyboard brand, hand-made keyboards in Sweden) I have owned. What prompted me to buy such a synth? a synth that, from a brief and superficial view of the panel and the technical characteristics, could be all too simple and lacking many functions, today considered a standard even on mid-low range synths. Perhaps because its apparent limitations are its strong point?
Maybe because if you need a particularly complex sound, there are currently plenty of plugins available that can perform this task and, let's face it, between navigating many pages of a hardware synth and those of a plugin perhaps now there is no 'more so much difference. Then there are the hybrids like the TI virus than with his Total Integration can also be used only through its dedicated plugin via USB, keeping it closed in a box (extreme case), it will be the age but I am back, after years of display, to the need to rotate knobs! I understand that a workstation like the Korg Chronos it could never have all the necessary panel controls (like most workstations) and I do, but for me a pure synth now needs to be editable as much as possible in real time.
What is special about the A1?
Let's start from the oscillator (like, a single oscillator ??), Apparently the synth has only one oscillator, an oscillator that however has the possibility to use not only the traditional waveforms but also other more complex ones (all listed with extreme clarity on the synth panel), interesting the inharmonic waveforms Bells type and those Formants for the generation of vocal sounds. Where the peculiarity lies, however, is in the fact of having various modalities of modification / use of the oscillator, summarizing:
Un first encoder endless rotary allows the choice of the wave form among the many to be used;
Un second encoder select the type of modifier to apply to the oscillator which will then determine its mode.
Un third check, this time standard type, is used to determine the amount of modifier applied, this can be modulated over time automatically by the LFO (which can also be set in envelope mode) and by the MOD ENVELOPE.
The list of modes is really great
Pitch : it is possible to vary the pitch of the oscillator continuously starting from a few hundredths of detune up to 24 semitones.
Shape: a shaper that in the case of formant waveforms is able to recreate the variation of the vowels, in the case of square wave the classic PWM.
Sync: Generates the well-known cycle synchronization effect between oscillators.
Noise: Adds noise to the waveform.
Detune: Very interesting, it is used to add a second oscillator identical to the first but with the possibility of tuning it from a few cents to 24 semitones of difference. In this way we will be able to simulate a double oscillator.
Sine-Tri-Saw and pulse mix: they add to the selected waveform a waveform chosen from the 4 basic ones starting from -1 octave (therefore usable as a sub.oscillator) up to 24 semitones.
FM: Classic frequency modulation with various intervals or ratios.
AM: Amplitude modulation.
A multimode filter: high pass band pass and low pass 12/24 dB with emulation Minimoog filter e Roland TB-303 with adjustment of the keyboard tracking on 4 predefined positions, also the filter can be modulated by the LFO and by the MOD ENVELOPE. Useful to check DRIVE to get more aggressive sounds.
The synth has a fairly complete and high quality effects section, even if not modifiable at will in all its parameters but always remaining in a perspective of simplicity and speed of use. The signal is first processed by an effect of your choice between flangers, chorus, phaser, together, drive e ring modulator, a single control determines the amount / speed of the effect. This is followed by a delay with tap tempo or synchronization based on the master clock, feedback selectable between 4 quantities, the possibility of enabling ping-pong (a function that I really appreciate) and dry / wet control. This is followed by a reverb with a choice of 5 algorithms with dry / wet control, I must say very dense and usable. The 3 effect sections they have separate on / off control so you can quickly bypass them.
Il North A1 has two modes: patch e performance, in patch mode are selectable 400 sounds which can be recalled in one of the four slots called ABCD and completely independent also in the effects section! (apart from the polyphony which in total cannot exceed 26 entries), this means that we can activate one, two or even all four slots at the same time, the synth will layer the selected slots.
It is possible to copy and paste between the slots in a really fast way, plus a very useful function can be activated MULTI FOCUS with which it is possible to edit the active slots simultaneously by acting on the various controls.
In mode PERFORMANCE you have 200 memories available where to save the configurations and sounds of the four slots, attention, the sounds of the four slots are saved in the performance memory independently from the 400 selectable in PATCH mode, this means that we can edit the sounds of the four slots in PERFORMANCE mode without modifying any sound saved in PATCH mode. Summarizing in a performance, all the sounds and states of the 4 slots are stored (on / off), as well as the split point and the master tempo (imagine the possibility of having 4 slots / synths with independent arpeggiator settings), also useful the possibility of saving four different sounds in performance, of which only one is active and, during live performance, quickly switch from one slot to another using the four SLOT selection keys (note that the 4 slots can also be assigned with 4 separate mono outputs and different midi input channels).
There is a very innovative function that I have never really encountered on a hardware synth, I am talking about the function LIKE, when editing / creating a sound if we have obtained an intermediate result that satisfies us, just press the button LIKE and the sound will be saved in a temporary memory (up to 50 states can be stored), after having memorized various edits in the LIKE memory we could recall and compare them to then save the version of the sound that best suits us, a sort of story of editing or undo.
How does the A1 sound?
the sound is convincing and in line with the current ones virtual analog synth on the market, the things it does can certainly do better even a Virus TI (at double the price however) but not in the same fast and fluid way, some limitations are overcome due to the ease of use and speed with where you set up layers and splits, if you need a complete synth with multiple modulations at all costs, starting from the synthesis chain to finish with the effects, perhaps the Nord Lead A1 is not for you but, if you love simplicity, the speed and achievement of the final result in a very short time you just have to go to your local store and try it out.
It should also be considered that the synth, with less than 5 kg weight and a very small footprint, it is ideal to carry around during live shows.
What would I have liked to have on board that is missing?
So, actually, before buying it, I wouldn't have thought much to answer this question, aftertouch, alphanumeric display even small, the envelopes complete with sustain level, a nice delay with fade time on the LFO Polyphonic LFO... after a month of use I tell you that these shortcomings are more surmountable than I could imagine, now just an old memory clouded by the other possibilities that the instrument offers.
Roberto Miele audio demo
Soundtrack: Blade Runner
Pink Floyd:One of my turns
Pink Floyd:Shine of you crazy diamond pad
Pink Floyd:Shine of you crazy diamond
Good music to all
Robert Honey
