Waves 1 to 7, labelled "second" to "seventh" consist of a sine wave plus its SECOND up to SEVENTH harmonics. The saw wave contains all the harmonics of the fundamental, each one at half the loudness of the one before it The square wave contains only the odd numbered harmonics, also each half as loud as the one before it The triangle is also odd harmonics only, but the loudness drops off much more rapidly
Hi Ewen. Thanks for the details on this. Going to pin this comment for a while because the way you explain this is crystal clear and helpful. Thanks for watching and your helpful comments.
Just wanted to say that this channel is a hidden gem and a true goldmine, my stage 3 HP76 arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to get to grips with it, and your channel has really helped. Thank you! You deserve thousands of views, always very clear in your explanations.
Hi Matthew! Hopefully, by now you have your hands on your Stage 3 HP76! I remember that day. I also remember not being able to fit it into my little car taking it home from the office. 😜 Thanks so much for visiting the channel and for your kind words. Drop us a line with what you think so far of your new baby... - Thanks Marc
I have to acknowledge two things. First, these tutorial videos are superb. Thank you, Marc for all the effort you've put in to making them, and for sharing your deep knowledge of these instruments with us. Second; As I learn more and more about how this instrument works, I have even deeper appreciation for the genius behind the interface design and the power that Nord has built into the Stage 3. It's not an intuitive instrument... You don't just sit down and start messing around as you would with a Moog or a Prophet. It takes some understanding, but once you learn it, the brilliance of the design becomes apparent.
I completely agree. I find that these days dialing up some sounds from scratch comes quickly - while others are challenging. When in doubt, you can sometimes lean on a custom sample to get the job done. In any case, thank you for your comment and reflection on all this. I've felt like this for a while and it's largely why I put effort into these videos - because it's fun and rewarding. Plus, I love to experiment and help people where I can. Continue to enjoy your Nord keyboard! 🎹
@jeremiahmolinaro7595 Hey Jeremiah! Congrats on your NS3! The latest NS3 is a great board and will provide you hours/days/weeks/years of fun and exploration. If you want to go even deeper, I have more/newer/better lessons in my Pro course found on my main website: www.MyKeysToMusic.com I also have a free Sample Editor course there that you may find interesting and a nice compliment to your NS3. Oh, and for all the "overflow content," I have a ton of stuff available for the NS3 on my Patreon page. www.Patreon.com/MyKeysToMusic as well.
Thank you! Look forward to watching this. And you seem to be correct, there are a LOT of videos of people playing the Nord but no actual “Stage 3 video synth tutorials” that I have seen and the manual pretty much just describes the components of the synth but has very little hands on instruction. You are providing a much needed service. Come on folks....there is a Patreon link! This gentleman deserves it.
Thanks for the support Walt! Looks like I'll need to make a supplemental update on this as well (Part 2a) using the new Nord Stage 3 OS 2.0 update which just came out a day before the video release 😛
Question, quote from the 2.0 update details....”Two “Dyno” settings for tine EPs are introduced in the Piano Equalizer section, indicated by the two top LEDs or two bottom LEDs being lit, respectively. Note: These settings require version 6 EP sounds”. What are version 6 EP sounds??
walt686868 Yes, and that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Since each of these videos take between 12 and 18 hours to do each, probably good that I released it just the same (versus stopping production, re-recording and re-editing the whole thing). There is no way to "substitute" a video on UA-cam, unfortunately. You can only delete and create a brand-new one. This is one of the main reasons for using a course engine versus UA-cam because, in a course engine, you can easily just replace videos as they get out of date. Then again, there is no platform in the world like UA-cam for getting the word out and in the hands of so many people so quickly via video in my opinion. So, that's where my emphasis will continue to be and we march on! 💪 Thanks again for your contribution(s) on Patreon!
Hi again; some more comments, regarding Detunes and Superwaves.Detunes add one or more oscillators with their frequencies slightly above or below the first oscillator (fractions of a semitone) This causes the peaks and troughs in the waves to move relative to each other; sometimes they add up and sometimes they partially cancel out. This is what causes beat frequencies when a guitar is slightly out of tune.Superwaves add as many as 7 additional oscillators, which may also have some frequency modulation (vibrato) for an even greater effect. Jump was played on an Oberheim OB-X which has 8 oscillators.Ring Modulation gets its name from the fact that it was originally done by feeding two signals through a Diode Ring, nothing to do with the sound. RM produces the sum and difference frequencies of the two input waves. SO input C4(512Hz) and C5(1024 Hz) and you hear C4, C5, and G5 (1536Hz), plus an addition 512Hz. If the input frequencies are not harmonics of each other, you get harmonically unrelated sum and difference notes, which sound metallic or robotic
I was separated from my Nord for the Christmas period, but happily reunited with it now, and really appreciated this second video. Thanks very much, Marc! :)
Fantastic! Going to send you some patches that really shows off morphing various parameters! Great job! (Note): OS 2 is out now which changes the graphics of the synth, selecting synth presets, pitch stick values etc! It’s a very important release!
Hi Obwanz - thanks for the update here. I didn't realize OS 2.0 snuck in during my final edits and release haha. Murphy's law strikes again! Going to release a new video (Part 2A) as a supplemental video letting everyone know to update to version 2.0 and that the screens look a little different when you do. Can't wait to dig into the pitch stick values. You're right - this is a huge release! Thanks for the heads up on all this. Looking forward to the patches/programs. For those reading this comment, the update 2.0 video is now done: ua-cam.com/video/c1CiRuhDt2U/v-deo.html
Thank you very much for all your videos. Your practical explanations showing the waveforms is a very helpful way of explaining synths and I have learnt far more from watching these than reading any manual or text explanation on the internet.
Hi Holly and thanks for your comment. That is terrific to hear! I kind of feel the same way about manuals too. The manual is good at explaining the dictionary definition of things but I've always felt that "hearing" things and sometimes seeing things in action brings a whole other level of understanding to the scene. Especially since we're talking about making music and expressing creativity - things a typical manual can't begin to describe or identify. Thanks for watching!
Great tutorial ! Thank you ! I bought my stage 3 when it was just introduced and there was no good tutorials, and THIS IS SOOOO GOOD !!!! You made it so easy to understand everything !
You're very welcome! When you're ready, you can consider enrolling in "Master the Nord Stage 3" for even more updated lessons found at www.MyKeysToMusic.com. Oh, and I also have free courses there as well!
Hey, these are great videos, thank you for doing them. I have a NS3 and play for a small church, but my understanding of the instrument is fairly limited. These videos are helping a lot. Thank you.
So glad to hear this Jason. There are a lot of people using Nord in the church setting from what I gather based on the interested on UA-cam. If you haven't already checked it out, I did make one video on Inspiration/worship sounds here: ua-cam.com/video/qP2bnApIHbM/v-deo.html as well as one on getting the most out of the pipe organ(s) here: ua-cam.com/video/o4KH9E7lslw/v-deo.html Thanks for your comment today - it helps a lot!
Hello Marc, first of all thanks so much for taking the time to put these videos together, as we can all see these tutorials EACH must have taken many hours of your time. It is so refreshing to FINALLY come across some decent in-depth tutorials explaining the Nord sythesis and it's operation. You have certainly filled a void which desperately needed to be filled and I for one am very grateful for this as I have been unable to find much at all on the Nord synths for years. I own a Stage 3 88, an Electro 5 61 and a Nord Lead 4, and have particularly been looking for this kind of tuiton on the Nord Leads but have found very little. Though I can see the principles explained here with the Stage 3 are certainly unlocking some mysteries and much of the content will suffice for other Nords such as the Lead (and also even if you DON'T own a Nord)! Once again thanks for your time here, I look forward to more of your great videos, keep up the great work, I'm now a subscriber!
Hi Stewart. Thanks so much for mentioning all this. People have been telling me their desire to learn the NS3 Synth and although there are a great many people out there who have fully mastered synthesis and have no problem getting around on the Nord Stage 3 synth, I suspect there are even more people who simply haven't dug deep on it short of turning a few knobs randomly and throwing their hands up. (This was me in my first few weeks too!) What's most exciting to me is that there are terrific musicians and piano players out there who are brand new to Nord and the Nord Stage 3. Many of these people have never laid their hands on a real synthesizer before (but perhaps always wanted to). So for them, this is all one big unexplored (and at times, highly technical) frontier. It can be intimidating or even overwhelming if you didn't grow up with it. So, it's my goal to bring the most advanced topics down to the level of an absolute beginner if possible. My hope is that people will leave with a brand-new skill set where they find themselves in a position to let the creative juices flow, not just with making music, but making sounds not yet heard by human ears, finding a part of themselves they never knew they had. That's essentially why this channel was created. The funny thing is, there are also a great many amateur musicians just getting started playing keyboards and they find themselves in a position to afford a Nord. For them, they have the double uphill battle. They have to learn their Nord keyboard AND learn music/how to play the keyboards. They need as many resources as there are available so hopefully, we're helping these people too. Thanks for subscribing and for watching!
This is so helpful, Marc, thank you! I did my initial learning about "synthing" on a Korg Prologue, and I have to say it helps to have a pic of that board in front of me so I can see what Nord did to the more traditional synth layout. What they did was ingenious, but so idiosyncratic in concept (necessarily so to fit it on the keyboard) that it's sometimes hard to connect it to more traditional synths, and the concepts behind them. If the Nord is your first synth, maybe that's not an issue (and of course your fundamentals video is crucial then!); but it's much harder to visualize what's going on with the Nord setup. Maybe if there were a several-part video tutorial - oh, wait, you did that! Thank you again!
@jameshanson4880 Hello James! Just wanted to follow up. By now, you have probably mastered your Nord Stage 3. I find myself knee-deep in doing lessons on the Nord Stage 4 these days for my upcoming master class, which is available on my website. After doing this for so many years at this point, I still find it quite fun to sit down at the board and "create" sounds, learn a song, or figure out something new that I hadn't discovered before...
I just want to chime in with all the other people saying a huge thank you for putting this series together. I got a NS3 a few months back and the synth section has been the one I've spent the least amount of time with, but I really want to learn how it all works. I have no synth background and it's all seemed very overwhelming when I've tried to tackle it in the past. So far these videos have been a great starting point. I'll be heading to your Patreon for sure!
Amazing Marc. Have been waiting for videos like this to really explore the synth side of the Stage 3 - so few channels go further than the basics. This will certainly help many who are on the fence about purchasing take the leap. Super clear and understandable too. Looking forward to the rest!
All modern Hammond clones (electronic emulations of tonewheel organs) use modified sampling. The basic sounds are sampled but they are modified by other electronics to create things like vibrato, etc. The Nord Stage 3 uses the organ engine from the Nord C2D - which is an excellent tonewheel clone.
Hi Thomas. I thought I had replied to this but I don't think I ended up saving the comment. I just wanted to say thanks for your input here from your first-hand experience with all this stuff. If I remember correctly, you actually own a Leslie speaker and several synths/keyboards new and old - so thanks for the input and help.
@@MyKeysToMusic 88 hammered! I'm amazed with this machine. It is like playing a "real" instrument. Very well constructed, good keybed, knobs, buttons... Not the crappy plastic touch like all the other stuff I play with.
Thanks!! These videos help me a lot to understand the NS3 (especially the synth section) much better. Maybe it is a good idea to do a final video where you create a famous patch/sound. Because a lot of people who own a NS3 want to play well known songs with the sounds like the original. Like me, I just do not know how to start to create a patch from scratch that finally sounds like the original. Keep up doing the good work!
Hi matjespee! Thanks or your comment and happy to know these videos are helping you! I think it's a great idea to do perhaps several final videos where we take famous sounds/songs and build them from scratch using the Nord Stage 3. This would be part of a "discovery series" after the synth training is done. Lots of work but great idea and a lot of value.! Thanks for watching!
Very good and detailed. What I hope to find on utube is a course where the instructor picks a song(s) ex: pink Floyd’s time and shows us the settings for that songs synth section. Then we could memorize in program section and use it when we play that song. I have less interest in the technicalities of the algorhythms than the sound itself. Is there such a course?
@dr louis cardinal thank you for your question/request. I agree. I created the entire "Discovery Series" for the Nord Stage 3 based on this concept. You can find the entire playlist here: ua-cam.com/play/PLvND2qkkWygqahJWvI75kYCQo6nPMJA7i.html
Thanks for this further video on the synth engine, I'm looking forward to watching these when I get the chance over the holidays, there's been a recent update that has altered the synth menu display to slightly, hope it hasn't affected your videos much on the subject, thanks again anyways.
Hi DeanoPiano. The new synth screen update has provided more info for us on that screen but hasn't changed things so much where it invalidates the previous videos. I'll have a new video on the OS 2.0 update as well coming soon! Thanks for watching!
Hi Steve! I have a video that can introduce to the idea of working with layers and splits. Please note that even though you can have up to 4 split zones on a Stage 3, you still have just two synth engines (panel A and B). This means the most individual synth engines you can have on at the same time is two. Check out this segment from a video a did a while ago which I think could really help explain all this better than I can here in the comment. You'll want to watch from about 10:43 for about 10 minutes or so: ua-cam.com/video/VlzgEfmcrDE/v-deo.html
NORD did not invent wavetables. I think the first synth to use them in an accessible way was the PPG Wave synth in the 1980s. The Stage 3 does not actually have wave tables. A wavetable is a set of related waveforms, and the synth moves through them in a sequence to produce a constantly changing sound- Wikipedia explains it very well. These "waves" are, as you have discovered, the raw sounds from the other sections of the Stage 3.
Thanks again Ewen for the clarification here. This is most helpful information! For those interested in the Wikipedia article, you can find it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavetable_synthesis
Thanks Thomas and thanks for stopping by. Can't believe this video comes out a day before the Nord Stage 3 2.0 OS update. Alas, that gives us new things to explore which is the most important thing for anyone with a Stage 3.
Clavia Nord OSC Configurations can do only limited set of OSC combinations/modulations. DS Rev2 analog synth can do the following simultaneously: - Choose shape type (less set, but most popular Saw, Saw+Triangle, Triangle, Square/Pulse (Sine is cutoff variation of triangle) - Choose two OSC base frequencies to set their relative frequency ratio - Sync OSC in the same sense as Nord - Set Shape mod (shape variation in timbre) for both OSC - Mix both OSC in ratio from 0 to 127, where 0 is for OSC1 only, 127 is for OSC2 only, any value between 0..127 is their mix in set proportion - Add SUB OSC1 0..127 - Add Noise 0..127 - Add randomized detuning into mix output - OSC Slop - Add LFO1, LFO2 modulation (in particular for OSC1, OSC2 frequencies, so Sync becomes more interesting - Add LFO3, LFO4 modulation for LFO1, LFO2 frequencies. Who can imagine how it influences sound? - Add LFO3, LFO4 modulation for OSC1 Shape mod, OSC2 Shape mod. - Add other modulations of OSC params: Mix, Noise level, SUB OSC1 level.
@Alexander Belov Thank you for your comment! At the risk of starting a spirited debate, let me politely say that I largely agree with you but there are a few other things to consider on the information presented and since we have all kinds of people reading these comments, I thought I'd share some additional perspectives. Plus, I enjoy conversations like these. 😃 Yes, people are often critical with Clava / Nord regarding the OSC combinations and configurations for sure. The Nord User forum has a number of people commenting about this and these related topics. And yes, the Dave Smith board such as the Prophet Rev 2 is a thing of beauty as it's designed by one of the greats - one of the originals. Heck, David Smith invented the MIDI standard! So, I think we have to consider this board and perhaps the Moog One and a few others in that category to lay the foundation and set the "bar" when it comes to behaving like a "true synth". Yes, I have come to realize these things over time and I was but a toddler in my knowledge when I first created the video you see here. So, perhaps I laid it on a bit thick due to my childlike discovery of Stage 3 as I was learning its features and recording these videos. At that time, I had less knowledge of subtractive synthesis compared to what I know today and much less than what I'll learn tomorrow. Your detailed example demonstrates just how far you can go with the other synths and I'm sure these features are appreciated by synth enthusiasts near and far. However, with every good story and every wonderful feature presented by world-class products, there are other aspects to consider. I will list them here for consideration in the equation: 1) Analog Synths have limited polyphony. Even the mighty Moog One can only produce 16 voices of polyphony (which is ok but not great if you are considering the perspective of sound physics and holding lots of notes through a sustain pedal). And for that, you're going to pay 8K + The Stage 3 has 32 voices of synth polyphony and the Nord Wave 2 has 48. My Korg Minilogue XD (analog) has 4 note polyphony making it nearly useless at times. That is my only real complaint about analog synths. I wish something more could be done about that aspect. But I get it, it's not easy to have analog and massive polyphony while keeping the costs (and architecture) feasible. 2) The Nord keyboards don't appear to really be geared towards true synth "traditional purists" perhaps? This one is up for debate but I have seen two things that stand out about Nord that don't necessarily meet the offerings of other brands. They are limited with their MIDI implementation offerings and they provide some limitations with synth configurations and LFO assignments (the same thing you're talking about here). I'm not sure why this is, but these are the choices they've made. Will this matter to everyone? Probably not. To some, these are instant deal-breakers. 3) The Nord keyboards appear to be designed primarily for live performance and perhaps people that want an "overall" go-to keyboard that can get the job done with all the basics covered. They don't appear to be made for people purely interested in sound design for example? Although that's not to say you can't do sound design with a Nord Keyboard because you can. But perhaps not to the extent you can with other synths. They could also be limiting the options on purpose in order to keep the keyboards easier to operate? Your weekend musician performing a gig here and there won't likely care if there's only one LFO with one assignment for it at a time. That same person may by just going with the presets and having the same level of fun. Truth be told, I too am sometimes frustrated with these limitations but I live with them. All in all, I'm quite surprised just how much you can do despite their synth configuration limitations but I do long for more on some days. Yet, there are other features that could even make more impact for me. For example, I would love more memory capability and more layers (and even more polyphony). To me, these features would go further for me than having more OSC configurations. Well, actually, I want BOTH! *Thanks again for your details here Alexander. You can count on one hand the number of people who can articulate what you've done and who are willing to take the time to write it in a comment on a smaller channel like mine. Thanks again! 👍🏼*
@@MyKeysToMusic I agree that Nord is more about performance use than workstation or pure synthesis use. Rev2 with 16 polyphony can still do well for sustain and 8 keys pressed simultaneously. It may be not ideal 100% solution, but even 8 notes sound like SFX than music, so 16 polyphony sound like sustained SFX. Melodies use 1-3 notes chord for left hand and 1-5 notes for right hand. So 16 polyphony is not so bad. 24 polyphony would add $500 to Rev2, if implemented. Moog is more expensive in any polyphony count.
@@alexanderbelov6892 Good points! And thanks for the reminder about the 16 voice for the Rev 2 option. 16 is much better than 4 and perhaps good enough for most situations as you mentioned.
@@MrNot4saken David! I had a feeling this day would come where someone asks "How do I create my videos?" (That could easily be an entirely different channel by itself). I'm curious, do you have an interest in making videos by chance? If so, the good news is that there is plenty of good stuff out there on this. If you want to learn some of my secrets, you can watch this fellow (Steve Dotto). He's using the same software I am and has a similar presentation style as I do (in my opinion). I'm using a bit better camera than Steve although his quality looks great even with a simple webcam. In his 9 minute video, he describes beautifully his setup and process which is similar to mine: ua-cam.com/video/_TBazwfahYw/v-deo.html
regarding the formant it sounds like my swedish language and where the AO AE OE = or last 3 letters in our alphabet is ÅÄÖ and they sound exactly as in our language.
Anders! This is so cool. I would have never known that or realized that until you said something. Seeing how the keyboards are made in Sweden, I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Thanks for your comment today.
Well, the "ring" in the Ring Modulation is not supposed to have anything to do with ringing sound. The term ring refers here to the layout of diodes in an electric circuit digram, resembling a ring, as in circular layout. So, it's not a "ring" as in a ringing telephone, but rather like the ring on one's finger. Unless, the words ring as in a circular layout and ring as a phone are related in English language. In my native language, they are not related. So maybe it's just a coincidence in English.
Thomas, that is really good to know because some might question exactly how deep does the Nord Stage 3 synth go compared to other dedicated synth boards from other manufacturers. It's nice to know that the A1 and Stage 3 hold their own. I believe not only do they have all the basics, but there are also some unique things they bring to the table. And with the Stage 3 in particular, it is powerful to have the piano and organ engine along for the ride allowing a lot of players the ability to keep their rig to a single keyboard if they really wanted to. Although, I still argue that having two individual keyboards on a gig is a bit more flexible in the end - but oh, so much more to set up.
Hi Familie.Thanks for your question. The Synth Tutorial Part 3 and beyond isn't created yet. I hope to have another installment out within the next two weeks. Thanks for watching!
Hi Paul. That is a great idea. However, I don't happen to have an A1 - so that puts a wrinkle in that plan! Technically, the Nord Stage 3 is based on the A1 so there may be enough similarities where you could learn the gist with what is already available on the channel now for the Nord Stage 3 synth? Not having an A1 directly to work with puts me at a disadvantage to do this at this time. Perhaps in the future, there could be a situation where I could rent/borrow a keyboard from Nord to do the training. Depending on how this all evolves, that is not out of the question at some point in the future. At this time, however, there are no plans to do A1 training. On a related side note, I will be releasing the "Master the Nord Stage 3 course" on my website soon at www.mykeystomusic.com (hopefully within 24 hours or so). Been working on that for the last 30 days or so. Thanks for your question and suggestion!
Hi Pontus. Thanks for your info here. I hadn't really put much thought into this aspect prior to recording but what you say here makes perfect sense. I didn't see anywhere in the manual (or online for that matter) where it says superwaves are samples. But, I'm glad you mentioned this because I agree, they would have to be samples. For that matter, the Wave and Formant Wave are likely samples as well? Granted, at some point during their origin, the superwaves were in fact made up of multiple oscillators (and then sampled and used by Nord in the Stage 3).
I think they decided to put them in like that to make it more appealing than just to release them as regular samples. They do sound great but i was a bit dissapointed by this since it would have been cool to be able to set the detune parameters by yourself. I did sample and loop these to make them avaliable for the NS2 and electros though. Check it out. www.norduserforum.com/nord-user-samples-nsmp-samples-f14/stage-3-super-waves-t14761.html
@@pontushenrikson Oh, this is great info and I'll echo others on the Nord user forum by saying "Thanks for doing this!" And now we have a link here for others who have the NS2 and Electros to download them as well. I assume a person with a Nord Piano 4 could also use them??
HI MIKE, CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHY I CANNOT TURN MY (4) ENGINE SOUNDS, ORGAN, PIANO, SYNTH, & EFFECTS, OFF? IS THERE AN INTERNAL SETTING THAT NEEDS TO BE UNLOCKED? THANK YOU, MG
This is very strange behavior. There is no such locking mechanism for this. You can turn it off and on again. Then consider updating the internal OS if you haven't already done so: ua-cam.com/video/bkPAmWBnF5c/v-deo.html
When I initialize my synth, it says "USER" in the top right of the display and doesn't list the "1 BASIC" etc. on the upper left of the display. How can I restore the sound labels in the upper left and remove the "USER" designation from the upper right? What does "USER" mean?
Hi Ross. Your Nord Stage 3 is likely using the latest operating system (OS). When I originally recorded most of these synth videos, it was using a slightly older version of the Nord OS. Therefore, my screens are slightly different than your screens may be. Now, "USER" represents user-definable synth presets. On your Nord Stage 3, you can have preset patches for the synth engine independent of the main program area. This allows you to store synth settings and use them on any number of main programs.
Hello @asterzaster1 I just made that up on the fly, but it's likely the chords are used for something else that is similar? The sound is similar to "Love Walks In" by Van Halen.
Interesting video, especially because I'm starting to thinking about a new workstation, for live performances, under my hands. I just have some doubts; (please Nord fans don't hate me, it's not a comparison with other workstations, it's just that I need something to work with and I didn't know if NS3 is similar to what i'm used to play). I always played korg/kurzweil/roland synths where you can build a sound from lots of "briks", oscillators that can be programmed and modulated in their behavior over time, separately (!)... I guess that this is impossibile on this machine, Am I wrong? I know that many users can create huge and beautiful sounds with the NS3 synth engine... but you can "drive" only 2 osc per Panel (so 4 in total) to build a synth sound, right? Am I missing something? Short example: my Roland Jd-Xa (controversial synth for most ppl out there, I know, but i love it) has 4 separate digital "parts", and in each one you can select, play and manipulate separately 3 osc from the wavetable (from the classic forms to the complex waves of a sampled acoustic or digital instrument). In addition you have 4 analog parts, each one with 2 classic osc that you can modulate, modify in behavior over time, etc. and by the way, every single part has it's own "insert" effect... There is something similar in Nord Stage or it's designed totally from another kind of perspective? Maybe NS3 it's more than enough for my personal use, outstanding acoustic simulations/ organ / piano, and a Synth engine for Massive Leads and Sweet pads to play blended with the acoustic sensation of the engines just mentioned; and NO "strange/complex" modulations over time for each individual osc... And (I guess) no massive stacks of multiple "building blocks"; for example: I can't build, with a NS3, a sound that (per note) will play a choir, a string section, 2 classic synth osc, a trumpet, a timpani and a guitar, each one with its own ENV/ MOD source / LFOs etc, right? By the way I don't know how much terrible could be this mix of sounds (LOL) but i'm just asking you if it's possible in some ways with NS3 or if you are "limited" to 4 osc in the synth engine only ... Thank you in advance and sorry for the long comment... Greetings From Italy Dave
Hello, @Kris Davidoff Thanks for providing a detailed post. This topic comes up a lot in fact. As you've noted, the Nord Stage 3 is a great sounding board and has its defined strengths in the marketplace. However, you run out of rope rather quickly (in the areas of features, sound layering, split flexibility, MIDI implementation, lack of sequencer, etc.) WHEN comparing it to a "real workstation" such as the Korg Kronos for example which is technically classified as a keyboard workstation synthesizer. So, Nord doesn't make any workstations.... (long pause). So, I think it's never going to win when compared to an actual workstation feature by feature. Yes, there are a few features (like the Extern section) that can make it "feel like" it could be a sudo workstation in selected areas. But it really isn't a workstation and when you compare it to just about any other workstation in the marketplace, the features may not add up relative to the price. I think that's why this is such a hot topic for some people. Consumers are trying to justify the price relative to the capability. But the Stage 3 cannot be judged based on the list of features alone. I think it also has to be judged on the overall package such as how things are implemented to make it easier for the keyboard player to get the job done with the least amount of menu diving. It's really geared for people who are working in a performance setting and perhaps less so for music composers for example or people who need a traditional workstation platform. I think when you purchase a Nord keyboard, it seems as though people identify with the "sound" first and foremost, and then they worry about the features second to that. Yet there are features about Nord that other brands simply don't provide in the same way. To name a few: great-sounding pianos, a feature-rich and decent-sounding organ engine, a decent synth for most things, strong morph capability (which is drop-dead simple to implement on the fly) all without a single menu to dive into. You also have access to the Nord sound libraries all at no additional charges and they are fairly easy to load and manage. The keyboards are generally lightweight, yet durable. All of this reminds me so much of the discussions I used to have with my friends back in the 90s as to why in the world would I pay more for an Apple computer versus a lower-cost PC that did "more"??? You are paying for a brand that resonates with you based on how they've implemented things and what it can provide to you specifically. In a way, a brand "speaks to you" or resonates with you - sometimes it's intangible and hard to explain. For me, I fell in love with the "Nord sound" way back in the early 2000s when I heard how they imitated the Rhodes on the original Nord Electro. I was blown away. Nothing on my Rolands boards at the time came close to that sound. Yet, my Roland keyboards had steel drums and Nord had no such thing- so I always kept my Roland module handy and used the Nord for the electromechanical sounds. Today, of course, many brands have mastered those Rhodes sounds so the decisions are harder today - I get that. Now, let's switch topics and talk specifically about the Nord Stage 3 synth engine. It's very capable, but it's not endless in what it can do. It's digital (not analog) and for some, that's a deal-breaker right there). There are however 34 notes of polyphony. So compared to a traditional analog synth, it will blow it away in the polyphony dept. People sometimes omit the discussion of polyphony but it's such a big deal when you think about lush sounds. Having 4 or 8 note polyphony - or even 16 just isn't enough in my opinion. In any case, the Stage 3 has panels A and B which means there are two unique synth sounds that can be created, layered, or split. But oftentimes, two just isn't enough. For example, if I want to play a bass sample in the left hand while layering flutes and strings on the right, you can't do that as it would require a total of 3 panels. Each panel has an oscillator that can be configured to double with another using pre-defined (but very flexible) configurations. There's also the notion of "Unison" which can really fatten a single oscillator layering many more on top without using any additional polyphony. This is one way in which people are creating lush sounds. Another thing the Stage 3 has is "Super Saws" which are pre-configured to model analog super fat saws and squares like you'd hear on a vintage Roland board for example. They are highly effective and I've been able to imitate the Jupiter and Oberheim-8 with ease creating amazing "Rush-like" sounds and such using these built-in configurations. There are also some limitations with the design of the synth like having only 1 LFO with just a couple of ways it can be assigned. In addition, the Mod and Amp envelopes don't have sustain independent of the release (they are on the same knob and you choose one or the other). So, I guess the Stage 3 is no Moog One. But then again, the Moog One is 8K + - so that's a bit unfair I guess. If I were to sum up the Nord Stage 3 synth, I would say it's very capable in all the right places. I've been able to imitate most sounds with the tools provided. Yes, there are times where I could really use another layer or two, but I work within the limitations and it does most things well. What's most amazing is to have the capable synth alongside the wonderful pianos, organ when you need it, and the way the effects are then implemented through all that is just rewarding. So, if you find yourself really wanting a feature-rich workstation or a synth that has multiple layers (more than 2) along with the ability to stack 3 or more oscillators per layer, then the Stage 3 may not be for you. However, if you looking for an all-around stage keyboard that has most of the features you need and you are looking for an easy-to-use platform with top-notch sounds, then the Stage 3 might be right up your alley. Feel free to keep the dialog going and thanks for bearing with this long post. 🎹
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you Very much for the kind reply, I really appreciated your honesty and precision talking about this product. I’ve asked this question just because I thought that I was missing something about programming this keyboard… I guess I can go out with Nord stage AND my roland Jd-Xa (for the synth part)… I preferred to have everything on a single keyboard but we will see :) Thank you again man :)
@@krisdavidoff181 Kris, I think you summed up your understanding of the Stage 3 very well. You can attempt to work with the Stage 3 synth and see how far you get. You might get away without needing the Roland. But if that's not the case, then Roland the will have to come along for the ride which already sounds like that's something you're willing to do. Best of luck!
My bell sounds nothing like the one in this video around 37:25. Feels like it's just mixing in a dull saw wave instead of this harmonically rich bell. Does anyone else have this issue?
@Andy Smith - I finally took a second to look at this. Test your setup with the bell set to 8 semitones. Then compare. When I set my bell to 0 semitones, it doesn't really sound like a bell being mixed at all. At 8 semitones, however, things come alive a bit more.
Agreed. In fact, what I was trying to say was that I wonder if the people at Nord really created all their own samples from scratch or if they were able to use pre-recorded samples from an existing library somewhere. I assume most of the samples were in fact created by the people at Nord directly but you have to wonder did they really re-recorded a clarinet, a flute, strings etc for the many samples they have? It feels like they do all their own piano samples - just wasn't sure if they recorded all the other samples from the 3.0 library at their location as well.
Yes, absolutely and there was a point in the video where I second-guessed that only because I found it hard to believe that Clavia/Nord would create every single one of the samples in their own studio, but that is entirely possible. Perhaps there are "generic samples" available for things like marimba whereby they didn't have to start from scratch - but I really don't know the answer to that. Thanks for your input - always appreciated.
Hey bri3331 I think I know what you're talking about here. That sometimes happens to me too. If you haven't already done so, try adjusting the EQ and also try some of the uprights. I find that the beautiful grand piano you play through headphones can quickly become washed out with the band - very discouraging. It's a physics thing for the most part. Stick with the brighter more staccato piano sounds and adjust the EQ and they should cut through better. Could also be the PA a bit too. You may have to experiment.
Thank you so much for these videos there truly so helpful and awesome! Ive watched your videos 1 and 2 dealing with the synth engine and still finding trouble mimicking this sound, ua-cam.com/video/bdQWdFO6CGU/v-deo.html I believe it will be done using the sample oscillator engine but even with that I'm not sure which wave to use and a lot of other factors that go with it of course. IM leaning on using the sine wave which generates that soft ambient sound of course with effects. Please comment if you can help with trying to find the right configuration for this sound. Thank you.
Hi Joshua! Great question and you should also post this question to the original creator as well since they may be able to recall the exact settings (if you haven't already). My guess is that the majority of this sound is created using the Nord White Grand XL with the "soft" Timbre setting (EQ). Then there is reverb of course. We already know that panel A synth can't be considered because there is a split and he's playing the entire piano part on the left side of the split. So that leaves the possibility that there is something layered with the piano on panel B but it's hard to say since we can't see what's on that panel. My guess, however, remains that this is the Nord White Grand XL with a lot of sustain pedal (probably just sit on the sustain pedal), set to EQ "soft" and a fair amount of reverb with the bright setting. Maybe there is a very soft (and subtle) pad happening in the background on panel B too. I just tried this by playing what hs is playing and it sounds very close to my ears.
My Keys To Music This is GREAT HELP THANK YOU !! I’ve been messing around with my synth ever since I’ve been watching your videos and the synth has truly so much to offer !! I’ve definitely built an appreciation after your amazing videos so thank you ! I’ve also took your synth fundamental course and that was amazing too ! So you talked about the sustain pedal, could I just have the mod wheel all the way up without having to worry about the pedal ? And could the mod wheel be only applied to one panel ? Thanks !
@@joshuamiranda5989 So glad this has helped and nice to see you exploring the synth! So, the sustain pedal is going to be needed to hold the notes as was see in the example video you provided. The Mod wheel won't help with that. Now, the Mod wheel can work on panel A or B or both and you can assign any number of things to the mod wheel (typically knobs versus buttons). Therefore, you have control over what the Mod wheel can do and how much it affects things. Also, you can stack multiple things too so the mod wheel could affect both the frequency cuttoff as well as the LFO rate at the same time as one example.
Lots of great content...for free...which I do appreciate. Also...a fair amount of mispronunciation and odd verbiage. I'm playing a "C key"...never heard a fellow musician use that phrase. F wave is for for-'mant. I the correct dictionary pronunciation is for'-ment...emphasis on 'for'. Also, to 'press' a key, as opposed to 'strike' a key, is a very different thing. STRIKING the key triggers the initial sound. PRESSING the key after the strike invokes aftertouch...a whole 'nother thing. Whiny...I know...just sayin'
Hello @Peter Saxe Thank you for your comment, observations (and clarifications!) Gosh, I'd give my right arm to have the ability to replace/edit an existing video on UA-cam. I'd be able to fix all these "Faux Pas"! As I look back on this video (now over 3 years old) I'm amazed at my somewhat "innocent" understanding of subtractive synthesis back then and everything that goes along with that. Heck, I didn't even pronounce "Moog" correctly in a few on may vids back then. I've learned so much since then only to realize how much more I have to learn. In any case, it's not lost on me the various things you pointed out. I've resolved most if not all of these items in the "Master The Nord Stage 3" course I have available on my course website which in fact does allow me to replace videos on a whim. That's a good thing because I often need to repair videos! 🙄 In any case, I started this UA-cam channel long before I was technically ready but survived through it so far and several people have set me straight on more than a few topics along the way. 🤞🏼 Thanks again for your constructive observations and I'm happy to get the feedback!
Waves 1 to 7, labelled "second" to "seventh" consist of a sine wave plus its SECOND up to SEVENTH harmonics.
The saw wave contains all the harmonics of the fundamental, each one at half the loudness of the one before it
The square wave contains only the odd numbered harmonics, also each half as loud as the one before it
The triangle is also odd harmonics only, but the loudness drops off much more rapidly
Hi Ewen. Thanks for the details on this. Going to pin this comment for a while because the way you explain this is crystal clear and helpful. Thanks for watching and your helpful comments.
@@MyKeysToMusic great tuts man, thank you
@@MusicWithMyFriends You are welcome. Thanks for watching :)
Thank you so much Marc!!!!!!!!!!!!!
👍
Just wanted to say that this channel is a hidden gem and a true goldmine, my stage 3 HP76 arrives tomorrow and I can't wait to get to grips with it, and your channel has really helped. Thank you! You deserve thousands of views, always very clear in your explanations.
Hi Matthew! Hopefully, by now you have your hands on your Stage 3 HP76! I remember that day. I also remember not being able to fit it into my little car taking it home from the office. 😜 Thanks so much for visiting the channel and for your kind words. Drop us a line with what you think so far of your new baby... - Thanks Marc
I have to acknowledge two things. First, these tutorial videos are superb. Thank you, Marc for all the effort you've put in to making them, and for sharing your deep knowledge of these instruments with us.
Second; As I learn more and more about how this instrument works, I have even deeper appreciation for the genius behind the interface design and the power that Nord has built into the Stage 3. It's not an intuitive instrument... You don't just sit down and start messing around as you would with a Moog or a Prophet. It takes some understanding, but once you learn it, the brilliance of the design becomes apparent.
I completely agree. I find that these days dialing up some sounds from scratch comes quickly - while others are challenging. When in doubt, you can sometimes lean on a custom sample to get the job done. In any case, thank you for your comment and reflection on all this. I've felt like this for a while and it's largely why I put effort into these videos - because it's fun and rewarding. Plus, I love to experiment and help people where I can. Continue to enjoy your Nord keyboard! 🎹
I bought one of the last new Nord Stage 3's in the USA and these synth videos are so helpful all these years later!
@jeremiahmolinaro7595 Hey Jeremiah! Congrats on your NS3! The latest NS3 is a great board and will provide you hours/days/weeks/years of fun and exploration. If you want to go even deeper, I have more/newer/better lessons in my Pro course found on my main website: www.MyKeysToMusic.com I also have a free Sample Editor course there that you may find interesting and a nice compliment to your NS3. Oh, and for all the "overflow content," I have a ton of stuff available for the NS3 on my Patreon page. www.Patreon.com/MyKeysToMusic as well.
So thankful for your time and effort you've put in all these videos, they have been beyond helpful for me.THANK YOU!
Thanks Chase! Glad they are helpful to you! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.
Thank you! Look forward to watching this. And you seem to be correct, there are a LOT of videos of people playing the Nord but no actual “Stage 3 video synth tutorials” that I have seen and the manual pretty much just describes the components of the synth but has very little hands on instruction. You are providing a much needed service. Come on folks....there is a Patreon link! This gentleman deserves it.
Thanks for the support Walt! Looks like I'll need to make a supplemental update on this as well (Part 2a) using the new Nord Stage 3 OS 2.0 update which just came out a day before the video release 😛
My Keys To Music yup, updated last night.
Question, quote from the 2.0 update details....”Two “Dyno” settings for tine EPs are introduced in the Piano Equalizer section, indicated by the two top LEDs or two bottom LEDs being lit, respectively. Note: These settings require version 6 EP sounds”.
What are version 6 EP sounds??
walt686868 Yes, and that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Since each of these videos take between 12 and 18 hours to do each, probably good that I released it just the same (versus stopping production, re-recording and re-editing the whole thing). There is no way to "substitute" a video on UA-cam, unfortunately. You can only delete and create a brand-new one. This is one of the main reasons for using a course engine versus UA-cam because, in a course engine, you can easily just replace videos as they get out of date. Then again, there is no platform in the world like UA-cam for getting the word out and in the hands of so many people so quickly via video in my opinion. So, that's where my emphasis will continue to be and we march on! 💪 Thanks again for your contribution(s) on Patreon!
My Keys To Music I take it you will answer my question in updated video? 🤠
INCREDIBLE! I am grinning ear to ear at these revelations! The super saw is blowing my mind.
@wselander I love the super saw too - there is nothing quite like it, and it's a big time saver.
Hi again; some more comments, regarding Detunes and Superwaves.Detunes add one or more oscillators with their frequencies slightly above or below the first oscillator (fractions of a semitone) This causes the peaks and troughs in the waves to move relative to each other; sometimes they add up and sometimes they partially cancel out. This is what causes beat frequencies when a guitar is slightly out of tune.Superwaves add as many as 7 additional oscillators, which may also have some frequency modulation (vibrato) for an even greater effect. Jump was played on an Oberheim OB-X which has 8 oscillators.Ring Modulation gets its name from the fact that it was originally done by feeding two signals through a Diode Ring, nothing to do with the sound. RM produces the sum and difference frequencies of the two input waves. SO input C4(512Hz) and C5(1024 Hz) and you hear C4, C5, and G5 (1536Hz), plus an addition 512Hz. If the input frequencies are not harmonics of each other, you get harmonically unrelated sum and difference notes, which sound metallic or robotic
Thanks again for your detailed comments and history.
I was separated from my Nord for the Christmas period, but happily reunited with it now, and really appreciated this second video. Thanks very much, Marc! :)
Hi Mark. I can relate to being separate from your Nord haha! THANKS for all your support and for watching!
Great video, thx
Thanks for the comment Daniel!
Fantastic! Going to send you some patches that really shows off morphing various parameters! Great job! (Note): OS 2 is out now which changes the graphics of the synth, selecting synth presets, pitch stick values etc! It’s a very important release!
Hi Obwanz - thanks for the update here. I didn't realize OS 2.0 snuck in during my final edits and release haha. Murphy's law strikes again! Going to release a new video (Part 2A) as a supplemental video letting everyone know to update to version 2.0 and that the screens look a little different when you do. Can't wait to dig into the pitch stick values. You're right - this is a huge release! Thanks for the heads up on all this. Looking forward to the patches/programs. For those reading this comment, the update 2.0 video is now done: ua-cam.com/video/c1CiRuhDt2U/v-deo.html
Thank you very much for all your videos. Your practical explanations showing the waveforms is a very helpful way of explaining synths and I have learnt far more from watching these than reading any manual or text explanation on the internet.
Hi Holly and thanks for your comment. That is terrific to hear! I kind of feel the same way about manuals too. The manual is good at explaining the dictionary definition of things but I've always felt that "hearing" things and sometimes seeing things in action brings a whole other level of understanding to the scene. Especially since we're talking about making music and expressing creativity - things a typical manual can't begin to describe or identify. Thanks for watching!
Great tutorial ! Thank you ! I bought my stage 3 when it was just introduced and there was no good tutorials, and THIS IS SOOOO GOOD !!!! You made it so easy to understand everything !
You're very welcome! When you're ready, you can consider enrolling in "Master the Nord Stage 3" for even more updated lessons found at www.MyKeysToMusic.com. Oh, and I also have free courses there as well!
thank you for doing this you are amazing
Thank you and thanks for watching!
Hey, these are great videos, thank you for doing them. I have a NS3 and play for a small church, but my understanding of the instrument is fairly limited. These videos are helping a lot. Thank you.
So glad to hear this Jason. There are a lot of people using Nord in the church setting from what I gather based on the interested on UA-cam. If you haven't already checked it out, I did make one video on Inspiration/worship sounds here: ua-cam.com/video/qP2bnApIHbM/v-deo.html as well as one on getting the most out of the pipe organ(s) here: ua-cam.com/video/o4KH9E7lslw/v-deo.html Thanks for your comment today - it helps a lot!
Great tutorial so far. Thank you so much for putting this together, I am already inspired to start playing around with the synth section!
Apalamaris. Thanks for the feedback! Yes, that was the main goal behind doing the synth series. Enjoy!
My new favourite internet teacher. Thanks for the help!
Thank you Mathilde!
I was giggling when you said white noise was an acquired taste!
Another incredible video! So grateful. :)
😊 thank you - much appreciated!
Hello Marc, first of all thanks so much for taking the time to put these videos together, as we can all see these tutorials EACH must have taken many hours of your time. It is so refreshing to FINALLY come across some decent in-depth tutorials explaining the Nord sythesis and it's operation. You have certainly filled a void which desperately needed to be filled and I for one am very grateful for this as I have been unable to find much at all on the Nord synths for years. I own a Stage 3 88, an Electro 5 61 and a Nord Lead 4, and have particularly been looking for this kind of tuiton on the Nord Leads but have found very little. Though I can see the principles explained here with the Stage 3 are certainly unlocking some mysteries and much of the content will suffice for other Nords such as the Lead (and also even if you DON'T own a Nord)! Once again thanks for your time here, I look forward to more of your great videos, keep up the great work, I'm now a subscriber!
Hi Stewart. Thanks so much for mentioning all this. People have been telling me their desire to learn the NS3 Synth and although there are a great many people out there who have fully mastered synthesis and have no problem getting around on the Nord Stage 3 synth, I suspect there are even more people who simply haven't dug deep on it short of turning a few knobs randomly and throwing their hands up. (This was me in my first few weeks too!)
What's most exciting to me is that there are terrific musicians and piano players out there who are brand new to Nord and the Nord Stage 3. Many of these people have never laid their hands on a real synthesizer before (but perhaps always wanted to). So for them, this is all one big unexplored (and at times, highly technical) frontier. It can be intimidating or even overwhelming if you didn't grow up with it.
So, it's my goal to bring the most advanced topics down to the level of an absolute beginner if possible. My hope is that people will leave with a brand-new skill set where they find themselves in a position to let the creative juices flow, not just with making music, but making sounds not yet heard by human ears, finding a part of themselves they never knew they had. That's essentially why this channel was created.
The funny thing is, there are also a great many amateur musicians just getting started playing keyboards and they find themselves in a position to afford a Nord. For them, they have the double uphill battle. They have to learn their Nord keyboard AND learn music/how to play the keyboards. They need as many resources as there are available so hopefully, we're helping these people too.
Thanks for subscribing and for watching!
Best tutorials on UA-cam!!!!!! Thankyou
Thank you, Joe! That is most kind of you to say!
You are a superb teacher and never leave out any details 💜🧡💛💚💛🧡💜🧡💛💚
Thanks so much EliLori B! Really appreciate it.
I love you for making these videos. Sincerely.
Thanks Christian! Glad these are a help!
This is so helpful, Marc, thank you! I did my initial learning about "synthing" on a Korg Prologue, and I have to say it helps to have a pic of that board in front of me so I can see what Nord did to the more traditional synth layout. What they did was ingenious, but so idiosyncratic in concept (necessarily so to fit it on the keyboard) that it's sometimes hard to connect it to more traditional synths, and the concepts behind them. If the Nord is your first synth, maybe that's not an issue (and of course your fundamentals video is crucial then!); but it's much harder to visualize what's going on with the Nord setup. Maybe if there were a several-part video tutorial - oh, wait, you did that! Thank you again!
@jameshanson4880 Hello James! Just wanted to follow up. By now, you have probably mastered your Nord Stage 3. I find myself knee-deep in doing lessons on the Nord Stage 4 these days for my upcoming master class, which is available on my website. After doing this for so many years at this point, I still find it quite fun to sit down at the board and "create" sounds, learn a song, or figure out something new that I hadn't discovered before...
I just want to chime in with all the other people saying a huge thank you for putting this series together. I got a NS3 a few months back and the synth section has been the one I've spent the least amount of time with, but I really want to learn how it all works. I have no synth background and it's all seemed very overwhelming when I've tried to tackle it in the past. So far these videos have been a great starting point. I'll be heading to your Patreon for sure!
Thanks Russ! Appreciate the feedback like this. More to come soon... Thanks for watching!
Amazing Marc. Have been waiting for videos like this to really explore the synth side of the Stage 3 - so few channels go further than the basics. This will certainly help many who are on the fence about purchasing take the leap.
Super clear and understandable too. Looking forward to the rest!
Hey Jordan. So pleased to know that this is what you have been looking for. Thanks for checking these out and coming along for the ride!
Thank for this serie, I have a Nord Stage 3 88 and this video is very important for learn to use my stage 3, Bless you. Im from Peru :)
Glad it was helpful and thanks for watching!
All modern Hammond clones (electronic emulations of tonewheel organs) use modified sampling. The basic sounds are sampled but they are modified by other electronics to create things like vibrato, etc. The Nord Stage 3 uses the organ engine from the Nord C2D - which is an excellent tonewheel clone.
Hi Thomas. I thought I had replied to this but I don't think I ended up saving the comment. I just wanted to say thanks for your input here from your first-hand experience with all this stuff. If I remember correctly, you actually own a Leslie speaker and several synths/keyboards new and old - so thanks for the input and help.
I've really learned usefull stuff in your videos. You are my favourite teacher. Thanks for your work!
Hi Ana! So very nice of you to say so. Happy that the videos help and thanks for watching!
Amazing tutorial! I just received my NS3 yesterday and can't wait to your next video. Good job, well done. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! 👍🎹🍺
Hi Albert. First, congrats on your new NS3!! How exciting! Which model did you get?
@@MyKeysToMusic 88 hammered! I'm amazed with this machine. It is like playing a "real" instrument. Very well constructed, good keybed, knobs, buttons... Not the crappy plastic touch like all the other stuff I play with.
I totally agree. Wood on the sides is a nice touch too. Thanks for watching!
So good! Thank you Marc! My bandmates are really going to get a POSITIVE earful about you!
Hey Laurie. I'm happy your bandmates are going to hear about this. Thanks for your comments today and positive feedback! Stay tuned...
Thanks!! These videos help me a lot to understand the NS3 (especially the synth section) much better.
Maybe it is a good idea to do a final video where you create a famous patch/sound. Because a lot of people who own a NS3 want to play well known songs with the sounds like the original. Like me, I just do not know how to start to create a patch from scratch that finally sounds like the original.
Keep up doing the good work!
Hi matjespee! Thanks or your comment and happy to know these videos are helping you! I think it's a great idea to do perhaps several final videos where we take famous sounds/songs and build them from scratch using the Nord Stage 3. This would be part of a "discovery series" after the synth training is done. Lots of work but great idea and a lot of value.! Thanks for watching!
Very good and detailed. What I hope to find on utube is a course where the instructor picks a song(s) ex: pink Floyd’s time and shows us the settings for that songs synth section. Then we could memorize in program section and use it when we play that song. I have less interest in the technicalities of the algorhythms than the sound itself. Is there such a course?
@dr louis cardinal thank you for your question/request. I agree. I created the entire "Discovery Series" for the Nord Stage 3 based on this concept. You can find the entire playlist here: ua-cam.com/play/PLvND2qkkWygqahJWvI75kYCQo6nPMJA7i.html
Thanks for this further video on the synth engine, I'm looking forward to watching these when I get the chance over the holidays, there's been a recent update that has altered the synth menu display to slightly, hope it hasn't affected your videos much on the subject, thanks again anyways.
Hi DeanoPiano. The new synth screen update has provided more info for us on that screen but hasn't changed things so much where it invalidates the previous videos. I'll have a new video on the OS 2.0 update as well coming soon! Thanks for watching!
DeanoPiano, I'm so glad you mentioned this. It inspired a new video today - so THANKS! ua-cam.com/video/c1CiRuhDt2U/v-deo.html
Thank you for this great tutorial. Really helpful :-D
Glad this is helpful Sylvester Larsen & The Man. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for more!
thanks for doing these!
You're welcome Dan! Thanks for stopping by and for watching.
Can you please do a tutorial about making layers and putting multiple synths in the same splits?
Hi Steve! I have a video that can introduce to the idea of working with layers and splits. Please note that even though you can have up to 4 split zones on a Stage 3, you still have just two synth engines (panel A and B). This means the most individual synth engines you can have on at the same time is two. Check out this segment from a video a did a while ago which I think could really help explain all this better than I can here in the comment. You'll want to watch from about 10:43 for about 10 minutes or so: ua-cam.com/video/VlzgEfmcrDE/v-deo.html
NORD did not invent wavetables. I think the first synth to use them in an accessible way was the PPG Wave synth in the 1980s. The Stage 3 does not actually have wave tables. A wavetable is a set of related waveforms, and the synth moves through them in a sequence to produce a constantly changing sound- Wikipedia explains it very well. These "waves" are, as you have discovered, the raw sounds from the other sections of the Stage 3.
Thanks again Ewen for the clarification here. This is most helpful information! For those interested in the Wikipedia article, you can find it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavetable_synthesis
Great Job
Thanks David!
as always ------- so good
Thanks Thomas and thanks for stopping by. Can't believe this video comes out a day before the Nord Stage 3 2.0 OS update. Alas, that gives us new things to explore which is the most important thing for anyone with a Stage 3.
Clavia Nord OSC Configurations can do only limited set of OSC combinations/modulations.
DS Rev2 analog synth can do the following simultaneously:
- Choose shape type (less set, but most popular Saw, Saw+Triangle, Triangle, Square/Pulse (Sine is cutoff variation of triangle)
- Choose two OSC base frequencies to set their relative frequency ratio
- Sync OSC in the same sense as Nord
- Set Shape mod (shape variation in timbre) for both OSC
- Mix both OSC in ratio from 0 to 127, where 0 is for OSC1 only, 127 is for OSC2 only, any value between 0..127 is their mix in set proportion
- Add SUB OSC1 0..127
- Add Noise 0..127
- Add randomized detuning into mix output - OSC Slop
- Add LFO1, LFO2 modulation (in particular for OSC1, OSC2 frequencies, so Sync becomes more interesting
- Add LFO3, LFO4 modulation for LFO1, LFO2 frequencies. Who can imagine how it influences sound?
- Add LFO3, LFO4 modulation for OSC1 Shape mod, OSC2 Shape mod.
- Add other modulations of OSC params: Mix, Noise level, SUB OSC1 level.
@Alexander Belov Thank you for your comment! At the risk of starting a spirited debate, let me politely say that I largely agree with you but there are a few other things to consider on the information presented and since we have all kinds of people reading these comments, I thought I'd share some additional perspectives. Plus, I enjoy conversations like these. 😃
Yes, people are often critical with Clava / Nord regarding the OSC combinations and configurations for sure. The Nord User forum has a number of people commenting about this and these related topics. And yes, the Dave Smith board such as the Prophet Rev 2 is a thing of beauty as it's designed by one of the greats - one of the originals. Heck, David Smith invented the MIDI standard! So, I think we have to consider this board and perhaps the Moog One and a few others in that category to lay the foundation and set the "bar" when it comes to behaving like a "true synth". Yes, I have come to realize these things over time and I was but a toddler in my knowledge when I first created the video you see here. So, perhaps I laid it on a bit thick due to my childlike discovery of Stage 3 as I was learning its features and recording these videos. At that time, I had less knowledge of subtractive synthesis compared to what I know today and much less than what I'll learn tomorrow.
Your detailed example demonstrates just how far you can go with the other synths and I'm sure these features are appreciated by synth enthusiasts near and far.
However, with every good story and every wonderful feature presented by world-class products, there are other aspects to consider. I will list them here for consideration in the equation:
1) Analog Synths have limited polyphony. Even the mighty Moog One can only produce 16 voices of polyphony (which is ok but not great if you are considering the perspective of sound physics and holding lots of notes through a sustain pedal). And for that, you're going to pay 8K + The Stage 3 has 32 voices of synth polyphony and the Nord Wave 2 has 48. My Korg Minilogue XD (analog) has 4 note polyphony making it nearly useless at times. That is my only real complaint about analog synths. I wish something more could be done about that aspect. But I get it, it's not easy to have analog and massive polyphony while keeping the costs (and architecture) feasible.
2) The Nord keyboards don't appear to really be geared towards true synth "traditional purists" perhaps? This one is up for debate but I have seen two things that stand out about Nord that don't necessarily meet the offerings of other brands. They are limited with their MIDI implementation offerings and they provide some limitations with synth configurations and LFO assignments (the same thing you're talking about here). I'm not sure why this is, but these are the choices they've made. Will this matter to everyone? Probably not. To some, these are instant deal-breakers.
3) The Nord keyboards appear to be designed primarily for live performance and perhaps people that want an "overall" go-to keyboard that can get the job done with all the basics covered. They don't appear to be made for people purely interested in sound design for example? Although that's not to say you can't do sound design with a Nord Keyboard because you can. But perhaps not to the extent you can with other synths. They could also be limiting the options on purpose in order to keep the keyboards easier to operate? Your weekend musician performing a gig here and there won't likely care if there's only one LFO with one assignment for it at a time. That same person may by just going with the presets and having the same level of fun.
Truth be told, I too am sometimes frustrated with these limitations but I live with them. All in all, I'm quite surprised just how much you can do despite their synth configuration limitations but I do long for more on some days. Yet, there are other features that could even make more impact for me. For example, I would love more memory capability and more layers (and even more polyphony). To me, these features would go further for me than having more OSC configurations. Well, actually, I want BOTH!
*Thanks again for your details here Alexander. You can count on one hand the number of people who can articulate what you've done and who are willing to take the time to write it in a comment on a smaller channel like mine. Thanks again! 👍🏼*
@@MyKeysToMusic
I agree that Nord is more about performance use than workstation or pure synthesis use.
Rev2 with 16 polyphony can still do well for sustain and 8 keys pressed simultaneously. It may be not ideal 100% solution, but even 8 notes sound like SFX than music, so 16 polyphony sound like sustained SFX.
Melodies use 1-3 notes chord for left hand and 1-5 notes for right hand. So 16 polyphony is not so bad. 24 polyphony would add $500 to Rev2, if implemented. Moog is more expensive in any polyphony count.
@@alexanderbelov6892 Good points! And thanks for the reminder about the 16 voice for the Rev 2 option. 16 is much better than 4 and perhaps good enough for most situations as you mentioned.
Love the Super Saw
Me too. That one is fun to work with.
@@MyKeysToMusic It would be great if you could teach what tools you use in creating your videos cameras etc etc etc so well done!!!
@@MrNot4saken David! I had a feeling this day would come where someone asks "How do I create my videos?" (That could easily be an entirely different channel by itself). I'm curious, do you have an interest in making videos by chance? If so, the good news is that there is plenty of good stuff out there on this. If you want to learn some of my secrets, you can watch this fellow (Steve Dotto). He's using the same software I am and has a similar presentation style as I do (in my opinion). I'm using a bit better camera than Steve although his quality looks great even with a simple webcam. In his 9 minute video, he describes beautifully his setup and process which is similar to mine: ua-cam.com/video/_TBazwfahYw/v-deo.html
@@MyKeysToMusic Yes I am thanks for the info
David, that's great to hear you are interested in making videos. Let me know how I can help.
Perfect tutorial! When can we expect part 3?
Hi matjespee! Thanks for your comment and just released part 3. Thanks for watching! You can find part 3 here: ua-cam.com/video/BMm942zM_4s/v-deo.html
regarding the formant it sounds like my swedish language and where the AO AE OE = or last 3 letters in our alphabet is ÅÄÖ and they sound exactly as in our language.
Anders! This is so cool. I would have never known that or realized that until you said something. Seeing how the keyboards are made in Sweden, I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Thanks for your comment today.
Well, the "ring" in the Ring Modulation is not supposed to have anything to do with ringing sound. The term ring refers here to the layout of diodes in an electric circuit digram, resembling a ring, as in circular layout. So, it's not a "ring" as in a ringing telephone, but rather like the ring on one's finger. Unless, the words ring as in a circular layout and ring as a phone are related in English language. In my native language, they are not related. So maybe it's just a coincidence in English.
Hello Andrew Thanks for the clarification here. I have learned so much since making this video thanks in part to comments like these.
Maybe you can explain the fast attack button under oscillator section as well thanks
Hi David, Yes, we'll be getting to that feature as well. That one button can really impact the sample in a big way.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support @Catrin Vincent! It's very appreciated. Happy New Year!
I have a number of subtractive synths and the A1 (and Stahge 3) hold their own.
Thomas, that is really good to know because some might question exactly how deep does the Nord Stage 3 synth go compared to other dedicated synth boards from other manufacturers. It's nice to know that the A1 and Stage 3 hold their own. I believe not only do they have all the basics, but there are also some unique things they bring to the table. And with the Stage 3 in particular, it is powerful to have the piano and organ engine along for the ride allowing a lot of players the ability to keep their rig to a single keyboard if they really wanted to. Although, I still argue that having two individual keyboards on a gig is a bit more flexible in the end - but oh, so much more to set up.
Hi, I am looking for your Synth Tutorial part 3. Could it be that you removed it?
Hi Familie.Thanks for your question. The Synth Tutorial Part 3 and beyond isn't created yet. I hope to have another installment out within the next two weeks. Thanks for watching!
The most difficult thing for tonewheel clones to do is mimic a Leslie. (of course a real tonewheel organ does not have a Leslie effect at all).
Neat and they do a great job with the imitation too. I've been very impressed with the Leslie effect.
Any chance of doing some vids for nord A1 ?
Thanks.
Hi Paul. That is a great idea. However, I don't happen to have an A1 - so that puts a wrinkle in that plan! Technically, the Nord Stage 3 is based on the A1 so there may be enough similarities where you could learn the gist with what is already available on the channel now for the Nord Stage 3 synth? Not having an A1 directly to work with puts me at a disadvantage to do this at this time. Perhaps in the future, there could be a situation where I could rent/borrow a keyboard from Nord to do the training. Depending on how this all evolves, that is not out of the question at some point in the future. At this time, however, there are no plans to do A1 training. On a related side note, I will be releasing the "Master the Nord Stage 3 course" on my website soon at www.mykeystomusic.com (hopefully within 24 hours or so). Been working on that for the last 30 days or so. Thanks for your question and suggestion!
The superwaves are really just samples.
Hi Pontus. Thanks for your info here. I hadn't really put much thought into this aspect prior to recording but what you say here makes perfect sense. I didn't see anywhere in the manual (or online for that matter) where it says superwaves are samples. But, I'm glad you mentioned this because I agree, they would have to be samples. For that matter, the Wave and Formant Wave are likely samples as well? Granted, at some point during their origin, the superwaves were in fact made up of multiple oscillators (and then sampled and used by Nord in the Stage 3).
I think they decided to put them in like that to make it more appealing than just to release them as regular samples. They do sound great but i was a bit dissapointed by this since it would have been cool to be able to set the detune parameters by yourself. I did sample and loop these to make them avaliable for the NS2 and electros though. Check it out.
www.norduserforum.com/nord-user-samples-nsmp-samples-f14/stage-3-super-waves-t14761.html
@@pontushenrikson Oh, this is great info and I'll echo others on the Nord user forum by saying "Thanks for doing this!" And now we have a link here for others who have the NS2 and Electros to download them as well. I assume a person with a Nord Piano 4 could also use them??
Thanks :)
Oh, yes. Any Nord that can play nsmp format can use the of course.
HI MIKE,
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHY I CANNOT TURN MY (4) ENGINE SOUNDS, ORGAN, PIANO, SYNTH, & EFFECTS, OFF?
IS THERE AN INTERNAL SETTING THAT NEEDS TO BE UNLOCKED?
THANK YOU,
MG
This is very strange behavior. There is no such locking mechanism for this. You can turn it off and on again. Then consider updating the internal OS if you haven't already done so: ua-cam.com/video/bkPAmWBnF5c/v-deo.html
When I initialize my synth, it says "USER" in the top right of the display and doesn't list the "1 BASIC" etc. on the upper left of the display.
How can I restore the sound labels in the upper left and remove the "USER" designation from the upper right? What does "USER" mean?
Hi Ross. Your Nord Stage 3 is likely using the latest operating system (OS). When I originally recorded most of these synth videos, it was using a slightly older version of the Nord OS. Therefore, my screens are slightly different than your screens may be. Now, "USER" represents user-definable synth presets. On your Nord Stage 3, you can have preset patches for the synth engine independent of the main program area. This allows you to store synth settings and use them on any number of main programs.
Thank you! That explains it. You are a great teacher.
@@rklingsb Thanks for saying that Ross and thanks for watching! 🙏
whats the second song? (45:39) I don't recognize.
Hello @asterzaster1 I just made that up on the fly, but it's likely the chords are used for something else that is similar? The sound is similar to "Love Walks In" by Van Halen.
@@MyKeysToMusic Oh I see, thanks!
Interesting video, especially because I'm starting to thinking about a new workstation, for live performances, under my hands. I just have some doubts; (please Nord fans don't hate me, it's not a comparison with other workstations, it's just that I need something to work with and I didn't know if NS3 is similar to what i'm used to play).
I always played korg/kurzweil/roland synths where you can build a sound from lots of "briks", oscillators that can be programmed and modulated in their behavior over time, separately (!)... I guess that this is impossibile on this machine, Am I wrong? I know that many users can create huge and beautiful sounds with the NS3 synth engine... but you can "drive" only 2 osc per Panel (so 4 in total) to build a synth sound, right? Am I missing something?
Short example: my Roland Jd-Xa (controversial synth for most ppl out there, I know, but i love it) has 4 separate digital "parts", and in each one you can select, play and manipulate separately 3 osc from the wavetable (from the classic forms to the complex waves of a sampled acoustic or digital instrument). In addition you have 4 analog parts, each one with 2 classic osc that you can modulate, modify in behavior over time, etc.
and by the way, every single part has it's own "insert" effect... There is something similar in Nord Stage or it's designed totally from another kind of perspective?
Maybe NS3 it's more than enough for my personal use, outstanding acoustic simulations/ organ / piano, and a Synth engine for Massive Leads and Sweet pads to play blended with the acoustic sensation of the engines just mentioned; and NO "strange/complex" modulations over time for each individual osc... And (I guess) no massive stacks of multiple "building blocks"; for example: I can't build, with a NS3, a sound that (per note) will play a choir, a string section, 2 classic synth osc, a trumpet, a timpani and a guitar, each one with its own ENV/ MOD source / LFOs etc, right? By the way I don't know how much terrible could be this mix of sounds (LOL) but i'm just asking you if it's possible in some ways with NS3 or if you are "limited" to 4 osc in the synth engine only ...
Thank you in advance and sorry for the long comment...
Greetings From Italy
Dave
Hello, @Kris Davidoff Thanks for providing a detailed post. This topic comes up a lot in fact. As you've noted, the Nord Stage 3 is a great sounding board and has its defined strengths in the marketplace. However, you run out of rope rather quickly (in the areas of features, sound layering, split flexibility, MIDI implementation, lack of sequencer, etc.) WHEN comparing it to a "real workstation" such as the Korg Kronos for example which is technically classified as a keyboard workstation synthesizer. So, Nord doesn't make any workstations.... (long pause). So, I think it's never going to win when compared to an actual workstation feature by feature. Yes, there are a few features (like the Extern section) that can make it "feel like" it could be a sudo workstation in selected areas. But it really isn't a workstation and when you compare it to just about any other workstation in the marketplace, the features may not add up relative to the price. I think that's why this is such a hot topic for some people. Consumers are trying to justify the price relative to the capability. But the Stage 3 cannot be judged based on the list of features alone. I think it also has to be judged on the overall package such as how things are implemented to make it easier for the keyboard player to get the job done with the least amount of menu diving. It's really geared for people who are working in a performance setting and perhaps less so for music composers for example or people who need a traditional workstation platform.
I think when you purchase a Nord keyboard, it seems as though people identify with the "sound" first and foremost, and then they worry about the features second to that. Yet there are features about Nord that other brands simply don't provide in the same way. To name a few: great-sounding pianos, a feature-rich and decent-sounding organ engine, a decent synth for most things, strong morph capability (which is drop-dead simple to implement on the fly) all without a single menu to dive into. You also have access to the Nord sound libraries all at no additional charges and they are fairly easy to load and manage. The keyboards are generally lightweight, yet durable.
All of this reminds me so much of the discussions I used to have with my friends back in the 90s as to why in the world would I pay more for an Apple computer versus a lower-cost PC that did "more"??? You are paying for a brand that resonates with you based on how they've implemented things and what it can provide to you specifically. In a way, a brand "speaks to you" or resonates with you - sometimes it's intangible and hard to explain. For me, I fell in love with the "Nord sound" way back in the early 2000s when I heard how they imitated the Rhodes on the original Nord Electro. I was blown away. Nothing on my Rolands boards at the time came close to that sound. Yet, my Roland keyboards had steel drums and Nord had no such thing- so I always kept my Roland module handy and used the Nord for the electromechanical sounds. Today, of course, many brands have mastered those Rhodes sounds so the decisions are harder today - I get that.
Now, let's switch topics and talk specifically about the Nord Stage 3 synth engine. It's very capable, but it's not endless in what it can do. It's digital (not analog) and for some, that's a deal-breaker right there). There are however 34 notes of polyphony. So compared to a traditional analog synth, it will blow it away in the polyphony dept. People sometimes omit the discussion of polyphony but it's such a big deal when you think about lush sounds. Having 4 or 8 note polyphony - or even 16 just isn't enough in my opinion. In any case, the Stage 3 has panels A and B which means there are two unique synth sounds that can be created, layered, or split. But oftentimes, two just isn't enough. For example, if I want to play a bass sample in the left hand while layering flutes and strings on the right, you can't do that as it would require a total of 3 panels.
Each panel has an oscillator that can be configured to double with another using pre-defined (but very flexible) configurations. There's also the notion of "Unison" which can really fatten a single oscillator layering many more on top without using any additional polyphony. This is one way in which people are creating lush sounds. Another thing the Stage 3 has is "Super Saws" which are pre-configured to model analog super fat saws and squares like you'd hear on a vintage Roland board for example. They are highly effective and I've been able to imitate the Jupiter and Oberheim-8 with ease creating amazing "Rush-like" sounds and such using these built-in configurations. There are also some limitations with the design of the synth like having only 1 LFO with just a couple of ways it can be assigned. In addition, the Mod and Amp envelopes don't have sustain independent of the release (they are on the same knob and you choose one or the other). So, I guess the Stage 3 is no Moog One. But then again, the Moog One is 8K + - so that's a bit unfair I guess.
If I were to sum up the Nord Stage 3 synth, I would say it's very capable in all the right places. I've been able to imitate most sounds with the tools provided. Yes, there are times where I could really use another layer or two, but I work within the limitations and it does most things well. What's most amazing is to have the capable synth alongside the wonderful pianos, organ when you need it, and the way the effects are then implemented through all that is just rewarding. So, if you find yourself really wanting a feature-rich workstation or a synth that has multiple layers (more than 2) along with the ability to stack 3 or more oscillators per layer, then the Stage 3 may not be for you. However, if you looking for an all-around stage keyboard that has most of the features you need and you are looking for an easy-to-use platform with top-notch sounds, then the Stage 3 might be right up your alley.
Feel free to keep the dialog going and thanks for bearing with this long post. 🎹
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you Very much for the kind reply, I really appreciated your honesty and precision talking about this product.
I’ve asked this question just because I thought that I was missing something about programming this keyboard… I guess I can go out with Nord stage AND my roland Jd-Xa (for the synth part)… I preferred to have everything on a single keyboard but we will see :)
Thank you again man :)
@@krisdavidoff181 Kris, I think you summed up your understanding of the Stage 3 very well. You can attempt to work with the Stage 3 synth and see how far you get. You might get away without needing the Roland. But if that's not the case, then Roland the will have to come along for the ride which already sounds like that's something you're willing to do. Best of luck!
My bell sounds nothing like the one in this video around 37:25. Feels like it's just mixing in a dull saw wave instead of this harmonically rich bell. Does anyone else have this issue?
@Andy Smith - I finally took a second to look at this. Test your setup with the bell set to 8 semitones. Then compare. When I set my bell to 0 semitones, it doesn't really sound like a bell being mixed at all. At 8 semitones, however, things come alive a bit more.
@@MyKeysToMusic thank you! This was the problem. I appreciate you responding to my question, thank you for all of the helpful tutorials
@@andysmith7265 Happy to do it! Thanks for watching 🤙🏼
Introduction - 00:00
Initialization - 02:21
Waveforms: 05:05
Oscillator configurations - 15:37
Hello Francisco - I added some indexing to this video - thanks for the assist (and for watching) 😀
@@MyKeysToMusic Thank you for the great work!
Star trek 34:40
Haha - that's funny. I missed that at first, but ya, I can hear that. Good point!
Might as well . . . MODULATE!!
by definition, a sample is recorded - not built from a wave in a synth.
Agreed. In fact, what I was trying to say was that I wonder if the people at Nord really created all their own samples from scratch or if they were able to use pre-recorded samples from an existing library somewhere. I assume most of the samples were in fact created by the people at Nord directly but you have to wonder did they really re-recorded a clarinet, a flute, strings etc for the many samples they have? It feels like they do all their own piano samples - just wasn't sure if they recorded all the other samples from the 3.0 library at their location as well.
Yes, absolutely and there was a point in the video where I second-guessed that only because I found it hard to believe that Clavia/Nord would create every single one of the samples in their own studio, but that is entirely possible. Perhaps there are "generic samples" available for things like marimba whereby they didn't have to start from scratch - but I really don't know the answer to that. Thanks for your input - always appreciated.
Unfortunately seeing my stage 3 coz I can get the piano to cut through the band 😪
Hey bri3331 I think I know what you're talking about here. That sometimes happens to me too. If you haven't already done so, try adjusting the EQ and also try some of the uprights. I find that the beautiful grand piano you play through headphones can quickly become washed out with the band - very discouraging. It's a physics thing for the most part. Stick with the brighter more staccato piano sounds and adjust the EQ and they should cut through better. Could also be the PA a bit too. You may have to experiment.
Thank you so much for these videos there truly so helpful and awesome! Ive watched your videos 1 and 2 dealing with the synth engine and still finding trouble mimicking this sound, ua-cam.com/video/bdQWdFO6CGU/v-deo.html
I believe it will be done using the sample oscillator engine but even with that I'm not sure which wave to use and a lot of other factors that go with it of course. IM leaning on using the sine wave which generates that soft ambient sound of course with effects. Please comment if you can help with trying to find the right configuration for this sound. Thank you.
Hi Joshua! Great question and you should also post this question to the original creator as well since they may be able to recall the exact settings (if you haven't already). My guess is that the majority of this sound is created using the Nord White Grand XL with the "soft" Timbre setting (EQ). Then there is reverb of course. We already know that panel A synth can't be considered because there is a split and he's playing the entire piano part on the left side of the split. So that leaves the possibility that there is something layered with the piano on panel B but it's hard to say since we can't see what's on that panel. My guess, however, remains that this is the Nord White Grand XL with a lot of sustain pedal (probably just sit on the sustain pedal), set to EQ "soft" and a fair amount of reverb with the bright setting. Maybe there is a very soft (and subtle) pad happening in the background on panel B too. I just tried this by playing what hs is playing and it sounds very close to my ears.
My Keys To Music This is GREAT HELP THANK YOU !! I’ve been messing around with my synth ever since I’ve been watching your videos and the synth has truly so much to offer !! I’ve definitely built an appreciation after your amazing videos so thank you ! I’ve also took your synth fundamental course and that was amazing too ! So you talked about the sustain pedal, could I just have the mod wheel all the way up without having to worry about the pedal ? And could the mod wheel be only applied to one panel ? Thanks !
@@joshuamiranda5989 So glad this has helped and nice to see you exploring the synth! So, the sustain pedal is going to be needed to hold the notes as was see in the example video you provided. The Mod wheel won't help with that. Now, the Mod wheel can work on panel A or B or both and you can assign any number of things to the mod wheel (typically knobs versus buttons). Therefore, you have control over what the Mod wheel can do and how much it affects things. Also, you can stack multiple things too so the mod wheel could affect both the frequency cuttoff as well as the LFO rate at the same time as one example.
Lots of great content...for free...which I do appreciate. Also...a fair amount of mispronunciation and odd verbiage. I'm playing a "C key"...never heard a fellow musician use that phrase. F wave is for for-'mant. I the correct dictionary pronunciation is for'-ment...emphasis on 'for'. Also, to 'press' a key, as opposed to 'strike' a key, is a very different thing. STRIKING the key triggers the initial sound. PRESSING the key after the strike invokes aftertouch...a whole 'nother thing. Whiny...I know...just sayin'
Hello @Peter Saxe Thank you for your comment, observations (and clarifications!) Gosh, I'd give my right arm to have the ability to replace/edit an existing video on UA-cam. I'd be able to fix all these "Faux Pas"! As I look back on this video (now over 3 years old) I'm amazed at my somewhat "innocent" understanding of subtractive synthesis back then and everything that goes along with that. Heck, I didn't even pronounce "Moog" correctly in a few on may vids back then. I've learned so much since then only to realize how much more I have to learn. In any case, it's not lost on me the various things you pointed out. I've resolved most if not all of these items in the "Master The Nord Stage 3" course I have available on my course website which in fact does allow me to replace videos on a whim. That's a good thing because I often need to repair videos! 🙄 In any case, I started this UA-cam channel long before I was technically ready but survived through it so far and several people have set me straight on more than a few topics along the way. 🤞🏼 Thanks again for your constructive observations and I'm happy to get the feedback!
Let me guess you are stricken with OCD. Really? Who gives a crap about his verbiage? His presentation is the best you’ll find.