Clavia nord lead Owner's Manual
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Clavia nord lead Owner's Manual

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Owners Manual

Software Version 2.x – English
© Clavia DMI AB 1996

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  • Page 1: Owners Manual

    Owners Manual Software Version 2.x – English © Clavia DMI AB 1996...

  • Page 2: Important Safety Instructions

    The lighting flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to CAUTION presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to DO NOT OPEN persons.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Clavia on the Net ........
  • Page 4 Using Nord Lead With a Sequencer ........
  • Page 5 Table Of Contents Page 3 About Subtractive Synthesis Introduction ................73 The Building Blocks .
  • Page 6 Page 4 Table Of Contents...

  • Page 7: Introduction

    1. Introduction Welcome! We’d first like to thank you and congratulate to the purchase of a Nord Lead. You’re about to begin a journey into the world of virtual analog synthesis. Analog because the Nord Lead mimics traditional an- alog synthesizers in a way no one thought was possible. Virtual because the Nord Lead is actually a dig- ital instrument, remaining true to the traditional analog concept, and still managing to go beyond it!.
  • Page 8 Page 6 Introduction...

  • Page 9: Connections

    If you are using a Nord Rack together with a MIDI keyboard, connect a MIDI cable from MIDI Out on the keyboard to MIDI In on the Nord Rack. All signal cables used with the Nord Lead must be shielded. The L/R Outputs are line level.

  • Page 10: Connecting A Pedal

    If the Pedal input should be used as a replacement for the modulation wheel, an “expression” pedal with a “stereo cable” should be used. Pedal R out L out Headphone For information on how to set the Nord Lead up for sustain or expression pedal, see page 17.

  • Page 11: Basic Operations

    Please note that some of the demo songs make use of 12 voices, and will therefore only be played back on an expanded Nord Lead. If you use a 4-voice Nord Lead, you will not be able to select these demo...

  • Page 12: Basic Midi Settings For The Nord Rack

    Page 10 Basic Operations Basic MIDI Settings for the Nord Rack If you are using the Nord Rack and controlling it from a MIDI keyboard, the Nord Rack must be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the keyboard transmits on. To get started, proceed as follows: 1.

  • Page 13: Selecting Programs

    Page 11 Selecting Programs Program are sounds that you have prepared in advance. The basic memory in the Nord Lead contains 99 Programs . 40 of these can be used for storing your own Programs, see below. There are also four Program slots labelled A to D. The slots can be used for layering and quickly switching between programs as described below.

  • Page 14: Selecting Percussion Kits

    Page 12 Basic Operations Selecting Percussion Kits In addition to the 99 Programs in the basic memory, there are 10 Percussion Kits . Each Percussion Kit consists of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds, arranged in zones across the keyboard. The Kits are located “above”...

  • Page 15: Layering

    Basic Operations Page 13 Layering Activating You can play more than one Program at a time. Proceed as follows: 1. Set up the Program slots to play the Programs you want to use. 2. To activate more than one Program slot, simply press all the Program Slot buttons you want to use, at the same time.

  • Page 16: Selecting Performances

    33. This text is only meant as a quick introduction to playing the factory Performances. 1. If you have the rack version of the Nord Lead, make sure you transmit on MIDI Channel 1. This is because the factory Performances are set to receive on MIDI Channel 1.

  • Page 17: Monophonic And Polyphonic Operation

    The complex answer is that this depends on the Out Mode settings as described on page 57. However, the simple truth is that in the basic mode, which the Nord Lead is set to when it comes from the factory, all Programs are in mono.

  • Page 18: Master Tune

    The table on page 66 shows you how many semi-tones each value in the display represents. If the Pitch Stick should be malfunctioning on startup, the display will scroll the message “PITCH BEND ERROR.”. The Nord Lead will then work as usual, but the Pitch Stick will be disabled. Modulation Wheel The effect of moving the Modulation wheel can be different for each Program.

  • Page 19: Pedal

    3. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to switch the right digit to “E”. This tells the Nord Lead that the connected pedal is supposed to be an expression pedal. Now it’s time to assign a control function for the pedal: 4.
  • Page 20 Page 18 Basic Operations 9. ‘Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select one of the following control functions: Display shows: Pedal assigned to: LFO 1 Amount. LFO 2 Amount. Filter Cutoff Frequency. FM Amount. Oscillator 2 Pitch. 10. After you have made your choice, press Store again. You return to the “E”...

  • Page 21: The "Panic" Button

    The “Panic” button If notes “get stuck” or the Nord Lead behaves strangely all you need to do is hold down the Shift button and press “Panic” (the Kbd Track button in the Filter section). This will execute an internal All Notes Off, and reset certain parameters to normal values.
  • Page 22 Page 20 Basic Operations...

  • Page 23: Editing Programs

    Editing Programs Page 21 4. Editing Programs Changing An Existing Program Actually, how to change a programmed sound can be described in one sentence: “twist the knobs and press the buttons”. It is as simple as that! For information about editing Percussion Kits, refer to page 30. Don’t be afraid to edit and overwrite the RAM Programs in the internal memory (Program 01 - 40).

  • Page 24: Using Manual Mode

    If you want to use the front panel to make up a sound from scratch, press the Manual button. This leaves you with exactly the sound that the knobs and buttons on the panel indicate (just as if the Nord Lead was an old non-programmable instrument).

  • Page 25: Storing Programs

    Editing Programs Page 23 Storing Programs Storing is done identically regardless if you are saving an edited Program or if you are saving from Manual mode. Saving a Program will permanently overwrite an existing Program. Be careful so that you don’t acciden- tally erase a Program you’d like to keep! However, there is no danger of permanently losing the Factory Programs in RAM locations 01-40, since these are backed up as ROM Performances (see page 106).

  • Page 26: Using Pcmcia Cards

    Nord Lead is simply a waste of money. Formatting of New Cards For the Nord Lead to be able to use a new PCMCIA card, it has to be formatted. The instrument will do this for you, if you perform the following steps: 1.

  • Page 27: Programming Velocity Sensitivity

    2. Press the Active Set button in the Velocity/Morph section. The LED over the button will flash, indicating that the Nord Lead is in “Velocity Learn” mode. 3. Turn the knob to the value you want it to have at maximum striking force.
  • Page 28 Page 26 Programming Velocity Sensitivity The Velocity/Morph LED is now lit to indicate that at least one parameter in the sound is velocity depend- ant. What you have done now is to set the range, the span within which the parameter will change with velocity.

  • Page 29: Clearing Velocity Programming For One Knob

    Programming Velocity Sensitivity Page 27 Moving the Range As explained above, step 1 to 4 sets the range of the parameter, how far it should be between the mini- mum and maximum values. If you then turn a knob that has been programmed for velocity sensitivity, without holding any buttons or anything, you will adjust the minimum value only and the maximum value will move with it, accord- ingly.

  • Page 30: Morphing

    Morphing is a term used to describe a continuous blend or “transfer” between two images, sounds or sim- ilar. As described above, Nord Lead’s Velocity/Morph function is normally controlled by velocity. But you can route the function to the modulation wheel instead which allows you to continuously fade between two sounds –...

  • Page 31: Percussion Kits

    Page 29 6. Percussion Kits The Nord Lead Percussion Kits consist of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds, arranged in zones across the keyboard. They allow you to incorporate percussion patterns in your music without us- ing up more than one Nord Lead Program Slot.

  • Page 32: Editing The Sounds In A Percussion Kit

    There is one limitation when programming the percussion sounds: All of the sounds in a Percussion Kit will share the same LFOs. The Nord Lead will use the LFO rate, waveform and destination settings of the last played percussion sound.

  • Page 33: Copying, Extracting And Importing Individual Percussion Sounds

    Again, the destination Percussion Kit must be in one of the three Banks on a PCMCIA card. Saving Percussion Kits As already stated, an edited Percussion Kit cannot be saved internally in the Nord Lead. To save your changes, you have to use a PCMCIA S-RAM card: 1.

  • Page 34: Sys Ex Dumps Of Percussion Kits

    Page 32 Percussion Kits Sys Ex Dumps of Percussion Kits You can transmit and receive Sys Ex data that contains all settings for a single Percussion Kit, just as for a regular Program. However, there are a couple of things to note: You’ve got to initiate the dump from Program Mode, not from Performance mode! If you make a Sys Ex dump from Performance mode, the actual parameters of the Percussion Kit will not be included in the dump, only a reference to which Percussion Kit is used in the Performance.

  • Page 35: Performances

    Performances allow you to call up four Programs at a time in a live situation, or to recall complete setups when sequencing via MIDI. The Nord Lead comes with 100 Factory Performances in ROM. Some of these make use of two, three or four slots, while some are single-slot Performances, effectively serving as extra ROM Patches.

  • Page 36: Editing The Performance

    Page 34 Performances 2. If you want to select another Bank (A to L), hold down Shift and press the Up and Down buttons. 3. To select a Performance in the Bank use the Up and Down buttons. The Performance is instantly loaded and you can try it out. Use the Up/Down buttons to change Performance (indicated by the digit 1-9 to the right in the display).

  • Page 37: Extracting Single Sounds From A Performance

    The sound is stored as a regular Program. This can now be played as usual, or included in another Per- formance as described on the previous page. Saving a Performance To be able to save edited Performances, you need an expanded Nord Lead with a PCMCIA S-RAM card inserted. 1. Set up the Performance as desired.

  • Page 38: Exiting Performance Mode

    Page 36 Performances 4. If you change your mind at this point, press any of the Program Slot buttons. 5. If you decide to go ahead with overwriting the existing Performance, press Store again. The display stops flashing to indicate that the Performance has been saved. Programs in Performance Slots are actually saved complete with all parameter settings when the Perform- ance is saved.

  • Page 39: Panel Reference

    Panel Reference Page 37 8. Panel Reference Oscillator 1 Osc 1 Waveform Waveform This switches between on of three waveforms for Oscillator 1: Triangle: This is a waveform with only odd and not very strong harmonics. It is suitable for flute sounds and similar.

  • Page 40: Oscillator 2

    Page 38 Panel Reference Oscillator 2 Osc 2 Waveform –12 –24 –36 –48 –60 NOISE Semitones Noise colour KBD TRACK Fine tune Waveform The first three waveform alternatives for Oscillator 2 are identical to those of Oscillator 1, see above. But Oscillator 2 has one more waveform alternative: Noise and Noise Color: With Noise selected, Oscillator 2 produces noise rather than a pitched waveform.

  • Page 41: Settings For Both Oscillators

    This is classic “deep linear FM” as used in pure FM-based synthesizers. The FM function is a bit of depart from the “analog” concept of the Nord Lead, but as you will find, it is a very useful addition. In this FM implementation, OSC1 is being modulated by OSC 2. In FM speak, OSC 1 is the carrier and OSC 2 is the modulator.

  • Page 42: Amplifier

    Page 40 Panel Reference The easiest way to try this out is probably to activate Sync, and adjust the Tune setting for Oscillator 2 while holding down a note. When trying out Sync, make sure you listen to Osc2, since it is this that is affected by the changes! Modulation of Oscillator 2 pitch: Please note you can modulate the pitch of Oscillator 2 in various ways: from LFO 1, the Mod Env and from the Mod Wheel, for example.
  • Page 43 Panel Reference Page 41 The Amplifier Envelope consists of the Attack Decay, Sustain and Release parameters. The Amplitude En- velope is used to give the sound it’s basic shape (soft, slow, short, long etc.) for an introduction to enve- lopes, see page 84. Level Sustain (level)

  • Page 44: Filter

    Envelope amount Frequency The Filter is the most important section for shaping the overall timbre of the sound. Nord Lead’s filter can be switched between various types. It has the standard main Frequency and Resonance control. The At- tack, Decay, Sustain and Release parameters make up the Filter Envelope. These, together with the En- velope Amount knob, can be used to make the Filter frequency vary as the sound progresses, when you press and hold a key.
  • Page 45 Panel Reference Page 43 LP 24 dB: This is the classic synth filter used in the Minimoog and Prophet-5, among others. It cuts out high frequencies rather drastically (24db=4 poles). Amplitude Fc (Cutoff Frequency) Frequency HP 24dB: HP stands for high-pass. This filter is the opposite of the lowpass filter, that is it lets the high frequencies pass and cuts out low frequencies.
  • Page 46 Therefore, the notch filter in Nord Lead is combined with a 12dB Lowpass filter, resulting in a filter curve that looks like this:...

  • Page 47: Envelope Amount

    Panel Reference Page 45 Resonance This control is used to further adjust the characteristics of the Filter. If you are using the 12 or 24dB low pass filter, increasing resonance will emphasize frequencies around the set Filter Frequency, making the sound thinner. Further raising the knob will make the sound reso- nant to a point where the filter adds a ringing quality to the sound.

  • Page 48: Kbd Track

    Page 46 Panel Reference Let’s take another example of the relation between Frequency and Envelope Amount: If the Filter Fre- quency knob is already turned fully right, the Envelope Amount setting has no effect at all, since the filter is already fully open the moment you press the key. Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release These are the parameters for the Filter Envelope.

  • Page 49: Lfo 1

    Panel Reference Page 47 LFO 1 LFO 1 Waveform Destination OSC 1+2 OSC 2 FILTER P WIDTH Rate Amount LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. An LFO is an oscillator producing waveforms with a certain pitch, just like Oscillator 1 and 2. The differences are two: The LFOs produce waveforms with very low frequencies.

  • Page 50: Lfo 2/Arpeggiator

    Rnd Arp: In this mode (“ARP Up” and “Amp” LEDs lit), Nord Lead will create random arpeggios from the chords you play on the keyboard. This means that the notes in the chord are played back one at a time,...
  • Page 51 Panel Reference Page 49 Amt/Arp range When Osc 1+2 or Filter is selected for destination, this knob is used to control the amount of vibrato. When Echo is selected, this knob determines the number of echo repeats (0 – 8). When any type of arpeggio is selected, this knob is used to set the octave range of the arpeggio, as the panel indicates.

  • Page 52: Modulation Envelope

    Page 50 Panel Reference Modulation Envelope Mod env Destination FM AMT. OSC 2 Amount Attack Decay This is a simple type of envelope only comprising Attack, Decay and Amount controls. Level Amount (±) Time Attack Decay (time) (time) Attack This is used to set the time it takes for the envelope to reach “full level” after you have pressed a key. Decay When the attack phase is over, the envelope drops back to zero level.
  • Page 53 Panel Reference Page 51 OSC 2: When this is selected, the envelope changes the pitch of Oscillator 2. This can be used in a number of situations. For example: With Sync to create distinct sweeping sounds. With FM for effect type sweeps. To create “bleeps”...

  • Page 54: Mod Wheel Destination

    Page 52 Panel Reference Mod Wheel Destination LFO 1 OSC 2 FM AMT FILTER SHIFT MORPH This is used to decide what effect moving the Modulation wheel should have. LFO 1 When this is selected, the Mod Wheel adjusts the amount of output from LFO 1. This allows you to for example add vibrato with the mod wheel.

  • Page 55: Poly Legato Mono

    Panel Reference Page 53 Poly Legato Mono “play mode” Portamento switch and LEDs. POLY LEGATO MONO UNISON AUTO MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM The “play mode” switch is used for deciding exactly how your keyboard playing should be interpreted by the synthesizer: Poly: This mode allows you to play chords.

  • Page 56: Portamento

    Slot Octave Shift This mode will automatically be selected each time you turn on the Nord Lead. In this mode, the Octave Shift buttons affect the Program in the selected slot only. Notes sent to MIDI Out are not transposed. This means that in this mode, the Nord Lead can only send MIDI Notes over a range of 4 octaves.

  • Page 57: Shift Functions

    Shift Functions Page 55 9. Shift Functions Accessing The Shift Functions Some functions do not have dedicated buttons, but share buttons with other functions and settings. These are called the Shift Functions and are printed in blue on the front panel. Selecting a Shift Function 1.
  • Page 58 Page 56 Shift Functions Shift Function Listing The table below shows you what Shift Functions are available for each of the seven buttons and an ex- ample of what the display might look like for each function. TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PRG.CTRL.

  • Page 59: Tune (Master Tune)

    Tune (Master Tune) This is used to tune the Nord Lead to other instruments. “00” is normal 440Hz tuning. Lower pitches are indicated by a dot to the right of the number and values higher than normal pitch are indicated without a dot. The values are in cents (hundreds of a semitone).

  • Page 60: Local

    If one Unison and one non-unison Program are lay- ered, stereo is used. Mode 1 is not recommended when using the Nord Lead multitimbrally since one Program can be set to Unison and another not, which might lead to a stereo image you might not expect.

  • Page 61: Prog/Ctrl

    Nord Lead arpeggio is activated or not. Be sure to turn the Arpeggio MIDI Out feature off if you are using Nord Lead in Local Off mode and/or in a “Thru-loop” with a sequencer, other MIDI instruments etc! Under such conditions, the Arpeggio MIDI Out feature will either prevent the instrument from sounding at all, or cause a MIDI feedback loop.

  • Page 62: Global Midi Channel

    Page 60 Shift Functions 4. Use the Up/Down buttons to set the MIDI Channel. If you don’t want the slot to respond to or send MIDI, set it to “Off” (display shows “oF”). For more information on Program slots and MIDI Channels, see page 69. Global MIDI Channel This is the MIDI Channel used for transmitting and receiving Program Change messages for switching between Performances.

  • Page 63: Special

    Shift Functions Page 61 Special There are five special functions that make it possible to use MIDI for functions that have previously been reserved for users of analog modular synthesizer systems. Accessing the Functions 1. Hold down Shift and press Special. 2.
  • Page 64 10. Press Shift again to return to “normal mode”. 11. Set up your sequencer (or other MIDI device) to transmit MIDI clock to the Nord Lead. Set the tempo to around 120 BPM and activate Play in the device so that MIDI clocks are actually transmitted.
  • Page 65 Shift Functions Page 63 To set which MIDI Channel and possibly which MIDI note number to use for triggering, proceed as fol- lows: 1. Activate the function. In other words, set the display to “F.1”. 2. Press Store. The display shows the MIDI Channel currently used. Set the value with the Up/Down buttons. 3.
  • Page 66 Page 64 Shift Functions Do this by pressing the Special button repeatedly and check that the left digit in the display is set to “–” for all Functions except “F”. 14. Press Shift again to return to “normal mode”. If you play the keyboard now, you will not get any sound, because the Cutoff is all the way down, and the Filter envelope is no longer triggered by the keyboard.
  • Page 67 Shift Functions Page 65 An Example of External Velocity Morph 1. Select a Program for slot A. 2. Edit the Program so that you get a morphing effect you like when you move the modulation wheel. It is not actually necessary to assign the velocity programming to the Modulation wheel, but it is a prac- tical way to try out the effect before you apply it via MIDI.

  • Page 68: System

    Page 66 Shift Functions System Under this menu you will find three different functions, labelled “P”, “b”, and “U”. To select one of the functions, hold down Shift and press the System. Then press the System button re- peatedly until the left digit in the display shows the desired letter. Pedal (P) This is used to set how a connected pedal should be used.

  • Page 69: Midi

    Note On and Off messages are of course transmitted when you play the keyboard. If you use the Octave Shift buttons in their “Keyboard” mode (see page 54), you can shift the Nord Lead keyboard ± 2 octaves, giving you an effective keyboard range of 8 octaves.
  • Page 70 Page 68 MIDI 5. ‘Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select one of the following control functions: Display shows: Pedal assigned to: LFO 1 Amount. LFO 2 Amount. Filter Cutoff Frequency. FM Amount. Oscillator 2 Pitch. 6. After you have made your choice, press Store again. You return to the “t”...

  • Page 71: Using Nord Lead With A Sequencer

    Therefore, if you want the sequencer to control the four Program Slots independently (i.e. not in a layer), make sure only one of the Slots is active on the Nord Lead (only one Program Slot LED is lit)! 1. Set up the Program slots that you plan to use so that they transmit/receive on the desired MIDI Channels.
  • Page 72 Then you “rewind” the sequencer, to a position before the recorded filter opening. The problem is, that the Nord Lead’s filter will remain opened, although it really should be as it was before you recorded the filter opening. To solve such problems, several sequencers include a function called “chasing”, which keeps track of Controller changes and tries to adjust the settings on the instrument ac-...

  • Page 73: Bulk Dump

    3. Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device. If the dump contained a complete Bank, it will take the place of the selected Bank in the Nord Lead. If the dump contained one Program/Performance only, this will be put in the “edit buffer” of the active slot, instead of the Program/Performance you were playing.
  • Page 74 Page 72 MIDI...

  • Page 75: About Subtractive Synthesis

    The purpose of this chapter is to give you a quick introduction to this world of subtractive synthesis as used in he Nord Lead and its analog predecessors. If you’d like to know more, there are number of text books on the subject.

  • Page 76: Connections

    There are many ways in which the modules outlined above can be connected in a synthesizer, but the one in the picture below is a basic and common one, used in the Nord Lead (although the illustration depicts far from all the possibilities in this instrument!)
  • Page 77 In some cases this connection can be turned off, so that the oscillator always plays the same pitch, regardless of which key is pressed. In the Nord Lead, this can be done for Oscillator 2, by deacti- vating “Kbd Track”.
  • Page 78 Page 76 About Subtractive Synthesis The height of each line represents the amplitude of each harmonic. If you understand the principle, you also understand that if the harmonics with high numbers have a high amplitude, the sound will be perceived as bright. Let’s take a look at some common waveforms and their spectra.
  • Page 79 About Subtractive Synthesis Page 77 Pulse Wave The pulse wave is slightly more complicated, because it is not one waveform, it is many different ones. A pulse wave is a waveform that during one period jumps once between full positive amplitude and full negative and then back.The thing that can be varied is where within the period you jump from maximum to minimum amplitude.
  • Page 80 “hollow” quality. On many synthesizers (including the Nord Lead) the pulse width can be adjusted, to set the timbre of the pulse wave. The more narrow the pulse width, the more “thin” the sound will be.

  • Page 81: The Filter

    About Subtractive Synthesis Page 79 When sync is applied, the basic pitch of Oscillator 2 is locked to that of Oscillator 1. If you change the pitch of Oscillator 1 you will affect the basic pitch of both oscillators. Furthermore, when you vary the pitch of the synchronized oscillator (Oscillator 2), this will be perceived as a change in timbre, rather than in pitch.

  • Page 82: Filter Types

    There are many types of filters, all with their different purposes. We will here discuss the three most com- mon, the ones found in the Nord Lead. Lowpass filter: The Lowpass filter dampens high frequencies and let’s low frequencies pass through unaf- fected, as in the example above.
  • Page 83 Amplitude Fc (Cutoff Frequency) Frequency In the Nord Lead the Notch filter is combined with a 12 dB Lowpass filter, for greater musical versatility (see page 44). Roll-off Filters of one and the same type (lowpass, highpass etc) can have different characteristics. One of the factors determining the exact filter curve is the roll-off, which is measured in dB/Octave (“decibels per...

  • Page 84: Cutoff Frequency

    Page 82 About Subtractive Synthesis Cutoff Frequency The most important parameter for a filter is its cutoff frequency, which is the setting that determines where in the frequency material it should start cutting. If the cutoff frequency in a low pass filter is set to a very low value, only the lowest harmonics (the bass) will pass through.
  • Page 85 About Subtractive Synthesis Page 83 When you apply resonance, the frequencies just around the cutoff point of the filter will be emphasized (louder). As you increase the Resonance further and further, the filter will start to behave more an more like a bandpass filter, where only the frequencies around the cutoff point are let through.

  • Page 86: The Amplifier

    Page 84 About Subtractive Synthesis The Amplifier An amplifier is most often used at the final stage of a synth signal chain, to control volume. By modulating the amplifier with an envelope, the sound can be given its basic “shape”. In fact, the “volume shape” is one of the most important factors to how we identify the sound.
  • Page 87 About Subtractive Synthesis Page 85 After the envelope has reached full level, it starts to fall back again. How long this should take, is set with the Decay parameter. Level Time Attack Decay (time) (time) Key Down The level of the envelope does not necessarily have to fall all the way back to zero level at the end of the Decay.
  • Page 88 Page 86 About Subtractive Synthesis As described above, the envelope stays at the Sustain level until the key is released. It then falls back to zero level. The time it should take for this to happen is set with the Release parameter, which works just as the Decay, only it is not applied until you lift your finger off the keys.

  • Page 89: Lfos

    On the Nord Lead, the Modulation Envelope is of AD-type. Typically, it can be made to modulate the FM amplitude or the pitch of Oscillator 2, to create a different timbre during the attack part of the sounds.
  • Page 90 Page 88 About Subtractive Synthesis...

  • Page 91: Midi Implementation

    If you want to send Controllers to Percussion Kits, proceed with caution! The Controller message you send will affect the percussion sound that was last selected for editing, by pressing a black key on the keyboard (see page 30). Nord Lead Parameter MIDI Controller # MIDI Controller Name...
  • Page 92 Page 90 MIDI Implementation Nord Lead Parameter MIDI Controller # MIDI Controller Name Modulation Envelope Amount Undefined Osc 1 Waveform Undefined Osc 2 Waveform Undefined Osc 2 Semitones Sound Controller 9 Osc 2 Fine Tune LSB for Controller 1 Oscillator FM Depth...

  • Page 93: System Exclusive Implementation

    The Message Type and Message Specification bytes in the Sys Ex message contains information about from which location the Patch Dump was sent. When a Patch is sent to the Nord Lead, it will end up in this location.
  • Page 94 Program Location or the Edit Buffer will be stored, depending on the Message Type byte in the Request message. This will also determine where the Patch will be placed when it is sent back to a Nord Lead. Byte (Hex)
  • Page 95 (P0 to P9). Patch Dump Request This message is used for requesting the Nord Lead to transmit one Patch or Percussion Kit Dump Mes- sage. The Message Type and Message Specification are used to specify which Patch should be transmit- ted.
  • Page 96 When a valid Performance Request message has been received. This message should be sent to the Nord Lead when you want to replace a Performance currently in the instrument, with a new one. The Message Type and Message Specification then specify in which memory location the Performance should be stored.
  • Page 97 If Message Type = 41 or 42, then the Message Specification (00 to 99) corresponds to the Performance Number (A0 to L9). All Controllers Request This message instructs the Nord Lead to send all current Controller values for a specified Slot (see page 70). The message is never transmitted from the Nord Lead. Byte (Hex)
  • Page 98 Page 96 MIDI Implementation Patch and Performance Data Formats In the Patch and Performance Dump Messages, the Data Bytes contain the actual Patch/Performance set- tings. All parameters are in 8 bit format, 2s complement (=signed). Each Byte is Nybbleized and coded into two MIDI bytes, with the low Nybble transmitted first.
  • Page 99 MIDI Implementation Page 97 Size Offset Name Comment portamento_sens -128 gain_sens -128 modenvattack_sens -128 modenvdecay_sens -128 modenvlevel_sens -128 lfo1rate_sens -128 lfo1level_sens -128 lfo2rate_sens -128 arprange_sens -128 osc1waveform osc2waveform 3=noise sync filtertype osc2kbdtrack filterkbdtrack lfo1wave lfo1dest voicemode modwheeldest unison modenvdest auto filtervel octshift lfo2dest/arpmode...
  • Page 100 Page 98 MIDI Implementation "pgmselect [A,B,C,D]" "bankselect [A,B,C,D]" channel pressure amt. [A,B,C,D] channel pressure dest. [A,B,C,D] expression pedal amt. [A,B,C,D] expression pedal dest. [A,B,C,D]...

  • Page 101: Factory Settings

    Factory Settings Page 99 13. Factory Settings Factory Programs Programs 1-40 are in the RAM bank, Programs 41-99 are in ROM. Program Name Program Name Program Name Sawbrass String pad Acid 2 Velocity strings Solo pulse legato bass Resonance pad Space pad Black Hole Hard string pad...

  • Page 102: Factory Percussion Kits

    Page 100 Factory Settings Factory Percussion Kits Percussion Kit P0 Percussion Kit P1 Percussion Sound Percussion Sound Zone 1 Zone 1 Acoustic kick Surdo drum Zone 2 Zone 2 Snare drum Latin snare Zone 3 Zone 3 Hi-hat Low tom Zone 4 Zone 4 Low tom...
  • Page 103 Factory Settings Page 101 Percussion Kit P4 Percussion Kit P5 Percussion Sound Percussion Sound Zone 1 Reverb kick Zone 1 909 kick Zone 2 Zone 2 Paper snare 909 snare Zone 3 Zone 3 Hi-hat Zone 4 Zone 4 Low tom Bongo hi Zone 5 Zone 5...

  • Page 104: Factory Performances

    Page 102 Factory Settings Factory Performances Performance Name Performance Name Bellbrass pad Acid clock Heavy sync sweep Future pipe Big lead Stereo Pad Orchestra bell Wheel lead Pulse sweep with a twist Expressive Lead Reverb choir Techno song Majestix Brass pad Arpeggiator string pad Saw Sweep Plucking pad...

  • Page 105: About The Organ Sounds

    . In the Nord Lead organ sounds, the oscillators are used to generate the partials. In some cases, there is a direct “one oscillator - one drawbar” relation; other sounds use more complex waveforms to simulate up to three combined partials with one oscillator.
  • Page 106 In the organs, the sound came from oxidation on the key switches; in the Nord Lead you can add or remove the click as desired. All of the Nord Lead organ Performances has the click sound on Slot D, although it is by default turned off for some of the sounds.

  • Page 107: About The Prophet-5 Factory Sound Recreations

    Over 40 of the 120 original factory sounds from the classic vintage “Prophet 5” synthesizer have been faithfully recreated and stored in the Factory Performances of the Nord Lead. You find the Prophet sounds in Performance memory locations H8 to J9.

  • Page 108: Restoring The Factory Programs In Ram

    Page 106 Factory Settings Restoring the Factory Programs in RAM Don’t hesitate to replace the Factory Programs in RAM locations 01 to 40 with sounds of your own! The Factory Programs are duplicated in ROM Performances L0 to L9, as listed below. To extract one of these sounds from its Performance, and store it as a Program, follow the instructions on page 35.

  • Page 109: Midi Implementation Chart

    MIDI Implementation Chart Page 107 14. MIDI Implementation Chart Model: Clavia Nord Lead (Keyboard and Rack) Date: 96 03 21 Version 2.x Function Transmitted Recognized Remarks Basic Default 1 – 16 1 – 16 Channel Channel 1 – 16 1 – 16...
  • Page 110 Page 108 MIDI Implementation Chart...

  • Page 111: Index

    Index Index Aftertouch 67 Decay Amount Amplifier 41 LFO 1 48 Filter 46 LFO 2 49 Introduction to 85 Mod Envelope 50 Mod Envelope 50 Amplifier Demo Play 9 Envelope 40 Destination Introduction to 73 LFO 1 47 Triggering Envelope via MIDI 64 LFO 2 48 Amplitude Envelope 40 Mod Envelope 50...
  • Page 112 Index Kbd Track (Keyboard Tracking) Octave Shift 54 Filter 46 Oscillator 1 37 Osc 2 39 Oscillator 2 38 Oscillators, Introduction to 73 Out Mode 15 Outputs 7 L out 7 Layering 13 Layers Playing via MIDI 69 PCMCIA Cards 24 Legato 53 Pedal LFO 1 47...
  • Page 113 Index R out 7 Rate LFO 1 47 LFO 2 48 Release Amplifier 41 Filter 46 Introduction to 86 Resonance 45 Semitones 38 Shift Functions 55 Special Functions 61 Stereo Out Mode 57 Output 15 Store Performance 35 Program 23 Sustain Amplifier 41 Filter 46...
  • Page 114 Index...

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