OT + ND2 | tips & tricks

As I recently got a ND2 to pair with OT I’m curious to hear about your setup and workflow. I’m new to sequence via MIDI so it’s helpful (for me and others, I guess) to have different tipps, ideas and tricks listed.

I found a quote by AdamJay in thread »Nord Drum 2 Hestitation« and think this is way to go in here.

Try setting the OT’s first six midi tracks to 1-6, so that they match the Nord Drum’s six channels/sounds. Set the note for each one note 60 (C4?). This way, each track will play correctly if you add basic trigs. After setting up that starting point, you can plock different notes, allowing you to play each Nord Drum sound chromatically. Some of the most fun CC parameters (on each respective channel) to get you started with plocks and LFOs: tone decay (CC50), tone spectra (30), noise decay (21), noise filter frequency (14).

I don’t have an OT yet, though I think I get the basic architecture - love my ND2 to pieces - so any OT owner, feel free to correct me if I’ve got it wrong.

Edit - just realised AdamJay’s quote covers some of the same stuff - hope what I wrote is helpful :slight_smile:

PS, if you don’t already have one, grab a pad controller for the ND2 - I have the Nord Pad and also an Akai MPD controller when I want to mix it up - it’s so expressive playog live - you could easily approach it from a different angle and play it live into the OT’s pickup machines

1 Like

thanks for that! here is a list with MIDI CC # for the ND2

MIDI CC Numbers | MIDI CC Parameter

0 Bank Select MSB
7 Level
10 Pan
14 Noise Filter Frequency
15 Noise Filter Type
16 Noise Filter Envelope
17 Noise Filter Resonance
18 Noise Attack/Rate
19 Noise Atk Mode
20 Noise Decay Type (E, L, G)
21 Noise Decay
22 Noise Decay Lo
23 Dist Amount
24 Dist Type
25 EQ Frequency
26 EQ Gain
27 Echo Feedback
28 Echo Amount
29 Echo BPM MSB
30 Tone Spectra
31 Tone Pitch MSB
32 Bank Select LSB
46 Tone Wave
47 Tone Timbre Decay
48 Tone Punch
49 Tone Decay Type (L, E)
50 Tone Decay
51 Tone Dec Lo
52 Tone Timbre
53 Tone Timb Envelope
54 Tone Bend Amount
55 Tone Bend Time
56 Click Level
57 Click Type
58 Mix Balance
59 Mute Group
61 Echo BPM LSB
63 Tone Pitch LSB
70 Channel Focus

1 Like

Worth printing off the cc numbers and sticking them on the underside of the ND2 (if it’s not mounted).

1 Like

I’ve probably asked this before in the other thread, but how are people getting along with the fact that the OT sends CCs after notes? Is it annoying or just a non-issue? If you’re trying to Plock parameters on a short note?

1 Like

Microtiming a trigless trig?
Obviously won’t suit every situation but…

Oh that sounds terrible. Would be shitty with the Nord Drum. Can anyone confirm this?

I know you can do this sort of workaround, but I’m really wondering whether people find that to be a hassle during day-to-day use or not.

1 Like

The cc slightly after the note has never been an issue for me, I’ve never even used a trigless trig to get round it.
The ND2 is so expressive/reactive to velocity that it’s hard to hold it against the OT.

I wouldn’t let this small issue put me off pairing both units, that’s the main thing!

Well it basically determines whether or not you can do plocks effectively, so I’d say it makes a huge difference. I have the ND2 at the centre of my setup, and this potential issue may stop me from considering an OT - actually glad to know as I’d probably end up extremely disappointed if the OT can’t do proper step automation with the ND2. Would very much like to hear from someone who’s tried it out. And does the DT have the same problem?

I have tried it out and like I said already it’s never been an issue, it’s only a problem if you are locking particular parameters, like attack, waveform etc.
There are plenty of OT+ND2 who are more than happy.

It would be interesting if someone actually measured the delay.

Thanks for the reply. Bummer. One of my main reasons for buying an OT would be plocking Nord Drum parameters . Are you saying it doesn’t work for all synthesis parameters? That would make sense as the ND only responds to Note-On, and you can’t modulate a sound once it’s playing, it needs to be sent with the note.

I’m sure it would still be a great combination, but it’s disappointing to hear it doesn’t do the one thing I want it to do.

i got a whopping 70ms of delay for the CC after the note*. that seemed to fix the specific problem, but made it too unpractical for finger drumming. But as you said, OT&ND2 are a great match.

*not an actual measurement, trial and error; may differ in other combinations

1 Like

regarding p-locking CCs or live recrording CCs, you shouldn’t notice any issues with the ND2 and OT (i have and use both).
the lag is practically non-apparent in this instance.

1 Like