Then it’s no wonder you are considering a second!
2 Likes
I have the big one. It sounds fantastic, it’s so versatile in how it can sound. Often I don’t use the Formant filter at all, the oscs alone are such great sculpters. It’s great to have all these different sources (Add, FM, etc.) in one patch. So, in that respect the mini is absolutely highly recommended.
That said, part of the immense FUN the big Modor gives me is the UI. It’s just laid out brilliantly and it works like a charm. I never touched the presets, all I do is dial in the INIT and twist away. It’s just so much fun. I’m thinking of getting rid of the Microwave XT, which is knobby, but far from this immediate…
So, if you have the cash and space (it’s BIG!), get the big brother, even if there’s no difference soundwise.
3 Likes
The UI is definitely far better on the bigger unit. Think of how awesome two of the mini’s would be though; two sounds at once, 16 voices, still less of a footprint than the larger unit… I’m so tempted
As I was playing with the Modor last night, I came to realize how much I like the envelopes. You can really dynamically shape them; I was getting rhythmic effects with a pad similar to what I can get when messing with a side-chained compressor.
Also, I wish there was a unison mode. I guess I’m not sure how much I need it, considering how big sounds can get with just the 3 oscillators. But it seems odd not to have.
Just want to chime with some Modor love as well.
I don’t travel/play out, so the form factor of the larger NF-1 was less critical. I do love the multitude of dedicated controls and as someone else said, I tend to always start with the Init patch, edit wherever the machine leads me, then save that off. It really is that fast and fun to use.
As noted, the sound is very interesting. You can get light airy pads, interesting quirky jumping sounds, nice vocalish formant stuff, and even some solid deep bass sounds. The fact that it’s not multi-timbral and that I had space (and most important - cash from other gear sales) meant that I ended up picking up a second NF-1.
There is so much interesting functionality packed into it - even odd things like being able to loop the VCA envelope means you can modulate the overall level with something else and get these nice pulsing type sounds.
Other oddities - you can actually change the formant frequencies via MIDI CCs and if you ‘go out of bounds’ the engine calculating the result glitches in a cool way. Keeping close to the preset values allows you to subtly shape the current formant while playing just by sending different CCs.
Question for anyone that has/had the original and now has the NF-1m – is the 1m noticeably less noisy or about the same and the NF-1?
4 Likes
Wow, I haven’t tried that CC trick yet, will explore this! I don’t use the Formant filter all that much actually.
I’m curious about the performance of the new DAC as well…
BTW, I made two NF-1 only tracks, multitracking:
6 Likes
nice stuff. Here’s something I did as well. A bit long, but well, you know.
All sounds were Modor except the vocals which were (I think) from the Nord Electro 5D.
3 Likes
Ha. I just bought a second one right now. This will be the first time I’ve owned two of the same synth in all my life. I can’t recall how the DACs sounded on the bigger Modor too well, but the ones on the mini are nice, loud, bright, with no noticeable noise. I also really like that the volume clicks when turned all the way down to power off the unit.
1 Like
The only thing keeping me from buying one is my lack of polyphonic hardware MIDI sequencer.
My Gotharman Fuzion has a great one. I plan on having the Fuzion sequence both Modors and running them through its two inputs (while adding effects, additional filters, etc. from the Fuzion as well). Once my KordBot arrives, that’ll be the finishing touch for controlling my Fuzion, playing arpeggios and such while recording them to the Fuzion’s sequencer.
1 Like
The idea of controlling 2 Modor mini’s with a Digitakt also sounds like a ton of fun, and has definitely crossed my mind as well.
1 Like
Also, that RDJ Tats interview, with the discussion about alternate tunings & scales, was really inspiring for me. The Modor has a way of messing with scales, using quarter tones, that can be saved for each patch. I want to try messing around with this.
4 Likes
I had a little gas for this but resisted buying it because I had no sequencer to use it with but now that I have a DIgitakt, this is very tempting… The Original is beautiful, although I absolutely don’t have the space for it, if I go with one, that will be the mini.
Anyone has demos of the Digitakt nf1 combo ? It must be so much fun to sequence full pads in the background of a nice Digitakt beat, or feed whatever sound comes out of this. I’m in love with digital “synths”, all my Euro oscillators are digital and there’s endless sonic exploration in there.
BTW: Just noticed that Perfect Circuit has some surprising deals right now for the NF-1m.
- NF-1m + Korg SQ-1 for $699 (SQ-1 and a MIDI cable for $40!)
- NF-1m + Keystep for $679 (that’s a keystep and MIDI cable for $20!)
I was just checking to see if they had any random deal going on with the NF-1m and saw these.
I’ve been playing my Octatrack with the TG-33 recently and that has me more in love than ever with the possibilities between an OT and a digital synth; but the TG-33 has relatively little CC automation and hard to do really custom sounds. So it’s got me hankering for the NF-1m again as companion. Especially because now I really want to abuse its delay.
1 Like
The two bundle deals caught my attention as well. I’m liking all the NF-1 sound demos I’ve heard so far. I also like the size/performance ratio.
As far as bundles go, the SQ-1 probably has better interoperability with my MS-20 Mini. The Keystep OTOH has the polyphonic sequencers and 64-step pattern capacity.
1 Like
Damn, I slept on the bundle deals too long, and now both are gone.
Oh well, probably for the best as I’ve been planning to get my Emu Command Station repaired soon. Of course it’s a different synth but what it has in common is a filter that’s unique to that manufacturer.
The bundles are back. I just ordered the NF-1m + SQ-1 bundle. Looking forward to getting this thing and having it become friends with 
and 
.
Went with the SQ-1 as it’s battery powered and compact. I fear the SQ-1 as it feels like it gives me an excuse to get back into Eurorack (between it and the A4’s CV sequencing). But much of what interests me in Eurorack are digital modules anyways and I think the Modor, the , and the OP-1 (and probably an Organelle soon) will have all of my tuned delay / FM / glitched delay / comb filter / formants / pseudo-physical-modeling needs met.
Waaa. FedEx was supposed to deliver my NF-1m today and now it’s marked as “delivery exception” and I hope someone smarter can find my office on Monday. Was really looking forward to playing it this weekend! Now I just have to go around and post my pouting 
Finally got it last night! Seems like a really nice build. I threw together a custom patch (fm bells with some additive layers) last night and have only played it with my also-new Korg SQ-1, which made it easy to add a PO-32 and record this quick little jam:
Initial thoughts: the controls and patch editing is not too bad for a compact unit. There are dedicated buttons for getting to the oscillators, envelopes, filters, etc, and many of those allow editing of multiple units (ie, oscillators 1 and 3; envelopes 2, 3, and 4) at once. It helps that I’ve been reading a bit of the manual (which is focused on the full size unit) so I understand a bit of how its synth engine works.
There is an extended ‘parameters’ menu that is a fallback for things that couldn’t fit in the main UI. Which is understandable, but the FM Mod and Carrier settings (which also impact the Additive waveform) are buried in here, and its those extended controls for the FM/FBFM/Add waves that made this synth more interesting to me. Those controls are easily accessed on the full-size model, but take a bit of digging to get to on the mini.
I really look forward to pairing this up with my Elektrons. I’ve got a show next week so they’re all set up for rehearsals. Once the show is done, I think it’ll be fun to sit on the couch with this and the or even . Great little compact unit. I think I could have some fun coming up with a small setup of just Octatrack, DSI Evolver for monosynth, and NF-1m as poly.
2 Likes
Software editor now available from Modor. For macOS currently, Windows and Linux listed as ‘coming soon’.