I am wondering if someone have or tried Nord Lead 4? What are your thoughts so far?
I really liked the sounds, especially in this demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sS8MF6VNhI
I’ve given one a go in a shop.
It sounds great, but since I own NL3, Wave and a G2, there are some things I’m not keen on.
No LCD display for menu navigation, patch selection etc.
No aftertouch. This is a real pain for me since I’ve become used to using aftertouch for vibrato (leaving the mod-wheel for things like filter etc.).
It’s very odd to my that Clavia would leave aftertough off their flagship. I can understand the LCD thing easier since that minimalism was part of the original Nord Lead aesthetic.
BTW are you still doing goa trance & related stuff these days, or exploring different musical horizons?
So long as it’s got a progressive / psychedelic edge, it’s of interest to me. 
I think everyone stopped calling it Goa in the late 90s!
I’ve got a few projects on the go, but they’re all going slower than ideal due to life getting in the way.
Mostly playing with Pascal OVNI, co-writing and playing guitars, synths or percussion live. We’ve got a 145BPM dancey live set and Pasc’s usual downtempo stuff too.
I did a year-ish’s stint as keyboard / synth player with Here & Now (a.k.a. Planet Gong), but couldn’t get enough free time to rehearse in London and tour.
I’ve also been recording acoustic instruments for inclusion in new material, e.g. Dr. Q. on Hurdy Gurdy. That’s a challenge. 
1 Like
The Richard Devine presets are really interesting and tweekable on NL4
http://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/product-libraries/synthesizers/nord-lead-4/nord-lead-4-richard-devine-bank
Hard to get it wrong with these soundwise, IMO. I prefere rack version because the keyboard is rather bad but I tend to prefere rack version with most of the synths so maybe it’s just me. Plus they can go with very reasonable prize secondhand. The interface is not so good as for NL3 but then again you dont have the stability problems of NL3.
2 Likes
Do you have go to external effects you use with it?
Nord 4’s effects are mediocre. No better or worse than most hardware synths.
I always bypass my hardware synths effects and use top plugins in my daw.
The only hardware synth I haven’t done that is the Peak. The reverb is sublime
1 Like
What plugins would those be? Should I join the peak cult?
Oh man so many amazing plugs.
Eventide complete bundle with all reverbs is insane.
The reverbs are next level. Replaced my H7600 with this bundle.
Soundtoys bundle I go to for all enhancement, up to distortions
Fabfilter plugs are incredible. Eq’s best I’ve used
Slate compressors are really good also
These are just a few of my favs off the top of my head
As for Peak, it’s really good. I really like it.
Big round organic, analog, digital sound.
Filter fm is awesome.
As mentioned incredible reverb, nearly sounds like an Eventide.
Best to try before buy if you can
2 Likes
The Nord range since the beginning has always been my favourite completely digital synth though.
Love the filters, and Nord FM rules. Tears your speakers in half 
3 Likes
I have a nord drum 2 already. Maybe the 4 could be my companion in the tardis. I just like their red paint for some reason. Namm is only a few weeks away. I have a prophet 6 already yet I lust for the lead 4. A1 looks good too
1 Like
I have had every Nord ever made, including both the A1 and the 4.
The 4 is better due to proper envelopes, more modulation options and more FM options. The A1 has abbreviated synthesis options which surprisingly still work really well. The A1 effects are maybe slightly better, but they’re still not great anyway.
My advice is to spend a little extra for the 4 over the A1. It has slightly deeper synthesis which wins in the end.
And yes worth it alone for that red paint. It’s fast
1 Like
I used to have a Nord Lead 3. Always sounded cold to me and still does. Same with Waldorf stuff, just doesn’t do it for me. Was great for hard or aggressive sounds with distortion, or smooth, glassy sounds. It didn’t have effects either which kinda sucked. Never compared to a virus as an all round/general synth, but I guess thats why it has Lead in its name. Would love to have one with an 88 key weighted keyboard.
…but if you’re after cold and glassy, that’s a good thing.
3 Likes
old thread, but maybe someone can help me here with this…
how is the 4r’s FM-architechture in comparsion with the DN?
i already have a Nord Drum 2, which i immediately fell in love with, and sequence it through my OT, together with a 0-Coast for bass / “bleepy” stuff and getting more and more interested in the endless realms of FM-synthesis.
it’s important to me to have lots of tweaking-possibilities via MIDI-CC to control it easily with the OT, but it’s hard to find stuff that goes beyond synthwave when i look at youtube-videos of both.
only exception is this guy, who’s works i really like soundwise:
-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHZienJkvK8
but is the 4r also strong in those more aggressive/dark timbres?
would love to hear some examples 
Too many $$ for a bad keyboard.
Only 2 op fm but Nord fm is one of my favourites.
Really aggressive. You can tear your speakers in half combined with its awesome filters.
The lead 4 is great. The interface is fantastic.
2 Likes
There’s about 10 (free) artists sound banks on their site…
https://www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/product-libraries/synthesizers/nord-lead-4/nord-lead-4-asl-bank
By the way, I think the Rack model is out of production now?
Yep, cause the Nord 5 is coming 
1 Like