Check out the A1, I had one for a little while but sold it because there was too much overlap with my VirusTI
The A1 sounds amazing is easy to come up with your own sounds, cheaper too.
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Just great!
Now I have zero chance offloading my A1 and L4r at a decent price 
It depends. The lead 5 could be a bust and they will come flocking to the 4. The lead 3 was like that at first. People didnāt like the sound to the point where the used nord lead 2 was coming back up in price
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Funny I sold my 4r because it overlapped my A1, Nord Drum 2 & NL2x rack combo.
Is the 5 definitely coming??
A new wave and/or modular from Nord would be exciting too.
The sound may have been questioned, but the Nord 3 user interface surely wasnāt.
It would have to be the best that has ever appeared on any hardware synth, still to this day imo. An absolute joy to program, and look at. Just beautiful. Amazing fm also.
It would be great if somehow the Nord 5 went back to those beautiful Nord 3/g2 illuminated knobs 
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Something to read while in the loo
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Haha yeah the Nord 3 split the Nord camp in half I reckon at the time.
I thought I was the only one at the time that loved it, it was different but equally awesome to its predecessors. Itās 4-op fm was heavenly and much more advanced than any Leadās before or after, and oh my, that user interface.
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Nord Lead 3 is still one of my main on-stage live synths. Yes, itās different to its predecessors, but it does its own thing and does it well imo.
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My NL4 is the one single synth Iāll never let go of, constant source of great sounds and always manages to surprise me and remind me why I love it so much.
Iāve had mine years and still feel like the honeymoon period, I truly am still very much in love with it.
I have an entire bank of single note atmospheres/environments that Iāve lost hours to just staring at nothing with my headphones on.
Only my modular can compete with that!
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I would wait for buying a Nord Lead until after Namm. Clavia usually announces new instruments at Namm. The Nord Lead A1 and 4 are the only instruments in their whole lineup which havenāt been updated. They released new Leads in 3-4 year periods. Itās now nearing 6 years without update, so I rather expect a new version.
Many of their instruments got OLED displays so I expect the Leads to get them too. Especially great for preset/category browsing.
Nord Stage 3s synth section could give a good hint what to expect for a new Nord Lead.
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Very sound advice, both historic and strategic.
You canāt afford to blow your beans so close to the new unveiling that gets us all so fizzed up like a wasp in a jarā¦
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Yea what if it does sample import, wavetable, FM, and SID emulation. And itās a red and sexy. Hmmm
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All these years later and no NL5. Luckily Iām still happy with my 4.
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Same w one exception - I want a software update to include the A1ās ensemble effect! 
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I love the concept of the leads!
I do have a NL2 and am wondering If it is worth it to update to a A1 or NL4 the only real thing i have against NL2 is the low patch memory.
What do NL4 for and A1 owners think of their synths?
I have them both (and a 2x and had a 3)
The A1 is top tier. So much fun, so flexible, a giant sweet spot. Canāt say enough good about it. The 4 is fantastic too. I love it. I would go for the A1. Itās phenomenal and usually a bit cheaper.
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what is it you feel is different? if im not mistaken on paper the 4 is ābetterā than A1
I wouldnt say either is definitively better than the other.
Overall, IMO, I vote the A1 sounds better in a HiFi way, but the L4 sounds better in a good dark way.
The 4ās controls are laid out like a traditional (subtractive) synth which for me made it better to work with.
The A1ās has a āstreamlinedā control layout, which I still cant love, but have no hate issue with.
The A1 has unique OSC features, which the 4 does not. So it could be argued that the A1 has more possibilities?
ā¦also, the A1 has the very nice OSC Shape mod (like on the DSI Rev.2), which I almost always use on the Rev.2. The A4 does not have it.
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Read that people also seem to prefer the fx on the A1. But not sure. Iāve considered these two synths for years. Always loved the 2xā¦
And you often read the A1 is more analogish and bread and butter, lotās of sweet spots, while the 4 is more on the experimental side. But again just something I got from various forums
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I just love the 4 so much.
the 4 note chord mode is great
the impulse morphs are highly underrated (7 RYTM scenes PER timbre, on a polyphonic synth, people, cmon!)
the modulation section has loads more capability than all other Nords except for the NL3, and yet it is still incredibly fast to dial in. Really NL3 and NL4 have the most expertly designed modulation sections with the perfect balance of form and function , IMO. Not as deep as an Elektron A4 or Sequential Rev2/Pro2, but deeper than most Rolands, and no āunder the hoodā stuff or matrix to fuss with. I really just think they took that simplicity too far with the A1. And ditching chord memory was a mistake.
The A1 is a great sounding synth, but the corners that were cut were too close to the skin for my comfort.
Also, somewhat tangential, @tr909 and I were chatting the other day about how the Wave 2 is more of an āA2ā than a Wave 2. When looking at it in that light, it is more appealing.
Each Nord has something special, though. The Wave 1ās quick bitimbral scheme and phase modulation were things I leaned on heavily when it was in my studio. If I had a NL3, I imagine Iād lean heavily on the dual filter, stack mode, and loopable mod envelope/3rd LFO.
But if I gotta choose only one (and I did), itās the NL4. I think in the context of most mixes, the sonic differences between each one are too small to consider. So better to go with the one that has the unique features that you gravitate to most. For me its 4 note chord mode, a great modulation section, and impulse morphs. For others, it might be onboard chorus/delay/reverb.
These days prices for the 4 and A1 are about the same, give or take $50. And that has been the case no matter if its rack or keyboard youāre looking for.
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