Nord User Forum

I currently have a Nord Lead A1, which would appear to be the ugly cousin that gets ignored as I can't find any patches online to buy for it and I suspect Nord might even delete it given how unpopular it is and, going by YouTube reviews, it's not even that good anymore.

So, my question is, should I buy a Wave 2 to replace it, but I'd only want to do this if I can find patches for it, more specifically, patches of well known 80s hits from the likes of: Van Halen, Duran Duran, Numan, Go West, Japan, Level 42, Pet Shop Boys,Prince, Simple Minds, Tears For Fears, for example.

Or would I be better off jumping ship and going for another make/model of synth?

Both A1 and W2 are synth that are designed to be programmed.
I understand you're more interested in buying commercial banks which is your choice, everybody has different synth approach !
I would check on the web which synth has the most of the sounds you're looking for (maybe NarfSound collections), it will give you a list of potential models.
I personnaly own a KingKorg for the 80s stuff. Not a king at programming sounds, but sounds damn good !
For smaller shows, I've very happy with the presets of the Stage 3 (somehow same engine as the Wave2) that give me a quick sound base that I tweak with the knobs. Having also the possibility to load 80s samples is very important !

Fred

MrWriter wrote: ↑05 Jun 2024, 08:51 I currently have a Nord Lead A1, which would appear to be the ugly cousin that gets ignored as I can't find any patches online to buy for it and I suspect Nord might even delete it given how unpopular it is and, going by YouTube reviews, it's not even that good anymore.

So, my question is, should I buy a Wave 2 to replace it, but I'd only want to do this if I can find patches for it, more specifically, patches of well known 80s hits from the likes of: Van Halen, Duran Duran, Numan, Go West, Japan, Level 42, Pet Shop Boys,Prince, Simple Minds, Tears For Fears, for example.

Or would I be better off jumping ship and going for another make/model of synth?

I recently purchased the entire suite of 80's material from Narf Sounds for my Nord Stage 4 -- couldn't be happier! I hadn't done much 80s material, and getting *all* the sounds right made a big impression on my bandmates. Not a Wave 2, but the synth section on the Stage 4 is a repackaging of the same design.

Narf Sounds don't do anything for the Nord Lead A1 or the Nord Wave . They only do for Stage 4 and Stage 3. So they are no good.

Need sounds for my existing A1, or if I can't find anything for that, but I can find for Wave 2 I'd consider buying the Wave 2, but the latter is the only other Nord I like the look of. Other than that, would be another brand altogether, but looking around the web for patches it's impossible to figure out the most popular synths that they are made for.

Synthcloud and Synthonia offer patches for the Wave 2. Not sure though if there are those included you are looking for, but worth having a look

If your style is more to use a large collection of preset, and apply small tweaks, may be you should look for another kind of machines, like the Yamaha MODX, or the Arturia Astrolab.

Wave 2 shine when you program it, import your own samples or other VI samples and have fun looking for your sound, may be while gigging.

But if you like to choose between a thousand presets covering various styles, there are better choices

Maurizio