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User Manual Nord Lead 2X

1. BANK 8 ROM BANK 9 ROM Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name 8 1 Prowler Bass 8 34 Knocky Electric Piano 8 67 Cricket Pad 9 1 FlangeBass 9 34 Pupi 9 67 Nervouzz 8 2 Aurora Borealis 8 35 Stereo Synth String Pad 8 68 Meep meep 9 2 Razorblade 9 35 JuiciPulse 9 68 Harpoon 8 3 Crisp n Snappy Bass 8 36 Delicate Bell 8 69 Delay Techno Res 9 3 Flageocello 9 36 BantuNoizz 9 69 Delayla 8 4 Crisp n Dark Bass 8 37 Noisy Bell 8 70 Delay Synth Bass 9 4 Syncopathy 9 37 Teabea 9 70 Conventor 8 5 Snappy Attack Bass 8 38 Alubasium 8 71 Delay Techno Squares 9 5 Morphyne 9 38 RoadReed 9 71 Schumi 8 6 Dark n Funky Bass 8 39 Mr Killer Synth Lead Bass 8 72 Delay Future Square 9 6 Bruss 9 39 RoadTone 9 72 Ravor 8 RUDE Bass 8 40 Super Secret Filter Pad 8 73 Delay Notch Sawtooth 9 7 Puncher 9 40 BumbleBees 9 73 Pulsebee 8 8 Euro Disco Bass 8 41 Tea five 8 74 Delay NIGHTMARE 9 8 Leader 9 41 TynDrum 9 74 U97 8 9 Velo Edge Bass 8 42 PWM Repeat Pad 8 75 Delay Noises 1 9 9 Kraftwerk 9 42 Moogger 9 75 Cavechant 8 10 Skip s Dark Bass 8 43 SAW Rap Lead 8 76 Delay Noises 2 9 10 Monsta 9 43 NerveBazz 9 76 Big hand 8 11 Secret Mission Bass 8 44 TRI Rap Lead 8 77 Delay Noises 3 9 11 Yupita 9 44 otNice 9 77 Alllaaaarrrm 8 12 ResoRave Bass 8 45 Attackforce 8 78 Del
2. Frequency NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Settings for both Oscillators SEMITONES This setting is used to adjust the tuning of Oscillator 2 relative to Oscillator 1 The setting is in semitone steps The range is from 5 octaves below Oscillator 1 to 5 octaves above Oscillator 1 However the full range may not be available depending on the Oct Shift setting see page 61 To aid you in setting the value the LED above the knob lights up when the tuning is in perfect octaves FINE TUNE This parameter is for tuning Oscillator 2 just as the SEMITONES KNOB is The difference is that this pa rameter operates within one semitone If you set the two oscillators to equal volume see Mix below make sure Sync and Ring Mod is turned off set the Oscillator 2 Semitones value to 0 and turn the FINE TUNE knob slightly the slight difference in pitch will make the sound richer The LED above the Sem itone knob will flash briefly when you set FINE TUNE to 0 KBD TRACK When this parameter is activated Oscillator 2 will have different pitches when you play different keys just as Oscillator 1 always does When this parameters is turned off Oscillator 2 will always play the same pitch There are mainly three situations when this is useful When Sync is activated in this mode the basic pitch of the sound is determined by Oscillator 1 any way When FM or Ring Modulation are used to get inharmonic sounds with very varying
3. Please note that if the Velocity function in the Filter section is activated the velocities of the incoming MIDI notes are routed to Filter Envelope amount This allows you to adjust the timbre of the sound with the velocity of the incoming MIDI notes AN EXAMPLE OF FILTER ENVELOPE TRIGGERING 9 Select a Program for Slot A that plays a stable sound with high sustain for example a string or pad sound Lower the Filter Cutoff FREQUENCY to 0 Raise the Filter ENVELOPE AMOUNT and adjust the Filter envelope so that the sound has a short snappy character Hold down SHIFT and press MIDI CH Set the MIDI Channel for Slot A to 1 Press each of the other SLOT buttons and set them to MIDI Channel 16 This is just to make sure they do not get used in this example Hold down SHIFT and press SPECIAL Press the SPECIAL button until the left digit in the DISPLAY reads F Make sure Slot A is selected Otherwise press the SLOT A button Use the UP DOWN buttons to set the value to F on 10 Press STORE Use the UP DOWN buttons to select MIDI Channel 2 11 Press STORE again and then the DOWN button to select any MIDI note number 12 Press STORE again Page 70 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 Shift functions Special 13 Make sure all other Special functions are turned off for this Slot Do this by pressing the SPECIAL button repeatedly and check that the left digit in the display is set to o
4. table below A Performance consists of five blocks The first four blocks contains the four Patches A to D This block is 528 MIDI Bytes 4 66 2 After this follows 180 90 2 of data for parameters local to the Performance See the Performance Data Format table on page 112 Page 110 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation PATCH DUMP FORMAT Size Offset Name Min Max Comment 1 0 osc2pitch 0 120 middle 60 1 1 osc2pitchfine 0 127 1 2 mix 0 127 1 3 cutoff 0 127 1 4 resonance 0 127 1 5 filterenvamt 0 127 1 6 pw 0 127 1 7 fmdepth 0 127 1 8 filterenvattack 0 127 1 9 filterenvdecay 0 127 1 10 filterenvsustain 0 127 1 11 filterenvrelease 0 127 1 12 ampenvattack 0 127 1 13 ampenvdecay 0 127 1 14 ampenvsustain 0 127 1 15 ampenvrelease 0 127 1 16 portamento 0 127 1 17 gain 0 127 1 18 modenvattack 0 127 1 19 modenvdecay 0 127 1 20 modenvlevel 0 127 middle 64 1 21 Ifolrate 0 127 1 22 Ifollevel 0 127 1 23 Ifo2rate 0 127 1 24 arprange 0 127 1 25 osc2pitch_sens 128 127 velocity morf sens 1 26 osc2pitchfine_sens 128 127 0 0FF 1 27 mix sens 128 127 1 28 cutoff sens 128 127 1 29 resonance sens 128 127 1 30 filterenvamt sens 128 127 1 31 pw_sens 128 127 1 32 fmdepth_sens 128 127 1 33 filterenvattack_sens 128 127 1 34 filterenvdecay_sens 128 127 1 35 filterenvsustain_sens 128 127 1 36 filterenvrelease_sens 128 127 1 37 ampenvattack_sens 128 127
5. 2 Scroll to the Program or Percussion Kit location to which you want to copy the percussion sound 3 If you have selected a regular Program to save the sound in just press STORE again 4 If you want to save the sound in a zone in a Percussion Kit hold down a black key in the destination zone and press STORE You may also want to import a sound that is currently a regular Program and use it as a part of a Per cussion Kit Proceed as follows 1 Select the Program and press STORE 2 Scroll to the Percussion Kit location to which you want to copy the sound 3 Hold down a black key in the zone to which you want to copy the sound and press STORE again SYSEX DUMPS OF PERCUSSION KITS You can transmit and receive SysEx data that contains all settings for a single Percussion Kit just as for a regular Program However there are a couple of things to note You ve got to initiate the dump from Program Mode not from Performance mode If you make a SysEx dump from Performance mode the actual parameters of the Percussion Kit will not be included in the dump only a reference to which Percussion Kit is used in the Performance Before receiving a Percussion Kit SysEx data dump you must select a Percussion Kit for the receiv ing Slot If you attempt to receive a Percussion Kit into a Slot which plays a regular Program nothing will happen Likewise you cannot receive regular Program SysEx data into a Slot which currently plays
6. 3 Use the UP DOWN button to set the Global MIDI Channel Note that the Global MIDI Channel should NOT be set to the same as any of the Slot s MIDI Channels to avoid conflicts For more information on the Global MIDI Channel see page 76 SPECIAL There are five special functions that make it possible to use MIDI for functions that have previously been reserved for users of analog modular synthesizer systems Page 67 9 Shift functions Special NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x ACCESSING THE SPECIAL FUNCTIONS 1 Hold down SHIFT and press SPECIAL 2 Press the Special button as many times is need to make the left digit in the display show the desired function 1 2 F A S Y and E 3 Select the Slot A to D that you want to make settings for 4 Use the UP DOWN buttons to set values the right digit The Special functions can be set up differently for each Slot and each Slot can use all and any of the Spe cial functions at the same time if desired FUNCTION 17 SYNCHRONIZING LFO 1 TO MIDI CLOCK For this to work you need to feed a MIDI Clock signal from a sequencer or similar into the MIDI In of the Nord Lead 2X and activate Play in the sequencer so that MIDI Clock is actually transmitted The function synchronizes LFO1 s start to the incoming MIDI Clock so that the LFO starts over at cer tain intervals Which interval to use is set with the parameter value Value Descriptio
7. 4 292 ampenvtrigmidichan A B C D 0 15 4 296 ampenvtrignotenr A B C D 23 127 23 off 4 300 morftrig A B C D 0 1 4 304 morftrigmidichan A B C D 0 15 4 308 morftrignotenr A B C D 23 127 23 off 1 312 bendrange 0 8 1 313 unisondetune 0 8 1 314 outmode cd outmode ab 0 3 Upper nybble mode for output c d 1 315 globalmidichan 0 15 not received 1 316 midiprogchange 0 1 not received 1 317 midicntrl 0 1 not received 1 318 mastertune 99 99 not received 1 319 pedaltype 0 2 not received 1 320 localcontrol 0 1 not received 1 321 Keyboard Octave Shift 0 4 not received 1 322 selected_channel 0 3 1 323 Arpeggio MIDI Out 0 1 not received 4 324 channel actived A B C D 0 1 4 328 pgmselect A B C D 0 98 4 332 bankselect A B C D 0 3 4 336 channel pressure amt A B C D 0 7 4 340 channel pressure dest A B C D 0 4 4 344 expression pedal amt A B C D 0 7 4 348 expression pedal dest A B C D 0 4 1 352 keyboard split 0 1 1 353 splitpoint 0 127 Page 112 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation MIDI Implementation Chart MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART Model Clavia Nord Lead 2X Keyboard and Rack Date 2003 04 01 Function Transmitted Recognized Remarks Basic Default 1 16 1 16 Channel Channel 1 16 1 16 Default Mode 3 Mode 3 Mode Messages X X Note 0 127 0 127 Number True Voice Cee 0 127 Velocity Note ON O v
8. Filter Envelope Attack 38 LSB for Controller 6 Filter Envelope Decay 39 LSB for Controller 7 Filter Envelope Sustain 40 LSB for Controller 8 Filter Envelope Release 41 LSB for Controller 9 Filter Mode 44 LSB for Controller 12 Filter Cutoff 74 Sound Controller 2 Timbre Filter Resonance 42 LSB for Controller 10 Filter Envelope Amount 43 LSB for Controller 11 Filter Velocity 45 LSB for Controller 13 Filter Keyboard Track 46 LSB for Controller 14 Filter Distortion 80 In addition to the above following controllers are used The Modulation wheel transmits and receives Controller 1 f the Pedal input is used with an expression pedal this is transmitted and received as Controller 11 f the Pedal input is used for sustain this is transmitted as Controller 64 Damper Pedal Bank Select messages are transmitted and received as Controller 32 Page 104 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE IMPLEMENTATION Numbers are in decimal except when preceded by a character in which case they are in hexadecimal format GENERAL MESSAGE FORMAT Byte Description FO System Exclusive 33 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 15 04 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X lt Message Type gt See each type of message below lt Message Specification gt See each type of message below lt Data 1 gt This and following bytes depend on
9. system this function wouldn t work since the noise is totally random In Sync wave mode the SEMI TONES knob works as a waveform selector Turning the knob will change the harmonic content of the sound The Sync wave selection is not continuous but stepped in steps that correspond to the octave Page 39 8 Panel Reference Oscillator 2 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x markings around the SEMITONES knob It can be controlled by the Velocity morph function but is not affected by LFO 1 the Modulation Envelope or the Modulation Wheel even when these have Oscillator 2 selected as modulation destination Amplitude A Time gt Non synched white noise contains all frequencies at equal levels Amplitude A sync Time oscillator d Amplitude synched Time noise The synched noise repeats itselfeach time the sync oscillator starts a new period Amplitude A sync oscillator me at higher pitch V OV Amplitude synched Time noise i Here the noise signal is the same as before only now the sync oscillator bas higher pitch Page 40 A Amplitude Frequency Amplitude Formant peaks static Frequency Synched noise produces a special type of digital waveforms with static body resonance char acteristics Amplitude Formant peaks static it IN hi Synched noise at higher pitch As you can see the formant peaks are the same even tough the pitch is higher
10. via MIDI see page 68 ARPEGGIO MODE By pressing the button to the right in the LFO2 Arpeggiator version you can select in which direction the arpeggio should run ARP UP In this mode the keys pressed on the keyboard will be played one after the other from bottom to top at a speed set with the Rate button For more details see Arp Range below Page 54 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference LFO 2 Arpeggiator Mode ARP DOWN As Arp Up but downwards ARP UP DOWN To get an up down arpeggio press the button until both Arp Up and Arp Down are lit RND ARP In this mode the two upper LEDs lit Nord Lead 2X will create random arpeggios from the chords you play on the keyboard This means that the notes in the chord are played back one at a time but in random order and in random octaves ECHO In this mode The top LED lit LFO2 creates an echo effect by using repeated triggering with decreasing velocity see explanation on the next page ARP RANGE This knob is used to set the octave range of the arpeggio as the panel indicates The Off position turns off the arpeggio completely When Echo is selected this knob determines the number of echo repeats 0 8 You can select if you want the generated arpeggio notes to also be sent to MIDI Out See page 66 ARPEGGIO HOLD Normally the arpeggio will continue for as long as you keep any keys depressed By activating the Arpeg gio Hold function you can release the keys and ha
11. 1 Select Slot A and select a Program for it This will be the sound heard when you play the left part of the keyboard 2 Select Slot C and select a Program for it This will be the sound heard when you play the right part of the keyboard 3 Press the buttons for Slot A and C at the same time so that one Slot LED is lit and the other one is flashing 4 Press the KBD SPLIT button The LED next to the button lights up to indicate that the keyboard is split CLEAR KBD SPLIT C SPLIT POINT PERF MODE If you now play the keyboard you will hear the sound of Slot A from the left part of the keyboard and the sound of Slot C from the right part of the keyboard 5 To exit the Keyboard Split mode press the KBD SPLIT button again Page 15 3 Basic operation Performances NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x SETTING THE SPLIT POINT You set the Split Point the key where the keyboard should be split in the following way 1 Hold down SHIFT and press the KBD SPLIT button The DISPLAY shows the current Split Point for as long as you keep both buttons depressed program STORE 2m TMM TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL 2 While holding down both the SHIFT and KBD SPLIT buttons press the lowest key for the right hand section of the keyboard The DISPLAY shows the name of the key you press 3 Release the SHIFT and KBD SPLIT buttons COMBINING SPLIT AND LAYER Since Slots A and B will be played from the lower part of the spli
12. 1 127 Ov 1 127 Note OFF X X After Keys X X Touch Ch s X O Pitch Bender O O Control See the MIDI O O implementation Change on page 103 Prog O 0 109 O 0 109 Change True System Exclusive O O See the MIDI implementation on page 103 System Song Pos X X Song Sel X X Common Tune X X System Clock X O Real Time Commands X X Aux Local ON OFF X X Mes All Notes Off X X sages Active Sense X X Reset X X Notes Mode 1 OMNI ON POLY Mode 2 OMNI ON MONO O Yes Mode 3 OMNI OFF POLY Mode 4 OMNI OFE MONO X No Page 113 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x INDEX A ADSR envelope behavior 46 Aftertouch 74 Amount LFO 1 54 LFO 256 Mod Envelope 57 Amplifier Envelope 44 Introduction to 79 Triggering Envelope via MIDI y Amplitude Envelope 44 Arpeggiator 54 Arpeggio Hold 55 Mode 54 Range 55 Speed 54 Arpeggio to MIDI Out 66 Attack Amplifier 45 Filter 52 Introduction to 90 Mod Envelope 57 Auto Portamento 60 Band Reject 49 Bandpass 49 Bank Select 76 BP 49 Bulk Dump 78 Cc carrier FM 41 Control Pedal 19 control pedal technical requirements 9 Controllers Activating transmission reception 66 Index Front panel list 103 MIDI Transmission and reception 74 Recording in Sequencer 77 Copying Programs 23 D Decay Amplifier 45 Filter 52 Introduction to 91 Mod Envelope 57 Demo Play 10 Destination LPO 133 LFO 2 56 Mod Envelope 57 Distortion 52 Drum Kits Copyin
13. 36 FM Bass 69 Glass Voices 13 esonance pad 1 36 Space pad 1 69 Black Hole 4 Dark Stereo Pad 37 Spike Bass 70 Plucky Pad 1 4 Hard string pad 1 37 Sample hold 1 70 Sub 5 Dark DUB Bass 38 Smooth Bass 71 Velo REZO 1 5 esonance fade pad 1 38 Saw legato solo 1 71 DB 6 The MadMan Reso Synth 39 Flimsy Bass 72 Slow Swello 1 6 Portamento quints 1 39 Echo sound 1 72 Widebody 7 Vibe Bell 40 FM FunKeys 73 Introspection Pad 17 A fifth pad 1 40 Pulse solo 1 73 Fluff 8 Skywalker 1 41 Techno Synth 1 74 Funky Tall 1 8 Pulse pad with FM 1 41 Soft strings2 1 74 Steeldrums 9 Deep Purple 42 Techno Synth 2 75 Filtered Strings 19 Weather bass 1 42 Majesty 1 75 Wurz piano 10 Trekker 43 Scritti Plucky 76 Smooth Pad 1 10 Lead saw solo 1 43 Glass brass 1 76 My Clav 11 Flange gtr 44 Velo Comp Synth 77 CyberFunk Clav 1 11 Soft saw lead 1 44 Gimme 5 1 77 Ibow 12 Billibass 45 SAW Keys 78 Angel Pad 1 12 Zyntar 1 45 Flute choir 1 78 Tack clav 13 Tuned Resonance Pad 1 46 SEQ Pulse Synth 1 79 Chime Pad 1 13 Arpeggiator down 1 46 Brass Comp 1 79 Span Eyes 14 Stereo Perk Pad 47 Talking REZ 80 The Calling 1 14 FM Metallic 1 47 Sync sweep 1 80 Floote 15 Clearly the Bell 48 Rodney J SAWS 81 Synth Rise 1 15 Attack bass 1 48 Synth strings 1 81 Hamplafon 16 esoRoto 49 SEQ Pulse Synth 2 82 Stardust FM 1 16 Saw mono 1 49 Trumpets 1 82 Thumpinet 17 LFO Squares 50 Synth Brass Secti
14. DUSCHE A 64 A nulle A E PP EP OE A 64 Ee Che Snit Michon Mode riadas 64 TUNE MASTER TUNE sssscccncensnnccanccnncacccnccnscnssanscsscansccsnansssscassssaaesss 64 COUT MODE wesccssscncccnnccnecccnsscccccsccsccescccsccnsscocsscescccsscsescoccssessscescssssons 64 Seines for Sor A and Bi AAA 65 stars D or Se AMPIA me een ene eI 65 ee About Local Control and Control Change transmission 1 5 e pter rob sintissi 66 PROG DTRL c scc nnuusununascuunusscuunassssanasssssaussssnansssanansesonensesnusose ee Ateo and NIDI Ciara la 66 MIDI CHANNEL esconssnonsscnsscnasssusssusssuscuusssusssonssauscenessenusceuscenssoos 67 Slot MIOLC hannel tada AA N a 67 Globa PPP rs teret regret ferrrtterer te 67 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Table of content SPECIAL s cssssesenussssansancsssasusssssacsensunesonassosonsoncsenaossessuoscosaanesenos 67 Ea iUi ssenarini minisari ne aA a asro arr RER EES EEEa RAE E 68 Fonciun T Synchronizing LFO 1 so MIDI Clon 68 Function 2 Synchronizing LFO2 Arpeggio to MIDI Clock eerte pitt trina 69 Funcion P External triggering of Filter envelope consi a 69 Function A External triggering of Amplifier Envelope iuit teca oia 71 Punenon S Extend Velocity BJIIplb iia AA 71 Abterteuch aud Expression Pedal Settings ii I URL RE A 72 SYSTEM initiate 73 Siem Ue A A O 73 Pitch Bend Range QI aetatem since cen RENI CM RUIN RANA NNNM RE RM MI Dp M LN wen 73 Unison Derine CU
15. Decay time time a s The level of the envelope does not necessarily have to fall all the way back to zero level at the end of the Decay Instead the ADSR envelope has a Sustain setting used to determine the level the envelope should rest at after the Decay If you for example want to create a flute sound you would have a fairly high Sus tain setting on your Volume envelope since a flute tone basically stays at a steady level for as long as you play it On the other hand for a piano sound you would want a Sustain level of 0 since a piano sound decays to silence if you hold the key long enough Level Sustain level lt gt lt Attack Decay time time Key Down Please note that the Sustain parameter represents a level but all other envelope parameters represent times Page 91 11 Synthesis basics Envelopes NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x As described above the envelope stays at the Sustain level until the key is released It then falls back to zero level The time it should take for this to happen is set with the Release parameter which works just as the Decay only it is not applied until you lift your finger off the keys Level Sustain level Time lt gt lt gt lt gt Attack Decay Release time time time edes Key a s is f you set Sustain to full level the Decay setting is of no importance since the volume of the sound is never lowered Level Time Nm f you s
16. Envelope NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PW When this is selected the envelope changes the pulse width of the waveform from the oscillators provid ed any of them have Pulse wave selected When ibis is selected the envelope changes the pitch of Oscillator 2 This can be used in a number of situations For example With Sync to create distinct sweeping sounds With FM for effect type sweeps To create bleeps in the beginning of a brass type of sound Let us give a few examples If Attack is set to zero and you have a positive Amount setting Oscillator 2 pitch will decay down to normal pitch as set with the DECAY knob Level Time If Amount instead is set to a negative value the pitch will rise up to normal Level Time If Attack and Decay are both used and you have a positive Amount setting the sound will start at normal pitch when you press the key rise and then fall back Level Time Page 58 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Mod Wheel Destination MoD WHEEL DESTINATION MORPH LFO 1 OSC 2 FM FILTER SHIFT Wheel This button is used to decide what effect moving the MODULATION WHEEL should have MORPH In this mode the MODULATION WHEEL is used for morphing See page 27 LFO 1 When this is selected the two upper LEDS lit the MODULATION WHEEL adjusts the amount of output from LFO 1 This allows you to for example add vibrato with the MODULATION WHEEL Osc 2 With this selected t
17. How Will I Know 4 61 Square Pad 4 94 Syn Sax Section 5 28 Feedback Dist 5 61 Analog Clav 5 94 Octave Tri 29 Chameleon 62 Vibro Pluc 95 Vibro Bass 5 29 Fm Acoustic 5 62 12 String Clav 5 95 China 430 Gap Bas 4 63 Dreamy 4 96 ChorusedSyn Clav 5 30 Dirdead 5 63 Square Piano 5 96 D72 4 31 Pick Bass 4 64 Harp 4 97 Church Organ 5 31 Jazz Git 2 5 64 Nasty Drawbar 5 97 Home Organ 32 Syn Bass 5 65 Pulse Guitar 98 Serious Clik Bass 5 32 FonkyFm 5 65 TineEp 5 98 Metal Voie 433 Octave Mid Bass 4 66 PluckPad 4 99 Steel Drum 5 33 HpfPluk 5 66 Raw Clav 5 99 Steel BANK 6 ROM BANK 7 ROM Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name 6 1 Unison Velo 6 34 Velo Pulse 6 67 Nerd Sync 7 1 VdoAutbend 7 34 SyncEp2 7 67 Xo 62 Flat Clic 6 35 HpfBas 6 68 Portasquare 172 Fa Wah 735 HolowEp 7 68 ComboOrgan 64 6 3 Filter Bass 6 36 Bpf Disco Bass 6 69 Crazy Chicken 7 3 Velo Bppf Sq 7 36 Triangle Ep 7 69 Combo Organ 65 6 4 Fm Square 6 37 FxTri Low Byte 670 SlowFm 74 Grow Wah 737 Tri ClickOrgan 7 70 Zyhar 65 Fm Square Reso 6 38 Attack Jazz 6 71 HardSynclead 75 Poly Syne 7 38 Dance Organ 7 71 Saxy Basson 6 6 Sub Osc 6 39 Sticky 6 72 Suff Wah 7 6 Fm Wah 7 39 Omnipulse 7 72 Analog Brass 6 7 Straight Sub Wheel 6 40 Rev Freak 6 73 PickLead 77 Ny 740 Spit Bass 7 73 Echo 6 8 Fret
18. MIDI Controller MIDI Controller Name Gain 7 Main Volume Oct Shift 17 General Purpose 2 Mod Wheel Destination 18 General Purpose 3 Unison 16 General Purpose 1 Poly Legato Mono 15 Undefined Portamento Auto 65 Portamento On Off Portamento Time 5 Portamento Time LFO 1 Rate 19 General Purpose 4 LFO 1 Waveform 20 Undefined LFO 1 Destination 21 Undefined LFO 1 Amount 22 Undefined LFO 2 Arpeggio Rate 23 Undefined LFO 2 Destination Arpeggio Mode 24 Undefined LFO 2 Amount Arpeggio Range 25 Undefined Modulation Envelope Attack 26 Undefined Modulation Envelope Decay 27 Undefined Modulation Envelope Destination 28 Undefined Modulation Envelope Amount 29 Undefined Page 103 13 MIDI implementation MIDI Controller list NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Nord Lead 2X Parameter MIDI Controller MIDI Controller Name Osc 1 Waveform 30 Undefined Osc 2 Waveform 31 Undefined Osc 2 Semitones 78 Sound Controller 9 Osc 2 Fine Tune 33 LSB for Controller 1 Oscillator FM Depth 70 Sound Controller 1 Sound Variation Osc 2 Keyboard Tracking 34 LSB for Controller 2 Oscillator Pulse Width 79 Sound Controller 10 Oscillator Sync 35 LSB for Controller 3 Oscillator Mix 8 Balance Amplifier Envelope Attack 73 Sound Controller 4 Attack Amplifier Envelope Decay 36 LSB for Controller 4 Amplifier Envelope Sustain 37 LSB for Controller 5 Amplifier Envelope Release 72 Sound Controller 3 Release
19. NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x WHAT A PERFORMANCE CONTAINS The following is a list of what a Performance contains that is what you actually save and recall when you work with Performances FOR EACH PROGRAM SLOT The selected Program complete with parameter settings or a reference to a Percussion Kit The MIDI Channel setting The Special settings Expression pedal assignment Aftertouch assignment FOR THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE The Layer configuration The Keyboard Split settings Which Program is active for editing The Pitch Bend Range setting The Out Mode setting The Unison Detune setting Page 36 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Oscillator 1 8 PANEL REFERENCE OSCILLATOR 1 e OSC 1 WAVEFORM SELECTOR Select one of four basic waveforms for Oscillator 1 with the WAVEFORM SELECTOR button SINE The sine wave is the simplest waveform there is I has no additional harmonics It is suitable for very soft sounds or for use with FM Amplitude Amplitude Time gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency The pure sine wave with no additional har The frequency spectrum of a sine monics wave only the fundamental frequency is present TRIANGLE The triangle waveform has only odd and not very strong harmonics It is suitable for flute sounds and similar Amplitude Amplitude Time gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency The triangle wave The frequency spectrum of the triangle wave contains
20. Name 4 1 Jazz Guitar 4 34 Banana Rama Bass 4 67 Power Chords 5 1 Warm Pad 5 34 Wandering Sync 5 67 Hickup Organ 42 Chick s Lead 4 35 Syn Bass 6 4 68 Stereo Star Cycle 5 2 Pastoral 5 35 Sweller 5 68 Sync Organ 43 Jan Lead 4 36 Syn Bass 7 4 69 Accordian 53 Mellow 5 36 Love String 5 69 Voco 4 4 Star Cycle Lead 4 37 Syn Bass 8 4 70 Glassy Pad 5 4 Tremelopad 5 37 Unstable 5 70 Thin String 45 Farfisa 1 4 38 Syn Bass 9 4 71 Octave Pad 5 5 Velopad 5 38 P String 5 71 Double Attack Cello 4 6 Sawtooth Mono Lead 4 39 Syn Bass 10 4 72 Frankenstein 2 5 6 Metalophon 5 39 Square Sweep 5 72 Pwm Arco 4 7 Lyle 4 40 Upright Bass 4 73 Scoop Pad 5 7 Syncwave 5 40 Hi Velo Sweep 5 73 Wheel Cello 4 8 Way Lead 4 41 Clav 1 4 74 Ancient Mystery 5 8 Velodream 5 41 Velotremulator 5 74 Please Stop 49 Whistle 442 Clav 2 475 Jan Chords 5 9 Portamento Pad 5 42 Blue Lylac 5 75 Amb Zitar 4 10 Wet Glide 4 43 Wurlitzer 4 76 Jump 5 10 Bpf Pad 5 43 Slow Horn 5 76 Dx7 4 11 Sweep Lead 4 44 Separate Ways 4 77 Stereo Bells 5 11 Hpf String 5 44 Subdued Brass 5 77 oise Ball 4 12 Chick 4 Ths 445 Syn Brass 1 4 78 Ow Pad 5 12 Tri Arp Pad 5 45 Bpf Strings 5 78 Tick 4 13 Odd Couple 4 46 Brite Pad 4 79 Electric Parade 5 13 Soft Fm 5 46 Sine Pad 5 79 Chirp 4 14 Brassy Wah 4 47 Dark Pad 4 80 Gliding 5ths 5 14 Moving Texture 5 47 Koto 5 80 Noi
21. Name Kit Name Kit Name Kit Name 2 P2 Synth Kit 22 2 7 Synth Kit 27 3 P2 Synth Kit 32 3 P7 Synth Kit 37 2 P3 Synth Kit 23 2 P8 Synth Kit 28 3 P3 Synth Kit 33 3 P8 Synth Kit 38 2 P4 Synth Kit 24 2 P9 Synth Kit 29 3 P4 Synth Kit 34 3 P9 Synth Kit 39 Page 96 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PERFORMANCE BANKS 0 1 BANK O RAM 12 Factory presets Performance Banks 0 1 BANK 1 ROM Perf Name Perf Name A0 Arpaddio F0 Percussive COMP 1 Al Slow Huge Mono Lead FI Sly Stone Bass A2 Tri Bounce Pad F2 Percussive COMP 2 A3 ound Techno Bass F3 Monster Lead A4 Terminated MIX 3 F4 Moog Bass 1 A5 Alien Walking MIX 1 F5 Moog Bass 2 AG FutureSYNC MIX 1 F6 Mini Lead 3 A7 Synth Grand Pad F7 Fun with the Sync A8 Synth Bass in your Face 1 F8 Percussive COMP 3 A9 Stereo Synth Bass 4 F9 Shadow of a Cello BO Plucked Pad GO Enlightening Pad Bl hatt Bass GI Dramatic Pad B2 OB Talk G2 ARP w Swept Pad B3 Moog Lead G3 Introspective Pad B4 FM Metalimba G4 ARP Erasure B5 Delicate Drama G5 VEL TRI Synth B6 Alternate Xylo G6 Cybernetic Clav B7 ARP Sequence G7 Synth Brass Section B8 Delerium Pad G8 Big Chime Pad B9 Synth Brass Attack G9 Hi Pass VEL Funky Clav
22. Percussion Kit PO selected in Program Slot C 3 Use the white keys to play the percussion sounds in the selected Kit There are eight different sound zones in each Percussion Kit arranged across the keyboard like this idi allai i Sound 1 Sound 2 Sound 3 Sound 4 Sound 5 Sound 6 Sound 7 Sound 8 If you for example press the lowest keys F G A or B with Percussion Kit PO selected you will play a snare sound The names of the Percussion Kits are listed on page 96 The keys in a zone will produce different pitches just as if you played the sound as a regular Program However some percussion sounds are not programmed to respond to keyboard pitch Page 28 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 6 Percussion Kits Editing the sounds in a Percussion Kit EDITING THE SOUNDS IN A PERCUSSION KIT While the white keys are used to play the percussion sounds the black keys are used for selecting which sound to edit Sound 1 Sound 2 Sound 3 Sound 4 Sound 5 Sound6 Sound 7 Sound 8 AAA If for example you want to edit the snare sound in kit PO proceed as follows 1 Select Percussion Kit PO as described on the previous page 2 Press one of the keys F G A in the lowest octave The DISPLAY will briefly show 2 indicating that sound zone number 2 is selected for editing program STORE E E E Cano E TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL 3 Now you can use
23. Turning the Oscillator 2 SEMITONES knob will change the timbre much as with FM However with Ring Modulation this will 2 so affect the pitch of the sound This means that activating Ring Modulation may result in a sound with a completely different pitch than the normal sounds To remedy this you should use the Ring Mod TUNE knob When Ring Modulation is activated the FM Amount knob works as a Tune knob with a range of roughly one octave To set the pitch to normal turn off Ring Modulation and play a note then activate Ring Modulation play the same note and adjust the Tune knob until the pitch is the same Please note that the pitch will change again if you change the timbre by adjusting the Semitones knob When Ring Modulation is activated you cannot manually control the FM Amount since that knob serves as a Tune knob Instead you can use the Modulation Wheel with its destination set to FM Page 42 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Settings for both Oscillators SYNC Activate Oscillator Sync by pressing the RING MOD SYNC button until the Sync LED is lit In this mode Oscillator 2 is synched to Oscillator 1 This means that each time a period in Oscillator 1 s waveform starts Oscillator 2 is forced to start over with a new period as well Example a sawtooth wave synched by a sync oscillator The sawtooth wave is restarted every time the sync os cillator begins a new cycle The resulting signal gets deep r
24. a Percussion Kit Page 30 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 6 Percussion Kits Using Percussion Kits in Performance mode USING PERCUSSION KITS IN PERFORMANCE MODE In Performance mode there is one big difference between regular Programs and Percussion Kits A Percussion Kit in a Performance is only a reference to the original Percussion Kit memory location Any changes you make to a Percussion Kit in Performance mode will not be included when you save the Performance If you want to edit your Percussion Kit for use in a Performance there are two ways of do ing this Edit and store your Percussion Kit in Program mode you might want to save it on another location to preserve the original unedited Kit Then go to Performance mode and select your edited Percus sion Kit for one of the Slots Edit the Percussion Kit in Performance Mode Then for each edited Percussion sound in the Kit select the sound by pressing a black key in that zone and press STORE twice Note however that this will change the original Percussion Kit and all Performances that use this Percussion Kit will be affected by the changes Page 31 7 Performances What is a Performance NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 7 PERFORMANCES WHAT IS A PERFORMANCE Performances allow you to call up four Programs at a time in a live situation or to recall complete setups when sequencing via MIDI The Nord Lead 2X comes with 100 rewritable Performances and another 3x100 Performances in ROM S
25. are transmitted and received as MIDI Controller 32 Bank Select messages are used to determine which Program Performance Bank is currently used Every Program Change sent from the Nord Lead 2X is preceded by a Bank Select message The lowest Bank Select number 0 selects the first Bank Bank select number 1 selects the second Bank and so on Bank Select must always be used in combination with Program Change or no Bank change will take place SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE Program settings can be transmitted as a System Exclusive bulk dump See page 78 USING NORD LEAD 2X WITH A SEQUENCER CONNECTIONS 1 Connect MIDI OUT on the Nord Lead 2X to a MIDI In on your sequencer 2 Connect a MIDI Out from your sequencer to the MIDI IN on the Nord Lead 2X LocAL ON OFF If your sequencer echoes all received MIDI signals via its MIDI Output s which it probably does look for a function called MIDI Thru MIDI Echo MIDI Merge Soft Thru or similar the Nord Lead 2X should be set to MIDI Local Off See page 66 MIDI CHANNELS Which MIDI Channel the Nord Lead 2X transmits on depends on which of the four Slots is active see page 15 All four Slots always receive MIDI regardless of which one is selected or if layering of one or more Slots is activated or not However all Slots used in a Layer i e all Slots that are activated will also receive on the MIDI channel set for the leftmost active Slot This means th
26. buttons to set the value to 5 eighth notes 9 Make sure all other Special functions are turned off for Slot A Do this by pressing the SPECIAL but ton repeatedly and check that the left digit in the DISPLAY is set to oF for all Functions except 1 10 Press SHIFT again to return to normal mode 11 Set up your sequencer or other MIDI device to transmit MIDI clock to the Nord Lead 2X Set the tempo to around 120 BPM and activate Play in the sequencer device so that MIDI clocks are actu ally transmitted 12 Play the Nord Lead 2X keyboard and adjust the RATE knob in the LFO 1 section Start at approxi mately 12 o clock and adjust until you get eighth notes that are in sync with the sequencer If you raise the Rate slightly from this position you ll get a shuffle 16th note repeat etc FUNCTION 2 SYNCHRONIZING LFO2 ARPEGGIO TO MIDI CLOCK This works exactly as the Special 1 function only it operates on LFO 2 and the Arpeggio instead Please note that the explanation about the relation between the LFO rate and the restart via MIDI Clock also applies to the Arpeggio Note this function will not be enabled when Echo is selected on LFO2 FUNCTION F EXTERNAL TRIGGERING OF FILTER ENVELOPE This function can be used to trigger the Filter envelope via notes coming in via MIDI instead of by play ing the keyboard The Filter envelope is triggered from its own MIDI Channel and note number s com pletely i
27. default values when you turn off power see the descrip tion of each Shift function for details TUNE MASTER TUNE This function is used to tune the Nord Lead 2X to other instruments 00 is normal 440Hz tuning Low er pitches are indicated by a dot to the right of the number and values higher than normal pitch are in dicated without a dot The values are in cents hundreds of a semitone Cur MODE This function is used to set how the sound should be routed from the Slots to the Outputs The Out Mode settings are global for the entire instrument which means all Programs share the settings made here Nord Lead 2 has four outputs labelled A D It might be a good idea to think of these outputs as two output pairs A B and C D because that is often how they are used Basically there are three possibilities for how a sound appears in the outputs The first is that a Program appears with equal level at two outputs which is what we refer to as mono The second option is that the voices the keys you play appear alternating between the two outputs in an output pair A B or C D This we refer to as stereo If you play chords in stereo mode the sound will be spread out in the stereo image When Unison is activated more than one voice will be used each time you press a key as described on page 60 If a Unison Program is played in stereo mode each time you play a key you will get at least one voice at one output in a pair and
28. follows a detailed list of what settings are contained in a Performance RECALLING A PERFORMANCE When you recall a Performance you replace the four current sounds in the slots A to D with the sounds in the recalled Performance You also recall other settings as listed in the table later in this chapter 1 Enter Performance mode by pressing the PERF MODE button The DISPLAY shows the latest selected Performance The Performances are organised in 4 Banks each holding100 Performances The Performances are named alphabetically from A0 L9 in each Bank the letters I and K are excluded because they re hard to show clearly in the DISPLAY The Performances in the first Bank there are rewritable and the rest are in ROM Page 32 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 7 Performances Editing a Performance 2 To select a Performance use the UP DOWN buttons If you want to select Performances in steps of ten hold down SHIFT and press the UP DOWN buttons The Performance is instantly loaded and you can try it out di Use the UP DOWN buttons to change Performance Ifyou hold down the SHIFT button you can change Performances in steps of ten E with the UP DOWN buttons M B Cc MORPH x p program STORE A EA E E E TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL osc 2 FILTER SHIFT Wheel You can also select Performances via MIDI see page 75 Please note that selecting a new Performance changes a lot of parameters including MIDI Channels an
29. memory locations 1 H8 to 1 J9 Since each of these sounds uses one Slot only four different Prophet sounds have been stored in each Performance To try out the different Patches in one Performance select slot A B C or D by pressing the respective SLOT button The names of the recreated Prophet 5 patches refer to their original location in the Prophet 5 program banks Performance Slot A Slot B Slot Slot D 1 H8 Bank 1 11 Bank 1 12 Bank 1 13 Bank 1 14 1 H9 Bank 1 15 Bank 1 16 Bank 1 17 Bank 1 18 1 J0 Bank 1 21 Bank 1 22 Bank 1 23 Bank 1 24 1 J1 Bank 1 25 Bank 1 26 Bank 1 27 Bank 1 28 1 52 Bank 1 31 Bank 1 32 Bank 1 33 Bank 1 34 13 Bank 1 35 Bank 1 36 Bank 1 37 Bank 1 38 1 J4 Bank 1 41 Bank 1 42 Bank 1 43 Bank 1 44 1 J5 Bank 1 45 Bank 1 46 Bank 1 47 Bank 1 48 1 J6 Bank 2 41 Bank 1 52 Bank 1 53 Bank 1 54 1J7 Bank 1 55 Bank 1 56 Bank 1 57 Bank 1 58 1 38 Bank 3 12 Bank 2 36 Bank 2 37 Bank 2 52 1 J9 Bank 2 54 Page 101 12 Factory presets Nord Lead 2 RAM factory programs NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x NORD LEAD 2 RAM FACTORY PROGRAMS The 40 original RAM Factory Programs of the Nord Lead 2 are featured in ROM Performances 1 L0 to 1 L9 as listed below To extract one of these sounds from its Performance and store it as a regular Pro gram follow the instructions on page 35 Performance Slot A Slot B Slot C Slot D 1 L0 Program 01 Program 02 Program 03 Prog
30. most important factors to how we identify the sound By setting up a proper volume enve lope you can make a sound soft hard plucked static etc E The volume envelope curve to the left determines how the amplitude of the waveform changes over time ENVELOPES ADSR ENVELOPE Envelopes are used to modulate pitch amplitude filter cutoff and other parameters in a sound This is used to give the sound a varying character from the moment the key is pressed to the moment it is re leased The classic synthesizer envelope has four parameters Attack Decay Sustain and Release and is therefore often referred to as an ADSR envelope When you press a key the envelope is triggered This means is starts rasing from zero to maximum level How long this should take depends on the Attack setting If the Attack time is set to 0 the envelope will instantly reach full level If it is raised it will take longer If you for example have an envelope controlling volume raising the attack will give the sound a softer character If you have the envelope routed to the filter it might give the sound a wah type of start Level Attack time Key a e Page 90 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics Envelopes After the envelope has reached full level it starts to fall back again How long this should take is set with the Decay parameter Level lt gt lt Attack
31. only odd harmonics at fairly low levels Page 37 8 Panel Reference Oscillator 1 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x SAWTOOTH The sawtooth wave contains all harmonics and is the richest of the available waveforms It is suitable for all sorts of sounds Amplitude Amplitude Time gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 4 0 Frequency The sawtooth signal shape The sawtooth signal frequency spectrum PULSE The pulse wave contains only odd harmonics at 50 pulse width square wave This waveform is special in that its harmonic content can be varied continuously by adjusting the Pulse Width with the PULSE WIDTH knob The pulse wave can also be modulated by LFO 1 and the Modulation Envelope This waveform is suitable for many type of sounds and has a more hollow character than the Sawtooth wave a Amplitude Amplitude Time gt ns Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency The pure square wave a pulse wave The frequency spectrum of a pure square wave The sig with 50 pulse width nal contains only odd harmonics Amplitude Amplitude Time d Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency The pulse wave at 1096 pulse width The frequency spectrum at 1096 pulse width Now also even harmonics are gradually introduced making the sound sharper but also thinner Amplitude Amplitude Time gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency The pulse wave at 5 pulse width The narrower the pulse width the more harmonics are present in th
32. original RAM factory programs later on they can be fetched as stand ard MIDI files at http www clavia se and downloaded to the Nord Lead 2X from a MIDI sequencer CHANGING ONE PROGRAM IN A LAYER If you have layered Programs you can still edit one of the Programs from the front panel Proceed as fol lows 1 Press the Slot button that you want to edit Its LED will flash to indicate it is the active Slot 2 Use the front panel knobs and buttons to change the Program in the active Slot REVERTING TO THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM If you have edited a Program and want to get back to the programmed original proceed as follows 1 Select another Program for the Slot with the UP DOWN buttons 2 Select the first Program again It will now have reverted back to the way it was when you last selected it USING MANUAL MODE MAE SPLIT POINT The PerformancelManual button PERF MODE 7 x MANUAL a If you want to use the front panel to make up a sound from scratch hold down SHIFT and press the Man ual PERF MODE button This leaves you with exactly the sound that the knobs and buttons on the panel currently indicate just as ifthe Nord Lead 2X was a non programmable instrument In Manual mode the instrument can play only one sound layering is not possible Page 22 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 4 Editing Programs Customizing Manual mode CUSTOMIZING MANUAL MODE When you enter Manual mode the button functions waveform select m
33. overwriting the existing Program press STORE again The DISPLAY stops flashing to indicate the Program has been saved COPYING PROGRAMS Copying Programs from one memory location to another is just a variation on Storing 1 2 Select the Program you want to copy Press STORE Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a new Program number As you scroll through the memory locations you can play and hear the Program currently shown in the DISPLAY This prevents you from overwriting a sound that you want to keep Only Program numbers from 1 3 99 in internal memory can be overwritten If you try to save in higher Program numbers nothing will happen Press STORE again Page 23 5 Programming Velocity Sensitivity The Filter Velocity function NORD LEAD 2X VI 0x 5 PROGRAMMING VELOCITY SENSITIVITY THE FILTER VELOCITY FUNCTION Press this button to make the Filter Envelope Amount respond to velocity The LED indicates that the Velocity function is activated o o e Q Q PANIC The quickest way to make a Program velocity sensitive is to activate the Velocity function in the Filter section This makes the Filter Envelope Amount vary with striking force to a pre determined degree See page 51 for details MAKING ANY PARAMETER VELOCITY DEPENDENT You can make any continuous parameter those controlled with knobs react to velocity You can also set the maximum and minimum boundaries for this yourself SETTING THE PA
34. p nad ete pie 73 1 a Ml Dlussasuazasasu asaaksss ewstuw vPuaWasdaus dat essq swes rs spaaskuas Y O ABOUT THE MIDI IMPLEMENTATION ccocccoconccoconaconancconancsonncsconanconanos 74 O 74 o PO P 74 SCO MNA 74 Tr toD MN TT 74 a 72 Bank o loj PM M 76 A rtu a recreate tee pU IM ERI D E tenet ra rere 76 USING NORD LEAD 2X WITH A SEQUENCER oosocoooaccooososononssosonssononos 76 rd EE 76 C per A wr Deren T TET UTE 76 BEL Sig td 4 76 A AMT X n 77 doo m M M 77 Some notes abour Controllers and DAE va 78 MIDI SYSEX BULK DUMP ii 78 1 1 LI SYNTHESIS BASICS O 7 T INTRODLEGTICIN dunes RAREREETKAERVERRERRESRRNEARERRKRAEERERRRARRANERQUEEEREREEEERFCEI D RR RAE 79 THE BUILDING BLOCKS iii e 79 O UTE 79 IBN Tr 79 A O xPAS i c eR T 79 Du dinde no d aha A ea Ma Mad 80 Bs ree o UU 80 CONNECTIONS kexaxaa VAVEERRFRESRERKRRARRFREARRRERERRRRESEARRRERKRARRNAWERKEKREER REESE CEA 80 THE OSCILLATORS AND WAVEFORMS ssssssssssssssssssusesesssssssssaseneuees 80 A ITEE PENEAN E EEEN NAR STE O AN TA AT O OTAS O A TER 80 A e 81 Table of content NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x THE FILTER 22s22222222222222222222222222052222222 2042225205 2GARARRRORaGaaRAR Rana aaa naa a a a ERE e poet pte e DUMP een RR ORR 88 heran cC 89 THE AMPLIFIER rm E
35. shown to the right in the DISPLAY determines how much the assigned parameter should be affected by a received maximum aftertouch value If you don t want the Slot to be affected by aftertouch messages select the amount value oF 8 If needed repeat steps 3 to 7 to set aftertouch assignment for the other Slots 9 Press SHIFT to exit the Special menu and return to play mode PROGRAM CHANGE The descriptions below are only true if transmission reception of Program Change messages is activated see page 66 When you select a new Program for a Slot a Bank Select see below and Program Change message is transmitted via MIDI on the Slots MIDI Channel Likewise if a Program Change message is received on a certain MIDI Channel all Slots set to that MIDI Channel will switch to a new Program Page 75 10 MIDI Using Nord Lead 2X with a sequencer NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x When you select a new Performance a Bank Select see below and Program Change message is trans mitted on the Global MIDI Channel For information on how to set the Global MIDI Channel see page 67 When a Program Change message is received on the Global MIDI Channel a new Performance is selected If the Global MIDI Channel happens to be set to the same number as one of the Program slots the Performance takes precedence That is Program Change messages on this MIDI Channel will select Performances not Programs BANK SELECT Bank Select messages
36. synthesizing sounds It is the method employed in such classics as the Moog synthesizers the Sequential Prophet 5 and 10 Arp syn thesizers most Oberheim synthesizers the Roland Jupiter models the TB 303 etc the list is practically endless Even new digital instruments such as workstations and sample playback devices employ many of the basic principles of subtractive synthesis With the first Nord Lead Clavia introduced a new concept a modern digital instrument that combined a faithful reproduction of the behaviour of the old analog favourites with the convenience and stability of the newer designs The Nord Lead 2X takes this concept even further adding valuable new features and functionality The purpose of this chapter is to give you a quick introduction to this world of subtractive synthesis as used in he Nord Lead 2X and its analog predecessors If you d like to know more there are number of text books on the subject THE BUILDING BLOCKS Subtractive synthesis started its life in modular synthesizers large cabinets housing separate electronic modules connected via patch cords With the advancement of technology the functionality of many of these modules could be put onto one single circuit board But functionality wise subtractive synthesizers are still built out of the same modules or building blocks as they were decades ago We will now take a closer look at these building blocks Let s first talk about the three that act
37. the roll off which is measured in dB Octave decibels per oc tave or poles The simplest possible filter has a roll off of 6dB octave which is referred to as 1 pole The next step up is 12dB 2 poles 18db 3 poles etc The most common synth filters are the 12dB and 24dB lowpass filters The difference between the two can be studied in the graph below The 12dB filter let s more of the high frequency pass through which gives the sound a brighter and buzzier character than the 24dB filter does Amplitude ii Ec Cutoff Frequency A amp s b 1248 2 pole 24cB 4 pole Frequency Page 87 11 Synthesis basics The filter NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x In the Nord Lead 2X the lowpass filter can be switched between 12 and 24dB modes For sounds with high resonance see below similar to those in the Roland TB 303 we recommend the 12dB variation For most other sounds we recommend 24dB CUTOFF FREQUENCY The most important parameter for a filter is its cutoff frequency which is the setting that determines where in the frequency material it should start cutting If the cutoff frequency in a low pass filter is set to a very low value only the lowest harmonics the bass will pass through If you raise the cutoff all the way up all frequencies will be let through as the figure below illustrates Amplitude A Filter Frequency Frequency Changing the cutoff frequency is often ref
38. timbre across the keyboard For special effects and percussion sounds which are supposed to sound the same all across the key board SETTINGS FOR BOTH OSCILLATORS FM AMOUNT This is classic deep linear FM The FM function is a bit of depart from the analog concept of the Nord Lead 2X but as you will find it is a very useful addition When using FM Oscillator 2 frequency modulates Oscillator 1 In FM speak Oscillator 1 is the Carrier and Oscillator 2 is the Modulator This Page 41 8 Panel Reference Settings for both Oscillators NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x means that changing the pitch of Oscillator 2 basically does not affect the pitch of the sound but the timbre The FM AMOUNT knob controls the amount of FM from Oscillator 2 to Oscillator 1 For classic FM sounds use sine wave on oscillator 1 and triangle wave on oscillator 2 MODULATION OF FM AMOUNT Please note that the amount of EM can be modulated from the Mod Env and LEO 1 and also controlled manually from the MOD WHEEL RING MOD Activate Ring Modulation by pressing the RING MOD SYNC button until the RING MOD LED is lit This is a function also known as amplitude modulation where the waveforms of the two oscillators are multiplied The result is a inharmonic sound that is great for metallic or bell like timbres When trying out Ring Modulation make sure you listen to Oscillator 2 since it is mainly this that is affected by the timbre changes
39. with fast attack short decay and no sustain Usually the pitch of the Percussion tones are 4 or 2 2 3 or both mixed in effect replacing the corresponding drawbar partials Some of the Nord Lead 2X organ sounds make use of Percussion in Slot B You can vary the balance between the two Percussion pitches with the Mix knob and also change the Decay time of the Percussion tone to make it fit your playing style CLICK Though not an intended feature on the classic organs the short non pitched click noise when keys are pressed has become a popular characteristic In the organs the sound came from oxidation on the key switches in the Nord Lead 2X you can add or remove the click as desired All of the Nord Lead 2X organ Performances has the click sound on Slot D although it is by default turned off for some of the sounds Hum This inharmonic thin sound is also an unintended artifact generated by leakage between the tonewheels in the organs It is included in some of the Nord Lead 2X organ sounds adding even further realism Page 99 12 Factory presets About the organ sounds NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x ROTARY SPEAKER A large part of the characteristic organ sound is due to the rotary speaker cabinet Such a cabinet moves the sound around either by rotating the actual speakers or by directing the sounds with rotating baffles or horns Usually the rotation speed can be changed from slow producing a full chorus like effect to fast produci
40. 1 38 ampenvdecay_sens 128 127 1 39 ampenvsustain_sens 128 127 1 40 ampenvrelease_sens 128 127 1 41 portamento_sens 128 127 1 42 gain_sens 128 127 1 43 modenvattack_sens 128 127 1 44 modenvdecay_sens 128 127 1 45 modenvlevel_sens 128 127 1 46 lfolrate_sens 128 127 1 47 lfollevel_sens 128 127 1 48 lfo2rate_sens 128 127 1 49 arprange_sens 128 127 1 50 oscl waveform 0 3 3 sine 1 51 osc2waveform 0 3 3 noise 1 52 sync ringmod distortion bit 0 sync on off bit 1 ring mod on off bit 4 filter dist on off 1 53 filtertype 0 4 1 54 osc2kbdtrack 0 1 Page 111 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Size Offset Name Min Max Comment 1 55 filterkbdtrack 0 3 1 56 lfolwave 0 4 1 57 lfo1dest 0 4 1 58 voicemode 0 2 1 59 modwheeldest 0 4 1 60 unison 0 1 1 61 modenvdest 0 3 1 62 auto 0 1 1 63 filtervel 0 1 1 64 octshift 0 4 1 65 Ifo2dest arpmode 0 8 8 off For Percussion Kit Sys Ex Dumps the above parameters will be repeated eight times once for each sound in the Percussion Kit PERFORMANCE DATA FORMAT Size Offset Name Min Max Comment 264 0 performance patch A B C D see PATCH data format 4 264 midichan A B C D 0 15 4 268 Ifolsync A B C D 0 7 4 272 Ifo2sync A B C D 0 7 4 276 filterenvtrig A B C D 0 1 4 280 filterenvtrigmidichan A B C D 0 15 4 284 filterenvtrignotenr A B C D 23 127 23 off 4 288 ampenvtrig A B C D 0 1
41. 8 Seg 2 2 B9 Funk TALK Bass 2 G9 Teddy s Talkbox 3 B9 Polyfilter 3 G9 Seq 3 2 C0 S amp H Pad 2 H0 DARK SQUARE Pad 3 C0 Wah Brass 3 H0 Timpany 2 C1 Synth Bass in your Face 2 2 H1 Snappy Square Pad 3 C1 Thin Brass 3 H1 Reso 2 02 Synth Bass in your Face 3 2 H2 Stereo Electric Piano 3 02 Tines 3 H2 Bas Arp 2 C3 Synth Bass in your Face 4 2 H3 Knocky F M Electric Piano 3 C3 Ballad Ep 3 H3 Pleasure To Be Sad 2 C4 Synth Bass in your Face 5 2 H4 Soft Tyne Electric Piano 3 C4 Wheel Dist 3 H4 Devil 2 C5 Synth Bass in your Face 6 2 H5 Ballad Electric Piano 3 C5 Unison Horns 3 H5 Arp 1 2 C6 Synth Bass in your Face 7 2 H6 Electric Pianette 3 C6 Fat Guitar 3 H6 Arp 2 2 C7 Synth Bass in your Face 8 2 H7 Simple Electric Piano 3 C7 Zynthar 2 3 H7 Soft 2 C8 Synth Bass in your Face 9 2 H8 Synth Harp 3 C8 Gods Harmonium 3 H8 Harmony 2 C9 Techno Echo 2 H9 Funk Clav 3 C9 Soft Sermon 3 H9 Voice 2 D0 Stereo Synth Bass 1 2 J0 Acoustic Guitar 3 D0 Bass 6 3 J0 Why 2 D1 Stereo Synth Bass 2 2 J1 Crazy SAW 3 D1 Velo Cello 3 J1 Delay 2 D2 Stereo Synth Bass 3 2 52 Old School Funk 3 D2 Multi Arco 32 Arp 3 2 D3 Atmospheric Pad 2 3 Wurlitzer 3 D3 Triple Bass 3 13 Super Synt 1 2 D4 Pluck Synth Bass 1 2 J4 Mystery Pad 3 D4 Softintervall 3 J4 Super Synt 2 2 D5 Pluck Synth Bass 2 2 5 Aggressive SAW 2 3 D5 Rob s Arpeggio 3 J5 Arp 4 2 D6 Alternating Techno 1 2 J6 SAWISQU Mix 3 D6 Rob s Arpeggio 2 3 J6 Wheel Morph 1 2 D7 Oblong Synth Bass 2 J7 Increased Velocity FX 3 D7 Pentatonic 37 Wheel Morp
42. 95 Harmonic numbe 10 20 30 40 Frequency Amplitude A 4 Amplitude 10 Time gt 90 gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency Amplitude A a Amplitude 50 Time gt 0 50 Harmonic numbei 10 20 30 40 Frequency Page 83 11 Synthesis basics The oscillators and waveforms NORD LEAD 2X VI 0x In the first the jump happens 596 in from the beginning of the period This is referred to as a pulse wave with a 5 pulse width sometimes called duty cycle The second wave has a pulse width of 10 The third wave has a pulse width of 5096 This third wave is a special case of the pulse wave called a square wave and this has one peculiarity it only contains odd number harmonics which gives it a hollow quality On many synthesizers including the Nord Lead the pulse width can be adjusted to set the timbre of the pulse wave The more narrow the pulse width the more thin the sound will be You can also have the pulse width vary continuously for example from an LFO or envelope This is re ferred to as pulse width modulation Modulating pulse widths from an LFO creates a rich chorus like ef fect often used in string sounds ABOUT INHARMONIC SPECTRA Above we have only discussed spectra where the overtones appear at perfect harmonics While this is true for the basic waveforms discussed above it is definitely not true for all sound If you for example use the frequency modulation FM or Ring Modulation capabiliti
43. AL PROG CTRL FILTER SHIFT Wheel There are 10 x 99 Programs to select from 1 9 99 The Programs are arranged in ten Banks 0 9 The Programs in Banks 0 3 are rewritable the rest are in ROM The Bank number is indicated by the leftmost digit in the DISPLAY The Bank number is not displayed for Bank 0 only for Banks 1 9 Bank 0 Program 21 Bank 1 Program 21 Bank 2 Program 21 Bank 3 Program 21 SELECTING PERCUSSION KITS In addition to the 10 x 99 Programs in the memory there are 4 x 10 Percussion Kits Each Percussion Kit consists of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds arranged in zones across the keyboard The Kits are located above Program number 99 in the Banks 0 3 and are numbered P0 P9 All Percussion Kits are overwritable To select a Percussion Kit for a Slot proceed just as when selecting a regular Program Use the UP DOWN buttons to scroll to the desired Percussion Kit location program STORE 2m SD Se Ss Se TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL Percussion Kit PO in Bank 0 is selected For detailed information about how to play and edit the Percussion Kits see page 28 Page 13 3 Basic operation Using the Slots to switch Programs NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x USING THE SLOTS TO SWITCH PROGRAMS The four Program Slots A to D can be thought of as four temporary memories edit buffers that you can load Programs into for playing and editing When you select one of the Slots you will switch to p
44. ANCE sonic O EXTRACTING SINGLE SOUNDS FROM A PERFORMANCE cecessecccccccceeseee D EXITING PERFORMANCE MODE essesscccccccccccccsccccccccccscescuccsccenscsssessesseecs D WHAT A PERFORMANCE CONTAINS escesceccecscccccscccccccescccssesccscsseecsesses B6 BOG dic Piatt SOG EID TTE 36 pur decus PONS cai o etos i Tn SORES AA AA cia ener Tiere ttre 36 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Table of content a PANEL REFERENCE O Y OSCILLATOR Tina iii 37 DI A o ee ee dE 37 ASEILLATOR Da 39 Wy ave aii E E EE E EE tenia eles cere 39 A DT TD LT E RECT Pree Pr ee re eee Pree eee reer eae er 4l Pine Teide dad 41 A EE EEE O Manenaasaaenis PAAA AATA RS 41 SETTINGS FOR BOTH OSCILLATORS cccscccccncncccccccncnccnnccencscsssccessnscces 41 Po OON eee inq 42 Ac 43 A CMM O 44 A ERE ME RISE 44 AMPLIFIER en 44 Atacan diia cnica 45 po T EUER E 45 UL EUM OI A dct T AT 46 IRI E ENTER I D D DUI I LU T TT 46 ADSR Ende DEN nit a Unda MEM UM 46 CHAM ees A o a tH aie EE buta EAA eia iMd 47 TS A COT E E A E E E E AT 47 lxi A 48 i20 n 49 RESP DIDI D S LSU TE ULT E 50 Ends e DR abo dia eiua A nU t eee try EH LEA 51 po eet TETTE PEE HP PE 51 UDINE T TS NETTO OTT TTE TR 51 ODORE I T UE aa 22 ask Decay Susam and Ie uad uites teg Moscow tacuit d tod iud s 52 LED Tarna 52 ROOM TD ee BP eR ee E Or or ee 53 Pd o reido 53 DEIA an
45. ATION WHEEL PITCH STICK The PITCH STICK is used to bend the notes just as with a pitch bend wheel on traditional synthesizers However the PITCH STICK differs from other pitch bend devices in a couple of ways There is no dead centre in the middle of the throw This allows you to use the PITCH STICK for natu ral vibrato pretty much like a guitarist do The effect on pitch is logarithmic that is the further you move the PITCH STICK away from the center position the more drastic the effect To set the range of the PITCH STICK proceed as follows 1 Hold down the SHIFT button and press the button labelled SYSTEM Hold down the Shifi button UNISON MONO FILTER SHIFT Wheel um c Gu MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM and press the button labelled System the LED above the button lights up 2 Press the SYSTEM button repeatedly until the character to the left in the DISPLAY says br for Bend Range 3 Use the UP DOWN buttons to the left of the DISPLAY to change the value The table on page 73 shows you how many semi tones each value in the DISPLAY represents MODULATION WHEEL The effect of moving the MODULATION WHEEL can be different for each Program You can change the function by pressing the SHIFT button just above the MODULATION WHEEL You can select between five destinations A description of each can be found on page 59 MASTER TUNE To tune the Nord Lead 2X to other instruments do like this Pa
46. CO Totally Rude Synth Lead 2 HO LFO Electronica Cl Cyber Suite 1d H1 2 Step Bass C2 Synth Bass in your Face 10 H2 Delicate Roads C3 Stereo Synth Bass 5 H3 Pick Bass C4 Small Church Organ H4 Delicate Roads 2 C5 Funky Clav H5 Wurli C6 Alien Walking MIX 4 H6 Hybrid WurliRhodes C7 Hi Res Pad H7 Resonant SAWS 1 C8 Goodbye Pad 3 H8 Delicate Pic C9 Clavi Piano H9 Resonant SAWS 2 Do Cave Pad 0 Hi Pass Clav DI Percussiveness 1 Wide Talker D2 Notch Bass 2 Smooth Bass D3 Repeater 3 Rising Pad D4 SeqsAppel 4 SYNC Claw D5 Wavepad ThikBas D6 Space Station 6 RAVE Synth D7 3layrlead 7 PaisleyParkSynth Dg Church Organ J8 Organesque D9 Koto 9 Grunge Bass E0 Harp With String l FMBas EI Baba Li AlemaingCOMP E2 ndustri I2 Plastic Bass E3 Nice Arpeggi L3 Super REZ E4 Grand Canyon L REZonant Trails E5 Overblow L5 REZ Mini Lead EG Pouws i6 FukChv E7 Synh amp coy L7 ChihkdREZ E8 esonantsweep 2 L8 D amp B Bass E9 Talking Cav I9 Alternating Techno Perf Name Perf Name 1 A0 Bellbrass pad 1 F0 Jungle LAI Heavy sync sweep 1 F1 Acid song 1 A2 Big lead 1 F2 Bottle 1 43 Orchestra bell 1 F3 ET go home 1 A4 Pulse sweep with a twist 1 F4 Acc gitar 1 A5 Reverb choir 1 F5 Power bells 1 A6 Majestix 1 F6 Voices 1 A7 Arpeggiator string pad 1 F7 Bells 1 A8 Plucking pad 1 F8 The wheel morph 1 A9 Arpeggiator heav
47. F for all Functions except F 14 Press SHIFT again to return to normal mode If you play the keyboard now you will not get any sound because the Cutoff FREQUENCY is all the way down and the Filter envelope is no longer trig gered by the keyboard 15 Set up your sequencer to play a simple repeating note pattern on MIDI Channel 2 The pitches of the notes does not matter only the rhythm 16 Hold down a few keys on the keyboard and start the sequencer The keys you press should now be played with the rhythm from the sequencer FUNCTION A EXTERNAL TRIGGERING OF AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE This function can be used to trigger the Amplifier envelope via notes coming in via MIDI instead of by playing the keyboard Just as with the previous function this can be used to play back preprogrammed rhythms in your MIDI sequencer while inputting the actual pitch es by playing the keyboard You must play keys on the keyboard or via MIDI on the Slot s MIDI Channel to get any sound The parameters are the same as for the Filter Envelope function see above If this function is activated and no MIDI notes are triggering the Amplifier envelope the instrument will be silent FUNCTION S EXTERNAL VELOCITY MORPH This function is used to control the Velocity Morph function via the velocity numbers of incoming MIDI notes This differs from the way Velocity Morph is normally applied Normally the velocity is applied each tim
48. HEEL func tionality or independently control one of a number of parameters You can select different Control Pedal functions for each of the four Slots Set it up as follows 1 Hold down the SHIFT button and press the SPECIAL button repeatedly until the leftmost charac ter in the DISPLAY shows E for Expression Pedal 2 Select a Slot for which you want to set the pedal function by pressing one of the buttons A to D Page 19 3 Basic operation Using a control expression pedal NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 If you want the connected pedal to duplicate the functionality of the MODULATION WHEEL press the DOWN button until the DISPLAY reads E oF program STORE 2m With this setting the expression pedal will have the same function as the MODULATION WHEEL 4 If you instead want to select an independent control function for the pedal press the STORE button The DISPLAY will flash showing one of the abbreviations in the table below 5 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select one of the following control functions Display shows Pedal assigned to LFO 1 Amount LFO 2 Amount Filter Cutoff Frequency FM Amount Oscillator 2 Pitch 6 After you have made your choice press STORE again You will return to the E display 7 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a control amount value 1 to 7 This value shown to the right in the DISPLAY determines the range of the pedal control sig
49. ITY ccoonsuocoossss Oo THE FILTER VELOCITY FUNCTION esssessesessesononsssossssosonssssesssssssssesesss 2 MAKING ANY PARAMETER VELOCITY DEPENDENT sssssssssss222 2 2 22022000s 24 Sci POSE NOS rr 24 Moving the 25 CLEARING VELOCITY PROGRAMMING FOR ONE KND B e eee eroe ooo eos Z2 CLEARING ALL VELOCITY PROGRAMMING esccccccccccsscsccsceccccsecsecscessesens Z2 MORPHING ccoo ooo Y 6 PERCUSSION KITS rana 28 SELECTING AND PLAYING A PERCUSSION KIT ssscscscscsscsscscsscssessssssses ED EDITING THE SOUNDS IN A PERCUSSION KIT sssscscesscssccscsessssessesssssssl OD SAVING PERCUSSION KITS cessccncncscccencnncncccnescessccuscssccscccsssccessessescsnscs Le COPYING EXTRACTING AND IMPORTING INDIVIDUAL PERCUSSION SOUNDS 30 SYSEX DUMPS OF PERCUSSION KITS sssccsesccccscesccsccsssccsccscssessssssssssses Ll USING PERCUSSION KITS IN PERFORMANCE MODE ssscssesssscsssssessssess 7 PERFORMANCGES DARRO 32 WHAT IS A PERFORMANCE cscsscsccenscccccsceccccccccccscucessceccsccsccsesesseeseescS Z RECALLING A PERFORMANCE cesscccsccsccsccccenccccscccescscccsccccecseessesessessseecS Z EDITING A PERFORMANCE esscscccccescccceccccsccscnsccccccceccccsccscescscceccesseesse3 CD Selectine Programs as beue foy a Pii op NE d oe tie nnna a 33 Lavettu and en ausencia ioci iii ica ia 34 RI EAN uel satianutindpn dion AE tii Mo HRS pra pU 34 SAVING A PERFORM
50. If the Filter Fre quency knob is already turned fully right the Envelope Amount setting has no effect at all since the filter is already fully open the moment you press the key VELOCITY When this switch is activated the Envelope Amount varies with Velocity how hard you play the key board For this switch to have any effect the Envelope Amount setting can t be set to zero full left Please note that more detailed velocity control can be achieved with the velocity programming function KBD TRACK With this switch turned off none of the indicators are lit the Filter Frequency setting is constant re gardless of where on the keyboard you play When Keyboard Track is activated the filter frequency setting will be higher for higher notes as indicated in the illustration below You can select between three degrees of Keyboard Track 1 3 2 3 and full as indicated by the LEDs above the button 1 3 Kbd Track KBD track 2 3 Kbd Track KBD track Full Kbd Track KBD track e a e o The reason for using the Keyboard Track switch is related to basic acoustics If you raise the pitch of a waveform the harmonics naturally raise in frequency If the filter frequency is then constant the sound Page 51 8 Panel Reference LFO 1 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x will be perceived as getting muddier the higher up the keyboard you play To avoid this effect use KBD Track Amplitude The figure shows how the Fre JN p quency value chan
51. MTM 15 Camas gate ie a FOU ART 15 SPLITTING THE KEYBOARD isses isabkbbaskde eid iM PFPARER VES mov doe RD DOR oos assit odere aeter a A 16 Combi Split aid at arteria rides oie 16 PERFORMANCES occoooococooonocononoonononoonosoncononcnnansononancononsanononascncnasonoss G MONOPHONIC AND POLYPHONIC OPERATION eccssccscccccccccsccsccccccccccecs 17 STEREO MOND occocoocoooononocnonononnonononcononsonononsoononasononnnacononancconanananasa BD PITCH STICK AND MODULATION WHEEL escccccccccnccccccccccccscccccccesscscees 18 lg con A 18 Nodo vc M j PTT 18 MASTER TUNE na VO USING A SUSTAIN PEDAL sim 1S USING A CONTROL EXPRESSION PEDAL occocoooooocoscossnoscosoascosconcnanoas 19D THE PANIG UN a ME Table of content NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 4 EDITING PROGRAMS BERBBBRBBRBRBFBRGGeeeneeeeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 22 CHANGING AN EXISTING PROGRAM sssssscssccccsccsccccscsscccsscsscssssssssssessesio Zo CHANGING ONE PROGRAM IN A LAYER ssssssssssssssssss0055s05055s0005ss055ssss 22 REVERTING TO THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM sssssscsccsssscsccsssscsscssssessessessssie Zo USING MANUAL MODE ssssassassasasasauasuaasanatasaaaanauaanauaaunanasasansanaaan aano Io CUSTOMIZING MANUAL MODE sssssss22s222222222202222205200220s20s20sn0snussunsnnnnn 23 STORING PROGRAMS ccoo ooo ooo o c COPYING PROGRAMS sesenssasanansauscnasasusanansansanassausasasasananoonansanasaoa Zo c 5 PROGRAMMING VELOCITY SENSITIV
52. NVELOPES oeit p apii va bp FUE AO FUE ADU o T DN Tere stt monem Ee m 90 Edad io e a a a aiaiai 93 AAA Dad 1 2 FACTORY PRESETS asannnonnnnnannannnnannananannnnnannnnannannnonnnna 94 PROGRAM BANKS O 3J csscncscnccnccccccscnccsccnsscscccscncccccsccnscnsscnssccncesssssss D PROGRAM BANKS 4 7 esecenssnsnsnsosansusscnasonsenaonssesunaconensocuuensossuesaa OD PROGRAM BANKS B c ccsssnsasanuusesusanscasanasanasaneuosusosuenesesaseca DG PERCUSSION KITS ssssssss2s200s00500s055s0055sss00s0nssssss0sonononssssssssusssssssssssss DG PERFORMANCE BANKS 1 17 csccccccnccsccccncccssccccccccccsscscccsesscscsscscsessssessD Y PERFORMANCE BANKS Z i3 s ssssssssssossssosssossssasssssosssasssssosssesssssssssess Des ABOUT THE ORGAN SOUNDS essscccncncnccnccnsccncnsccnensscsccnscscccssscsnsenscssss DoD Drawbat Organ 4 1 29 ABOUT THE PROPHET 5 SOUND RECREATIONS eccsccsccncccsccccsssscseses 101 NORD LEAD 2 RAM FACTORY PROGRAMS seessssssssessesssssssssssessse 1 OZ 1 3 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION BESBBBRBSBBBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRRBRBHRBHRBRBeeeeeeeen 103 MIDI CONTROLLER LIST simi VOS SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE IMPLEMENTATION se sooo osononssenosssosssasssseesess TOS Generi Ms D T ie cao aN 105 Par 105 Parcas ton Kit Parchi DEO aieo uiii De i pua pp ctas Rl phsaina Kio tails bei ES AATE ONAP a 106 Patch Dus A A IA aaa 107 Dorem AA SU ES cts AR EO Tia DAI ridi NO precr
53. RAMETER RANGES 1 Set the parameter to the value you want it to deliver when you play with minimum force 2 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button The LED over the button will flash indicating that the Nord Lead 2X is in Velocity Learn mode 3 Turn the knob to the value you want it to have at maximum striking force You can try out different settings for maximum velocity until you find the most suitable While the Nord Lead 2X is in Velocity Learn mode you can set ranges for as many parameters as you wish Note that you could turn the knob in any direction it doesn t necessarily have to be from a low value to a high 4 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button again Page 24 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 5 Programming Velocity Sensitivity Making any parameter velocity dependent The VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN LED is now lit to indicate that at least one parameter in the sound is velocity dependant What you have done now is to set the range the span within which the param eter will change with velocity Velocity Morph ER Ifyou press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button ASSIGN Ga and move a knob from here to there CLEAR KBD SPLIT C this will be the range the SPLIT POINT parameter varies within PERF MODE Co DEMO 5 Turn the knob back to the value you want it to have when you play with minimum force What you did now was moving the entire range as described below Set the value you
54. RAWBAR ORGAN ESSENTIALS To make best use of the organ emulations and their special features some knowledge about the original instruments might be of use Briefly the following building blocks were combined to create the drawbar organ sounds TONEWHEELS These are the basic sound generating devices In the Nord Lead 2X they are of course replaced by the Oscillator section DRAWBARS These are click stopped sliders usually nine each one controlling the volume of a certain partial in the organ tone The partials are indicated in the classic pipe organ way referring to the length of the organ pipes Thus the standard drawbar configuration is from the bottom up 16 513 8 4 2213 2 13 5 11 3 I By using the drawbars to change the balance between the partials the harmonic content of the organ tone can be changed In the Nord Lead 2X organ sounds the oscillators are used to generate the partials In some cases there is a direct one oscillator one drawbar relation other sounds use more complex waveforms to simulate up to three combined partials with one oscillator Usually the oscillators in each slot are paired so that Oscillator 1 generates the lower partial s and Oscillator 2 the higher Therefore you can give the sound more bottom or edge by changing the Oscillator balance with the Mix knob for each Slot PERCUSSION To add some attack to the sound most classic organs feature Percussion an accent like tone
55. Slot activate recording in the sequencer and simply select a new Program for the Slot To record a change of Performance enter Performance mode activate recording in the sequencer and select the Performance with the UP DOWN buttons When playing back the Performance Program Change message from the sequencer make sure it gets transmitted on the Nord Lead s Global MIDI Channel see page 67 CONTROLLERS For the Nord Lead 2X to transmit and receive Control change messages from the front panel this must be activated see page 66 Modulation Wheel and pedal however are always transmitted received When you record front panel movements make sure you have the right Slot activated and that the sequencer echoes the changes back on the right MIDI Channel or your changes will affect the wrong sound f two or more Slots are set up to receive on the same MIDI Channel both will be affected by the changes Please read the note about Controller transmission in Local Off mode on page 66 Page 77 10 MIDI MIDI SysEx bulk dump NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x SOME NOTES ABOUT CONTROLLERS AND CHASING Consider a situation in which you record a Controller message e g a filter opening in the middle of your sequencer song Then you rewind the sequencer to a position before the recorded filter opening The problem is that the Nord Lead s filter will remain opened although it really should be as it was before you recorded the filte
56. TINGS The Special menu also contains settings for Aftertouch t and Expression pedal E parameter assign ment These functions are described in their respective contents on page 19 Expression pedal and page 74 Aftertouch Page 72 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 Shifi functions System SYSTEM Under this menu you will find three different functions labelled SP br and Un To select one of the functions hold down SHIFT and press the SYSTEM button Then press the SYSTEM button repeatedly until the left digit in the DISPLAY shows the desired letter SUSTAIN PEDAL SP This is used to set the polarity of a connected Sustain pedal See page 19 for details This parameter is global for the entire instrument that is the setting is valid for all Programs and Per formances PITCH BEND RANGE BR This allows you to set the range of the PITCH STICK in semitones The value is also used to set what effect incoming pitch bend MIDI messages should have on the pitch The table below shows you how many semi tones each value in the display represents Setting Range in semitones Setting Range in semitones 1 1 6 10 2 2 7 12 3 3 8 24 4 4 9 48 5 7 This parameter is global for all Slots However it is saved with a Performance which means you can have different pitch bend ranges for different Performances UNISON DETUNE UN This allows you to set how far detuned the v
57. ant to transmit one Program Performance only select it with the UP DOWN buttons 5 If needed set the other device to its recording mode Hold down the SHIFT button and press Dump One OCT SHIFT to transmit the current Program Performance only or Dump All Ocr SHIFT to transmit all Programs Performances of the current Bank To receive a Bulk Dump proceed as follows 1 Connect a cable from MIDI Out on the transmitting device to MIDI IN on the Nord Lead 2X 2 If you are about to receive a complete Bank you need to scroll to a number in the Bank Program or Performance Bank you want to replace with the received Bank 3 Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device If the dump contained a complete Bank it will take the place of the selected Bank in the Nord Lead 2X If the dump contained one Program Performance only this will be put in the edit buffer of the active Slot instead of the Program Performance you were playing However it is not saved permanently To save it use Store as described on page 23 and page 35 Note that any Percussion Kits in a Performance will only be included as references when you dump the Performance If you want to dump Percus sion Kits including all parameters you have to be in Program mode Page 78 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics Introduction 1 SYNTHESIS BASICS INTRODUCTION Subtractive synthesis is one of the oldest and most widely spread forms of
58. apply it via MIDI 3 Hold down SHIFT and press MIDI CH Set the MIDI Channel for Slot A to T 4 Press each of the other SLOT buttons and set them to MIDI Channel 16 This is just to make sure they do not get used in this example 5 Hold down SHIFT and press SPECIAL 6 Press the SPECIAL button until the left digit in the display reads S 7 Make sure Slot A is selected Otherwise press the SLOT A button 8 Use the UP DOWN buttons to set the value to on 9 Press STORE Use the UP DOWN buttons to select MIDI Channel 2 10 Press STORE again and then the DOWN button to select any MIDI note number 11 Press STORE again 12 Make sure all other Special functions are turned off for this Slot Do this by pressing the SPECIAL button repeatedly and check that the left digit in the display is set to oF for all Functions except S 13 Press SHIFT again to return to normal mode If you play the keyboard now there will not be any velocity control because you have set the instrument up to only do this on a separate MIDI channel 14 Set up your sequencer to play a sequence of notes with drastically different velocity values The pitches of the notes does not matter only the rhythm and velocity 15 Hold down a few keys on the keyboard and start the sequencer The sound should now vary in char acter with the velocity values coming out from the sequencer AFTERTOUCH AND EXPRESSION PEDAL SET
59. are ap Kelp ATTACK Level Attack time E gt Key Down This control is used to adjust how long it should take for the sound to reach full volume after a key has been pressed If the knob is turned fully counter clockwise the Attack is almost instantaneous If the knob is turned all the way to the right it lasts many seconds Note a very short attack time could pro duce a click in the beginning of the sound This is a normal physical phenomenon To eliminate any click just increase the attack time slightly DECAY Level Time 4 Attack Decay time time gt Key Down After the attack phase is finished and you haven t released the key the Decay begins During the Decay phase the sound decreases in level and continues to do so until it reaches the Sustain level see below The Decay knob is used to adjust how long this should take Page 45 8 Panel Reference Amplifier NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x SUSTAIN Level Sustain level Time 4 Attack Decay time time gt Key Down This is the level the sound will reach after the Decay phase Once this has happened the sound will stay steady at this volume until the key is released Please note that the Sustain parameter is used to set a level while Attack Decay and Release all are used to set times RELEASE Level Sustain level Time lt gt a o Attack Decay Release time time time gt Res iii S
60. at if you have a layer con sisting of Slots A B and D and Slot A is set to MIDI channel 1 both Slots B and D will receive on MIDI channel 1 as well as on their respective set MIDI channels Page 76 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 10 MIDI Using Nord Lead 2X with a sequencer Therefore if you want the sequencer to control the four Slots independently i e not in a layer make sure only one of the Slots is active on the Nord Lead 2X only one Program Slot LED is lit 1 Setup the Slots that you plan to use so that they transmit receive on the desired MIDI Channels To set a Slot s MIDI Channel hold down SHIFT and press MIDI CH Then select the Slot and set the value See page 67 for details 2 Set the program Slots that you don plan to use to MIDI Channel oFF This is to ensure they don t play any sound unintentionally 3 Select the desired Program for each Slot 4 If your sequencer requires you to transmit on a certain MIDI Channel the same MIDI Channel as the Slot receives on select the desired Slot before recording 5 If needed set the sequencer up to record and play back on the desired MIDI Channel 6 Activate recording and play the Nord Lead 2X 7 Foran overdub with a new sound select a new Track with a new MIDI Channel in the sequencer PROGRAM CHANGE For the Nord Lead 2X to transmit and receive Program Change messages Program Change must be ac tivated see page 66 To record a Program Change for a certain
61. at least one at the other which will result in a wide stereo sound The third option is that when playing several Programs at the same time the different Programs appear separated on different outputs Page 64 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 Shifi functions Out Mode The Out Mode function allows you to set different output modes for Slots A B and C D To set the output mode for Slot A and B hold down SHIFT and press the OUT MODE button once Note however that the setting you make for Slot A and B can affect Slot C and D as well if the setting cd is selected for Slot C and D as described below To set the output mode for Slot C and D hold down SHIFT and press the OUT MODE button twice Pressing the button repeatedly will toggle between the settings for Slots A B and C D SETTINGS FOR SLOT A AND B Display Description 1 Ab In this mode all sounds are mono as described above except if Unison is activated in which case the instrument automatically switches to stereo using Outputs A and B Ifone Unison and one non unison Program are layered stereo is used 2 Ab This is a straight Mono mode All Programs always appear with equal level at Outputs A and B 3 Ab This is a straight stereo mode All Program always appear with voices alternating between Out puts A and B 4 Ab In this mode Programs assigned to slot A will appear at Output A while Program assigned to slot B will ap
62. ay Res Sawtooth 9 12 Zzzing 9 45 BigBoy 9 78 Propella 8 13 Solid Snap Bass 8 46 Scritty Nitty 8 79 Tuned Resonance Pad 2 9 13 Cellizm 9 46 Hardwurz 9 79 Atmosfear 8 14 Fun with Wheel Bass 8 47 Happy Res Popper 8 80 Monster Lead Saw 9 14 Morphorgan 9 47 MMEB 9 80 Vibeggiator 8 15 Solid Cracker Bass 8 48 BPFilter Funky Velo Clav 8 81 Monster Lead Square 9 15 Diva 9 48 Brednbutta 9 81 Vintager 8 16 Mild Buzz Bass 8 49 Obi 1 kenobi 8 82 Pheabee 9 16 Scritty Gritty 9 49 Syncalong 9 82 Wheelraiz 8 17 Wonder Bass 8 50 Idaho Snow Pad 8 83 Alien Wind 9 17 Velocello 9 50 Zumpal 9 83 Yazza 8 18 Stereo Square Bass 8 51 Slow Soft String Pad 8 84 Velocity Res Synth 9 18 Himalaya 9 51 SubWheel 9 84 Strumma 8 19 Phunky Chunky Bass 8 52 Purple Pad 8 85 Arppegiated Reso 9 19 Speakalead 9 52 Idontlike 9 85 ClaviGum 8 20 Happy Clavi Bass 8 53 Pointed Triangles 8 86 Arppegiated Square 9 20 Delayline 9 53 Impressor 9 86 ClaviBass 8 21 Hybrid Piano Pad 8 54 Jazz Guitar 8 87 Arppegiated Velo Bass 9 21 Simplebars 9 54 Morphium 9 87 VanOrgan 8 22 Notchy Psycho 8 55 Slowly in Sync Pad 8 88 Aggrevated S amp H 9 22 Motor 9 55 Discofat 9 88 Squonk 8 23 Soft Square Pad 8 56 Only for Techno 8 89 Strike amp Wait 9 23 TB Morph 9 56 Disturbor 9 89 Cymbell 8 24 Bowed String Ensemble 8 57 Harmonisis Pad 8 90 Velocity HiHat 1 9 24 Subtone 9 57 Frogde
63. ch can be used for example for auto repeats when applied to the filter RANDOM This adds stepped random modulation to the destination This is mainly useful for effect sounds RATE This is used to set the frequency of the LFO in other words the speed of the vibrato The rate can be controlled externally via MIDI see page 68 DESTINATION This used to set which parameter the LFO should affect FM This routes the LFO to the FM Amount for special timbre changes Osc 1 2 This routes the LFO to the frequency of both oscillators in equal amounts Together with the triangle waveform this creates traditional vibrato Osc 2 This routes the LFO to the pitch of oscillator 2 only This can for example be used together with Sync see page 43 to create a pulsating change in timbre FILTER This routes the LFO to the Filter Frequency This can for example be used for wah wah effects triangle wave and for auto repeating sounds sawtooth wave PW This routes the output of the LFO to the Pulse Width of both oscillators For this to have any effect pulse wave must of course be selected for at least one of the oscillators This destination can be used with an LFO triangle waveform to create a chorus like sound suitable for strings and pads Page 53 8 Panel Reference LFO 2 Arpeggiator NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Please note that this function operates relative to the Pulse Width setting For optimal results please match the P
64. ch of the synchronized oscillator vary continuously for example from an LFO or envelope you will change the harmonic content of the sound in an interesting and very char acteristic way THE FILTER The filter in a synthesizer is used to remove or emphasize frequencies in a spectrum A filter is a bit like an amplifier a volume control that is applied differently to different parts of the spectrum For example a filter might make low frequencies louder while at the same time making high frequencies weaker Ap plying such a filter would make a sound have more bass and less treble Let s imagine a sound with a spectrum where all harmonics are available at full level It would look like this Let s now pass this spectrum through a lowpass filter this type of filter is discussed in more detail below The filter has a characteristic which can be drawn as a curve Page 85 11 Synthesis basics The filter NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x As you can see the curve is flat in the low register which means it doesn t affect this part of the spectrum at all and then at a certain point gradually starts falling When applied to the wave above this filter cuts away some of the high frequency material in the wave like this 4 gt y FILTER TYPES There are many types of filters all with their different purposes We will here discuss the three most com mon the ones found in the Nord Lead 2X LOWPASS FILTER The Lowpass
65. d Special modes for each Program slot This might lead to silent sounds EDITING A PERFORMANCE SELECTING PROGRAMS AS BASE FOR A PERFORMANCE To replace a sound in a Performance proceed as follows 1 Hold down the desired Slot button A to D The DISPLAYS shows which Program was used for this Slot when the Performance was created Note that you copy the Program to the Performance This means that you re free to edit and change the original Program in Program mode afterwards without affecting the Performance Page 33 7 Performances Saving a Performance NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 2 While holding down the SLOT button select a Program for the Slot just as you would in Program mode See page 12 Hold down the desired Slot button its Use the UP DOWN buttons to select another pro LED will blink and the DISPLAY will gram for the Slot in the Performance show the selected Program for the slot program STORE e EE A B Cc D EE E TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL LAYERING AND EDITING This is done just as in Program mode The only thing to note is that when you save the Performance you save the edited Program s within the Performance The original Program that you used as a basis for the Performance is not affected This is not true for Percussion Kits which are only referenced in the Performances Any editing done to a Percussion Kit in Performance mode will affect the original Percussion Kit and all ref
66. d un triangle quilat ral est employ pour alerter l utilisateur de la pr sence d instructions importantes pour le fonctionnement et l entretien service dans le livret d instructions accompagnant l appareil Instructions pertaining to a risk of fire electric shock or injury to persons IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS Warning When using electric products basic precautions should always be followed including the following 1 Read these instructions 2 Keep these instructions 3 Heed all warnings 4 Follow all instructions 5 Do not use this apparatus near water 6 Clean only with dry cloth 7 Do not block any ventilation openings Install in accordance with the manufacturer s instructions 8 Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other apparatus including amplifiers that produce heat 9 Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding type plug A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet 10 Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit from the apparatus 11 Only use attachm
67. dina 53 O NN 54 LFO 2 ARPEGGIA TDR c cssssssssssssssusspsssosuouaususEsESESSOSONEUESEOPSESESESESS 54 A A 54 LFO 2 ARPEGGIATOR MODE scsi 54 EKE ETE o O 54 Arper o MTS SA a AAA 54 AAA in Id 55 A AAA AAA 55 Aboutibe Echo negi ireren A A Maa cd diro Le nes Tia 55 LFO 2 LFO MUODE 2222222222222222222222222a222222a22G222zGO ROSORSRRAOARRRARARARAAR 56 hcm mm E E rer E 56 o IEEE ET lated acerca esistlotonivtd eua testis bte tEsse FLETES Io ASTU EATE 56 MEA D UNDO EEUU TIUS 56 HI Table of content NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x MODULATION ENVELOPE sssseseussssnsssrsasessRerESNEERESSEEEERSRERRPESSESEREESEERNEE 57 O 57 AA A A A A ute a7 ds 57 ISSO 57 MOD WHEEL DESTINATION scanner sa 59 A A M 59 Ber CEN UU Tm 59 pp T 59 jn TL MP NM 59 Dulles onte UNIDO ee die cM I Mimi cu I IMEEM MIS 59 PELY LEBATE MOND ic o ads 59 Pola 60 A o PP a 60 Midi italia 60 UNISON ira 6D PORTAMENTO siria AA 6D e IL ECL I LU AERE 60 ESAE T NS DON II A IT 61 DET SHIFT Ai 61 Sota oso 61 Keyboard ida 61 9 SHIFT FUNCTIONS BEAGARARCCACAACACNCACACCAACACAACACACACAACAAAAAAAAAOCAACAAACAAAOCCOCOO 62 ACCESSING THE SHIFT FUNCTIONS sssssssssoesessoresssossennesssoenessnneseseee 62 Selecting a SIUS A A 62 SHIFT FUNCTION LIST iisecessassenssanEa n RAPRORREARSPRRASRPAE ARE SERUREN PRAE RERENE M RMRE 63 About Global and Slot
68. e you press a key With the External Velocity Control function however you can press and hold notes and vary their timbre via the velocity of the incoming notes without releasing the keys that is without re triggering the envelopes You can use the UP DOWN buttons to switch between oF and on The velocity control happens on its own MIDI Channel and note number s completely independent of the MIDI Channel used for defining which keys should be played It can be controlled from al notes on one MIDI Channel or oze specific note number on one MIDI Channel see Function 3 above for how to specify the MIDI note number and the MIDI Channel When this function is activated and a MIDI Note On message comes in the parameters values are adjusted according to the note s Velocity value When a MIDI Note Off message comes in the Velocity Morph function is reset to the minimum value Page 71 9 Shift functions Special NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Please note that you must play the keyboard to hear anything Also note that the Velocity Morph must be set up beforehand for this function to have any effect on the sound AN EXAMPLE OF EXTERNAL VELOCITY MORPH 1 Select a Program for Slot A 2 Edit the Program so that you get a morphing effect you like when you move the MODULATION WHEEL It is not actually necessary to assign the velocity programming to the MODULATION WHEEL but it is a practical way to try out the effect before you
69. e Perf Name Perf Name 2 40 Breath Pad 2 F0 Aggressive SAW 1 3 A0 Bass 1 3 F0 Backwardchords 2 A1 FutureSYNC MIX 2 2 F1 Alien Walking MIX 2 3 A1 Bass 2 3 F1 Metalfeedback 2 42 FutureSYNC MIX 3 2 F2 Alien Walking MIX 3 3 42 Bass 3 3 F2 Pagan 2 A3 Big Bold Movie Pad 2 F3 VEL Reso Lead 3 43 Fifth Drawbar 3 F3 Ghost 2 A4 Hybrid Chorused Piano 2 F4 DARK Pad 3 A4 Autowah Bass 3 F4 Friday13th 2 A5 Terminated MIX 1 2 F5 Westside Bass 3 45 Mouth Bass 3 F5 Ep W Room 2 A6 Terminated MIX 2 2 F Stereo Rap Lead 3 46 Snapsync 3 F6 Magic Room 2 A7 Punchy Polysynth 2 F7 Rushing ARP Pad 3 A7 Deep Kalimba 3 F7 Low Organ W Click 2 A8 Terminated MIX 4 Breakdwn 2 F8 Res Sweep in Fifths 3 A8 Attackbass 3 F8 Elpiano 2 49 Terminated MIX 5 2 F9 Stereo Solo String 3 49 Horrorwave 3 F9 Fat Percbass 2 B0 Disco Toy Shop Mix 1 2 G0 Mono String Pad 3 B0 Good Morning 3 G0 Resonantsweep 1 2 B1 Disco Toy Shop Mix 2 2 G1 Goodbye Pad 1 3 B1 Polyrythm Hat 3 GI Bass 12 2 B2 Totally Rude Synth Lead 1 2 G2 Goodbye Pad 2 3 B2 Jazzy Scat 3 G2 Portamentolead 2 B3 ARPeggiator 2 G3 Alternating Pluck 3 B3 Woodbass 3 G3 Funky Steel 2 B4 Stereo Pluck Pad 2 G4 Cyber Man 3 B4 Fusionbasic 3 G4 Birds amp Bells 2 B5 Cyber Split 2 G5 Impact Synth Pad 3 B5 Pulse 3 G5 Soft Glass 2 B6 Cyber Suite 1a 2 G6 Nasty Sync Bass 3 B6 Square Slapbass 3 G6 Mikes Favorite 2 B7 Cyber Suite Ib 2 G7 Stereo Synth Brass 3 B7 Nasty Organ 3 G7 Seg 1 2 B8 Cyber Suite 1c 2 G8 Digi Bell Pad 3 B8 Wah Koto Lead 3 G
70. e SHIFT button and press the MIDI CH Unison button UNISON MONO The MIDI Ch button MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM SHIFT Wheel The DISPLAY will now show the MIDI Channel setting for Slot A 1 16 or off Use the UP DOWN buttons to select MIDI Channel 1 The UP DOWN buttons MIDI Channel 1 selected program STOR A Aem A B C D A Ges dt TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL 5 Press Shift again to return to the normal play mode If you use Slot A when you play the Nord Rack 2X if you like together with other Slots this sim ple setting should be sufficient in most situations even when playing Layers and Performances as described later in this manual For more information see page 76 Page 11 3 Basic operation Selecting Programs NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x THE TRIG BUTTON If you don t have a keyboard connected to your Nord Rack 2X you can still try out the sounds by using the TRIG button Pressing this button is equal to playing the note C3 with a velocity of 64 PERF MODE C MANUAL Atta The indicator next to the Trig button will light up every time the Nord Rack receives a valid MIDI Note message This is an easy way to check that your MIDI connections are OK SELECTING PROGRAMS Program are sounds that you have prepared in advance The internal memory in the Nord Lead 2X con tains 10 x 99 Programs The first four Banks Programs 1 3 99 of can be edited and overwritten with your own Pro
71. e first note is also retrig gered UNISON POLY LEGATO D UNISON MONO The Unison switch and LED EM ES ass PROG CTRL MIDI CH SPECIAL When this is activated more than one voice will be played when you press a key This gives you a fatter sound but at the same time reduces polyphony If Poly mode is selected two voices are used for each key This allows you to play eight notes at the same time provided you are not using Layers f Mono or Legato mode are selected four voices are used for each key for an even fatter sound PORTAMENTO Portamento The Portamento con trols POLY LEGATO UNISON MONO AUTO PORTAMENTO TIME This is used to set how long it should take for the pitch to slide from one pitch to the next If you don t want any Portamento at all set this knob to zero Page 60 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Oct Shifi AUTO When Auto is activated LED is lit the pitch only slides if you play legato that is if you play a new key before releasing the previous one The effect of Auto Portamento is pretty obvious when you have selected Mono or Legato Play mode If on the other hand Poly is selected the Portamento effect will be slightly unpredictable if Auto is on For Poly mode we therefore recommend you to turn Auto off Oct SHIFT The OCTAVE SHIFT buttons have two functions Slot and Keyboard Octave Shift explained below To switch between the two Octave Sh
72. e frequency spectrum For a theoretical introduction to waveforms see page 80 Page 38 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Oscillator 2 OSCILLATOR 2 WAVEFORM SELECTOR The first three waveform alternatives for Oscillator 2 are identical to the corresponding waveforms of Os cillator 1 see above Oscillator 2 also has another waveform the Noise NOISE NOISE COLOUR AND SYNC WAVE With Noise selected Oscillator 2 produces noise rather than a pitched waveform The exact color fre quency content of the noise can be adjusted with the Oscillator 2 SEMITONES knob The further you turn the knob clockwise the brighter the noise All the way to the right its frequency characteristics is very close to that of white noise where all frequencies are represented with equal energy Amplitude A Amplitude Time gt Frequency White noise contains all frequencies at equal energy levels Note that the sound of the noise is also affected by the filter setting as all other sound from the Nord Lead 2X If the filter frequency is turned down adjusting Noise color might not have the expected effect If Sync is activated see page 43 selecting Noise will produce very special signals with non transposed formant spectrum with strong body resonance characteristics The reason synched noise works at all is that it s the same series of frequencies that are synched repeated over and over In a traditional analog
73. e perceived as bright Let s take a look at some common waveforms and their spectra In the illustrations below only some of the first harmonics are displayed In reality waveforms like these have an infinite amount of harmonics SAWTOOTH The Sawtooth wave has a simple spectrum All harmonics are present in the wave in proportional values As you can see the high harmonics have a fairly high amplitude which makes this waveform sound bright Amplitude A Amplitude m gt Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency TRIANGLE The triangle wave does not have very strong harmonics Furthermore they only appear at odd harmonic numbers The first fact makes the tone pure a bit like a flute and the second fact gives the sound a slightly hollow character Amplitude A Amplitude Time Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency Page 82 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics The oscillators and waveforms PULSE WAVE The pulse wave is slightly more complicated because it is not one waveform it is many different ones A pulse wave is a waveform that during one period jumps once between full positive amplitude and full neg ative and then back The thing that can be varied is where within the period you jump from maximum to minimum amplitude Let s look at three examples Amplitude A Amplitude 5 Time gt
74. e specifies Performance Edit Buffer 40 or Performance Banks 1 4 41 44 00 or 00 63 0 or 0 to 99 Message Specification specifies the Performance number see below F7 247 End Of Exclusive If Message Type 40 Edit Buffer the Message Specification should always 0 If Message Type 41 or 42 then the Message Specification 00 to 99 corresponds to the Performance Number A0 to L9 ALL CONTROLLERS REQUEST This message instructs the Nord Lead 2X to send all current Controller values for a specified Slot see page 78 The message is never transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X 14 20 Message Type specifies All Controllers Request 00 03 0 to 3 Message Specification specifies the Slot F7 247 End Of Exclusive Page 109 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PATCH AND PERFORMANCE DATA FORMATS In the Patch and Performance Dump Messages the Data Bytes contain the actual Patch Performance set tings All parameters are in 8 bit format 2s complement signed Each Byte is Nybbleized and coded into two MIDI bytes with the low Nybble transmitted first A Patch contains 66 parameters which means the data block of a Patch Dump is transmitted in 132 66 2 Bytes See the Patch Dump Format
75. eceived as Control Change messages This can be used to record your actions on the front panel into a MIDI sequencer for playback together with the musical performance For a full list of which parameters correspond to which Controller number see the MIDI Implementation section on page 103 You can activate deactivate transmission reception of the front panel Controllers see page 66 AFTERTOUCH The Nord Lead 2X can receive but not send Aftertouch channel pressure messages You can set which parameter if any should be controlled by the Aftertouch messages for each Slot 1 While holding down the SHIFT button press the SPECIAL button Page 74 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 10 MIDI About the MIDI implementation 2 Press the SPECIAL button repeatedly until the left character in the Display reads t for touch 3 Select a Slot for which you want to set the aftertouch function 4 To assign a parameter for the aftertouch press STORE The DISPLAY will flash showing one of the abbreviations in the table below 5 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select one of the following control functions Display shows Aftertouch assigned to LFO 1 Amount LFO 2 Amount Filter Cutoff Frequency FM Amount Oscillator 2 Pitch 6 After you have made your choice press STORE again You return to the r display 7 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a control amount value oF or 1 to 7 This value
76. ected for any of the oscillators or both It adjusts the pulse width of the Pulse waves There s only one Pulse Width setting and it is common for both os cillators When you turn the knob all the way to the left you get a perfect square wave which has a characteristic hollow quality When you turn the knob clockwise the sounds gets progressively thinner See page 83 for a general introduction to pulse waves and pulse widths PuLsE WiDTH MODULATION Please note that the Pulse Width can be modulated by LFO 1 and the Modulation Envelope This creates a sweeping chorus like effect suitable for pads and string sounds MIX Set the balance between Oscillatorl and 2 in the mix with the MIX knob AMPLIFIER amplifier An amplifier is most often used at the final stage of a synth signal chain to control volume By modulat ing the amplifier with an envelope the sound can be given its basic shape In fact the volume shape is one of the most important factors to how we identify the sound By setting up a proper volume enve lope you can make a sound soft hard plucked static etc WI The volume envelope curve to the left determines how the amplitude of the waveform changes over time Page 44 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Amplifier Level Sustain level Time WO de 3 KK Attack Decay Release time time time gt Ko A enemy pal ash
77. ed DE LOCAL PROG CTRL Slot B blinking is selected Any editing will ap ply to the Program in this Slot DEACTIVATING To turn of the layer press a slot button that is not part of the layer or press all the buttons that make up the layer Page 14 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 Basic operation Splitting the Keyboard POLYPHONY The Nord Lead 2X has 20 voices polyphony How many notes you can play simultaneously depends on what Play modes and Unison settings the Program uses see page 59 and also if you layer several Pro grams CHANGING PROGRAMS IN THE LAYER Ifyou want to select another Program for one or more of the Slots in the layer do like this 1 Press the Slot button that you want to select a new Programs for Its LED will flash to indicate it is the active Slot 2 Select a new Program for the Slot by pressing the UP DOWN buttons 3 Repeat the procedure if you want to change Programs in any of the other Slots in the layer SPLITTING THE KEYBOARD The Keyboard Split function allows you to divide the Nord Lead 2X keyboard in two sections each play ing separate Programs This can be very useful when you are playing live since it lets you use the Nord Lead 2X as if it were two independent synthesizers with different sounds When Keyboard Split is acti vated Slots A and B will be played from the left part of the keyboard while Slots C and D will be played from the right part Activate Keyboard Split like this
78. en 1 F9 Attack 1 B0 Sixtifive organ 1 G0 Piano pad 1 B1 Wow pad 1 G1 Harp 1 B2 Windy 1 G2 Echo from africa 1 B3 Water organ 1 G3 Sweep pad 1 B4 Big Morph 1 G4 Magic night 1 B5 Heavy pulse lead 1 G5 Drawbar Organs see be 1 H7 low 1 B6 Westminister 1 H8 Prophet 5 Factory Patch 1J9 Recreations see page 101 1 B7 Strings and bells 1 L0 Nord Lead 2 RAM Pro 1 L9 grams 1 40 see page 102 1 B8 The Jazz duo 1 B9 Ambient bell 1 C0 Big pulse 1 C1 Unison FM lead 1 C2 Rise and fall 1 C3 Greek stuff 1 C4 Octave sweep 1 C5 Cyber piano 1 C6 Pan flute 1 07 Metal sweep 1 C8 Sax o phone 1 C9 Mouth flute 1 D0 Acid clock 1 D1 Future pipe 1 D2 Stereo Pad 1 D3 Wheel lead 1 D4 Expressive Lead 1 D5 Techno song 1 D6 Brass pad 1 D7 Saw Sweep 1 D8 Brite string pad 1 D9 Space engine 1 E0 Square organ LEI Saw pulse pad 1 E2 Analog grand bass 1 E3 Raga on white keys 1 E4 Soft string pad 1 E5 Voice 1 1 E6 Voice 2 1 E7 Voice 3 1 E8 Dist lead 1 E9 Big bell Page 97 12 Factory presets Performance Banks 2 3 PERFORMANCE BANKS BANK 2 ROM BANK 3 ROM NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Perf Name Perf Nam
79. ents accessories specified by the manu facturer 12 Use only with the cart stand tripod bracket or table specified by the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus When a cart is used use caution when moving the cart apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip over 13 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time 14 Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way such as power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate nor mally or has been dropped Additional Safety Information No naked flame sources such as lighted candles should be placed on the apparatus Do not use the apparatus in tropical climates WARNING To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that no objects filled with liquids such as vases shall be placed on the apparatus The maims plug is used as the disconnect device and shall remain readily operable Il convient de ne pas placer sur l appareil de sources de flammes nues telles que des bougies allum es L appareil n est pas destin tre utilis sous un climat tropical L appareil ne doit pas tre expos des gouttemen
80. eparately as described on page 31 EXTRACTING SINGLE SOUNDS FROM A PERFORMANCE The text below does not apply to Percussion Kits in Performances As stated earlier the sounds used in the Slots of a Performance are not references to regular existing Pro grams but complete Program patches in their own right You will find several unique sounds in the factory Performances sounds that you will not find in any of the internal Program locations You may want to extract such a sound for use as a single Program or to make it part of another Performance Pro ceed as follows 1 Select the Performance containing the sound you want to extract 2 Make sure the Slot with the desired sound is selected LED is flashing 3 Press STORE 4 Press the PERF MODE button to exit Performance mode 5 Scroll to a suitable Program location 1 3 99 in the internal memory and press STORE again The sound is stored as a regular Program This can now be played as usual or included in another Per formance as described on the previous page ExiTING PERFORMANCE MODE To exit Performance mode press the PERF MODE button Now you return to the regular Program mode You will note that the four slots now play the four Programs that were selected before you entered Performance mode Likewise Layering and Shift functions are restored to the way they were set before you entered Performance mode Page 35 7 Performances What a Performance contains
81. ere is a sine wave has no harmonics at all In other words if you add a number of sine waves together each one with its own pitch frequency and volume amplitude then you can build any waveform you like The lowest harmonic is called the fundamental The fundamental determines the basic pitch of the sound If the fundamental has a frequency of 440Hz we will perceive the entire sound as having a pitch of 440Hz Other harmonics are then added to the fundamental called overtones Normally the first overtone appears ata frequency twice the fundamental in our example 880 Hz The next harmonic appears at a frequency three times the fundamental in our example 1320Hz and so on In a spectral display of a waveform you can see the frequency pitch of each harmonic and its amplitude level This is done by drawing each harmonic as a line raising up from a horizontal scale Each line s position on this scale indicates the harmonic s frequency The line furthest to the left is the fundamental the next is the first harmonic etc To make life easier one usually doesn t label the horizon tal scale with frequency in Hz but rather with the number of the harmonic Page 81 11 Synthesis basics The oscillators and waveforms NORD LEAD 2X VI 0x The height of each line represents the amplitude of each harmonic If you understand the principle you also understand that if the harmonics with high numbers have a high amplitude the sound will b
82. erences to it in other Performances SHIFT FUNCTIONS Again these parameters are set just as in Program mode Most of these parameters are also saved with the Performance as indicated in the table on the next page SAVING A PERFORMANCE To be able to save edited Performances you have to save it to any of the first 100 Performance memory locations A 0 L 9 1 2 Edit the Performance as desired Press the STORE button The DISPLAY flashes Select one of the first 100 Performance memory locations as described above If you change your mind at this point press any of the SLOT buttons to abort If you decide to go ahead with overwriting the existing Performance press STORE again The DIs PLAY stops flashing to indicate that the Performance has been saved Programs in Performance Slots are actually saved complete with all parameter settings when the Perform ance is saved Percussion Kits on the other hand are only saved as references to existing Percussion Kits Page 34 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 7 Performances Extracting single sounds from a Performance The above point means that there is no need to store the Programs separately As soon as you save the Performance all Programs that it uses are also saved inside the Performance This also means that if you later change any of your Programs from Program mode the Programs in the Performances are not af fected in any way On the other hand Percussion Kits need to be saved s
83. erred to as sweeping the filter This is probably one of the most important ways of shaping the timbre of a synthesizer sound By using an envelope you can for ex ample have a high cutoff at the beginning of a sound which is then gradually lowered the filter closes as the sound decays This would emulate the way most plucked string sound piano guitar etc behave the amplitude of the harmonics decreases as the sound decays KEYBDARD TRACKING When you play different pitches the oscillators produce different frequencies This means that the over tones in the waveform appear at different frequencies The cutoff frequency of the filter however is fixed This means that different overtones will be cut off at different pitches To be more precise the further up the keyboard you play the muddier the sound will be To remedy this problem many synthesizers have a parameter called Filter Keyboard Tracking When this is activated the filter Cutoff Frequency varies with which key you play just as the oscillator frequency does This ensures a constant harmonic spectrum for all keys Amplitude A A N Frequency LE gt Page 88 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics The filter RESONANCE Resonance in a filter is created by connecting the output of the filter to its input in other words setting up a feedback loop The amount of feedback is then controlled with a Resonance paramete
84. ery 108 Pola Dump Renania 109 PRE ems BG MENRRTNRO oidos alles cello 109 Puch aud Performance Data Por cba inqoit bap MM A A 110 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART esocoocconcoscononaconcnosonccoscancononaconcoanoss TTS INDEX RL NN 1 1 5 VI NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 1 Introduction Welcome 1 INTRODUCTION WELCOME We d first like to thank you and congratulate to the purchase of a Nord Lead 2X You re about to begin a journey into the world of virtual analog synthesis Analog because the Nord Lead 2X mimics traditional analog synthesizers in a way no one thought was possible Virtual because the Nord Lead 2X is actually a digital instrument remaining true to the traditional analog concept and still managing to go beyond it But not all the magic lies in the sound creation A major part is in the front panel comprehensive clearly laid out and smooth to operate ABOUT THIS MANUAL Ifyou have some basic knowledge about programmable analog synthesizers you probably won t need this manual much Therefore it s arranged mainly as a reference manual for those rare situations where some thing isn t as obvious as it should be Every time this manual wants your attention to an object on the synthesizer the name of that object will be printed LIKE THIS e g click on the STORE button The LED display on Nord Lead 2X is always referred to as the DISPLAY Whenever there is a reference to the keyboard that reference will also apply to any incomi
85. es in the Nord Lead 2X with the two oscilla tors set to an unusual interval not octaves or fifths for example you will get a spectrum where the overtones appear at frequencies somewhere between the perfect harmonics This results in an inharmonic sound which often sounds metallic Amplitude Amplitude Harmonic number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Frequency SYNC One some instruments including the Nord Lead 2X two Oscillators can be synchronized If you for ex ample synchronize Oscillator 2 to Oscillator 1 Oscillator 2 will start over with a new period of the wave form each time Oscillator 1 does so If Oscillator 2 then has a higher frequency than 1 it will get a complex waveform that depends both on its own pitch and on that of the other oscillator A Oscillator 1 gt exten A M A MAMA M synchronized Page 84 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics The filter When sync is applied the basic pitch of Oscillator 2 is locked to that of Oscillator 1 If you change the pitch of Oscillator 1 you will affect the basic pitch of both oscillators Furthermore when you vary the pitch of the synchronized oscillator Oscillator 2 this will be perceived as a change in timbre rather than in pitch This leads to a spectrum with deep resonances at Osc2 s harmonics like this Amplitude A Osc 2 Harmonics wee Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency If you go even further and let the pit
86. esizer but with two main differences The LEO produces very low frequencies most often below the hearing range up to 20Hz The LEO is not used to produce sound instead it is connected to other modules to provide modula tion of parameters If you for example route an LFO to pitch you get a vibrato If you route it to the filter s cutoff frequency you get a wah wah type of effect And if you route it to the amplifier of an instrument you get a tremolo The three basic parameters for an LFO are Waveform Rate frequency and Amount The waveform determines the type of vibrato for example regular triangle or sine ramp saw tooth or random The Rate determines the speed of the vibrato The Amount controls to what degree the LFO affects its destination Page 93 12 Factory presets Program Banks 0 3 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 12 FACTORY PRESETS PROGRAM BANKS D 3 BANK D RAM BANK 1 RAM Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name 1 Clearly for Techno 34 Picked Bass 67 Poppy SQU Synth ll Sawbrass 1 34 String pad 1 67 Acid 2 2 And God made Resonance 35 Funk FM Bass 68 VEL Soundtrack 12 Velocity strings 1 35 Solo pulse 1 68 legato bass 3 Delay Synth Brass
87. esonance in its harmonics 4 Amplitude Amplitude Harmonic number 10 20 30 40 Frequency Oscillator non synched 4 Amplitude Sync oscillator Amplitude Osc Harmonics NEM Oscillator synchronized l E 10 20 30 40 Frequency a Amplitude Time gt Amplitude Osc Harmonics ES Oscillator at higher frequency synchronized 10 20 30 40 a Amplitude Harmonic number Frequency The effect of this is that if Oscillator 2 s pitch is higher than Oscillator 1 its resulting waveform will have a pitch determined by Oscillator 1 but a timbre depending on the pitch of Oscillator 2 See page 84 for a more details The easiest way to try this out is probably to activate Sync and adjust the SEMITONE knob for Oscillator 2 while holding down a note When trying out Sync make sure you listen to Oscillator 2 since this is the one affected by the changes MODULATION OF OSCILLATOR 2 PITCH Please note you can modulate the pitch of Oscillator 2 in various ways from LFO 1 the Mod Env and from the MOD WHEEL for example This can be used to create harmonically varying timbres with a very characteristic sound Sync and Ring Modulation can be activated at the same time Just press the RING MOD SYNC button until both indicators are lit see Ring Mod on page 42 Page 43 8 Panel Reference Amplifier NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PULSE WIDTH This function only has any effect if Pulse wave is sel
88. et Sustain to 0 the sound will become silent after the Decay phase is finished With short Attacks moderate Decay times this can be used to simulate the behaviour of a plucked string instru ment guitar piano etc where the sound always decays to silence after a while Level Time Key Down Key Up Page 92 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics LFOs If you release a key before the envelope has reach its sustain it will immediately jump to the Release The effect of this can be studied in the illustration below Level Key Down Key Up Often envelope levels can be made to vary with how hard you play the keys This is used to make a sound vary with your playing style for example to make the sound brighter filter envelope or louder amplifier envelope AD ENVELOPE A simpler form of envelope has Attack and Decay parameters only and is therefore called an AD enve lope In effect the AD envelope behaves like an ADSR envelope with Sustain set to O see the picture at the top of this page This type of envelope often with amount and inversion controls is suitable when you want to affect the start of the sound only On the Nord Lead 2X the Modulation Envelope is of AD type Typically it can be made to modulate the FM amplitude or the pitch of Oscillator 2 to create a different timbre during the attack part of the sounds LFOs An LFO is an oscillator just like the ones that produce the sound in a synth
89. etune li 2 24 Bellpiano 2 57 Octpad 2 90 Lasergun 3 24 Big Bass 3 57 Brassalog 3 90 Geiger Counter 2 25 EPsmack 2 58 Gentle Pad 2 91 Space 3 25 Electropanic 3 58 Ob Genevice 3 91 Industrial Drone 2 26 Synclav 2 59 Sitarpad 2 92 Bird 3 26 Flutedistmorpher 3 59 Chick Full Of Fifths 3 92 Rewind 2 27 Thinclav 2 60 Digibell 1 2 93 Flipstring 3 27 Voxpiano 3 60 Funkin Epiano 3 93 Weed Eater 2 28 FMclav 2 61 Digibell 2 2 94 Cyber 3 28 Warm Pad 3 61 Stinger Lead 3 94 Radio Breakup 2 29 Vibroclav 2 62 Crysister 2 95 Cybertalk 3 29 Organ 2 3 62 Accordion 3 95 Deep Woods Off 2 30 Polybrass 2 63 LFO Bell 2 96 Cyberspace 3 30 Flutearpeggi 3 63 Bag Pipes 3 96 Cell Phone 231 Pulsebrass 2 64 CrispBell 2 97 Plipp plopp 3 31 Far Arpeggi 3 64 Bent Bells 3 97 Hover 2 32 Wetbrass 2 65 Bassreveb 2 98 Darhvader 332 Triangle Morpher 3 65 Lucy 3 98 Be Careful With That N 2 33 X8P stab brass 2 66 Gende Bell 2 99 Rain 3 33 Arpeggiklang 3 66 Whistle Buzz 3 99 Birdsong Page 94 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 12 Factory presets Program Banks 4 7 PROGRAM BANKS 4 7 BANK 4 ROM BANK 5 ROM Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg
90. filter dampens high frequencies and let s low frequencies pass through unaffected as in the example above It is the most common synthesizer filter since it can be used to round off the sharp sound of sawtooth waves and pulse waves Amplitude f Ec Cutoff Frequency Frequency HIGHPASS FILTER This is the opposite of the lowpass filter It let s the high frequencies of the sound pass through and cuts off the low frequencies This removes bass from a sound without affecting the high end Amplitude f Fc Cutoff Frequency gt Frequency Page 86 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics The filter BANDPASS FILTER This let s frequencies in a certain range of the spectrum the band pass through while dampening fre quencies both below and above this range This accentuates the mid range of a sound Amplitude ii Fc Cutoff Frequency Frequency NOTCH FILTER This filter type also known as Band Reject can be seen as the opposite of a band pass filter It cuts off frequencies in a mid range band letting the frequencies below and above through Amplitude Fc Cutoff Frequency gt Frequency In the Nord Lead 2X the Notch filter is combined with a 12 dB Lowpass filter for greater musical ver satility see page 49 ROLL OFF Filters of one and the same type lowpass highpass etc can have different characteristics One of the fac tors determining the exact filter curve is
91. formances in steps of ten The Performance is instantly loaded and you can try it out For a list of the factory Performances see page 97 di Use the UP DOWN buttons to change Performance y program m If you hold down the SHIFT button you can change Performances in steps of ten E with the UP DOWN buttons M B Cc MORPH LFO 1 OSC 2 FM A EA E E E TUNE OUTMODE LOCAL PROG CTRL FILTER SHIFT Wheel 4 Exit Performance mode by pressing the PERF MODE button MONOPHONIC AND POLYPHONIC OPERATION For each Program you can set a Play Mode Poly Mono Legato The exact nature of these modes is described on page 59 To make a sound fatter you can activate Unison This reduces polyphony See page 60 for details Press this button to turn Unison POLY 1 on and off The LED above the LEGATO d button indicates that Unison is TIRE Fr activated MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM STEREO MONO If you are using more than one output or headphones you might want to know something about how the sounds get positioned in the stereo image The answer is that this depends on the Out Mode settings as described on page 64 When shipped from factory the Nord Lead 2X is set to output all Programs in mono There s one exception Ifa Program is set to Unison the instrument is automatically switched to stereo operation Page 17 3 Basic operation Pitch Stick and Modulation Wheel NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PITCH STICK AND MODUL
92. g 9 Morphing 27 Performances Defined 36 Editing 33 Introduction to 32 MIDI Transmission and reception 76 Recalling 16 32 Saving 34 Pitch Bend see Pitch Stick Pitch Stick MIDI Transmission and reception 74 Range 18 Using 18 Poly 17 59 Portamento 60 Prog Ctrl 66 Program Change Activating transmission reception 66 Described 75 Recording in Sequencer 77 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Program Slots Introduction to 12 Programs Copying 23 Editing 22 Layering 14 MIDI Channel 75 MIDI Transmission and reception 75 Selecting 12 Selecting in a Performance 33 Storing 23 Pulse Width 44 Rate LFO 1 53 LFO 2 56 Release Amplifier 46 Filter 52 Introduction to 92 Resonance 50 Ring Modulation 42 Semitones 41 Shift Functions 62 Special Functions 67 Split 15 Stereo Out Mode 64 Store Performance 34 Program 23 Sustain Amplifier 46 Filter 52 Introduction to 91 Sustain Pedal 19 Sync 43 84 System 73 System Exclusive Bulk Dump 78 Implementation 105 Index T Trig button 12 Tune 18 64 Tune Ring Mod 42 u Unison 60 Unison Detune 73 v Velocity Morph via MIDI 71 Programming 24 to Filter 51 Ww Waveform LFO 1 53 Osc 1 37 Osc 2 39 Page 117
93. g Sounds To and From 30 Editing 29 Playing 28 Selecting 28 Dump One All 78 E Echo 55 Envelope Amplifier 44 Filter Amount 51 Introduction to 80 Expression Pedal 19 expression pedal technical requirements 9 F Filter Introduction to 79 85 Triggering Envelope via MIDI 69 Type 48 Velocity 24 Fine Tune 41 FM Amount 41 Frequency Filter 49 Frequency Modulation 41 Gain 47 Page 115 Index H Highpass 48 86 Hold 55 HP 24dB 48 Internet 7 K Kbd Track Keyboard Tracking Filter 51 Osc2 41 Keyboard Split 15 L Layering 14 Layers Playing via MIDI 76 Legato 59 LFO 152 LFO 1 Synchronizing to MIDI Clock 68 LFO 2 54 LFO 2 Synchronizing to MIDI Clock 69 LFO Introduction to 80 Local Control 66 Lowpass 48 86 LP 48 LP 12dB 48 LP 24 dB 48 M Manual 22 Master Tune 18 MIDI 66 MIDI Channel Global 67 76 Program Slot 67 With Sequencer 76 MIDI Connections 76 Modulation Envelope 57 Modulation wheel Destination 59 Morphing From 27 Using 18 modulator FM 41 Mono Page 116 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Mode 17 59 Out Mode 64 Output 17 Morphing 27 59 N Noise 39 Noise Colour 39 Notch LP 49 a Octave Shift 61 Oscillator waveforms pulse and square wave 38 sawtooth wave 38 sine wave 37 triangle wave 37 Oscillator 1 37 Oscillator 2 39 Oscillators Introduction to 79 Out Mode 17 64 P pdf file reading the manual as 7 Pedal Connectin
94. ge 18 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 Basic operation Using a sustain pedal 1 Hold down the SHIFT button and press the button labelled Tune Hold down the Shift button A B Cc D FILTER SHIFT Wheel PJC C C TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL and press the button labelled Tune the LED above the button lights up 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to the left of the DISPLAY to change the value 00 is normal 440Hz tuning Lower pitches are indicated by a dot to the right of the number and values higher than nor mal pitch are indicated without a dot The values are in cents hundreds of a semitone 3 Press the SHIFT button again USING A SUSTAIN PEDAL A foot switch connected to the Sustain Pedal input works as a sustain pedal on a piano Set it up the sus tain pedal polarity like this 1 Hold down the SHIFT button and press the SYSTEM button until the two first digits in the DIs PLAY reads SP 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to switch the rightmost digit between 0 Sustain Pedal open when depressed and 1 Sustain pedal closed when depressed 3 Press the SHIFT button again Nord Lead 2X will also recognize Sustain Pedal MIDI messages as MIDI Controller 64 USING A CONTROL EXPRESSION PEDAL As indicated in the illustration on page 9 a regular expression pedal can be connected to the Control Ped al input using a stereo cable The connected pedal will either duplicate the MODULATION W
95. ges according to where on the keyboard you play when KBD TRACK is activated Frequency WIE M DISTORTION When this is activated the sound is slightly distorted which adds some harmonics and creates a rawer more screaming sound ATTACK DECAY SUSTAIN AND RELEASE Attack Sustain Release These are the parameters for the Filter Envelope They are identical in functionality to the settings in the Amplifier Envelope described on page 44 LFO 1 FILTER C Amount LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator An LFO is an oscillator producing waveforms with a certain pitch just like Oscillator 1 and 2 The differences are two The LFOs produce waveforms with very low frequencies Page 52 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference LFO 1 You never hear the actual output of the LFO Instead the output from the LFO is used for modulat ing that is controlling other functions like for example the main oscillator frequency vibrato or the filter frequency wah wah WAVEFORM This button is used to select the shape of the output from the LFO Sort RANDOM This adds smooth random modulation to the destination This is mainly useful for effect sounds SQUARE This is a waveform for abrupt modulation changes suitable for trills distinct tremolos etc TRIANGLE This is suitable for normal vibrato effects and for classic pulse width modulation SAWTOOTH This creates a ramp whi
96. gram sounds the way you want it at the other end of the Morph 6 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button again 7 Play and move the MOD WHEEL to try out the effect You can also use an Expression pedal for Morphing see page 19 Please note that the Velocity function in the Filter section can be used even if Morphing is active so that a Program can be basically Velocity sensitive even though Morphing is activated Page 27 6 Percussion Kits Selecting and playing a Percussion Kit NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 6 PERCUSSION KITS The Nord Lead 2X Percussion Kits consist of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds arranged in zones across the keyboard They allow you to incorporate percussion patterns in your music without using up more than one Nord Lead 2X Program Slot SELECTING AND PLAYING A PERCUSSION KIT 1 Select the Slot where you want the Percussion Kit You can select Percussion Kits for all four slots if you like giving you a total of 32 different percussion sounds available simultaneously 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to scroll past Program number 99 in Banks 0 3 and select one of the Percussion Kits PO P9 There are 4x10 rewritable Percussion Kits PO P9 1 P0 1 P9 2 P0 2 P9 and 3 P0 3 P9 The Percussion Kits are located directly after the regular Programs and labelled PO to P9 For example select Percussion Kit PO program STORE Zum CD E ea oe TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL
97. grams see below There are also four Program Slots labelled A to D The slots can be used for layering and quickly switching between Programs as described below They are also used when the Nord Lead 2X is played via MIDI Note The four Slots share the same internal memory i e a given Program will sound the same regard less which Slot you load it to You could actually load the same Program to all four Slots and edit them separately However as soon as you save the Program again to its original memory location from any of the Slots the original Program will be overwritten 1 Select a Program Slot to play by pressing one of the four buttons A to D When you are only playing one sound at a time as you are now you can select any Slot Use these four but tons to select a Pro This Slot is selected lit gram Slot up TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL Page 12 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 Basic operation Selecting Percussion Kits 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a Program for that Slot Holding down a button scrolls the value quickly Holding down the SHIFT button the button above the MODULATION WHEEL while pressing the buttons makes the value change in steps of ten Press these UP DOWN buttons to in creaseldecrease the Program number If you hold down the SHIFT button while you press the Up Down buttons the Program value will change in steps of ten program STORE RE A osc 2 GE E EE TUNE OUT MODE LOC
98. h 2 2 D8 Face Bass 2 J8 Dramatic Sweep 3 D8 Dewe8000 3 J8 Crazy VEL Reso Bass 2 J9 SAWTTRI Mix 3 D9 Bass hihat Rythm 3 J9 Deepsnare roll On Velocity Sustained Guitar Pad 2 10 Cheesy Farfisa 3 E0 Bass hihat Rythm 2 3 L0 Horror String 1 Talking REZ Triangles 2 L1 Short Wave Opera 3 El Calling Erth 3 L1 Horror String 2 Sick Cheesy Organ 2 L2 FM Xylo 3 E2 Bass 9 3 L2 Horror String 3 Healthy Cheesy Organ 213 Band Pass Funk 3 E3 Winter Storm 3 13 Horror String 4 Stereo Pluck Pad 2 14 Band Pass Pad 3 E4 Church Organ 1 3 14 Wetlayer Sweeped Pad 2 L5 Sustained REZ 3 E5 Reverbsynth 3 L5 Challenger Age of Techno 2 L6 Delicate Triangle 3 E6 Lasresynth 3 L6 Lfo Slow Huge Mono Lead 2 L7 Filter Bass 3 E7 Bass 10 3 L7 Softmetal Crystal Melody Bell 2 L8 Attack Fifth 3 E8 Padlayer 3 L8 Attackpad Whirly and Pad 2 19 Jazz Organ 3 E9 Acc bass 3 19 Synthfactory 2 Please note that many of the Performances consist of two three or four Slot layers which will lead to reduced polyphony Page 98 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 12 Factory presets About the organ sounds ABOUT THE ORGAN SOUNDS Factory Performances 1 G5 1 H7 holds reproductions of 13 classic organ sounds By using layers of sev eral Slots combined with a special pseudo additive synthesis Clavia have filtered out a minor number of partials from each Oscillator and combined them into different drawbar configurations successfully emulating the sound of drawbar organs such as the classic B 3 D
99. he DISPLAY can look like for each function Out Mode for Slots A and B Master Tune Out Mode for Slots C and D Local On Off Prog Change On Off Slot MIDI Channel Controllers On Off Arp MIDI Out On Off Global MIDI Channel LFO 1 Sync Sustain Pedal Polarity LFO 2 Arp Pitch Bend Range Filter Enve Unison De lope Trig tune Amplitude Env Trig External Ve locity Morph Aftertouch Assignment Control Pedal Assignment Each time you turn on Power Local On Off is set to On and all the Special functions are turned off However the Special settings are saved with the Performances Page 63 9 Shift functions Tune Master Tune NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x ABOUT GLOBAL AND SLOT FUNCTIONS f the function you select can be set independently for each Slot A to D the selected Slot LED flashes To make settings for a specific Slot select it by pressing the SLOT button f the selected function is global for all Slots the selected SLOT button is steadily lit Which Slot is selected is then of no relevance for the setting SETTING THE VALLIE Once a function is selected the value is set using the UP DOWN buttons EXITING THE SHIFT FUNCTIONS MODE To go back to the regular play mode press the SHIFT button once again There is no need to store the Shift function settings The settings will be stored automatically to the mem ory However some functions are always reset to
100. he MODULATION WHEEL is directly routed to Oscillator 2 pitch This can be used for example together with Oscillator Sync and FM to vary the timbre of the sound while playing FM When this is selected the two lower LEDs lit the MODULATION WHEEL controls the amount of FM see page 41 FILTER This routes the MODULATION WHEEL directly to the Filter Frequency parameter Please note that Modulation Wheel routing is in addition to the basic setting of the control it is routed to If you for example route the Modulation Wheel to the filter and the filter is already fully open moving the MODULATION WHEEL has no effect PoLY LEGATO MONO The play mode switch and LEDs POLY LEGATO UNISON MONO ms am The play mode switch is used for deciding exactly how your keyboard playing should be interpreted by the synthesizer Page 59 8 Panel Reference Unison NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x POLY This mode allows you to play chords LEGATO This makes the instrument monophonic Furthermore if you press a key without releasing the previous one the pitch will change but the envelopes will not retrig That is there will be no new attack MONDO This also makes the instrument monophonic But if you press a key without releasing the previous one the envelopes are still retriggered like when you release all keys and then press a new one Furthermore if you press a key hold it press a new key and then release that th
101. hich the modules outlined below can be connected in a synthesizer but the one in the picture below is a basic and common one used in the Nord Lead 2X although the illustration depicts far from all the possibilities in this instrument Noise Mixer Fo Oscillator m Filter Amplifier Output DL E A A A A Oscillator AD OA Envelope LFO Envelope LFO Envelope LFO Audio Signal LL Control Signal Note that the horizontal lines indicate the way the sound travels The vertical lines indicate control sig nals The envelopes for example only modulate control the oscillator filter and amplifiers they do not affect the sound directly THE OSCILLATORS AND WAVEFORMS The two basic qualities of an oscillator is waveform and pitch PITCH The picture of the sawtooth on the Nord Lead 2X front panel displays a sawtooth during one period of sound During this time the wave raises gradually up to maximum level and then instantly drops back to minimum level Page 80 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 11 Synthesis basics The oscillators and waveforms The length of the period determines the pitch frequency of the sound The shorter the period the high er the pitch If you for example make the oscillator play at a frequency of 440Hz there will be 440 periods of identical Sawtooth waves generated per second dA MA gt One Period Nor
102. ift modes simultaneously press both OCTAVE SHIFT buttons and hold them depressed until the LEDs change indication mode as shown in this figure OCT SHIFT OCT SHIFT C C emque DUMP ALL DUMP ONE DUMP ALL DUMP ONE Slot Octave Shift default Keyboard Octave Shift LEDs inverted SLOT OCTAVE SHIFT This mode will automatically be selected each time you turn on the Nord Lead 2X In this mode the Octave Shift buttons affect the Program in the selected slot only Notes sent to MIDI Out are not trans posed This means that in this mode the Nord Lead 2X can only send MIDI Notes over a range of 4 Octaves KEYBOARD OCTAVE SHIFT In this mode LEDs inverted the actual keyboard is affected by the Octave Shift buttons This means that all active slots are affected as well as all notes sent to MIDI Out This mode is suitable if you want to control other MIDI instruments from the Nord Lead 2X since it lets you controla note range of eight octaves It is also the mode to use if you re playing a Performance consisting of two or more slots and want to be able to Shift all slots simultaneously Note Low high octave settings in combination with extreme Tune settings for Oscillator 2 may pro duce pitches outside the hearing range Page 61 9 Shift functions Accessing the Shift functions NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 SHIFT FUNCTIONS ACCESSING THE SHIFT FUNCTIONS Some functions do not have dedicated buttons but share buttons with other functio
103. ih hh ps ip This knob is used to adjust how long time it should take for the sound to decay to silence after you have released the key Note a very short release time could produce a click in the end of the sound when you release the key s This is a normal physical phenomenon To eliminate any click just increase the release time slightly ADSR ENVELOPE BEHAVIOR If you set the Sustain to full level the Decay setting is of no importance since the volume of the sound is never lowered until you release the key Level Key Down Key Up Page 46 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Filter If you set the Sustain to 0 the sound will become silent after the Decay phase is finished With short Attacks and moderate Decay times this can be used to simulate the behaviour of a plucked string instru ment guitar piano etc where the sound always decays to silence after a while Level Key Down Key Up If a key is released before the envelope has completed one or more stages the envelope will jump directly to the Release stage at the corresponding level Level Key Down Key Up GAIN This is used to adjust the overall Level of the Sound This parameter is mainly used to balance one Pro gram against another The Gain parameter sends and responds to MIDI CC 7 Volume FILTER filter Filter type HP 24 db LP 12db LP Attack Sustain Release KBD track 2 a FULL VELOCITY VA DISTORTION Frequency Reso
104. l for the entire instrument that is the settings are valid for all Programs and Performances To switch between the three different parameters hold down SHIFT and press the PROG CTRL button The left character in the DISPLAY switches between P Program C Control and A Arpeggio For the two first parameters P and C you use the UP DOWN buttons to switch between oF and on The oF value means that no data of that type is transmitted or received on means that type of data is both transmitted and received The Arpeggio MIDI Out feature requires some explanation ARPEGGIO AND MIDI OUT If you want to all notes in a generated arpeggio can be sent out as MIDI notes This makes it possible to arpeggiate notes on connected synthesizers and sound modules and to record arpeggios in a sequencer You activate it using the Prg Ctrl menu 1 Hold down Shift and press the Prg Ctrl button to select parameter The left character in the DIS PLAY switches between P Program C Control and A Arpeggio 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to switch between A oF and A on Page 66 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 Shift functions MIDI Channel For the Program and Control parameters the on setting means that the respective MIDI data is transmitted and received by the Nord Lead 2X while the oF setting means that it is not For the Arpeggio parameter the A on setting mean
105. lay 9 90 Vinylation 8 25 Solo Violin 8 58 Funky Piano 8 91 Velocity HiHat 2 9 25 Nohat 9 58 Padigree 9 91 SaFifi 8 26 Solo Cello 859 Ocean Sunrise Sth Pad 8 92 Velocity HiHat3 9 26 Footdap 9 59 Show off 9 92 Ueeed 8 27 Phunky Street Reso Lead 8 60 Sci Fi Notch Pad 8 93 Velocity HiHat 4 9 27 Pulsyboy 9 60 Popular 9 93 CompuBird 8 28 Sustain Pluck 8 61 Mono Clav with Sustain 8 94 Velocity HiHat 5 9 28 TimeSquare 9 61 Bladerunner 9 94 Nicebeach 8 29 Dirty Sine Pad 8 62 ChubbyPad 8 95 Snappy Tuned Res 9 29 Resomorph 9 62 HamandX 9 95 ReeVerb 8 30 Slave Pad 8 63 Soft Pluck Bell 8 96 Noize Snare 9 30 PitchaPad 9 63 Rockamoog 9 96 Blondes 8 31 Snappy Mello Synth 8 64 Old Organ w Rotary Sp 8 97 909 Kick 1 C3 9 31 Multimoog 9 64 WorldWar 9 97 Extream 8 32 Super Stereo Synth Brass 8 65 Older Organ w Rotary Sp 8 98 909 Kick2 9 32 DefinerBass 9 65 Simpleeq 9 98 TakeCare 8 33 Stab Synth 8 66 Slow Growing Pad 8 99 909 Kick 3 9 33 NastySeq 9 66 Noizzpecker 9 99 Softie PERCUSSION KITS BANK O RAM BANK 1 RAM Kit Name Kit Name Kit Name Kit Name Po SymhKiO P5 SynhKit5 PO SynthKic10 IPS SynhKii5 P2 Synth Kit 2 P7 Synth Kit 7 1 P2 Synth Kit 12 1 P7 Synth Kit 17 P3 SymhKi3 P8 SynhKk8 LP3 Synth Kiti LP8 SynhKi8 BANK 2 RAM BANK 3 RAM Kit
106. lay the Program selected for that Slot For live performance for example you can set up each Slot to play a dif ferent Program and quickly switch between them by pressing the SLOT buttons A to D Note The four Slots share the same internal memory i e a given Program will sound the same regard less which Slot you load it to You could actually load the same Program to all four Slots and edit them separately However as soon as you save the Program again to its original memory location from any of the Slots the original Program will be overwritten LAYERING Layering means playing more than one Program at a time On the Nord Lead 2X you do this by simply selecting more than one Slot Note that layering sounds works quite differently on the Nord Rack 2X On the Nord Rack 2X all Slots you want to be layered should be set to the same MIDI Channel It doesn t matter which Slots are selected or not since all Slots respond to incoming MIDI data all the time ACTIVATING Do like this to layer several Programs on the Nord Lead 2X 1 Set up the Slots to play the Programs you want to use 2 To activate more than one Slot simply press all the SLOT buttons you want to use at the same time All LEDs of the Slots you selected light up The one you pressed last is flashing This is the Slot which will be available for editing from the front panel but more on this on page 22 Slots A and D LEDs lit are activated Slot C LED dark is not activat
107. less 6 41 Reso Buzz 6 74 Rv Wed 78 Hollow Hack 741 Fm Attack Brass 7 74 Disdead 6 9 Unison Click 6 42 Classic Sawbass 6 75 Claro 7 9 BpfArco 742 Det attack Brass 7 75 Wah Funk 6 10 Knorr Lo 643 GrittyBaryton 6 76 MellowLegato 7 10 BpFSlapper 7 43 BpfBras 7 76 AnalogGrand6 61 Wah Mix 6 44 Snapwh 6 77 ThinWahLegato 17 11 Filter Funk 7 44 Jump Brass 17 77 Bars 6 12 Bpf 6 45 Bow Bass 6 78 Thin Legato 7 12 Wobbler 7 45 Slap Brass 7 78 Sax 6 13 Vibrator 6 46 Timp Bas 6 79 Gage 7 13 Fm Wah Slap 7 46 Round Fm Horns 7 79 Tremdol 6 14 Straight Knorr 6 47 Maine Theme 6 80 Fat Velo 7 14 Juicy Organ 7 47 Warm Fm Brass 7 80 Tremelo2 6 15 Eg Knorr 6 48 Velofifth 6 81 Lyricon 7 15 Click Organ 7 48 Octave Brass 7 81 Ethno Perc 6 16 Reso Square 6 49 Velodecay 6 82 Square Legato 7 16 Perc 7 49 Gritty Sync 7 82 Thunder Machine 6 17 Oddysey Tuba 6 50 Wirebass 6 83 Desere 7 17 Italian Organ 7 50 5th Square 7 83 Freak Jingle 6 18 Shortmuffled 6 51 Scream Reed 6 84 Flute 7 18 Fm Organ 7 51 Harpeggio 7 84 Noisy Snare 6 19 Hard Velo Wah 6 52 Strung Lead 6 85 Calliope 7 19 Fm Jazz Organ 7 52 Horror Industry 7 85 Syntom 6 20 Rubber Bass 6 53 Ethnoreed 6 86 Wah Lead 7 20 Wah Organ 7 53 Code Burst 7 86 Bubbledrum 6 21 Clic Bass 6 54 Fluty 6 87 Classic Saw 7 21 Hard Release 7 54 Random 7 87 Noise T
108. m can be set to Unison and another not which might lead to a stereo image you might not expect Page 65 9 Shift functions Local NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x LOCAL This is used to turn MIDI Local Control on and off Local On is the normal Play Mode n Local Off mode the front panel actions and your keyboard playing are transmitted via MIDI but are not used to play the synthesizer directly MIDI Input however works normally This mode should be used when you re working with sequencers when the Nord Lead 2X is used both for recording and playing back MIDI and when the sequencer has a MIDI Thru function sometimes called Merge or echo back When you turn on power the instrument is always in MIDI Local On mode ABOUT LOCAL CONTROL AND CONTROL CHANGE TRANSMISSION The Local Control setting also affects the front panel In Local Off mode the front panel controls can ot be used to change the sound directly they must be routed via MIDI just as the keyboard However if you use the Prog Ctrl function to turn off reception and transmission of Control Change messages altogether the front panel controls can again be used to change the sound directly since oth erwise there would be no way to use the front panel controls at all PROG CTRL This is used for setting how Program Change and MIDI Control Change messages should be handled and for turning the Arpeggio MIDI Out feature on and off These parameters are Globa
109. mally there are three ways to change the frequency of an oscillator By making settings on the front panel On the Nord Lead 2X for example you have an Oct Shift setting for both oscillators and separate Semitone and Fine Tune adjustments for Oscillator 2 By playing the keyboard The keyboard is if course connected to the oscillator so that pressing differ ent key produces different pitches In some cases this connection can be turned off so that the oscilla tor always plays the same pitch regardless of which key is pressed In the Nord Lead 2X this can be done for Oscillator 2 by deactivating Kbd Track By Modulation Modulation allows you to make the pitch vary automatically The most common example is probably to use an LFO to make pitch go up and down to create a vibrato But you can also put the pitch under envelope control or make the pitch vary with your striking force velocity WAVEFORM The waveform of the oscillator affects its harmonic content and thereby its sound quality timbre The three most common waveforms are sawtooth pulse wave and triangle Looking at the shape of a waveform tells very little about how it sounds Instead there s a better way to draw it called a spectrum Let s introduce some quick theory Mathematically all waveforms can be considered as built from a number of harmonics added together Each of the harmonics consists of a sine wave the purest and simple waveform th
110. mprising Attack Decay and Amount controls There s one dif ference between the way this envelope works compared to the other It will start over from zero each time you press a new key regardless of which value it had when you released the key Level Amount Attack Decay time time ATTACK This is used to set the time it takes for the envelope to reach full level after you have pressed a key DECAY When the attack phase is over the envelope drops back to zero level The Decay knob is used to set how long this should take AMOUNT This is used to set to what degree the envelope should affect the destination This knob is bi polar that is zero amount is in the middle twelve o clock Turning it left introduces a negative envelope and turn ing it right gives you a positive envelope DESTINATION NONE You can turn off both LEDs to completely turn off the effect of the Modulation envelope While this is the same is setting Amount to its centre position this method is simply quicker FM AMT When this is selected the envelope is routed to the amount of FM modulation Varying the amount of FM changes the harmonic contents of the sound so this can be used to have the timbre change pretty much like when the Filter envelope is used to change the Filter Frequency Please note that this param eter operates in addition to the FM amount setting in the Oscillator section Page 57 8 Panel Reference Modulation
111. n l oF No external Sync 1 1 Restart every other bar 1 2 Restart every whole note 1 3 Restart every half note 1 4 Restart every quarter note 1 5 Restart every eighth note 1 6 Restart every eighth note triplet 1 7 Restart every sixteenth note Please note that this only makes the LFO restart at the specified note value In between those restarts the LFO runs at the rate set with the RATE knob Therefore to hard sync the LFO to the tempo of the song when triangle or sawtooth waves are used set the LEO rate as close to the tempo in the sequencer as possible On the other hand unusual Rate values can lead to interesting rhythmic effects When random is selected or when the Arpeggio is used see below to hard sync you only need to make sure the set Rate is lower than the rate imposed via MIDI AN EXAMPLE OF LFO 1 SYNCHRONIZATION 1 Select a Program for Slot A that plays a stable sound with high sustain for example a string or pad sound Page 68 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 9 Shift functions Special 2 Lower the Filter Envelope AMOUNT to 0 3 Set the Filter Cutoff FREQUENCY to nine o clock In the LFO section select a sawtooth wave set DESTINATION to Filter and set the AMOUNT to full value 5 Play the keyboard You should hear a repeating sound 6 Hold down SHIFT and press SPECIAL The DISPLAY should show the setting for Special function 1 7 Press the SLOT A button 8 Use the UP DOWN
112. n Kit Dump Message The Message Type and Message Specification are used to specify which Patch should be trans mitted This message is never transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X A to E 10 to 14 Message Type specifies the Bank A Edit Buffer B to E Bank 1 to 4 Page 107 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description 00 to 03 or 0 to 3 or 0 to 108 Message Specification specifies the exact memory location see 00 6C below F7 247 End Of Exclusive If Message Type 10 Edit Buffer the Message Specification can be 00 to 03 corresponding to Patch Slot buttons A to D If Message Type 11 to 14 then the Message Specification 00 to 98 corresponds to the Program Number within the Bank 01 to 99 PERFORMANCE DUMP This message contains the actual Performance One complete message contains the data for one Perform ance This message is transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X in one of two cases When a Performance Dump is initiated from the front panel When a valid Performance Request message has been received This message should be sent to the Nord Lead 2X when you want to replace a Performance currently in the instrument with a new one The Me
113. nal Lower values give a smaller difference between the pedal s full up and full down states High values give a greater difference between the pedal s up and down states 8 If needed repeat steps 5 to 10 to set pedal control function for the other slots 9 Press SHIFT to exit the Special menu and return to play mode Nord Lead 2X will also recognize Expression pedal messages via MIDI as MIDI Controller 11 Page 20 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x THE PANIC BUTTON 3 Basic operation The Panic button If notes should hang or the Nord Lead 2X should behave strange all you need to do is hold down the SHIFT button and press Panic the DISTORTION button in the Filter section This will execute an in ternal All Notes Off and reset certain parameters to normal values filter Resonance Frequency Filter type HP 24 db LP12db LP e Sustain Release KBD track 2 A FULL y VELOCITY DISTORTION Envelope amount The Panic button Page 21 4 Editing Programs Changing an existing Program NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 4 EDITING PROGRAMS CHANGING AN EXISTING PROGRAM Actually how to change a programmed sound can be described in one sentence twist the knobs and press the buttons It zs as simple as that For information about editing Percussion Kits refer to page 29 Don t be afraid to edit and overwrite the RAM Programs in the internal memory Program 1 3 99 If you want to restore any of the
114. nance Envelope amount The Filter is the most important section for shaping the overall timbre of the sound Nord Lead 2X s filter can be switched between various types It has the standard main Frequency and Resonance controls The Attack Decay Sustain and Release parameters make up the Filter Envelope These together with the En Page 47 8 Panel Reference Filter NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x velope Amount knob can be used to make the Filter frequency vary as the sound progresses when you press and hold a key For a theoretical introduction to filters see page 85 FILTER TYPE LP 12DB LP stands for low pass A low pass filter lets low frequencies pass and cuts out higher frequencies Exactly which frequencies get cut out is determined by the Filter Frequency setting and various other controls as described below In the 12dB low pass mode the filter has a gentle roll off curve 12dB 2poles This mode leaves more harmonics than the 24dB variation discussed below This type of filter has been used in various Oberheim synthesizers and others Amplitude Frequency Cutoff Frequency LP 24 DB This is the classic synth filter used in the Minimoog and Prophet 5 among others It cuts out high fre quencies rather drastically 24db 4 poles Amplitude Frequency Cutoff Frequency HP 24DB HP stands for high pass This filter is the opposite of the lowpass filter that is it lets the high frequencies pass and cuts out low f
115. ncy Ifyou have the high pass or LP Notch filter selected increasing Resonance will work pretty much as with the LP filter When you use the band pass filter adjusting the Resonance also adjusts the width of the pass band When you raise the Resonance the band where frequencies are let through will become narrower Amplitude dd The figure shows a band J pass filter with different resonance amounts Q values Q 0 5 represents zero Resonance amount and Q 4 maximum amount XA Frequency Cutoff Frequency Page 50 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Filter ENVELOPE AMOUNT This is used to set to what degree the Envelope see below should affect the filter The more you raise this knob the more drastic the effect This knob operates in addition to the Filter Frequency setting This means that if you for example set the Frequency knob half ways the filter will be already half open the moment you press a key The envelope will then be used to open the filter further Exactly how much further is determined by the Envelope Amount setting Amplitude Velocity range Set the initial cutoff frequency with the FREQUENCY knob The Envelope Amount value is added to the initial cutoff value If you select VELOCITY the Envelope Amount value changes with Keyboard Velocity Frequency Cutoff Envelope Amount Frequency Let s take another example of the relation between Frequency and Envelope Amount
116. ndependent of the MIDI Channel used for defining which keys should be played This can be used to play back preprogrammed rhythms in your MIDI sequencer while inputting the actual pitch es by playing the keyboard or via MIDI Use the UP DOWN buttons to switch between oF and on To set which MIDI Channel and possibly which MIDI note number to use for triggering do like this 1 Activate the function by holding down SHIFT and pressing the SPECIAL button three times Page 69 9 Shift functions Special NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 2 Select F on with the UP DOWN buttons 3 Press STORE The DISPLAY shows the MIDI Channel currently used Set the MIDI Channel with the UP DOWN buttons Press STORE again The DISPLAY shows which MIDI Note number is currently used The numbers start at CO MIDI note number 24 and sharp notes are indicated by the symbol Middle C is displayed as C3 Select MIDI Note number either by pressing a key on the keyboard or by selecting one with the UP DOWN buttons The value means that note number is ignored and that all notes on the set MIDI Channel will be used for triggering This value is found below all the note number values GUIDELINES FOR USING FILTER ENVELOPE TRIGGERING f you have notes transmitted from your sequencer that you want to use only for triggering the enve lope make sure the MIDI Channel you use for this function is not used by any of the Slots
117. ng MIDI notes READING THE MANUAL IN ADOBE ACROBAT READER This manual is also available as PDF file It can be downloaded free of charge from Clavia s web site at http www clavia se When reading the manual as PDF file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 0 or later This program can be downloaded free of charge at http www adobe com With Adobe Acrobat Reader it is possible to use special navigation features like hyperlinks This means that you can click with the mouse on a word or sentence and automatically get to the location indicated by the word sentence To better show what words or sentences are hyperlinked in this manual these words are written in magenta CLAVIA ON THE INTERNET If you have access to the Internet you re very welcome to visit http www clavia se There you will find the latest information about Nord Lead 2X and other Clavia products In the future you ll also be able to download new Nord Lead 2X sounds free of charge Page 7 2 Connections Inputs and outputs NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 2 CONNECTIONS INPUTS AND OUTPUTS Make all connections before turning on your power amplifier f you are using a Nord Rack 2X together with a MIDI keyboard connect a MIDI cable from MIDI Out on the keyboard to MIDI In on the Nord Rack All signal cables used with the Nord Lead 2X must be shielded All four Outputs A B C D are unbalanced line level If you connect the Nord Lead 2X in stereo to your audi
118. ng a very special doppler shifted tremolo sound Several of the organ sounds in the Nord Lead 2X include a Rotary Speaker effect emulated by the LFO s and the Morph function Change the rotor speed from slow to fast by raising the Modulation wheel This table shows the drawbar configurations simulated by each organ Performance The configuration is indicated by 9 numbers volume settings 0 8 for each drawbar in the simulated sound For all Performances you can activate Slot D to add Click to the sound Page 100 Performance Name Drawbar configuration Extras Rotary Spkr 1 G5 Perc 3rd w click 880 000 000 Slot B Perc No Slot C Hum 1 G6 NHL 808 000 022 No 1 G7 W Shade of Pale 888 600 000 Yes 1 G8 Straight Jazz Perc 888 000 000 Slot B Perc No Slot C Hum 1 G9 Soul Rotor 888 222 222 Yes 1 H0 One high 888 000 008 Yes 1 H1 All Even Harmonics 808 808 008 Yes 1 H2 Odd Upper Harmonics 888 040 440 Yes 1 H3 All Out 888 888 888 Yes 1 H4 Cathedral Organ 864 212 468 Yes 1 H5 Low 876 543 211 Yes 1 H6 Mid 124 686 421 Yes 1 H7 Super Brite 112 345 678 Yes NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 12 Factory presets About the Prophet 5 sound recreations ABOUT THE PROPHET 5 SOUND RECREATIONS Over 40 of the 120 original factory sounds from the classic vintage Prophet 5 synthesizer have been faithfully recreated and stored in the Factory Performances of the Nord Lead 2X You find the Prophet sounds in Performance
119. ngellicArp 2 11 Ratata bass 2 44 Yazpiano 277 Hipass303 3 11 Noise Percussion 3 44 Phoghorn 3 77 HooArp 2 12 Rubber bass 2 45 Depe Che Pluck 2 78 Bandpass303 3 12 Square Throb 3 45 Voicey Melody 3 78 Veloreso Bass 2 13 Click bass 246 PulsePluck 279 Hiech2 3 13 Glass Sitar 3 46 Lava Q Lea 3 79 Taurus Pedals 2 14 Sawbass 2 47 PulseShimmer 2 80 Tube 3 14 Synth Swirl 3 47 Mr Floyd Rez Sweep 3 80 Dumb Bass kick 2 15 Sawbass oct 2 48 Seq Pluck 2 81 Dist Git wheel 3 15 Metalglass 3 48 Dist Lead 3 81 Vibrobass 2 16 Phatbass 2 49 Pulse Pluck 2 2 82 Dist Git3 wheel 3 16 Bowed Metalglass 3 49 Mini Hard Lead 3 82 Ow Wheel Bass 2 17 FMbass 2 50 Slow Pad 2 83 Dist Git3 3 17 Pulsearpeggi 3 50 Lucky Lead 3 83 Go Ahead London 2 18 Knockbass 2 51 Soft Pad 2 84 Monsterbass 3 18 Weelsong 3 51 Electrodrone a 3 84 Poltergeist 2 19 Tightbass 2 52 Sine Pad 2 85 Organ 1 3 19 Spacebubbles 3 52 Bandpass Polysynth 3 85 Echolocation 2 20 Electricpiano 1 2 53 Massive Pad 2 86 Organ 2 3 20 Velpulse 3 53 Toto Soft Brass 3 86 Antarctica 2 21 Electricpiano 2 2 54 Organ Pad 2 87 Organ 3 321 Velsaw 3 54 Resonant Bass 3 87 Nine Inch Noise 2 22 Electricpiano 3 2 55 Brite Pad 2 88 Radio Days 3 22 Anahorn 3 55 Fatass Brass 3 88 Lo Detune I 2 23 Knockwurlitzer 2 56 LFO Pad 2 89 Moonsong 3 23 Velosity Arp Rate 3 56 Carousel 3 89 Lo D
120. nora lead x ana User Manual Nord Lead 2X OS Version 1 x Part No 50186 Print Edition 1 1 Copyright Clavia DMI AB CAUTION ATTENTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN RISQUE DE SHOCK ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR CAUTION TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER OR BACK NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ATTENTION POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE AUCUN ENTRETIEN DE PIECES INTERIEURES PAR L USAGER CONFIER L ENTRETIEN AU PERSONNEL QUALIFE AVIS POUR EVITER LES RISQUES D INCIDENTE OU D ELECTROCUTION N EXPOSEZ PAS CET ARTICLE A LA PLUIE OU L HUMIDITET The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated voltage within the products en closure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons Le symbole clair avec le point de fl che l int rieur d un triangle quilat ral est utilis pour alerter l utilisateur de la presence l int rieur du coffret de voltage dangereux non isol d ampleur suffisante pour constituer un risque d l ctrocution The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance servicing instructions in the literature accompanying the product Le point d exclamation l int rieur
121. ns and settings These are called the Shift Functions and are printed in blue on the front panel SELECTING A SHIFT FUNCTION 1 Hold down the Shift button 2 Press any of the buttons labelled Tune to System Most of the front panel LEDs go out and the DISPLAY shows the selected function Hold down the Shift button and press one of these seven buttons KA A B Cc D UNISON MONO AUTO LSS Sas a TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM OCT SHIFT C 1 FILTER DUMP ALL DUMP ONE Pitch bend SHIFT Wheel 3 If the Function button you pressed is used for more than one parameter press it repeatedly until the DISPLAY shows the desired function If you for example selected the PRG CTRL button the left digit in the display switches between P Program C Controllers and A Arpeggiator MIDI send when you press it Press the function button to switch between the possibilities in this figure the Program P Controller C and Arpeggiator MIDI A functions LOCAL PROG CTRL LOCAL PROG CTRL LOCAL PROG CTRL When a Function button is used for more than one parameter the digit to the left in the display indicates the param eter and the other digits show the value Page 62 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x SHIFT FUNCTION LIST 9 Shift functions Shift function list The table below shows you what Shift functions are available for each of the seven buttons and an exam ple of what t
122. ntation System Exclusive implementation NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x If the Sys Ex data for a single Patch is sent upon receiving a Patch Dump Request message either the Pro gram Location or the Edit Buffer will be stored depending on the Message Type byte in the Request message This will also determine where the Patch will be placed when it is sent back to a Nord Lead 2X Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X 00 to 0A 0 to 10 Message Type specifies the Bank 0 Edit Buffer 1 to 10 Bank 1 to 10 00 to 03 or 00 62 0 to 3 or 0 to 98 Message Specification specifies the exact memory location see below Patch Data 1 gt See page 111 Patch Data 2 gt Patch Data 3 gt Patch Data 132 F7 247 End Of Exclusive f Message Type 0 Edit Buffer the Message Specification can be 0 to 3 corresponding to Patch Slot buttons A to D f Message Type 1 to 10 then the Message Specification 00 to 98 corresponds to the Program Number within the Bank 01 to 99 PERCUSSION KIT PATCH DUMP This message contains all settings in a Percussion Kit It is transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X in one of two cases When a Patch Dump is initiated from the front panel and a Percussion Kit is selected When a valid Patch Dump Request message has been received specifying a Percus
123. o equipment you should use Outputs A and B For mono connections use Output A MIDI IN MIDI OUT SUSTAIN PED CONTROL PED OUTD OUT C OUTB OUT A MONO HEADPHONES 8 0900000 a MES UU iu t Footswitch Control pedal Y v Y Headphones lolooloooloo e Oooooolooo0H ooooololoo H ooooo ooo Sebas Ses OloooO j o ooo 555 Ooo e Lr 00 Ica E3 c3 E3IE3IC3 ma El 00 MIDI equipment sequencer etc Audio equipment mixer PA etc Page 8 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 2 Connections Connecting pedals CONNECTING PEDALS The Nord Lead 2X has two pedal inputs one for a sustain pedal and one for a control pedal an expres sion type pedal used to control various parameters in much the same way as the modulation wheel Connect the pedals as shown in the figure below When connecting an expression type pedal to the Control Pedal input you should use a stereo cable Tip Ring Sleeve Please note that the pedal must have a stereo output jack The resistance range of the Control Pedal should be 10 kOhm to 50 kOhm For information on how to set the Nord Lead 2X up for use with sustain or expression pedal see page 19 Page 9 3 Basic opera
124. odulation destinations etc will be set to some default values for a basic sound However if you would like Manual mode to be different the next time you turn on power proceed as follows 1 Enter Manual mode by holding down SHIFT and pressing the Manual PERF MODE button 2 Set all button functions as you want them 3 Press STORE twice STORING PROGRAMS Storing is done identically regardless if you are saving an edited Program or if you are saving from Manual mode Saving a Program will permanently overwrite an existing Program Be careful so that you don t acciden tally erase a Program you d like to keep However if you want to restore any of the original RAM factory programs later on they can be fetched as standard MIDI files at http www clavia se and downloaded to the Nord Lead 2X from a MIDI sequencer Ik 2 Press the STORE button The DISPLAY flashes Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a Program number As you scroll through the memory loca tions you can play and hear the Program currently shown in the DISPLAY This prevents you from overwriting a sound that you want to keep Only Program numbers from 1 3 99 in internal mem ory can be overwritten If you try to save in higher Program numbers nothing will happen If you change your mind at this point press the Slot you want to return to or hold down SHIFT and press the Manual PERF MODE button to return to Manual Mode If you decide to go ahead with
125. oices should be when you have Unison activated For more info on Unison see page 60 This parameter is global for all Slots However it is saved with a Performance which means you can have different Unison values for different Performances Page 73 10 MIDI About the MIDI implementation NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 10 MIDI ABOUT THE MIDI IMPLEMENTATION The following MIDI messages can be transmitted and received from the Nord Lead 2X NOTES e Note On and Off messages are of course transmitted when you play the keyboard If you use the OCTAVE SHIFT buttons in their Keyboard mode see page 61 you can shift the Nord Lead 2X key board 2 octaves giving you an effective keyboard range of 8 octaves e Notes can be received over the entire MIDI range That is when playing via MIDI you have access to a pitch range wider than 10 octaves PITCH BEND Pitch Bend messages are always transmitted from the PITCH STICK The Pitch bend range used when receiving pitch bend messages can be adjusted see page 73 CONTROLLERS The MODULATION WHEEL is transmitted and received via MIDI as Controller 1 Modulation wheel f you have an Expression pedal connected to the CONTROL PEDAL input this is transmitted as Con troller 11 f you have a Sustain pedal connected this is transmitted as Controller 64 Damper Pedal All other controls knobs and switches on the front panel except MASTER LEVEL are also transmit ted and r
126. om 6 22 Fusion Bass 6 55 Raunch Fm 6 88 Classic Pulse 7 22 Metal Kalimba 7 55 Not Fm 7 88 Repet 6 23 Raw Bass 6 56 Solo Lylac 6 89 Classic Square 7 23 Em Harpo 7 56 Giant Step 7 89 Mockingbird 6 24 Fm Attack Bass 6 57 Chiba Flute 6 90 Humming Bird 7 24 Velo Triangle 7 57 Wah Arpeg 7 90 Smelly 6 25 Scratch Bass 6 58 Sync Trumpet 6 91 Attack Sync 7 25 Flute Harp 7 58 Fm Rise Wave 7 91 Small Animals 6 26 Harmonix Bass 6 59 Trombone 6 92 Girls amp Boys 7 26 Spacebell 7 59 Weird Triad 7 92 Small Ghosts 6 27 Tine Bass 6 60 Whooly Wah 6 93 Manual Sync 7 27 Fade Harp 7 60 Ductosnore 7 93 Bubbles 6 28 Chirpy Bass 6 61 Spit Sync 6 94 Slomo Legato 7 28 Swell Pan 7 61 Vibes 7 94 Aiyaa 6 29 Ultrafat 6 62 Stelth Triangle 6 95 Blues Harp 7 29 Clicky Bell 7 62 Tremelo Bell 7 95 Glassharmonium 6 30 Round Bottom 6 63 Velo Winner 6 96 Cool Square 7 30 Warm Plunk 7 63 Swell Bell 7 96 Sunrise 6 31 Ob Bass 6 64 Fifth 6 97 Cyberfiddle 7 31 Sustained Ep 7 64 Steclpan 7 97 Embell 6 32 Reso Bass 6 65 Oriental 6 98 Soft Cream 7 32 Octave Ep 7 65 Long Bell 7 98 Slow fast Wah 6 33 Triangle Bass 6 66 Hpf Square 6 99 Syncvoice 7 33 Sync Epl 7 66 Ringer 7 99 Whellmorpher Page 95 12 Factory presets Program Banks 8 9 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x PROGRAM BANKS 8 9
127. ome of these make use of two three or four Slots while some are single Slot Performances effectively serving as extra Programs Please note You can edit selected ROM Performance as desired but you can only save your changes in the first Performance bank A 0 L 9 You can transmit edited Performance data via MIDI SysEx for storage in an external sequencer etc If the Performance contains a Percussion Kit only the reference to the Kit Location will be saved with the SysEx dump To include the parameters for the Percussion Kit you need to make a separate SysEx dump of the Percussion Kit from Program mode not from Performance mode You can receive SysEx data for one Performance at a time into the edit buffer If you for example use Nord Lead 2X multitimbrally together with a sequencer it is often practical to place a SysEx Perform ance data dump in the beginning of your song to select sounds initialize global settings etc The Factory Performances include several life like drawbar organ simulations created using a special pseudo additive synthesis method Some of the sounds include famous sound artifacts such as hum and click as well as rotating speaker effects accomplished with the Nord Lead2X s Morph function Among the Performances you can also find recreations of over 40 original factory patches from the classic vintage synthesizer Prophet 5 All Performances are listed on page 97 Later in this text
128. on 83 Metallic Synth 1 17 Osc2 modulation 1 50 Duke 1 83 Bell bar 18 Arpeggiate Me 51 Dirty SAW Techno 84 Rude SQU 1 18 Guitar 1 1 51 Dirty FM 1 84 Flageolettes 19 Teddy s Talkbox 52 Hi Pass VEL Synth 85 Drama Pad 1 19 Violin 1 52 Space clavinet 1 85 Rotator 20 VEL Rez Bass 53 Synth Comp Plucl 86 SQU Lite 1 20 Source bass 1 53 Resonantsaw 1 86 Tuba 21 D amp BBas 54 OldSchoolSymh 87 SubdePad 1 21 Perclead 154 FMlead 1 87 Trumpet 22 VEL Fuzz Bass 55 ising REZ Pac 88 Dramatic Sweep 1 22 FM Clavinet 1 55 Talking clavinet 1 88 English horn 23 One Or One Bass 56 Techno SAW Comp 89 Vinyl Opera 1 23 Soft strings 1 56 Sawrng 1 89 Metal Flute 24 DRE Bass use wheel 57 HeavyREZ 90 IVDisCHORD Pad 1 24 S H techno 1 57 Eraser 1 90 Voice 25 Dodger Bass 58 Funky Pick 91 Mini Lead 1 1 25 Resonance sweep 1 58 Take the fifth 1 91 FM horn 26 Funk REZ Bass 59 LegatoREZ 92 FunkREZled 1 26 Phaser 1 59 Echo pa 1 92 Harpsichor 27 TRIREZ Bass 60 VelociySAW 93 TRIVELLead 1 27 Brite pad 160 Yeow 1 93 Electricpiano2 28 U Know Bass 61 RAVE synth 94 REZ Mini Lead 1 28 Analog grand 1 61 Syncher 1 94 Musing 29 SQU VELRezBas 62 StviesComp 95 MiniLead2 1 29 Elecricpianol 1 62 Lowbas 1 95 Chang 30 SAW REZ Bass 63 PhaseSynth 96 Minilead3 1 30 Random Arpeggio 1 63 water bass 1 96 Rai 31 2 Step Bass 64 Old School S
129. pear at Output B This mode can be used when it is desired to treat two sounds differ ently in an external mixer for example in multitimbral MIDI work or when layering sounds SETTINGS FOR SLOT C AND D Display Description cd In this mode Slot C and D use the settings made for Slot A and B If for example mode ab2 is selected all four slots will appear in Mono at Outputs A and B This is the setting you should use if you have connected Nord Lead 2 in stereo to your sound equipment using Outputs A and B or if you are using headphones lcd 2 cd 3 cd In this mode all sounds are output in mono at Outputs C and D except if Unison is activated If that is the case the instrument automatically switches to stereo using Outputs C and D If one Unison and one non unison Program are layered stereo is used This is a straight Mono mode All Programs always appear with equal level at Outputs C and D This is a straight stereo mode All Program always appear with voices alternating between Out puts C and D cd In this mode Programs assigned to slot C will appear at Output C while Program assigned to slot D will appear at Output D This mode can be used when it is desired to treat two sounds differ ently in an external mixer for example in multitimbral MIDI work or when layering sounds Mode 1 1 Ab or 1 cd is not recommended when using the Nord Lead 2X multitimbrally since one Pro gra
130. r on the front panel of the instrument When you apply resonance the frequencies just around the cutoff point of the filter will be emphasized louder As you increase the Resonance further and further the filter will start to behave more an more like a bandpass filter where only the frequencies around the cutoff point are let through The filter will start to ring which means it almost sounds like it is adding frequencies to the sound If the Resonance is then raised even further on some synthesizers the filter will start to self oscillate that is produce sound of its own just like an oscillator Amplitude Q 4 A gt Filter Frequency Frequency High Resonance values are also visible in the waveform They appear as a superimposed waveform with a frequency equivalent to the filter s cutoff frequency The three examples above show the same wave with increased resonance A Q 0 5 A d Q 2 PUT ET HH TT La t EL MEL M V y If you add Resonance to a sound and then vary the Cutoff frequency for example with an envelope you will get a very typical synthesizer sound Page 89 11 Synthesis basics The Amplifier NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x THE AMPLIFIER An amplifier is most often used at the final stage of a synth signal chain to control volume By modulat ing the amplifier with an envelope the sound can be given its basic shape In fact the volume shape is one of the
131. r opening To solve such problems several sequencers include a function called chasing which keeps track of Controller changes and tries to adjust the settings on the instrument ac cording to the current position in the sequencer song However in our case this wouldn t help much because the filter opening was the first Controller message recorded in the song The sequencer has no information about the filter setting before the recorded change and therefore cannot chase the settings properly To solve this you could record a snapshot of all Controller settings on the Nord Lead 2X panel at the beginning of your sequencer song This is best done by sending an All Controllers Request SysEx message from the sequencer to the Nord Lead 2X which will respond by dumping all its Controller values into the sequencer for recording The All Controllers Request message is described in the MIDI Implementation section MIDI SYsEx BULK DUMP To dump one or more Programs or Performances via MIDI as System Exclusive data for reprogramming of another Nord Lead 2X or for recording the data into another MIDI device do like this 1 Connect a cable from MIDI OUT on the Nord Lead 2X to MIDI In on the other device 2 Set up the receiving device so that it accepts MIDI System Exclusive data 3 To Dump Performances enter Performance Mode see page 32 To Dump Programs or Percussion Kits make sure you are in Program mode 4 If you w
132. ram 04 1 L1 Program 05 Program 06 Program 07 Program 08 1 L2 Program 09 Program 10 Program 11 Program 12 1 L3 Program 13 Program 14 Program 15 Program 16 1 L4 Program 17 Program 18 Program 19 Program 20 1 L5 Program 21 Program 22 Program 23 Program 24 1 L6 Program 25 Program 26 Program 27 Program 28 1 L7 Program 29 Program 30 Program 31 Program 32 1 L8 Program 33 Program 34 Program 35 Program 36 1 L9 Program 37 Program 38 Program 39 Program 40 Page 102 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation MIDI Controller list 13 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION MIDI CONTROLLER LIST The following is a list of the MIDI Controller numbers used for all knobs and buttons on the front panel See page 77 The reception and transmission of Controllers can be turned on off See page 66 e Buttons that control on off functions have a Controller value of 0 corresponding to the off posi tion and a value of on corresponding to the on position e Buttons that step through various possibilities start with a Controller value of 0 for the lowest set ting and then increment with a value of 1 for each step upwards If you want to send Controllers to Percussion Kits proceed with caution The Controller message you send will affect the percussion sound that was last selected for editing by pressing a black key on the keyboard see page 29 Nord Lead 2X Parameter
133. requencies The filter has a rather steep curve Amplitude Frequency Cutoff Frequency Page 48 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Filter BP To select this type of filter press the Filter Type button until both the HP and LP 24 buttons light up BP stands for band pass In this mode the filter let s frequencies in the mid range band pass through while lower and higher frequencies are cut out Each slope in this filter has a 12dB 2 pole roll off Amplitude Frequency Cutoff Frequency NoTcH LP To select this type of filter press the Filter Type button until both the LP 12 and LP 24 buttons light up A notch or band reject filter can be seen as the opposite of a band pass filter It cuts off frequencies in a mid range band letting the frequencies below and above through However a plain notch filter is not very musically useful since it often lets too many frequencies through resulting in a very sharp harsh sound Therefore the notch filter in Nord Lead 2X is combined with a 12dB Lowpass filter resulting in a filter curve that looks like this Amplitude Frequency Cutoff Frequency The audible result of this filter combination is a sound with plenty of body some of the upper mid range bite removed but a certain amount of high frequencies still present This type of sound could be very useful for soft yet clear pads etc The special characteristics of the Notch LP filter will be most ob
134. s that generated arpeggios can be sent out as MIDI notes This makes it possible to arpeggiate chords on connected synthesizers and sound modules and to record arpeggios in a sequencer With the A oF setting the actual chord you play on the keyboard is sent to MIDI Out regardless of whether the Nord Lead 2X arpeggio is activated or not Be sure to turn the Arpeggio MIDI Out feature off if you are using Nord Lead 2X in Local Off mode and or in a Thru loop with a sequencer other MIDI instruments etc Under such conditions the Arpeggio MIDI Out feature will either prevent the instrument from sounding at all or cause a MIDI feedback loop MIDI CHANNEL SLOT MIDI CHANNEL To set the MIDI Channel that a certain Slot receives and transmits on proceed as follows 1 Hold down SHIFT and press MIDI CH 2 The DISPLAY shows the MIDI Channel for the active Slot 3 Select the Slot you want to make settings for The Slot s LED flashes 4 Use the UP DOWN buttons to set the MIDI Channel If you don t want the slot to respond to or send MIDI set it to oFF For more information on Slots and MIDI Channels see page 76 GLOBAL MIDI CHANNEL This is the MIDI Channel used for transmitting and receiving Program Change messages for switching between Performances To set the Global MIDI Channel proceed as follows 1 Hold down SHIFT and press MIDI Cn 2 Press MIDI CH again The DISPLAY now shows the Global MIDI Channel
135. sion Kit location or an Edit Buffer containing a Percussion Kit Percussion Kit Patch Dump messages will also be sent if the Dump All command is used Page 106 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation This message should be sent to the Nord Lead 2X when you want to replace a Percussion Kit currently in the instrument with a new one When it comes to the location of the received Percussion Kit Dumps the same rules apply as when receiving regular Program Dumps Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X 00 to 04 0 to Message Type specifies the Bank 0 Edit Buffer 1 to 10 to 13 or 63 6C 16 to 19 or 99 to 108 Bank 1 to 4 Message Specification specifies the exact memory loca tion see below Patch Data 1 gt Patch data for eight percussion sounds See page 111 Patch Data 2 gt Patch Data 3 Patch Data 1056 F7 247 End Of Exclusive If Message Type 0 Edit Buffer the Message Specification can be 16 to 19 corresponding to Patch Slot buttons A to D If Message Type 1 to 4 then the Message Specification 99 to 108 corresponds to the Percussion Kit locations PO to P9 of the selected Bank PATCH DuMP REQUEST This message is used for requesting the Nord Lead 2X to transmit one Patch or Percussio
136. ssage Type and Message Specification then specify in which memory location the Performance should be stored Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X 1E or 1F 22 30 or 31 34 Message Type specifies Performance Edit Buffer 30 or Performance Bank 1 4 31 34 00 or 00 63 0 or 0 to 99 Message Specification specifies the Performance number see below lt Perf Data 1 gt See page 112 lt Perf Data 2 gt lt Perf Data 3 gt lt Perf Data 708 gt F7 247 End Of Exclusive Page 108 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 13 MIDI implementation System Exclusive implementation f Message Type 30 Edit Buffer the Message Specification should always 0 If Message Type 31 34 the Message Specification corresponds to the Performance Number 00 to 99 within the selected Bank PERFORMANCE DuMP REQUEST This message is used for requesting the Nord Lead 2X to transmit one Performance Dump Message The Message Type and Message Specification are used to specify which Performance should be transmitted This message is never transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X Byte Hex Byte Decimal Description FO 240 System Exclusive 33 51 Manufacturer ID clavia lt Device ID gt Global MIDI Channel 0 to 15 0 F 04 4 Model ID for Nord Lead 2X 28 or 29 2C 40 or 41 44 Message Typ
137. sy Metal 4 15 Jan Pulse Lead 4 48 Syn Brass 2 4 81 Stereo Bow Bass 5 15 Hpf Sweep 5 48 Woodblock 5 81 Snap Attack 4 16 Schuman Lead 4 49 Harpsichord 4 82 Stereo Syn Bass 1 5 16 Slow Warm 5 49 Harp 5 82 Sq Click 4 17 Koto 4 50 Analog Voices 4 83 Stereo Gap Bass 5 17 Wah Pad 5 50 Space Wave 5 83 Tri Vel Click 4 18 Music Box 4 51 Saxophon 4 84 Stereo Mid Bass 5 18 Laser Harp 1 5 51 Fat Clav 5 84 Cowbell 4 19 Zawinul Lead 4 52 Elctrosax 4 85 Stereo Syn Bass 2 5 19 Laser Harp 2 5 52 Octave Clav 5 85 Hi Irregular 4 20 Scary 4 53 Elcello 4 86 Stereo Syn Bass 3 5 20 Bpf Wah Pad 5 53 Bpf Clav 5 86 Rez 421 Syn Bass 1 4 54 Farfisa 2 4 87 Stereo Syn Bass 4 5 21 Mute Jazz Gt 5 54 Fm Clav 5 87 High Strung Fm 4 22 Syn Bass 2 4 55 Frankenstein 1 4 88 Stereo Syn Bass 5 5 22 The Thumb 5 55 Hollow Fm Ep 5 88 Scifi Snap 423 Syn Bass 3 456 Church Organ Flute 4 89 Stereo Star Cycle 523 High Wahpluck 5 56 MusetteInF 5 89 TightLips 424 Stevie Bas 4 57 Syn Brass 490 Wah WahPad 5 24 Analog Grand 1 5 57 FmClav2 5 90 ThinTin 4 25 Dull Bass 4 58 Brassy Pad 4 91 Indescribable 5 25 Analog Grand 2 5 58 Wah Clav 5 91 Pulse 5th 426 Syn Bass 4 459 DarkPad 4 92 Marimbajvibs 5 26 Analog Grand 3 5 59 Veloclar 5 92 Detsaw 4 27 Scratch Morph 4 60 VoicePad 4 93 Omnious 5 27 Tinder 5 60 Sticky Clav 5 93 WheelPw 4 28
138. t keyboard and Slots C and D from the upper part you can split the keyboard and play layers of two sounds on each keyboard half Just select all Slots and activate Keyboard Split PERFORMANCES A Performance is a collection of up to four Programs one for each Slot Furthermore the Performance contains information about which Programs should be active layered and settings for Keyboard Split In fact a Performance also contains information about what MIDI Channels to use for each Slot and a number of other settings but this is described more in detail on page 32 This text is only meant as a quick introduction to playing the factory Performances 1 Ifyou have the Nord Rack 2X make sure you transmit on MIDI Channel 1 from your master key board This is because the factory Performances are set to receive on MIDI Channel 1 2 Enter Performance mode by pressing the PERF MODE button The DISPLAY shows the latest selected Performance The Performances are organised in 4 Banks each holding100 Performances The Performances are named alphabetically from A0 L9 in each Bank the letters I and K are excluded because they re hard to show clearly in the DISPLAY The Performances in the first Bank are rewritable and the rest are in ROM Page 16 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 Basic operation Monophonic and polyphonic operation 3 To select a Performance press the UP DOWN buttons Hold down SHIFT and press the UP DOWN buttons to jump between Per
139. tes with echo you could experience notes being cut off by the echo repeats The solution is to lower the Amt setting decrease the number of repeats and pos sibly play shorter notes Page 55 8 Panel Reference LFO 2 LFO Mode NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x The echo function may give unexpected results if you use another Play mode than Poly For example in Mono mode each sustaining note will be cut off by the next echo repeat and in Legato mode you may end up with no sound at all since new notes will not retrig the envelopes LFO 2 LFO MODE When LFO Mode is selected for LFO 2 the Arp indicator is dark LFO 2 works as a regular LFO producing vibrato wah wah or tremolo effects The parameters have the following functions RATE This determines the rate speed of the modulation DESTINATION osc 1 2 When this is selected LFO 2 produces a triangle wave routed to the pitch of Oscillator 1 and 2 in equal amounts in other words a regular vibrato AMP When this is selected LFO2 produces a triangle wave routed to the volume for tremolo effects FILTER When this is selected LFO2 produces a triangle wave routed to the Filter Frequency for wah wah effects AMT This determines the amount of modulation Turn the knob to the right for more pronounced vibrato tremolo wah wah Page 56 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 8 Panel Reference Modulation Envelope MODULATION ENVELOPE mod env This is a simple type of envelope only co
140. the Message Type and Message Specification Some messages have no data bytes at all lt Data 2 gt lt Data 3 gt lt etc gt F7 End Of Exclusive PATCH DUMPS This message contains the actual Patch Dump One complete message contains the data for one Patch It is transmitted from the Nord Lead 2X in one of two cases When a Patch Dump is initiated from the front panel When a valid Patch Dump Request message has been received This message should be sent to the Nord Lead 2X when you want to replace a Patch currently in the in strument with a new one The Message Type and Message Specification bytes in the Sys Ex message contains information about from which location the Patch Dump was sent When a Patch is sent to the Nord Lead 2X it will end up in this location f the Sys Ex data for a complete Bank is sent using the Dump All command the Program location within the Bank is stored for each Patch When any or all of these Patches are sent back to a Nord Lead 2X they will be stored at their original Program Location but in the Bank that is currently selected on the Nord Lead 2X f the Sys Ex data for a single Patch is sent using the Dump One command it is considered being sent from the Edit Buffer of the selected Slot This means that when the Patch is sent back to a Nord Lead 2X it will not actually be stored but temporarily placed in the Edit Buffer of its original Slot Page 105 13 MIDI impleme
141. the knobs and buttons on the panel to edit the selected percussion sound to your liking just as in regular Nord Lead 2X programs You can play the other sounds freely while editing the selected sound as long as you don t press any other black key since this would select another sound for editing There is one limitation when programming the percussion sounds All of the sounds in a Percussion Kit will share the same LFOs The Nord Lead 2X will use the LFO rate waveform and destination settings of the last played percussion sound 4 When you re satisfied with the first sound press another black key to select another percussion sound for editing according to the figure above Page 29 6 Percussion Kits Saving Percussion Kits NORD LEAD 2X VI Ox SAVING PERCUSSION KiTS 1 After editing the percussion sounds press STORE The DISPLAY flashes 2 Use the UP DOWN buttons to select a Percussion Kit location in any of the first four Percussion Kit banks 3 Press STORE The edited Percussion Kit is saved to the selected location COPYING EXTRACTING AND IMPORTING INDIVIDUAL PERCUSSION SOUNDS You can easily copy a percussion sound for use in another zone This zone can be in the same Percussion Kit or in another one You can also extract the percussion sound and save it as a regular Program 1 Locate the zone of the percussion sound you want to copy extract Hold down a black key in this zone and press STORE The DISPLAY flashes
142. tion Demo play function NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 BASIC OPERATION DEMO PLAY FUNCTION Before you try out the new features for yourself you may want to listen to what can be done with the instrument The Nord Lead 2X is equipped with a built in demo playback function There are a number of demo songs in ROM showing the instrument s versatility and features in different contexts To listen to the demo songs do like this 1 Simultaneously press the SHIFT and RING MOD SYNC Demo buttons a Y SES NM gt MONO AUTO Playback starts During playback all knobs and buttons on the panel are disabled except for MASTER LEVEL 2 The demo songs are played back one after the other If you want to move to the next or previous demo song press the UP or DOWN button in the Program section of the panel 3 To exit demo play mode press any other button on the panel BAsIC MIDI SETTINGS FOR THE NORD Rack 2X If you are using the Nord Rack 2X and controlling it from a MIDI keyboard the Nord Rack 2X must be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the keyboard transmits on To get started proceed as follows 1 Set the master keyboard to transmit on MIDI Channel 1 Page 10 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 3 Basic operation Basic MIDI Settings for the Nord Rack 2X 2 Press the SLOT A button so that the LED above the button is lit Program store A CHE v A B Cc D mec TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG CTRL 3 Hold down th
143. to its lowest value 4 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button again The Velocity Morph function is now cleared for the knob 5 Turn the knob back up to any desired value When velocity programming is cleared for all knobs the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN LED goes out CLEARING ALL VELOCITY PROGRAMMING To clear all velocity programming hold down SHIFT and press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button Page 26 NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x 5 Programming Velocity Sensitivity Morphing MORPHING Morphing is a term used to describe a continuous transfer between two images sounds or similar As described above the Velocity Morph function in Nord Lead 2X is normally controlled by velocity But you can route the function to the MOD WHEEL instead which allows you to continuously fade between two sounds morphing The only thing you have to do to activate morphing for a sound that s already set up for velocity control is to press the Mod Wheel destination button until Morph is the only lit indicator Push this button until only the MORPH LED is lit SHIFT Wheel However if you are setting up a Morph sound from scratch we recommend the following procedure 1 Press the MOD WHEEL DESTINATION SHIFT button until only the MORPH LED is lit 2 Make sure the MOD WHEEL is all the way down 3 Set up the Program sound as you want it 4 Move the MOD WHEEL all the way up 5 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button and adjust the knobs so that the Pro
144. ts d eau ou des claboussures et de plus qu aucun objet rempli de liquide tel que des vases ne doit tre plac sur l appareil Lorsque la prise du r sau d alimentation est utilis e comme dispositif de d connexion ce dispositif doit demeur ais ment accessible Trademarks The Nord logo is trademark of Clavia DMI AB All other trademarks mentioned in this publication are the properties of their respective holders Specifications and appearances are subject to change without notice Copyright O Clavia DMI AB NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Table of content TABLE OF CONTENT 1 LJ INTRODUCTION O NY A ABOUT THIS MANUAL ur rs Y Reading the manual m Adobe Acrobat Reader rias 7 CLAVIA ON THE INTERNET cnica rain Y 2 CONNECTIONS DEBA a INPUTS AND OUTPUTS sssssss0000000502s0005s90000ss0500s00000s200ss2s00002000ssss0s00sss ES CONNECTING PEDALS sssssnansasssassassasnsananausennananassasuasuaananasaausanasassa D 3 BASIC OPERATION EE AT TITTAT TTT TTF 1 E DEMO PLAY FUNCTIO Noooosocoocoosoosconnonsnosonsoosnoscnaconcnoconacasanacancnacoacoss O BASIC MIDI SETTINGS FOR THE NORD RACK 2X ee eee eo ees oes 1 O AAA La SELECTING PROGRAMS ona VE SELECTING PERCUSSION KITS science 1S USING THE SLOTS TO SWITCH PROGRAMS cecsscccccccccccccecceccscccescescess 14 AI a WE Pa A X ee S XX 14 b rer M HP 14 Jab pP e EUH IBID ae ep MU pb I
145. ually create and process sound OSCILLATOR The Oscillator is actually the only thing in a synthesizer that actually produces any sound all the other modules only shape the sound from the oscillator The oscillator is a bit like the string on a string instru ment it vibrates to create sound FILTER The signal from the oscillator is sent through the Filter which shapes the timbre of the sound to make it bright dull thin etc AMPLIFIER gt The Amplifier shapes the volume of the sound making it soft or hard slow or short In addition to these major three modules all synthesizers also have modulators devices that can make the volume timbre pitch and other qualities of sound vary continuously when you play a key It is these modulators that basically add animation to the sound taking it from a dull organ drone to a dynamic and interesting timbre The two most common modulators are Envelopes and LFOs Page 79 11 Synthesis basics Connections NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x ENVELDPES An envelope is used to give a sound a shape If you apply an envelope to the amplifier which controls the volume you are able to make the sound for example slowly fade in and then fade out when you press and hold a key LFOs LFO is an abbreviation for Low Frequency Oscillator It is used for repeating variations in a sound such as vibrato or tremolo CONNECTIONS There are many ways in w
146. ulse Width and LFO Amount settings see below AMOUNT This is used to set to what extent the signal from the LFO should be routed to the destination Please note that the Amount can also be controlled from the Modulation wheel see page 59 LFO 2 ARPEGGIATOR Ifo2 arpeggiator ARP SWITCH This switch is used to select functionality for LFO 2 When the indicator over the button is lit or blinks LFO 2 works as an arpeggiator or an echo see below When the indicator is dark it works as a regular LFO On the following pages these two modes are referred to as Arpeggiator mode and LFO mode When you leave Arpeggiator mode by pressing the Arp button the Arpeggio will be turned off but the LFO 2 function will not be activated until you press the right LFO 2 Destination button once This lets you adjust the Rate and Amt knobs before applying vibrato wah wah or tremolo LFO 2 ARPEGGIATOR MODE In this mode LFO 2 works as an arpeggiator Ifyou take a chord and hold the keys depressed the notes in the chord will be played back repeatedly one after the other The parameters govern direction range and speed of the arpeggio RATE This control adjusts the speed of the arpeggio When Echo is selected see below the Rate setting determines the speed i e the delay time between each note echo A higher Rate setting gives a faster echo shorter delay time The arpeggio speed can also be controlled externally
147. ve the arpeggio continue playing Activate Arpeggio Hold by holding down SHIFT and pressing the ARP SWITCH The LED above the but ton blinks to indicate that Arpeggio Hold is activated The arpeggio will continue to play until you press the ARP SWITCH again If the Arpeggiator is activated but the ARP RANGE knob is set to Off the Arpeggio HOLD switch will work as a regular Hold switch If you play a note and release the key the note will continue to sound as if you were still pressing the key ABOUT THE ECHO FUNCTION It is important to understand that the Echo function is not the same as a regular audio delay What hap pens when you play a note with Echo activated is that the same note is triggered played again the set number of times with gradually decreasing velocity This has the following consequences f the sound you are playing is not sensitive to velocity Filter Envelope Amount Velocity and Veloc ity Morph are both turned off there will be no difference whatsoever between the echo repeats On the other hand it is fully possible to use the Velocity Morph function to make the sound change completely with the echo repeats making the function ideal for special effects The echo consumes polyphony i e each echo repeat steals one voice just as if you had played the repeats from the keyboard yourself This should not be a problem when using the echo effect with short sounds but if you play long sustained no
148. vious with low Resonance settings FREQUENCY This is the overall control for which part of the frequency spectrum the filter should operate in Page 49 8 Panel Reference Filter NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x If you for example select a low pass filter and turn the Frequency knob clock wise more and more high frequency material will be allowed to pass through the filter Amplitude Frequency The more you open a low Un E pass filter the more high fre quent the output signal Frequency Please note that if the Envelope Amount setting is raised from its full left position turning the Frequency knob might not change the sound as expected For more information see below RESONANCE This control is used to emphasize the amplitude of the frequencies at and close to the cutoff frequency If you are using a low pass filter increasing resonance will emphasize frequencies around the set Filter Frequency and de emphasize the rest of the frequency spectrum making the sound thinner Further rais ing the RESONANCE knob will make the sound resonant to a point where the filter adds a ringing quality to the sound Exactly where in the frequency spectrum this ringing appears depends on the Filter Fre quency setting Amplitude Q 4 The figure shows a 24 dB lowpass filter with differ ent resonance amounts EN Q values DA E eE d E Q 0 5 represents zero Resonance amount and Q 4 maximum amount Frequency Cutoff Freque
149. want the pa If you have set the range as described in the previous picture rameter to have when you play this will be the value you get when playing with maximum force with minimum force 6 Play the Program to try out the effect Please note that any two values can be used when setting the range To make a parameter value de crease when you play with more force i e have reversed velocity response simply use a low value for the maximum force setting and a higher value for the minimum force setting when you are defining the range MOVING THE RANGE As explained above step 1 to 4 sets the range of the parameter how far it should be between the minimum and maximum values Page 25 5 Programming Velocity Sensitivity Clearing velocity programming for one knob NORD LEAD 2X V1 0x Ifyou then turn a knob that has been programmed for velocity sensitivity without holding any buttons or anything you will adjust the minimum value only and the maximum value will move with it accord ingly If you adjust the value for a parameter programmed for velocity control you move the entire velocity control range upldown This minimum value will result in this maximum value This minimum value will result in this maximum value Pulse width Pulse width CLEARING VELOCITY PROGRAMMING FOR ONE KNOB 1 Turn the knob to its lowest value 2 Press the VELOCITY MORPH ASSIGN button 3 Turn the knob a bit up and then back
150. ynth2 97 Synce d Up 1 31 Clarinet 1 64 Pick bass 1 97 Guess 32 Punctuating Bass 65 PWM Clav 98 CutingEdgeSaws 1 32 Dideridu 1 65 FM morph bass 1 98 Tubular 33 LowEnd 66 SEQPolsyh 99 Organesque 133 Sx JL6G6 Addi 1399 Waterhall BANK 2 RAM BANK 3 RAM Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name Prg Name 21 Polsynh 234 Prbras 2 67 WaveBel 31 BigB 334 Wid 367 QuickLead 2 2 Polsynh2 X 2 35 D uneBas 2 68 Sunrise 32 Arpeggibass 3 35 Juicy Arpeggi 3 68 SweprFith Arp 2 3 Polysynth 3 2 36 Wetbrass 2 69 Organ e piano 3 3 Breathy Attack 3 36 Rolling Phase Lead 3 69 Rubber Arp 2 4 Ambient poly 237 Crambras 2 70 Euro Lead 3 4 Organ 337 Weel Tempo Arpeggi 3 70 RubberArpli 2 5 Human League 2 38 Sofbas 271 Syr 35 Shimmering 3 38 Velzapbass 3 71 Eurhythmic Reverb 2 6 Human League 2 2 39 Pulsebrass 2 72 Percstrings 3 6 Six Wives 3 39 Classic Analog Horn 3 72 Lunar Arp 27 We poly 2 40 HumanRez 273 Woodo 3 7 Kick snare 3 40 Water Drops 3 73 Vapour Spaced I 2 8 Fapoy 2 41 RezPlck 2 74 Tremolosynth 3 8 Heartbeat 341 Morphsong 3 74 VapourSpacedli 2 9 Legatobass 2 42 Amb Sine Pluck 2 75 Hitec 3 9 Bouncing Glassball 3 42 Electro Lace 3 75 Illusionary Arp 2 10 Infinite bass 2 43 Yazoo 2 76 Talkbass 3 10 Electrocution 3 43 Classic Buzz 3 76 Va

User Manual Nord Lead 2X

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