Roland JP-8000 vs Nord Leads

[funk5]

Posted this at Harmony-Central, just wanted more opinions:

I already own a JP-8000, and haven't ever gotten a chance to play any of the lead series. In particular I was thinking about the lead 2, before they switched to 24 bit dac. I'm thinking of selling the JP in favor of a nord lead 2. Although it's obviously subjective, is the sound of the lead better in terms of quality and sounding analog (I hear people always saying the leads have their own sound, not quite analog)? I think the MIDI implementation on the lead seems to be better, and the lead is 4-part multitimberal and easier to manage vs 2 on the jp and harder to manage. Not really sure though, what do you think?

[OurDarkness]

I have a JP-8000 and I am never going to sell it. I don't like the sound of Nords, but like you said, it's subjective.

[ignatius]

nords do have their own sound. i like it. i have a NL2X. great synth. pretty rich sounding and capable of lot's of bread and butter analog sounds and also it can get weird really easily.

i haven't played a JP in years so i can't recall what they sound like but i think they're quite different. if you are used to its sound and it has a place in your music you might miss it if you sell it. i think a nord is a good compliment to any synth for it's modulation ability and drum mode... plus, it's red

i don't think there's any reason to avoid the newer leads w/24bit dac. you might prefer it. the tone is the same but the newer ones are just a little more 'extended' if that makes sense.

[Popbott]

Fo sho, ditch the JP and get the Nordlead2, you will not be dissapointed. Not analog? Fits in nicely with my Voyager in terms of analog sound and has practically retired my Juno 106. The Nord2 is one of the coolest synths I have in terms of sound, usability and function for over 10 years now. Each time I use it, I find something new. It is simply a workhorse.

Don't get me wrong, the JP is a great synth with merits on its own, if it were up to me I would have both! But if I had to choose one, it would be the Norldead2.

[Huntley Miller]

It may be worth checking out the original Nord Rack (1?). I thought it sounded better than others. The Nord 2 and 3 sounded similar to other modern VAs (too bright).

[Chuck Wool]

I've used the JP-8000 a bit more than the Leads, but I've used the Nord Modulars much more, which have a fairly similar sound.. The JP is more of a silky smooth kind of thing, the Lead is much harder. It can do alot of things but just doesn't seem as "romantic" as the JP, if that makes sense. Leads will quickly get you an "ass kick" sound. Ok that's enough vague nonsense for now

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by Chuck Wool

I've used the JP-8000 a bit more than the Leads, but I've used the Nord Modulars much more, which have a fairly similar sound.. The JP is more of a silky smooth kind of thing, the Lead is much harder. It can do alot of things but just doesn't seem as "romantic" as the JP, if that makes sense. Leads will quickly get you an "ass kick" sound.

totally agree.

also, i think the NL3 is completely different than the 1 & 2. it's a different sound engine completely. has less balls and more sheen. the 1 & 2 are quite similar.

[funk5]

Originally Posted by ignatius

i don't think there's any reason to avoid the newer leads w/24bit dac. you might prefer it. the tone is the same but the newer ones are just a little more 'extended' if that makes sense.

Actually, from quite a bit of reading forums about this subject, many people would tend to disagree with this. Yes of course it is extended, as in polyphony and more memory, but the tone from what I have read is different mainly due the 24 bit dac vs. the 18 bit dac on the lead 2. I've heard it described as not being as meaty, not as dirty, and yes much clearer sounding. Of course I would like to try both to decide though, but I think I would like more meat on my bones please.

[OurDarkness]

This is what actually happened from Nord Modular to Nord Modular G2. The NM is supposed to have a more raw sound as opposed to the G2 where the sound is more refined.

I can make the JP-8000 sound as raw as I want it, it's all about programming. I have it since 1999 and I am still amazed about the sounds I can come up with.

[plaid_emu]

Sometimes when people talk about VA's being too "bright" I wonder if they ever tried adding a touch of EQ to roll off some of the high end? Maybe they really mean "harsh" and not "bright". I can see where that would be a problem.

I prefer my synths to sound kind of bright. You can always roll off the high end, but trying to turn up the brightness is where I've ran into trouble. Reminds me of the seasons. I'd rather be cold than hot. You can always put on another layer during the winter, but if you're outside in the summer working or in a car with no AC, you're just ****ed.

[ignatius]

Originally Posted by OurDarkness

This is what actually happened from Nord Modular to Nord Modular G2. The NM is supposed to have a more raw sound as opposed to the G2 where the sound is more refined.

it all comes down to the patches. i've heard some G2 patches that sounded purely analog to me. just amazingly rich and crunchy and dirty and dense and heavenly. amazing stuff that made me smile and wish i had one. things that sounded not unlike an analog modular synth. but then i've heard some pretty boring sounds made w/G2's also.. so yeah.. it all comes down to who makes the patch.

as far as 24bit dac in the NL2X.. i meant "extended" as in freq range.. more bottom, more top. i think the NL2X is pretty meaty but i wouldn't doubt that people hear it differently than me and prefer one over the other.

[OurDarkness]

Sometimes when people talk about VA's being too "bright" I wonder if they ever tried adding a touch of EQ to roll off some of the high end? Maybe they really mean "harsh" and not "bright". I can see where that would be a problem.

Well, I am currently doing a research paper for a university, and among other things I came across is this *brightness*. Most acoustic instruments and lots of analog synthesizers have spectra that tapper off with increasing frequency. It seems that the *problematic* range is somewhere from 2KHz and up. I am over-simplifying things here, because trust me, we don't want to mess with the maths. You can of course place a lowpass filter at 2Khz and adjust it to taste, but that has two detriments: first it colours the sound of the passband and second the curvature from 2 KHz and up is again different. Probably you could use a convolution filter running at 96KHz, but this is very computationally intensive. This is why so many digital oscillators tend to sound *nervous* or *harsh* or *bright* and this emulation has to be done in the algorithm that gets executed by the DSP.

[Barilla]

I have the JP and a Nord Modular G2. Very different synthesizers.

I would not ditch the JP. I made the mistake of selling a JP-8000, only to buy a JP-8080 a few years later because I missed it! I will not be letting go of the JP again. It's beautiful for silky poly stuff. The Nord is good for quite aggressive, cutting, more 'digital' sounds. There's room on the planet for both.

[Phaidon]

If I had to make a choice between the two, I would definetely go for the Nord.
More character,grityness,etc...
The JP-8000 never did it for me,quite "plasticky" sounding to my ears...and maybe a phasing issue or two!
I know it does it for a lot of people,not for me...oh and also this Supersaw thing,so overused to death gee!

My .02p

Peace
Phaidon

[Chuck Wool]

Originally Posted by OurDarkness

This is what actually happened from Nord Modular to Nord Modular G2. The NM is supposed to have a more raw sound as opposed to the G2 where the sound is more refined.

Yes! I got a G2 engine to replace my G1 key but they sounded so different I decided to keep it. Don't get me wrong they aren't in different worlds, but the G2 has this silky clear sound that I didn't expect. G1 is more meaty and like an old computer or something. Also, they are both well-rounded units and have their own feel when making patches because of their available modules, I make different type patches on each.

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by Phaidon

If I had to make a choice between the two, I would definetely go for the Nord.
More character,grityness,etc...
The JP-8000 never did it for me,quite "plasticky" sounding to my ears...

Yup. Nord is warm, nice texture, more like classic analog. The Roland is not.

Of course it also comes down to taste-some like colder and plasticky, not me.

[ari800]

Nords tends so sound more musical with more power & attack in the mids.

But you need both

In my opinion anyway

[olafmol]

i have a JP8000 and a micromodular. The jp8000 sounds really different from the micromod.. the nord sound is much more "direct" and "rough" to my ears, while the roland is smoother and creamy...

i would suggest picking up a cheap MicroModular, install it with all the NL patches you want (there are 99 presets), and set it up so you can edit the patches from the JP8000 midi controllers... best of both worlds!

Olaf

[Agli]

When I think of the JP...
clean, plastic, techno, big

Nord (2, have not tried other versions)...
distinctive, nasal, VA, medium

They both have distinctive sounds, but you will always be able to spot the Nord.

The JP will not do fat - it's more clean and big. It can do a lot of things but not "analog fat" kind of sounds.
The Nord will fool you into thinking it sounds fat - after a few weeks you will probably hate it, unless you are one of those people that need to justify their gear purchase and think everything you own is great.

This is just an opinion.

[Agli]

Originally Posted by olafmol

i have a JP8000 and a micromodular. The jp8000 sounds really different from the micromod.. the nord sound is much more "direct" and "rough" to my ears, while the roland is smoother and creamy...

i would suggest picking up a cheap MicroModular, install it with all the NL patches you want (there are 99 presets), and set it up so you can edit the patches from the JP8000 midi controllers... best of both worlds!

Olaf

This sounds like a good idea. I'd like to try the modular.

[funk5]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

Well here's a question that I'm surprised nobody else has asked: what other synths do you have? What context are you putting this synth in?

Right now for synths I have of course as mentioned the JP-8000 and a Memorymoog. That's it for now, but I plan on expanding into more analog, would love a few cheaper monophonics and polyphonics.

[olafmol]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

In that case, I would hang on to the JP-8000 until you get more analogs.

there is room in a mix for both digital, VA and analogue imho

Especially with a memorymoog your freq-space in a mix becomes full quiet fast...

You might check out the Alesis Ion too, i did like that a lot, a friend of mine sold his JP8000 for it and never regretted it, he had a nordlead before that. The Ion can do all kinds of fat american-synth sounds (think OB, moog) but also more japanese kind of style (korg, roland). The interface isn't as direct as i would wish but still very nice..

another nice VA is an Access Virus, also very typical sound but powerfull and flexible..

Last tip: Waldorf Blofeld, cheap but very powerfull it seems, if you like the waldorf character..

Olaf

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by DivineChemical

Yeah, but from my experience, Nord Leads sound best in a mix when you've got some analogs to back up it's skinniness. A JP-8000 can do pretty well on it's own without an analog underneath it (so long as you're not using it for bass.)

.

Nord skinny? lol come on man that's just silly as is the whole theory about fitting in a mix. As has already been mentioned, the Nord's actually a lot closer to vintage analog, some would clearly choose it over an 8000 including me. The 8000's about the same in the thickness department, and has a plastic sound that many wouldn't find cool.

[DevonB]

I was playing yet again with a Nord Lead 2 last night. I didn't like them when they first came out, and I still don't like 'em now. The G2, on the other hand, is brilliant, and love it to pieces. The G2 has been the only Clavia piece of kit that I've actually liked too. Still, I wouldn't want to live without a JP8080 either. <shrug>

Devon