Richard Barbieri just released a sound bank for the Nord A1. Very impressive sound design, I didn't think the A1 could sound this good.

And of the six submissions thus far, that's the only set with 1 program bank and 1 performance bank. All the others have two banks of both. I think it says something that 5 out of 6 contributors felt enough inspiration and ease to create 100 patches and 100 programs.

can you make it sound like an Oberheim?

Depends what you mean by that.
You can make some great poly sound that are very analog-like, and the unison can really fatten things up like an Oberheim.
But none of the filters sound anything like an Oberheim and they're not really meant to.

Just wished the A1 was smaller in width so it would fit in an airplane hand luggage compartment like their G2...

Unison with 26 voices, that must sound pretty big...

Its unison mode actually goes up to 4 voices, but it still sounds very fat! I don't think that it needs more.

Update on my A1 ownership : after more time spent with it, the OSC config thing blows.

There's just nothing quick about it, having separate controls for etiher osc would be infinitely better and quicker than going through a list of configurations trying to find something that is kind of what you want, but never quite.
You need unison on most of the time because the ability to detune the two oscs is so limited ( for instance if you want a square wave + a saw 1 octave higher, you can't detune them, only choose the relative level ).

I still think it's a great board that does a lot of things extremely well, but I think most people will find the OSC section extremely frustrating after a few days.

If people are aware that's its a One Osc synth?

Mate I don't know what you're on about but you make a lot of very weird statements in this thread.
Of course it's not a one osc synth ! It's a two osc with some annoying limitations.

OK, I thought it was by looking at the Osc section it doesn't seem to have your individual controls for each but I'll have another look

It's not immediately obvious how you access the 2nd osc. You almost need to read the manual or see someone use it to know how it works.

I agree that it's not quick, but, there are workarounds for almost every sound you would design with a separated 2osc synth like nl2x for example. Don't be afraid to use unison or chorus they have been designed as basic features for this synth. Even the best sounds of my Waldorf Q make use of unison.

Yes I think you are completely right, you just have to put yourself in the mindset of this synth and use the layers, unison etc to get you where you want.
It's a different way of programming sounds that can be a bit frustrating when you compare it to other synths.
But the flip side is that when you do put yourself in that mindset it really does sound great quite easily.

I got one of these yesterday and have spent about 12 hours with it so far.

I REALLY like it!

It sounds superb, and right up my street in terms of 'typical' timbres it creates. It's actually hard to make it sound bad. It's also incredibly quick to do things that would often be tedious or impossible to do with other synths. (Such as multi focus so you can control all layers at once for example)

I'm pretty new to synthesis so this kind of synth is great for me, as I often get a bit overwhelmed with so many options on my other synths.

I was a bit unsure about not having a screen but in practice i've found the LED screen along with the Nord Sound Manager to do everything I need, and actually I prefer having software to manage patches rather than enter text etc via the hardware, especially as patches loaded on the hardware from the software which I didn't expect.

The morph and mutate sound functions are great, and unison, layering and the good FX just make it so lush.

I have had the A1 for about 3 weeks now and I think its an amazing piece of kit. The synth engine is sounds much better than that used on my Nord Wave, so much fatter and it does sound analogue, can't really say that about the Wave but that has it's own unique sound anyway thanks to it's sample playback layered with the synth parts.

I know a lot of people don't like the fact that it doesn't have full ADSR but seriously, that's no biggie. I though it might be an issue before ordering but that's absolutely not the case and I can't say it's ever been a problem.

All the doubters should just sit down with it for half an hour and I guarantee you'll fall madly in love (can I say that about a synth?) with it.

I sold my KingKorg to get something else, wasn't quite sure what at the time but I ended up with the sledge 2.0 (god that was awful). Then I bit the bullet and decided to have another Nord. I did think that there would be some common ground between the A1 and the Wave but there isn't, the A1 is a very different sounding beast to the Wave.

The A1 is now my 'Go To' synth and as such it takes the crown from the Roland V-Synth GT 2.

Bought the rack version about three months ago and love it. Half the time I have no idea what I am doing experimenting with the various knobs but lovely sounds emanate regardless. I find it a really fun synth to explore.

I'm a big fan. I love the A1. I spent three hours yesterday coming up with too many amazing patches for a new song. I had two dozen "liked" and ended up saving six. I aways come up with something interesting when I play the A1, so I keep the DAW in record mode.

Anyway Fordy, congratulations on your new beautiful synth.

I really love the A1 but also sometimes get frustrated when I want to say, put a Saw with a Square and pitch one differently. The FM sounds beyond great too but also wish I could select which waveform is the source and destination. Would also say the filters are the weakest elements of this synth. These just do the basics but leave all the magic to the oscs, effects and unison which to me are the best VA ones I've ever heard.

Funny, the Reface CS is using this method of two oscs configs and I think this setup will be used more in the future.

I still keep listening to A1 demo's and am impressed.

I'm finding my Nord Wave's synth section quite similar in charactor to my 2X.

At some point when I can afford it (and as I already have a Rack 2), I may sell the 2X and get the A1. Perfect Nord setup!

How is the low end bass ? Very good too?

I want the rack version

Hi Friends,

I am looking for the Nord Lead 1 Expansion board to go from 4 polyphonic to 12. Anyone who knows where this could be offered ?

Thanks!

I doubt you'll find an expansion board that isn't already installed in another nord lead.

Can you use arbitrary waveforms for FM in the A1?

Dang, I've put off getting a Nord for a while and have been listening to more A1 demos online and yeah, this synth is good. I can't decide if I want the A1 or NL4. I've also been considering the original NL1 with raw abrasive sound I like it produces. But the A1 also seems to be able to do abrasive weirdness too. And maybe moreso than the NL1. Has anyone had the NL1 and A1? Also wondering how the NL4 compares to the NL1. I'm curious about the difference in tones. Is the filter of the NL1 a lot better than either of these? I'm guessing the NL4 maybe a good compromise, but the tones of the A1 are really hifi sounding and seems to be able to do abrasive stuff too. I like that it can sound lush and organic, but also go into rawer sounding territory.

Here are some "quick" sounds (not music) I recently created on the Nord A1r just for fun (forgive any distortion in the recording process....):

That's beautiful.
Thanks.

That sounds so good. Thanks for posting that.

Thanks - I'll try and do more - this synth is amazing....

These are beautiful, thanks for posting.