If they add some A1 features as suggested a possibility, then atleast the experience they get developing the A1 will help them

The design philosophy of a Nord synth is not so "open". I believe that the most important features are added in the first updates and the rest are bug fixes. Nord sells its intuitive interfaces as "1 knob per function"...imagine them adding features that the user must remember how to enable (via shortcuts)...that would be bad for them.

The A1 is a newer product with less features. It's normal that it gets updated more regularly. I really doubt that they will release something more than bugfixes for it though. 20 instead of 26 voices? Each extra voice means more processing...so, what do you prefer? Extra voices with less features or extra features on lesser voices?

I think I read a long time ago Eno saying "I'd rather have an instrument that makes a few really beautiful sounds than something that makes a bunch of boring sounds..."

Looking deep into the A1 manual its not true that you can't have both OSC doing waveshaping...you can but both OSC have to have the same waveform = Detune Mode. PWM is available in the waveshaping.

In Dual Osc mode you can have a variable wave in OSC1 with OSC2 EITHER being a Sine/Saw/Tri/Square set of prefixed intervals...and set the balance between them. So no way to have two variable waves...that will come on the A2!

If the core sound of the A1 is really good then the effects are icing on the cake and I agree with those who say its easier to turn on and play. Some of the demo's really overdo the effects IMO.

Seems that both the NL4 and A1 are quite good in different respects...NL4 for the Dance/Trance/B&D crowd and A1 for the Old Skool Analog crowd. I recall fondly how many sounds I used to squeeze out of my Micromoog.

Having the Ring Mod in the effects appears to allow some of the cool CS-80 sounds especially as you change the rate. I too will be looking for more hands on reviews and getting my hads on one first hand to try!

any thoughts on this are welcome..

Only 2x. A1 has very simplified engine, so it's hard to compare. If you're a tweak freak like me don't go for A1 and better consider 4 or 3 (if you need something more advanced then 2x).
People say A1 sounds nicer, but I haven't a chance to compare 'em face to face. 2x sounds fat and phat

a couple of interesting thoughts about the topic in this thread I just found

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/elec...x-lead-a1.html

seems like it's "allowed" to own both.....cool

Threads merged.

Stuck between the lead a1 and 2x. Which one is better for pads and ambient sounds?

I'm looking for nice complex ambient and pad sounds. Do you recommend the 2x? Also how many presets does the 2x have, 200 or so at least?

W/out hijacking the thread, what are the benefits of the NL4 vs the NLA1?

Impossible to tell unless you try them both out yourself.

If you're not near a place you can do so, order one, see if it suits, if it doesn't, hopefully you've ordered from a place that will take returns without any significant penalty, and order the other. If neither suit, move on.

Pretty straightforward. Clavia does a good job of providing feature comparisons on their webpages, if you want to go by that, but features do not sound quality make. And what sound quality and interface you'll like no-one can tell you, unless you have no idea yourself, in which case why buy any synth?

We can't tell you what you like.

Actually the differences are pretty clear.

NL 4 +
2 LFO, more LFO waveforms, Mod Env and more modulation routings
polyphonic Arp, LFO and Arp patterns
two individual "traditional" Osc
full ADSR
48db lp filter
"unique" effects (and as mod destination)
chord memory
Impulse Morph buttons (biggest+)

A1+
reverb and delay simultaneously
more "traditional" effects; chorus, phaser, ens.
S/H LFO
newer Osc extra waveforms
possibly more "analog" or "vintage" sounding Osc

Apart from that they share many strengths and a few weaknesses.

And the Roland FA-07 has more voices than the Sequential Prophet 6, which in turn has more voices than the Moog Model 15.

Features, I am suggesting, do not help with making a real decision. Sound and hands-on experience, does.

I find the A1 more "beautiful"-sounding than the NL4, and easier to get to both great and interesting results on, particularly in a performance setting. Does that help? I suspect not.

Sure, but I guess jjk was looking for "hard facts".

In my opinion, features are very important, for me at least, equally to sound and hands-on-feel. They might not matter much if you have dozens of synths at home, but if you choose the one or two synths you take on stage, it is important what a synth can do, and what it can't.

Mentioning polyphony however made me remember another difference; 26 (A1) vs 20. That however is not terribly critical.

Actually, im more interested in subjectivity on this one! (The feature lists speak for themselves)

Stumbled into an NL4 on the cheap, but everyone is so high on the NLA1, im second guessing my purchase

jjkjjk, if you are wanting to focus on one keyboard to do subtractive synthesis and to learn it in-depth, either the NL4 or the A1 will do just fine; no need to second-guess yourself.

The NL4 is going to have a "cleaner" more traditional sound (meaning more classic Nord, in my opinion), with more extensive modulation options. If you are a newcomer to synthesis, relatively (i.e. aren't interested in dozens of keyboards and gigabytes of software and are just fine on settling on an instrument, which is actually the point of wisdom many who go overboard come to after years of chaos.... <g>), you'll have more room to explore modulation on the NL4 than on the A1, which doesn't necessarily give you "better" sound but will give you more aha, so this does that moments.

OTOH, the A1 is cool because its approach relies less upon a complex modulation matrix and more upon the interactions of a variety of interesting waveforms. It's an effort at sculpting what Clavia knows down to the essence of what Hans Nordelius & Co. knows will most rapidly lead to appealing results, with the least amount of head-scratching. So it's one of those "grab it and go and have fun making music" synths, if that makes any sense.

If you've found a good deal on an NL4 and it's in good shape, you can easily live with that for 20 years or more and be happy, so maybe don't even look over your shoulder, and pick it up and have fun!

There's always something else that has different appeal out there, and the temptation's as bad as having too many presets: you never settle down enough to really get into the deep fun of making music you'd have been able to if you'd had less distraction along the way.

Killed it . . . Thanks

Can we talk about the lead 2x?

Important to remember that the voice count is across ALL voices, so that number goes down when you split and layer. With 4 layers going on the A1, it becomes a much more modest 6 voice synth. Still an awesome board, though