Help Choosing a new board

[3days7hrs]

Ok im interested in getting a modern analog board.
(actually digital i belive but refered to as analog)

The two ive tryed and really enjoyed so far are the
Korg ms2000 and the Nord Lead 2.

I was just wondering if anyone here owns or has tryed these boards out and had any opinions on which one i should lean towards and why.

I know the nord has more polyphony (i dont even know what that means) but my real interest is will it last , i dont want to outgrow it real quick or anything or find that its more trouble than its worth a few months down the line.

Also if you have any suggestions on different ones
i should try out . Im fairly new to the scene and any
advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Alot
gary

 

[regebro]

"Virtual analog" is the word used for the types of keyboards. Polyphony means the number of notes it can play at the same time.

I sincerely doubt any of those synths are outgrowable, soundwise. The Nord Lead 2 sure isn't, and the Korg is even more flexible with its audio ins and mod sequencer. Not to mention a Vocoder. If you want more features than that soundwise, the only thing left is a Nord Modular...

But, as you say, the Korg only has four voices, where the Nord Lead 2 has 16, and it can only play two different sounds at one time, where the Nord can play 4. This means that if you are going to control it from a sequencer, the Nord wins, because the Korg will limit you there.

The perfect solution would be a Nord Lead 2 + A Nord Micro modular, then you'd get both all the polyphony and the uttermost flexibility in sounds, but that would cost you almost twice as much as just a Korg MS2000...

Not an easy choice.

 

[3days7hrs]

No not easy at all...

Now im gonna be using it for recording only.
So with the polyphony thing couldnt i just use
more tracks and get near the same effect?
Or am i just understanding that wrong.

(im sorry , i know this sounds like a dumb question)
I didnt have much time to mess with either of these for too long , do you know anything about drum programming capability on these? The demo the guy at the store played for me had a wide array of drums. I didnt have enough time though to get into how it worked. Is it like just tapping it into the keyboard or is more like a drum machine concept?

Anway
thanks for your patience
Later
gary

 

[robert jaybird]

The ms 2000 only has 4 voices wich is a bit of a drag. The nords are cool and more powerful. but dont really sound better. Theres also the waldorf q, novation supernova, access virus kb, korg z1 and yamaha an1x.

Ive been in Looking for a similar instrument myself. I have decided reaktor is something worth serious consideration as well, it being software. If you get a keyboard with lots of knobs you could control the softwares parameters with them. I think it would kick ass to have a dedicated laptop or imac for reaktor.

I think the supernova 2, q Virus kb and nord modular are all serious contenders. The z1 also has its fans. ANd if you need more simply hook up to some software and youve got yet more sounds. If you ever feel limited by your keyboard theres also virus b and q rack or micro q.So much fun so little time

 

[hixmix]

Rethink.

 

[regebro]

Yes, you can just use more tracks, so when you are recording and if youhave plenty of tracks its not a problem.

Does the MS2000 have drums? The Nord lead doesn't anyway.

 

[Roel]

You should also take the budget into account... The MS2000 is definately in a lower class than the virus which is again alot cheaper than the waldorf Q... (At least here in Belgium...)

There's also the roland JP8000. (But forget I mentioned it. I really don't like it.)

I was looking into these things a year ago, and I preferred the Virus. But it really depends what you are looking for... The nord modular is also a nice box, but if you're not gonna hook it up to a computer, you're even better of with the roland.

Do you want external inputs, for processing external sounds? Do you want a keyboard? Do you need drums in it? What kindof sounds are you aiming at? Are you gonna use it to sequence, or just recording line after line? Why do you want a synth, is it to make your own sounds and experiment turning knobs, or do you want it just there to have the sounds when you need it?