I think one thing that I absolutely love about this synth is that it fits so well into any mix. You can make deep low freq. Sounds, but it doesnt eat up your entire track. The only thing I dont like is that the oscillator section doesnt allow for combining different waveforms, there are ways around that, other than that, this synth is still very relevant even in 2022, the pads you can make with this thing is amazing. It shines when combined with an analog mono or poly synth. The Nordlead 2X is a favorite of mine as well, I guess it's a matter of taste, the 2X stands fairly well on some mono patches, and does bass well, I would say it does bass better than the A1, but the A1 has so many other features that makes it much cooler.
certainly one of the best reviews of one of my favourite synths. well done and good programming! it's always nice to hear people programming this synth to do something other than trance.
Awesome review Jamie! I have always enjoyed the Nord workflow, pretty simple to dig into. One of my 1st hardware synths was a Nord Lead 2x. Have owned a few others through the years, today I think my favorite is the Nord Wave.
I nearly went for a Wave recently, they do sound good. I had a Nord Lead 4 for a short while and wasn't too keen on it, that said the A1 is pretty cool.
Just brought one of these I can’t recommend it enough a great synth, I have it midi,Ed up to my Roland f06 and Digitakt it’s like having 4 analog synths (or fm,wave table,)in one with separate fx on each channel brilliant just brilliant, and nords website has plenty of free patches from professional programmers 👍👍.
I enjoy the sounds in this video. Seems like a great synth if you want to get straight to writing, or aren't interested in programming much. Your 20 scale is great, and your assessment of the instrument was eye opening. Thanks!
I have the nord lead 1 standing here. Its a whole different beast with a lot of character. The most beautiful digital artifacts haha. It sounds just outstanfing in its own way. Its quite aggressive and clear and pushing at the same time. Never heard another synth doing that.
Probably one of the best demo's I've seen of the A1 - and this has officially had me SOLD! :D Just maybe a purchase of the Minitaur at some point for some phatter base when I next get paid ;)
This little beast is great sounding and unique. Also I think it is very versatile. It will actually make really good electric piano sounds. This is handy when I'm watching TV, because I can sit it on my lap. I have already written several songs that this little guy inspired. I highly recommend it.
I own a Nord Stage 3 which has this engine. I was surprised how good it can sound, better than the Nord Lead 2X I owned years ago, it sounds more organic and analog somehow. I am full of real analog gear but I still think this sounds amazing no matter to what I compare with, even a Prophet, this has its own character. I simply love it.
Nice review, I have a NL4 and agree that the performance mode and layering is where these synths shine. I love the ensemble effect in the A1, but the ASR:s and missing LFO2+mod env is too limiting imo for a digital synth. The unison effect is cool but imo makes it harder to mix, I prefer designing the best possible mono sound and then sending it through analog fx pedals. I guess it's a good thing that the workflow and sound is different enough for me to justify an analog poly as well in the future :)
I call my A1 the "pad machine". If you want a deep synth with lots of modulation this is not for you. But it sounds wonderful, perhaps not analog but Nord analogish and Nord digitalish. IMHO it's the best sounding Nord. And once you get use to the symbiose 2d osc and how to use it, creating sounds on the A1 is very fast and very rewarding. If you looking for a poly synth that is good at everything, check out Novation PEAK/Summit. I call my PEAK the "jack of all trade" Check out Jamie's video of the PEAK.
Great review, thanks! If the A1 had a decent keyboard with aftertouch (e.g. Fatar TP/9) it would be almost perfect (regarding the whole concept). I have an A1 and love it - but I miss aftertouch every day and am annoyed by this cheap and clattery keyboard.
Here's a recording I did of the A1; making use of performance modes. Just a live play and so not polished but it gives an idea of the type of stuff the A1 can do. I like the chords starting at around the 11 minute mark. drive.google.com/file/d/1ffu4ZnUCIpp8O1T0r2gwQpJ5OJikaagC/view?usp=drivesdk
Great review, and lovely sounds. I am looking to replace my Novation Ultranova and am undecided between the Lead 4 and the A1 There is nowhere near me to try either of these so am stuck with youtube reviews. I kind of get some of the differences especially not being able to use reverb and delay at the same time on the 4. But unsure if the 4 has Unison... Have you done a similar video to this one on the 4 ? If so can you put a link here please, Cheers,
@GEOsynths Looking to add something to my DSI Pro2 and Elektron Analog keys. Lately, I have been really into Richard Barbieri in his Japan period (love those ring mod tones in Ghosts) would you recommend the A1 for that or rather one of the leads? Both Sylvian and Barbieri used leads in the past.
Hey! I'm looking for a high quality (no reliability issues) 61-76 key keyboard, something with control over the sound similar to what a Nord keyboards has.. with preference for internal speakers.. somthing around $600 any good recommendations?
@@GEOSynths Thank you so much! I'm torn between the Lead A1 (because I own the 6D and love Nord's quality and almost boring ease of use), Hydrasynth, and Korg Wavestate (because it seems to inspire to create some interesting Peter Gabriel-like sequences).
Bollie i have all 3 of those and while the hydrasynth is very extensive, the A1 sound quality is much better. Obviously the hydra has great control with aftertouch and poly aftertouch, the sound is what counts. The wavestate is cool, but not a true synth in that its all sample based.
@@GEOSynths That is so helpful, thank you so much! Then it fits the initial impression I got when I bought the 6D: A workhorse. Even though I'm a guitarist, the 6D inspires me to play a couple times a day. And it looks like Lead A1 could be just as inspiring. :)
Well, it can do 4 Layers, which the DM12 can only do 1, so there's that. The strength in the DM12 is the FX and Processing, so you have to consider that.
It’s in my bank and the Performance is called “Heavenly”. I demonstrate it at 3:49 in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gGOVgTqCmDA.html
The more I learn about the A1, the more I'm interested in adding it to my studio.That pad at 15:04 is stunningly beautiful. May sell my Juno 106 for this...
It sounds perfect. And to me, that's not a good thing. It suffers from the same predictable behavior, and mathematical rectitude as most other VAs out there. Probably because it's very difficult to model the behavior of electrons interactions accurately. Nice review nonetheless. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, it is quite clean sound and there are some ways to make it less predictable, but Nord has a sound, some people like it some don't, but still 4 layers is pretty cool.
@@GEOSynths You did a great review there. I'm a Nord Lead fan and I think you gave a fair score. I expect you had to recap on the A1's odd single-variable osc design before making the video! It's not standard by any means but the A1 is a fun synth and you can soon lose hours with it. The wavetable style approach with the selectable osc waveforms combined with the Shaper function leads to some very interesting sounds. Very musical, even when the harmonics are clashing away.
Yeah, i've done lots of Patches/Performances for it, so know quite well, but I hadn't used it for a while and essentially had to re-learn how to use it...Not the most intuitive of Synths, but can do some good results!
Modal Electronics did digital right with their 002. The oscillators have a subtle constant movement, and every voice is slightly defined from each other, creates a nice organic pulsing movement of sound. Very forward thinking but unfortunately there are very few manufacturers that pay attention to such detail.
@@GEOSynths well, sir, I'm always happy to throw money at you, so if you happen to have some original NL4 sound banks gathering dust... but I did learn a lot about the A1 here. Waa kinda jealous some of the features didn't get into the 4, back in the day
Yeah, but then you only have either a Reverb or a Delay, not both...A bit weird, as it was the higher spec version, they should have put the A1 FX in there, but it seems like they've abandoned development for the Leads...Shame.
again the way this nord works is through the performances layering love how a sub 37 is a psuedo dou synth and doesnt get any flack. nord def has a sound you either "get' or dont "get"
@@tombaonline4829 Baloney. Why don''t you just buy a Juno106? Sure, FX and "performance laying" can improve the sound, but for $1795 I would go with a Novation PEAK that has 3 Osc, an analog filter and 8 voices for a lot less money. That synth would blow the doors off a 1 osc Nord anything. You can't shine shit.
The fact you "just got it via a trade" already makes you over critical of it. This is what happens with possessions. If you pine for something work towards something and save for it then you appreciate it more. You dont appreciate this synth period. The sounds i hear YOU doing i do not hear on ANY other synth even. This synth is under appreciated
Thanks for the comment, however you are projecting how you would feel, not me. I don't "pine" for Synthesizers or possessions in general. I bought the Nord Lead A1 new when it came out, but due to lack of space it wasn't getting used, so I sold it, I then had a Montage for sale and wanted the Cash and wasn't looking for a trade, but as the A1 was offered, I accepted...Trade doesn't mean I got it for free! My score is based upon making thousands of Patches over 10 PolySynths, so when I'm reviewing a Synth, it's from a Sound Designers point of view, hence why there are 5 Categories that make up the score. The A1 is a good Synth, I've pointed out the strengths in the Performance mode and did a Live Stream (Episode 5) where I make a Patch with it...That said it does have drawbacks compared to the other Synths. It doesn't mean that it's not a good one, if it wasn't any good, I wouldn't have made Patches for it and would have passed on it, like I did with the Nord Lead 4, Montage, JD-XA etc.
TOMBA ONLINE How in the world does he show a lack of appreciation? He doesn’t, in fact; just the opposite. You come off as simply being a negative person.
sounds worse? it's not a 1osc synth, they've completely re-thought (for better or worse) the oscillator architecture for this synth. it forces the user into a new and more unexpected work flow. sometimes, the traditionalist in me finds it annoying, but it's not a traditional subtractive synth by any means.
