3. GETTING STARTED | 15
THE SYNTHESIZER
Let’s have a look at some of the features of the Stage 3 Synthesizer, be-
ginning with how to set up a sound using Classic, “analog” waveforms.
1 Make sure the Synth section is active, by pressing the Synth ON
button, or by using PROG INIT (Shift + Live Mode) and selecting
Synth from the display.
2 In order to start off from a “blank slate”, let’s initialize the synthesizer
to its default settings by pressing SOUND INIT (Shift + Unison).
3 Make sure the Waveform selector under the display is set to CLAS-
SIC. Turn the OSC1/WAVEFORM dial until the sawtooth waveform is
selected.
4 Note that the right half of the display is currently empty. We are now
using the Basic, single oscillator, configuration which means that
the OSC CTRL knob has no impact on the sound. Let’s choose a
different configuration:
5 Press SHIFT and turn the CONFIG dial to browse the different
configurations. Select the Mix Square configuration and let go of
the SHIFT button.
6 There are now two oscillators available, one set to sawtooth and
one set to square wave. Turn the OSC CTRL knob to mix the sound
of the two oscillators.
7 Turn the OSC2/PITCH dial (same as the Config dial - but without
Shift) of the Oscillator section and select a different pitch for the
square wave, indicated in semitone steps on the display. This way
the sound of the first oscillator (the sawtooth sound in this case)
can be combined with a sound of a different pitch, from one octave
below (“sub”, used in the example below) to several octaves above.
As a final step, let’s turn to the Filter section for some adjustments:
8 Turn the Filter FREQ knob counter-clockwise, and notice how the
sound is gradually subdued. Repeat this with all FILTER TYPE set-
tings, paying attention to how they each have a different effect on
how the sound is shaped.
M Read more about the Filter Types, and other settings in the Filter
section, beginning on page 35.
LOADING AND ADJUSTING A SAMPLE PRESET
Now let’s instead set up a string pad sound based on a sample, loaded
from the Sample Preset bank.
Apart from being selectable with the Osc1/Waveform dial, samples
iare available as presets within the Synth Preset banks. When
loaded from a preset, some of the Synth settings – such as Amp
Envelope and Velocity – are automatically set to values which suit
that particular sample. All parameters can of course still be adjust-
ed manually as needed.
1 Activate the Synth Preset List view by pressing SHIFT and turning
the SYNTH PRESET dial.
2 Press the Samp soft button (Program 1 button) to isolate the Sam-
ple presets. Pressing any of the category soft buttons (Program
3 or 4) will group all Synth presets by category. The PAGE 3/4
buttons can be used to quickly jump between different categories.
3 Select an appropriate Ensemble Strings sample by turning the
SYNTH PRESET dial (or the Program dial).
4 Play a few notes. To make a pad out of the sound we will want to
do a few tweaks. Let’s turn to the AMP ENV (Amplifier Envelope)
section:
5 While playing, adjust the Amp Env RELEASE control until a suitably
long tail is heard when releasing a note, perhaps at a value of
around 5.0.
6 Similarily, use the ATTACK control to create a softer and more
gradual onset of the notes you play. Again, a value of around 5.0
may be suitable.
7 To finalize the string pad, adjust the FILTER FREQ to give the sound
a softer character. A value of around 6.0 could be a good starting
point.
M Since we are basing this example on a preset, you may want to set
the VEL/MOD ENV knob to 0 (12 o’clock) when trying out point 8
above, to reset any preset velocity behavior.
There are several ways to further enhance this basic string pad sound,
for instance by adding modulation or by using effects. Read more about
modulation options on page 32 and about effects, beginning on page
page 43.
Additional samples can be added to the Nord Stage 3 by using the Nord
Sound Manager software.
You can store a tweaked synthesizer sound as a preset, by press-
ing Shift and the Store Synth button.
To Next Page
Loading...