Nord Lead 3 vs Nord Lead 2X

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jospjn

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Hi Guys,

I made some research on the Clavia Synths but still unsure of some little bits.
The 2 Synths concerned in this post are the Nord Lead 3 and the Nord Lead 2X.
Although the Lead 3 is discontinued and a new synth is replacing it (Nord Wave),on the other hand the Lead 2 was the predecessor of the Lead 2X.

My question is what is the main difference between the two?
There is already a price difference between the two but what makes the Lead 3 more price than the lead 2X?

P.s - I will use the synth for House and trance.

Thanks
Jos.
 
the interface is different on the 3, the digital to analog convertors are different (supposedly higher signal to noise ratio), and i believe there is a polyphony increase as well.

the 2x has a slightly darker sound to it. sounds more like a later rev Prophet - im not certain what the 3 sounds like, though i consider it brighter and thinner, though capable of harder sounds due to the FM thingie.

the Wave is actually much closer to the 2x than it is to the three, the interface has gone back to the days of standard encoders rather than infinite LED-ringed encoders.

that's fine with me, really, but some people really liked those stupid LEDs. i just didn't think they really felt like _knobs_.

so basically you just have to see which one you like better - if you're relatively new to synths, you'll probably think the LED rings are the cat's ass. if not, you might prefer the regular knobs. try out the various tonality ranges of both as well - go into the shop and make some of the tones you use most frequently, and see how those sound.

you might have to make small adjustments, because the 'sweet spot' on different synthesizers is always going to be different - i.e. highpass a bit more for that trance pad, or a bit less rez on that bubbly synth line - but you should be able to figure out which one you'd like to pick up relatively easily.

if you've got a store near you with both of them in stock, call ahead and schedule an appointment to try them out side by side - that's what i do. usually a good idea to take one or the other at the end of your session, though - if you don't, congrats - you just pissed off your local music store.
 
Actually I don't have a store near me so I have to rely on the internet to check the sounds.Re:Poliphony it does carry more than the 2X.Anyway for the moment thanks for your help.

Jos.
 
jospjn said:
...
My question is what is the main difference between the two?
There is already a price difference between the two but what makes the Lead 3 more price than the lead 2X?
Click to expand...

Nords I know :D

the NL3 is more expensive :
1. because it's more recent than the NL2 (the NL2X is an upgraded NL2: with more polyphony, more patches and better converters; they both share the same sound engine though -according to Clavia)
2. the LED knobs are not Christmas decorations (knowhamsayin?!).. not if you look at them from a practical point of view! Clavia only omitted these from the Wave to reduce cost!
3. more Modulation possibilities = more complex sounds..
4. more Oscillators / more Osc Modulations/Configurations and more FM madness;
5. and a new Multi-Filter = more possibilities.
6. LCD (and patch names -instead of 3-digit patch numbers!) and a scroll wheel (makes life so much easier!)


Many people argue that the NL3 sound is cleaner than the NL2X.. some see this as a negative thing; I think it's a different synth with a different sound character.
This guy did a 2 vs 3 comparison >>>

One thing's for sure though: the NL3 has a much wider sonic range.. and is IMO worth the extra $...

hth
 
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