The Nord Modular Experience

Everything you wanted to ask about the Nord, but were afraid to ask….

This document assumes that you are happy with the following concepts;
Logic is a sequencer, which sends Midi information messages to synthesisers, which produce the
sound (an audio signal), which is routed to the mixing desk via the patchbay, and yes you have
faders up, and you have to switch on the amplifier to hear it….

The Concepts. – Please read this section thoroughly, to avoid wasting time.
Anything in Bold type is explained in a glossary at the end of this document. This
document will take you through the steps you need to create a triggering subtractive
synthesiser on the Nord. Writing this document has been like opening a can of worms. I
believe I have covered the essential bare bones items, this should get you started.
Anything else you need to know can be found in the manual or the ‘Wizzo’ guides.

Hardware
The Nord is a powerful synthesiser that combines truly modular synthesis
with out the hang-ups of analogue instruments with the simplicity of the point and
click Macintosh environment.
The Nord generates the sound on the hardware using DSP chips and outputs the
sound to the analogue outputs (which in LCMM studios is connected to the patch
bay).

The synthesis engine is triggered via midi notes like any other midi
instrument, through its midi connections from a midi keyboard, sequencer
(Logic) or any other midi input device.

The software front end communicates with the hardware via a second set
of midi connections. For best results a second midi interface is used to keep the
two types of data separate (Midi information and Software communication).

There are two types of Nords in the studios.

Full Modulars. Micro Modulars

The Full Modulars are essentially four Micro Modulars in a box with more
controlling knobs.
You cannot build a single bigger patch on the Full Modulars, only run more, (4)
patches.

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 Both units have external inputs for processing of audio through the
synthesis engine. This is one of the best features of the Nord, but it is also one of
the most unused.

The Software

The front end for the Nord, is all controlled from the editor software, which,
unfortunately, is an OS9 application. Since we run OSX (a much newer and
modern operating system) here in the studios, we have to run the editor in
‘Classic’ mode. This involves it loading parts of an old operating system, this
happens almost invisibly to the user. The editor will function in the usual manner.
You save your patches as a data files.(file menu) You can back up these, with
your Logic, Cubase Protools song, on your blankcd/usbflash/ipod/fwhd.

The modules are located on a tab menu system, click and drag them into
the main area below. Alternatively, you can press the control key whilst clicking
on the background of the editor window; this will bring up a list of categories of
modules. This has the advantage of displaying the DSP load for each module. If
your chosen modules add up to over 100%, your patch will not sound. The total
load on the Nord’s DSP, is displayed at the top of the screen. When you start the
software editor, it will load which ever patch is loaded in the Nord at that time. In
the case of the Big Modular (see pictures), there are four slots for four patches,
so it will load four windows containing a maze of modules and connections.

This will undoubtedly terrify the novice user. It is worth stating at this point,
that some of the best patches start from very simple concepts. It is possible to
create a simple synth with four modules.

There are red cables, these carry audio signals, yellow cables carry gate
signals, and blue cables carry modulation information.

Getting Started

When starting to make music with the Nord, it is a good idea to load some
preset patches and familiarise yourself with the interface and any connections
you need to make to hear the sounds you can create. Explore the different styles
of patches, and how the control knobs affect the sound in real time. Do not be put
off, by how big the patches look, you can start very simply and get some very
pleasing results.

To avoid confusion, close all windows containing patches. Make sure that
you have Logic open, with the Nord Midi instrument track 1 selected ( you may
have to create the track). Make sure that the Prg selector (program change) is
NOT selected. If this is selected, every time your press play, the Nord will change
program. You can easily swap between the editor and using Apple + Tab.

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Dive on in….

Open the Editor, Press Apple + N (just like every Mac application) for a
new blank document, if you are using a full modular select Slot A, and this will
trigger on Midi channel one. Make sure the audio outputs of the Nord are
connected to the mixer and the faders are up, and the amplifier is on.

Do not have it too loud at this stage.

Return to the editor, hold the control key and click on the background, this
will bring up the list of modules and their corresponding processor loads, chose
an Oscillator(Oscillator Group – Try OscillatorA) and an Output.(In/Out Group)
Click on the connector on the bottom right of the module, and drag it onto the
output connector.
Outputs are Squares, Inputs are Circles.

Waveform
Selectors
Pitch
Modulation
Output

Patch the output of the Oscillator to the input of the Output. (Output
Group) You now should hear sine wave from the speakers. (if not, check your
patchbay and mixer/amp settings and the volume on the Unit itself.)

Input of the Output,

The gateway to the
Outside world

Check out the pitch knob and waveform selectors.

Congratulations, you made some noise. Why not save your patch into your folder
on the hard disk on the Mac. Choose save from the file menu. (apple + s)

Make it Stop!

Disconnect your Oscillator. Hold control whilst hovering the mouse of the
connector that you want to disconnect, and click, this will reveal a menu, choose
disconnect! This is also a good moment to return the pitch knob to its default
setting so it tracks the correct pitch when played from a midi keyboard or
sequencer. Whilst holding the control key, hover the mouse above the coarse
pitch knob and choose the default menu item..

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 Now add a Keyboard (In/Out Group) and an Envelope (Envelope Group)
module. The most commonly used envelope is the ADSR.
Audio
Output
Gate Input

Audio Input

The note output provides pitch information (which key is pressed), the
gate provides a trigger pulse, when the key is pressed and released, and the Vel,
provides the velocity control for how hard a key is pressed.

Patch the Oscillator to the input on the envelope. Now patch the output of
the Envelope to the Output module. You should hear nothing.
All we need know is to tell the envelope when to let the audio through.
(Keyboard and Sequencer events). We would like the Envelope to trigger when
we press a note on the keyboard.(note on). The Keyboard module turns midi
events into signals that the modules use. To trigger the envelopes, wes the
yellow gate signals. Connect the Keyboard gate out to the Envelope gate in,
(yellow).

In theory, you should now be able to play the keyboard and you should
hear a raw synth sound.
Now is a good time to discover the parameters of the envelope. These
govern how the volume is affected from when you strike the key, to when you
release it.
The Attack defines how long I will take to reach its loudest point from the
key strike (note on).
The Decay defines how long it will take to fade down from the peak, and
the sustain will dictate which level it holds at until you release the key (note off),
the Release stage will determine how long the sound will fade to nothing.
When the Attack and Release stages are set to 0, the sound will start and
stop instantly with note one and note off events. This is ideal for bass sounds and
when starting to build a patch.

A Note About Pitch.

On a real analogue modular, you would need to connect a CV signal to

the Oscillator to tell it which pitch to play (a voltage corresponding to which key is
pressed.) On the Nord there is no need to do this to get the oscillators to track
the pitch, it will do it by default, if you would like to use the pitch information for
other purposes, then simply patch the pitch output on the Keyboard module.

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Getting Funky
Ok, now we have a working synth, triggering both pitch and gate, we can turn it
into a subtractive synth, by adding a Filter.(Filter Group) Try FilterE, this has four
filter types; Low-Pass. High-Pass, Band-Pass and Band-Reject. The most
commonly used is a 12db or 24db Lowpass. Place this after the Amplifier, just
before the output module.

Filter Audio Out

Modulation
Inputs

Resonance Control with Audio In

Modulation Input

Modulation Modules.
Most of the modules in our patch either generate sound or process them.
We are now going to add an LFO module.(LFO Group) its purpose is exclusively
for controlling a parameter on another module (in this case we are going to use
the filter.)
LFO Waveform
selection panel
Frequency,
Rate/Speed
Output of LFO,
connect to any
modulation input.

This produces a control value (just like midi control messages) in a

waveform pattern. The most useful of these is the sine. Patch the output of the
LFO, to the modulation input of the Filter (bottom left). Trigger a note, and turn
up the depth. You should hear the filter cut-off move up and down. Now
experiment with the frequency (rate) of the LFO. This is also a good time to
familiarise your self with the different waveforms, and their effect on the filter.
The LFO is a fundamental key to making your sound evolve and change,
and also to provide dynamic elements. Try modulating the pitch input on the
Oscillator, rather than the filter, this will give you a vibrato effect, and is useful to
add some expression to the sound, if you turn the depth up and the speed on the
LFO, you will create less conventional harmonic sounds. (FM)
Once you have mastered the LFO and modulating other modules,
experiment using an Envelope to do the same to Pitch Mod, and the Filter Mod.
In this instance, our Envelope is providing a control signal rather than processing
audio, like our other Envelope. (Which is actually, on most preset synths, would
be an Amplifier, controlled by an Envelope.) In a modular system, your only limit
is your imagination.

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Expanding the Synthesis. The next step is to…

Add another Oscillator or two, you will need to add a mixer to sub-mix them
before the Envelope. Try detuning one of the Oscillators, this will create warmth.

Sync Two Oscillators You need to be using the OscA Module. Copy the output
of your first module to the sync input of Oscillator. This imposes the frequency of
the first Oscillator on the second Oscillator. If you modulate the frequency of the
second Oscillator whilst in sync, the timbre of the sound will change dramatically.

Change Oscillator Types. There are a variety of Oscillator types. This is

another great but underused feature of the Nord. Try the Spectral and Additive
Oscillators.

Create Frequency Modulation. Add another Oscillator, and patch this into the
modulation input of the original Oscillator. Now raise the modulation depth. The
second Oscillator is doing the same job as an LFO control source, just much
faster. Remember, you are still only listening to one Oscillator, you are hearing
the effect of the second Oscillator, modulating the pitch.

The Drum and Percussion Modules

The first is a multi function drum synth, complete with presets, and the
second an oscillator with pitch envelopes and noise generation.

Trigger Inputs
Plug the Gate
in here! Audio
Outputs

These are ideal for producing analogue style drum sounds. The drum
synth needs a gate signal to trigger. If you would like to use multiple drum
synth’s, you will need to use the NoteDetect module (In/Out Group) to place the
different drum synths on different keys. Do the same for the percussion module.

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Midi Control Change Messages.

You can take real-time control of any parameter, such as filter cut-off,
modulation depth and anything else with a knob. You can use the ribbon control
on the Triton Pro, modulation wheels, the knobs on the Nord itself, and even
faders on the mixers, to modulate said parameters in real time, and record the
movements to your chosen sequencer.
Click on any knob whilst holding control, will reveal a menu, select the midi
controller menu, typically use number 1 (Modulation Wheel) or choose a knob on
the synth. The big modulars have a green light per knob to indicate that a
controller is assigned. You can view all the assignments in the midi window from
the same menu on any knob.

Well Done!

If you have got this far, then congratulations, you have a good versatile
synth patch, which with some modifications to the various parameters, Oscillator
wave form selectors, envelope and LFO settings, and create pads, bass lines,
and all manner of synth effects. However, the Nord is not just about building
synth patches, there is input processing, sequencing, math and logic functions,
vocoding, effects, dynamics and the imagination, ability and effort to combine all
these elements to create almost limitless creative solutions to your audio desires.

The Hard Work is Done….

Once you have created your patch, you can save it into the synth and use
it without need for the editor. You must make sure your patch is finished, and that
all your knobs and controllers are assigned.

If you are working with the full modular, and you want to run multiple
patches, you have to open patches in each of the four slots. You will have to
save these individually, and when you first load them, you will have to make them
active. You do this by selecting the ABCD buttons whilst holding the shift key.
Once they are all selected, all the patches will play. You can have these patches
triggering from separate midi channels or from one. This facilitates many layered
sounds.

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 What Next?
Effects (Audio Modifier Group)
There are plenty of audio effects, phasers, flangers, distortions, wave
wrapping and quantization. The Nord can not produce time based effects such as
reverbs and delays. This is because it has no ram.
All of these effects work in the usual way, patch them in like any audio
module, make use of any built in modulation sources and experiment with others,
(start with LFO’s)

Sequencers (Sequencer Group)

There are several types of sequences for various applications. You have
Event, Control and Note sequencers. They are all step sequencers and require
triggering, the best starter, is a clock generator (found in the LFO section), but
when using them for modulation, the gate signal from the keyboard can be ideal.

Start off by connecting the 4 pulses gate signal to any of the following
sequencers. The event sequencer is a good place to start.

Event These generate the yellow trigger/gate signals. They have a push button
interface. Good for the Drum and Percussion modules.

Control These have sliders to define values for each step. They produce the
blue control signals. (modulation sources) +/- 64.

Note These produce stepped semitone pitch messages. These sequencers are
useful for musical patterns.

Inputs – Processing Audio from the Outside World!

The best way to setup a patch to use the Nord as a processor, is to start
with a blank patch, add an Input (2 inputs), an Output(2 Outputs), and two Filter
modules.
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 Patch the input (from the outside world) to the filter inputs. Connect the
two outputs of the filters to the Output module. This patch will be stereo.
A quick easy method of routing audio from hard disk is to patch the sound
card directly to the synth outputs, making use of any spare sound card outputs.
Try drum loops, guitars and basses, microphones and practically any other
sound source
One thing to be aware of is that you can only assign one midi controller to
each parameter on the modules. In this case we would like to control the cut-off
on both filters. So select the filter knob, hold control and click on it (this reveals
the menu). Assign it to ‘Morph Group 1’, do the same for other filter. Once this is
done, both of your filters will now be coloured to indicate they are part of a morph
group. You now have to choose the range for each assignment, hold alt, and
click and drag on each filter cut-off. You should see as you drag, a section of the
knob go darker, this indicates how much effect your controller will have on the
filter. For a stereo patch that is even in both speakers, you will need to have both
set the same. Now attach a midi controller in the usual way, to the Morph Group
1 Knob at the top of the screen. Now patch an audio source into the Nord and
monitor the Nord’s output! You now have midi control of a stereo filter.
This simple demonstration has shown you how the input module works,
and how to work in stereo. You can now experiment with anything in the audio
processing group, to create all manner of processing possibilities.

Ring Modulation.

This synthesis technique can be used as part of a synth patch or an audio

processing patch. You need two audio sources such as two oscillators, or an
oscillator and an audio signal such as a voice.

When experimenting start with two oscillators. Patch one into the audio
input and another into the modulation input. Turn the AM/RM knob all the way to
RM. Connect the output to the outside world.
Now alter the pitch of one of the oscillators. You will hear two tones.
This is called ‘The Sum and the Difference’ If you have a 10k wave form (tone)
and a 3k waveform. The ring modulation module will turn them to 7k and a 13k
tones. To create further excitement, attach LFO’s to the pitch modulation inputs
on the oscillators. If that is not enough, attach a further two slow moving LFO’s to
the rate control of the original LFO’s…..

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 What It All Means…
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface. There are two elements to
Midi, the software protocol and the hardware connections.
Oscillator A device that makes waveforms – sound. Typically will produce
a variety of waveforms. Sine, Triangle Saw and Square.
Keyboard Turns incoming midi signals into Nord messages
Envelope Generates a control message pattern upon trigger
Output Connects your audio to the outside world.
DSP Digital Signal Processing – The math that creates this madness.
Filter Similar to an EQ, but only attenuates frequencies in a given
range.
Low-pass Filter A filter type that lets low frequency pass, whilst reducing the
high frequencies at the ‘cut-off’ point.
FM A technique of modulating one Oscillator with another to create
harmonic sounds.
Synthesiser An electronic device, that creates sound usually for a musical
purpose.
Sequencer Usually software, an application that allows the user to generate
musical events (midi) along a timeline. In modern times this
would provide hard disk recording for audio as well. (Logic,
Cubase + ProTools, Cakewalk, and Digital Performer.)
OS9 This used to be the standard operating systems for Mac, it could
not multitask (run several programs at once), it had limited
networking, and had poor memory management (RAM)
OSX All singing and dancing modern operating system for Mac based
on FreeBSD. An Unix/Linux derivative, which has excellent
resource management, pro networking and nearly all the
manufactures now support it.!
Noise Usually White Noise. This is random in nature and contains all
Generation frequencies in the spectrum. Try filtering it to make high-hats.
Patch A collection of modules, with set parameters,
that is saved, for recall at a later date.

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