Launched in 2008 as a game-changer for live performers, this synth brought seamless sample playback into the Nord family, letting you layer custom waves with virtual analog tones on the fly.
Its dual-oscillator heart powers everything from classic sawtooths and squares on Osc 1—complete with 62 wavetables, 3-operator FM, and noise—to Osc 2's sampled instruments, FM, or 22 sampled waves, all with transpose, fine-tune, and clever FM/phase mod between them. A versatile filter array covers lowpass, highpass, bandpass, plus multi-peak and vocal modes, driven by ADSR amp envelopes, a dedicated mod envelope, and dual LFOs with shapes like triangle, saw, square, and random. Hands-on controls shine with a 49-key velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive board, wooden pitch stick, slim mod wheel, slot A/B switches for instant layering or splitting (sharing 18-voice polyphony), octave buttons, and an LCD with value dial. Global effects include tube overdrive, tap-tempo stereo delay, five reverb types, plus per-slot EQ and chorus; morph groups let mod wheel, velocity, or pedal tweak parameters in real time. At 870 x 274 x 98 mm and just 6 kg, it's a lightweight powerhouse with 180 MB flash for user samples via Nord Sample Library and USB.
Players loved its quick boot-up, fat live sounds, and easy sample import that expanded the palette beyond stock Nord Leads—reviewers called it fantastic for studio and stage, praising the morphing and FM depth, though some noted the two-slot limit halves polyphony when doubling samples and wished for unison modes.[web:1][web:2][web:4][web:5]
