How it Works
Clavia
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Nord Lead 2
User Manual
114 pgs1.2 Mb2
Table of contents
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Clavia Nord Lead 2 User Manual

Table Of Contents Page 1

Table Of Contents

Introduction 5
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Clavia on the Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Connections 7
Connecting Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Basic Operations 9
Demo Play Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Basic MIDI Settings for the Nord Rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Selecting Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Selecting Percussion Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using the Slots To Switch Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Layering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Replacing One Program In the Layer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Splitting the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Selecting Performances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Monophonic and Polyphonic Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Stereo/Mono. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Pitch Stick and Modulation Wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Master Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using a Sustain Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using a Control (Expression) Pedal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The “Panic” button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Editing Programs 21
Changing An Existing Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Changing One Sound In A Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Getting Back To The Programmed Sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Using Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Customizing Manual Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Storing Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Copying Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Using PCMCIA Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Programming Velocity Sensitivity 25
The Filter Velocity Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Making Any Parameter Velocity Dependent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Clearing Velocity Programming For One Knob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Clearing All Velocity Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Morphing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Page 2 Table Of Contents
Percussion Kits 29
Selecting and playing a Percussion Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Editing the sounds in a Percussion Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Copying, Extracting and Importing individual Percussion sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Saving Percussion Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Sys Ex Dumps of Percussion Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Using Percussion Kits in Performance Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Performances 33
What Are Performances? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Recalling A Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Editing the Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Extracting Single Sounds from a Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Saving a Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Exiting Performance Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
What a Performance contains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Panel Reference 37
Settings For Both Oscillators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
LFO 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
LFO 2/Arpeggiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
LFO 2:Arpeggiator Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
LFO 2:LFO Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Modulation Envelope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Mod Wheel Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Poly Legato Mono . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Portamento. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Shift Functions 57
Accessing The Shift Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Tune (Master Tune) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
MIDI Channel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
MIDI 69
About the MIDI Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Using Nord Lead 2 With a Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Bulk Dump. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Table Of Contents Page 3
About Subtractive Synthesis 75
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The Building Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Oscillators and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
MIDI Implementation 91
Controller Number List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
System Exclusive Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Factory Settings 101
Factory Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Factory Percussion Kits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Factory Performances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
About the Organ Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
About the Prophet-5 factory sound recreations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Restoring the Factory Programs in RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
MIDI Implementation Chart 109
Index 111
Page 4 Table Of Contents
Introduction Page 5

1. Introduction

Welcome!

We’d first like to thank you and congratulate to the purchase of a Nord Lead 2. You’re about to begin a journey into the world of analog synthesizers in a way no one thought was possible. digital instrument, remaining true to the traditional analog concept, and still managing to go beyond it!.
But not all the magic lies in the sound creation. A major part is in the front panel, comprehensive, clearly laid out and smooth to operate.

About This Manual

If you have some basic knowledge about programmable synthesizers, you probably won’t need this manual much. Therefore it is arranged mainly as a reference text for those rare situation where something isn’t as obvious as it should be.
virtual analog
synthesis.
Analog
because the Nord Lead 2 mimics traditional
Virtual
because the Nord Lead 2 is actually a

Clavia on the Net

If you have access to the World Wide Web you can get free sounds for your Nord Lead 2 at www.clavia.se. Here you will also find all the latest information about the Nord Lead 2 and other Clavia products.
Page 6 Introduction
Connections Page 7

2. Connections

▼
Make all connections before turning on your power amplifier!
▼
If you are using a Nord Rack together with a MIDI keyboard, connect a MIDI cable from MIDI Out on the keyboard to MIDI In on the Nord Rack.
▼
All signal cables used with the Nord Lead 2 must be shielded.
▼
All four Outputs (A-B-C-D) are line level.
▼
If you connect the Nord Lead 2 in stereo to your audio equipment, you should use Outputs A and B. For mono connections, use Output A.
Midi In Midi Out Out D Out C Out B HeadphoneOut A
MIDI equipment (sequencer etc.) Audio equipment (mixer, PA etc)
Sustain
Pedal
Footswitch
Control
Pedal
Control pedal
Headphones
R
Page 8 Connections

Connecting Pedals

The Nord Lead 2 has two pedal inputs, one for a sustain pedal and one for a control pedal (an expression­type pedal, used to control various parameters in much the same way as the modulation wheel). Connect the pedals as shown in the figure below:
▼
When connecting an expression-type pedal to the Control Pedal input, you should use a “stereo cable”. Please note that the pedal must have a stereo output jack.
Sustain
Control
Out D Out C Out B HeadphoneOut A
Pedal
Pedal
▼
For information on how to set the Nord Lead 2 up for sustain or expression pedal, see page 18.
Basic Operations Page 9

3. Basic Operations

Demo Play Function

Before you try out the new features for yourself, you may want to listen to what can be done with the instrument. Luckily, the Nord Lead 2 is equipped with a built-in demo playback function! There are six demo songs in ROM, showing the instrument’s versatility and features in different contexts. To listen to the demo songs, proceed like this:
1. Simultaneously press the Shift and Ring Mod/Sync (Demo) buttons.
OSC 2
POL Y LEGATO MONO
AUTO
RING MOD
SYNC
DEMO
OSC
1
SPECIAL SYSTEM
MORPH OSC 2 FILTER
SHIFT
The Shift and Ring Mod/Sync buttons.
LFO 1 FM
Playback starts. During playback, all knobs and buttons on the panel are disabled, except for Master Vol­ume.
2. The demo songs are played back one after the other. If you want to move to the next or previous demo song, press the Up or Down button in the Program section of the panel.
3. To exit demo play mode, press any other button on the panel.
Page 10 Basic Operations

Basic MIDI Settings for the Nord Rack

If you are using the Nord Rack and controlling it from a MIDI keyboard, the Nord Rack must be set to receive on the same MIDI channel that the keyboard transmits on. To get started, proceed as follows:
1. Set the keyboard to transmit on MIDI Channel 1.
2. Press the Program Slot A button, so that the LED above the button is lit.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
3. Hold down the Shift button and press the MIDI Ch (Unison) button.
MONOUNISON
AUTO
The MIDI Ch button
MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM
SHIFT
MORPH OSC 2 FILTER
LFO 1 FM
The Shift button
The display will now show the MIDI Channel setting for Slot A (1 – 16 or off).
4. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select MIDI Channel 1.
The Program Up/Down buttons MIDI Channel 1 selected.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
5. Press Shift again to return to the normal play mode.
If you use Slot A when you play the Nord Rack (if you like, together with other Slots), this simple setting should be sufficient in most situations - even when playing Layers and Performances, as described later in this manual. For more information, see page 71.
Basic Operations Page 11
The Trig button
If you don’t have a keyboard connected to your Nord Rack, you can still try out the sounds by using the Trig button. Pressing this is equal to playing the note C3, with a velocity of 64.
CLEAR
TRIG
PERF. MODE
The indicator next to the Trig button will light up every time the Nord Rack receives a valid MIDI Note message. This is an easy way to check that your MIDI connections are OK.

Selecting Programs

Program are sounds that you have prepared in advance. The basic memory in the Nord Lead 2 contains 99
Programs
. 40 of these can be used for storing your own Programs, see below.
There are also four
Program slots
labelled A to D. The slots can be used for layering and quickly switching
between programs as described below. They are also used when the Nord Lead 2 is played via MIDI.
1. Select a Program Slot to play by pressing one of the four buttons A to D.
When you are only playing one sound at a time, as you are now, you can select any slot.
STORE
Use these four buttons to select a “Program slot”.
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
This “slot” is selected (lit up).
2. Use the Program Up/Down keys to select a Program for that slot.
Holding down a button scrolls the value quickly. Holding down the Shift key (the button above the Mod­ulation wheel) while pressing the buttons makes the value change in steps of ten.
Press these buttons to increase/ decrease the Program number.
If you hold down the Shift button while you press the Up/Down keys, the Program
STORE
value will change in steps of ten.
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
SHIFT
MORPH OSC 2 FILTER
LFO 1 FM
Page 12 Basic Operations
There are 99 Programs to select from. If you have a PCMCIA card inserted in the holder on the back, you may have another 297 on this, arranged in three banks. The bank is indicated by the leftmost digit in the display:

Selecting Percussion Kits

In addition to the 99 Programs in the basic memory, there are 10 consists of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds, arranged in zones across the keyboard. The Kits are located “above” Program number 99, and numbered “P0” to “P9”.
If you have a PCMCIA card inserted in the holder on the back, you have access to a further 30 Percussion Kits, 10 in each bank on the card.
▼
To select a Percussion Kit for a Slot, proceed just as when selecting a regular Program: Use the Program Up/Down buttons to scroll to the desired Percussion Kit location.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
Percussion Kit P0 selected.
For detailed information about how to play and edit the Percussion Kits, see page 29.
Percussion Kits
. Each Percussion Kit

Using the Slots To Switch Programs

The four Program Slots A to D can be thought of as four independent synthesizers, each capable of play­ing one Program or Percussion Kit. When you select one of the slots you will switch to play the Program set for that slot.
For live performance, for example, you can set up each slot to play a different Program and quickly switch between those four by pressing the buttons A to D.
Basic Operations Page 13

Layering

Activating
You can play more than one Program at a time. Proceed as follows:
1. Set up the Program slots to play the Programs you want to use.
2. To activate more than one Program slot, simply press all the Program Slot buttons you want to use, at the same time.
All those slots’ LEDs light up. The one you pressed last is blinking. This will be the one you are editing from the front panel, but more on this on page 21.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
Slot B (blinking) is selected. Any editing will apply to this Program slot.
Slots A and D (LEDs lit) are activated.
Slot C (LED dark) is not activated.
Deactivating
To turn of the layer, press a slot button that is not part of the layer, or press all the buttons that make up the layer.
Polyphony
How many notes you can play when layering sounds depends on what Play modes and Unison settings each Program uses. See page 54.

Replacing One Program In the Layer

You might want to select another Program for one of the slots in the layer:
1. Press the Program Slot button that you want to select Programs for.
Its LED will flash to indicate it is the
2. Select a new Program for that slot.
active slot
.
Page 14 Basic Operations

Splitting the Keyboard

The Keyboard Split function allows you to divide the keyboard in two sections, each playing a separate Program. This can be extremely useful when you are playing live, since it lets you use the Nord Lead 2 as if it were two independent synthesizers, with different sounds. When Keyboard Split is activated, Slots A and B will be played from the left part of the keyboard, while Slots C and D will be played from the right part. Activate Keyboard Split as follows:
1. Select Slot A and select a Program for it. This will be the sound heard when you play the left part of the key­board.
2. Select Slot C and select a Program for it. This will be the sound heard when you play the right part of the keyboard.
3. Press the buttons for Slot A and C at the same time, so that the indicators above both buttons stay lit.
4. Press the Kbd Split button. The green indicator next to the button lights up to indicate that the keyboard is split.
CLEAR
KBD SPLIT
SPLIT POINT
PERF. MODE
If you now play the keyboard, you will hear the sound of Slot A from the left part of the keyboard, and the sound of Slot C from the right part of the keyboard.
5. To exit the Keyboard Split mode, press the Kbd Split button again.
Setting the Split Point
You can set the Split Point (the key where the keyboard should be split) in the following way:
6. Hold down Shift and press the Kbd Split button.
The display shows the current Split Point for as long as you keep both buttons pressed.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
7. While holding down both the Shift and Kbd Split buttons, press the lowest key for the right-hand section of the keyboard. The display shows the name of the key you press.
8. Release the Shift and Kbd Split buttons.
Basic Operations Page 15
Combining Split and Layer
Since both Slots A and B will be played from the left part of the split keyboard, and Slots C and D from the right part, you could split the keyboard and still play layers on each keyboard half. Just select all the Slots you want to use, and activate Keyboard Split.

Selecting Performances

A Performance is a collection of four Programs, one for each slot. Furthermore, the Performance contains information about which Programs should be active (layered), and settings for Keyboard Split.
In fact, a Performance also contains information about what MIDI Channels to use for each slot, and a number of other settings, but this is described in detail on page 33. This text is only meant as a quick introduction to playing the factory Performances.
1. If you have the rack version of the Nord Lead 2, make sure you transmit on MIDI Channel 1.
This is because the factory Performances are set to receive on MIDI Channel 1.
2. Enter Performance mode by pressing Performance.
The display shows the latest selected Performance.
The Performances are organised in 10 Banks, named alphabetically from A to L (the letters I and K are excluded because they’re hard to write clearly on the display). In each Bank there are 10 Performances, for a total of 100. If you have a PCMCIA card inserted, the Banks on the card are found after the internal (ROM) Banks and labelled in the same way, but indicated with the digit 1, to the left in the display.
3. If you want to select another Bank (A to L), hold down Shift and press the Up and Down buttons.
4. To select a Performance in the Bank use the Up and Down buttons.
The Performance is instantly loaded and you can try it out. For a list of the factory Performances, see page
104.
Use the Up/Down buttons to change Performance (indicated by the digit 1-9 to the right in the display).
STORE
If you hold down the Shift button, you can change Performance Bank (A-L) with the Up/Down buttons.
MORPH
LFO 1
OSC 2
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
SHIFT
FILTER
FM
5. When you are done, exit Performance mode by again holding down Shift and pressing Performance (Manual).
Page 16 Basic Operations

Monophonic and Polyphonic Operation

For each Program you can set a Play Mode (Poly, Mono, Legato). The exact nature of these modes is de­scribed on page 54.
To make a sound fatter, you can activate Unison. This reduces polyphony. See page 55 for details.
Press this button to turn Unison on and off. The LED above the button indicates that Unison is activated.
MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM
POL Y LEGATO MONOUNISON
AUTO

Stereo/Mono

If you are using more than one output, or headphones, you might want to know something about how the sounds get positioned in the stereo image.
The complex answer is that this depends on the Out Mode settings as described on page 59. However, the simple truth is that in the basic mode, which the Nord Lead 2 is set to when it comes from the factory, all Programs are in mono. In fact, there’s one exception: If a Program is set to Unison, the instrument is switched to stereo operation.

Pitch Stick and Modulation Wheel

Pitch Stick
The Pitch Stick is used to bend the notes, just as with a pitch bend wheel on traditional instruments. The pitch stick differs from other pitch bend devices in a couple of ways:
▼ There is no dead centre in the middle of the throw. This allows you to use the pitch stick for natural vi-
brato, pretty much like a guitarist can.
▼ The effect on pitch is logarithmic, that is, the further you move the stick away from the centre position,
the more drastic the effect will be.
To set the range of the Pitch Stick, proceed as follows:
1. Hold down the Shift button and press the button labelled System.
Hold down the Shift button...
MORPH
MONOUNISON
MIDI CH SPECIAL SYSTEM
AUTO
SHIFT
...and press the button labelled System (the LED above the button lights up).
OSC 2 FILTER
LFO 1 FM
Basic Operations Page 17
2. Press the System button repeatedly until the character to the left in the display says “br” (for Bend Range).
3. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to the left of the display, to change the value.
The table on page 68 shows you how many semi-tones each value in the display represents.
If the Pitch Stick should be malfunctioning on startup, the display will scroll the message “PITCH BEND ERROR.”. The Nord Lead 2 will then work as usual, but the Pitch Stick will be disabled.
Modulation Wheel
The effect of moving the Modulation wheel can be different for each Program. You can change the func­tion by pressing the button just above the Modulation wheel. It steps between five possibilities. A de­scription of each can be found on page 53.

Master Tune

To tune the Nord Lead 2 to other instruments, proceed as follows:
1. Hold down the Shift button and press the button labelled Tune.
Hold down the Shift button...
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
...and press the button labelled Tune (the LED above the button lights up).
2. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to the left of the display, to change the value.
00 is normal 440Hz tuning. Lower pitches are indicated by a dot to the right of the number and values higher than normal pitch are indicated without a dot. The values are in cents (hundreds of a semitone).
3. Press the Shift button again.

Using a Sustain Pedal

A foot switch connected to the Sustain Pedal input works as a sustain pedal on a piano. Set it up as fol­lows:
1. Hold down the Shift button, and press the “System” button.
2. Press the System button until the two first digits in the display are “SP”.
SHIFT
MORPH OSC 2 FILTER
LFO 1 FM
3. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to switch the right digit between “0” (Sustain Pedal – open when pressed) and “1” (Sustain pedal – closed when pressed).
4. Press the Shift button again.
Nord Lead 2 will also recognize Sustain Pedal messages via MIDI (Controller message 64).
Page 18 Basic Operations

Using a Control (Expression) Pedal

As indicated in the illustration on page 8, a regular expression pedal can be connected to the Control Ped­al input, using a stereo cable. The connected pedal will either duplicate the Modulation wheel or inde­pendently control one of a number of parameters. You can select different Control Pedal functions for each of the four Program slots. Set it up as follows:
1. Hold down the Shift button, and press the “Special” button.
2. Press the Special button repeatedly, until the left character in the display is an “E” (for “Expression Pedal”).
3. Select a slot for which you want to set the pedal function by pressing one of the buttons A to D.
4. If you want the connected pedal to duplicate the functionality of the Modulation wheel, press the Program Down button until the display shows “Eof”).
STORE
With this setting, the expression pedal will have the same function as the Modulation wheel.
5. If you instead want to select an independent control function for the pedal, press Store.
The display will flash, showing one of the abbreviations in the table below.
6. ‘Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select one of the following control functions:
Display shows: Pedal assigned to:
LFO 1 Amount.
LFO 2 Amount.
Filter Cutoff Frequency.
FM Amount.
Oscillator 2 Pitch.
7. After you have made your choice, press Store again.
You return to the “E” display.
8. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select a control amount value (“1” to “7”).
This value (shown to the right in the display) determines the range of the pedal control signal. Lower values give a smaller difference between the pedal’s “full up” and “full down” states. High values give a big difference between the pedal’s up and down states.
Basic Operations Page 19
9. If needed, repeat steps 5 to 10 to set pedal control function for the other slots.
10. Press Shift to exit the Special menu and return to play mode.
Nord Lead 2 will also recognize Expression pedal messages via MIDI (Controller message 11).

The “Panic” button

If notes “get stuck” or the Nord Lead 2 behaves strangely all you need to do is hold down the Shift button and press “Panic” (the Distortion button in the Filter section). This will execute an internal All Notes Off, and reset certain parameters to normal values.
2 1
The Panic button.
HP 24 db
LP 24 db LP 12 db
3
FULL
3
DISTORTIONVELOC ITY
PANIC
BP NOTCH
+
LP
Page 20 Basic Operations
Editing Programs Page 21

4. Editing Programs

Changing An Existing Program

Actually, how to change a programmed sound can be described in one sentence: “twist the knobs and press the buttons”. It is as simple as that!
▼ For information about editing Percussion Kits, refer to page 30. ▼ Don’t be afraid to edit and overwrite the RAM Programs in the internal memory (Program 01 - 40). If later
you want to restore any of the original RAM factory programs, they are backed up as ROM Performances as described on page 108.

Changing One Sound In A Layer

If you have layered sounds you can still edit one of the sounds from the front panel. Proceed as follows:
1. Press the Program Slot button that you want to edit.
Its LED will flash to indicate it is the active slot.
2. Use the front panel to change the sound.

Getting Back To The Programmed Sound

If you have edited a Program and want to get back to the programmed original, proceed as follows:
1. Select another Program for that slot.
2. Select the first Program again.
It will now have reverted back to the way it was when you selected it last.

Using Manual Mode

KBD SPLIT
SPLIT POINT
PERF. MODE
The Performance/Manual button.
MANUAL
If you want to use the front panel to make up a sound from scratch, hold down Shift and press the Manual (Performance) button. This leaves you with exactly the sound that the knobs and buttons on the panel indicate (just as if the Nord Lead 2 was an old non-programmable instrument).
In Manual mode, the instrument only plays one Program, layering is not possible.
Page 22 Editing Programs

Customizing Manual Mode

When you enter Manual mode, the button functions (waveform select, modulation destinations etc.) will be set to some default values, for a basic sound. However, if you would like Manual mode to be different the next time you turn on power, proceed as follows:
1. Enter manual mode.
2. Set all button functions as you want them.
3. Press Store twice.

Storing Programs

Storing is done identically regardless if you are saving an edited Program or if you are saving from Manual mode.
Saving a Program will permanently overwrite an existing Program. Be careful so that you don’t acciden­tally erase a Program you’d like to keep! However, there is no danger of permanently losing the Factory Programs in RAM locations 01-40, since these are backed up as ROM Performances (see page 108).
1. Press the Store button.
The display flashes.
2. Use the Program Up/Down button to select a Program number.
You can play the now selected Program, in this mode, to decide if you want to replace it or not.
Only Program numbers up to 40 in internal memory Bank can be used for saving!. If you try to save in higher program numbers, nothing will happen!
3. If you change your mind at this point, press the Program Slot you want to return to or hold down Shift and press the Manual (Performance) button to return to Manual Mode.
4. If you decide to go ahead with overwriting the existing Program, press Store again.
The display stops flashing to indicate the Program has been saved.

Copying Programs

Copying Programs between memory slots is just a variation on Storing:
1. Select the Program you want to copy.
2. Press Store.
3. Use the Program Up/Down button to specify the memory location you want to copy the program to.
4. Press Store again.
Editing Programs Page 23

Using PCMCIA Cards

You can use a standard PCMCIA computer memory card in the slot at the back of the instrument. This allows you to save another three Banks for a total of 297 programmable memory slots and 30 program­mable Percussion Kit locations, and 100 Performances (which in practice includes an additional 400 Pro­grams). PCMCIA cards are also perfect for “backing up” (making safety copies of important Programs and Performances).
You can purchase Clavia cards at your Nord Lead 2 dealer. These come with sounds for your instrument, but can be used to store your own.
If you purchase the card at a computer retailer you should ask for this: A 64 kilobyte S-RAM-based, bat- tery-backed PCMCIA card. There are cards with larger memory capacity than 64 kByte but using one with the Nord Lead 2 is simply a waste of money.
Formatting of New Cards
For the Nord Lead 2 to be able to use a new PCMCIA card, it has to be formatted. The instrument will do this for you, if you perform the following steps:
1. Check that the card is not write protected.
This is done with a switch located directly on the card.
2. Insert the card.
The display will flash with the letters “Fo”.
3. To format the card, press Store.
Storing Programs On the Card
This is nothing different from storing into the internal memory Bank. When specifying where to store Pro­gram, simply select one of the memory slots above “99”, as when selecting Programs from the card (see page 11).
Storing Performances On the Card
This is described on page 35.
Before storing, make sure the card is not write protected. If it is write protected, the display will not stop flashing when you press Store the second time, to indicate the Program hasn’t been stored.
Page 24 Editing Programs
Updating Cards used with the original Nord Lead
If you have a PCMCIA S-RAM card formatted with the first Nord Lead, you need to update the card to be able to properly save settings for the new parameters, and to have the old sounds play back right on the Nord Lead 2. The instrument can do this for you if your card has already been formatted or updated for the Nord Lead software version 2.x. This was the software update for the original Nord Lead, that added several parameters and features. If your card is formatted for the first software version of the Nord Lead, see the section at the bottom of this page.
In the updating process below, Programs 1-11 in Bank 1 on the card will be erased! Therefore, we rec­ommend that you first copy these Programs to other locations on the card, or save them in a sequencer etc, by using System Exclusive data dump. After having updated the card, you can copy the sounds back to locations 1-11 if you like.
The updating is done as follows:
1. Check that the card is not write protected.
2. Insert the card.
The display will flash with the letters “UP”.
3. To update the card, press Store.
If you have a card formatted for the first software version of the Nord Lead: In this case, the updating procedure above will not work properly. It will allow you to use the card with the Nord Lead 2, but the old sounds may sound different, with some parameters set to the wrong values. Therefore, we recommend that you update your card to software version 2.x before updating it for use with Nord Lead 2. To do this, you need to insert the unprotected card into a regular Nord Lead running software version 2.x. When the dis­play flashes with the letters “UP”, press Store. Now the card is updated for software version 2.x, and can be updated to Nord Lead 2 format.
Programming Velocity Sensitivity Page 25
5. Programming Velocity Sensitivity

The Filter Velocity Function

Press this button to make the Filter Envelope Amount respond to velocity. The LED indicates that the Velocity function is activated.
VELOC ITY
The quickest way to make a Program velocity sensitive, is to activate the Velocity function in the Filter section. This makes the Filter Envelope Amount vary with striking force, to a pre-determined degree. See page 46 for details.

Making Any Parameter Velocity Dependent

You can make any continuous parameter (those controlled with knobs) react to velocity. You can also set the maximum and minimum boundaries for this, yourself.
Setting The Range
1. Set the parameter to the value you want it to deliver when you play with minimum force.
2. Press the Velocity/morph Assign button.
The LED over the button will flash, indicating that the Nord Lead 2 is in “Velocity Learn” mode.
3. Turn the knob to the value you want it to have at maximum striking force.
You can try out different settings for maximum velocity until you find the most suitable. While the Nord Lead 2 is in “Velocity Learn” mode, you can set ranges for as many parameters as you wish.
4. Press the Velocity/Morph button again.
Page 26 Programming Velocity Sensitivity
The Velocity/Morph LED is now lit to indicate that at least one parameter in the sound is velocity depend­ant. What you have done now is to set the range, the span within which the parameter will change with velocity.
If you press the Velocity/Morph button...
ASSI GN
...and move a knob from here to there...
CLEAR
KBD SPLIT
...this range will be the
SPLIT POINT
PERF. MODE
one that the parameter varies within.
5. Turn the knob back to the value you want it to have when you play with minimum force.
What you did now was moving the entire range, as described below.
Set the value you want the parameter to have when you
If you have set the range as described in the previous picture, this will be the value you get when playing with maximum force.
play with minimum force.
RING MOD
SYNC
OSC
DEMO
1
6. Play the Program to try out the effect.
RING MOD
SYNC
DEMO
OSC
2
Please note that any two values can be used when setting the range. To make a parameter value decrease when you play with more force, i.e. have “reversed” velocity response, simply use a low value for the “maximum force “setting and a higher value for the “minimum force” setting, when you are defining the range.
Programming Velocity Sensitivity Page 27
Moving the Range
As explained above, step 1 to 4 sets the range of the parameter, how far it should be between the mini­mum and maximum values.
If you then turn a knob that has been programmed for velocity sensitivity, without holding any buttons or anything, you will adjust the minimum value only and the maximum value will move with it, accord­ingly.
If you adjust the value for a parameter programmed for velocity control, you move the entire velocity control range up/down:
This minimum value will result in this maximum value.
This minimum value will result in this maximum value.

Clearing Velocity Programming For One Knob

1. Turn the knob to its lowest value.
2. Press the Velocity/Morph button.
3. Turn the knob a bit up and then back to its lowest value.
4. Press the Velocity/Morph button again.
The Velocity/Morph function is now cleared for the knob.
5. Turn the knob back up to any desired value.
When velocity programming is cleared for all knobs, the Velocity/Morph LED goes out.

Clearing All Velocity Programming

To clear all velocity programming, hold down Shift and press the Velocity/Morph Assign button.
Page 28 Programming Velocity Sensitivity

Morphing

Morphing is a term used to describe a continuous blend or “transfer” between two images, sounds or sim­ilar. As described above, the Velocity/Morph function in Nord Lead 2 is normally controlled by velocity. But you can route the function to the modulation wheel instead which allows you to continuously fade between two sounds – morphing!
The only thing you have to do to activate morphing for a sound that’s already set up for velocity control is to press the Mod Wheel destination button until Morph is the only lit indicator:
Push this button... ...until only the Morph LED is lit.
MORPH
LFO 1
OSC 2
FM
FILTER
SHIFT
However, if you are setting up a Morph sound from scratch, we recommend the following procedure:
1. Press the Mod Wheel destination button until only the Morph indicator is lit.
2. Make sure the Modulation wheel is all the way down.
3. Set up the basic Program as you want it.
4. Move the Modulation wheel all the way up.
5. Press Velocity/Morph button and adjust the knobs so that the Program sounds the way you want it at “the other end” of the Morph.
6. Press Velocity/Morph again.
7. Play and move the Mod Wheel to try out the effect.
You can also use an Expression pedal for Morphing, see page 18.
Please note that the Velocity function in the Filter section can be used even if Morphing is active, so that a Program can be basically Velocity sensitive even though Morphing is activated.
Percussion Kits Page 29

6. Percussion Kits

The Nord Lead 2 Percussion Kits consist of eight different virtual analog percussion sounds, arranged in zones across the keyboard. They allow you to incorporate percussion patterns in your music without us­ing up more than one Nord Lead 2 Program Slot.

Selecting and playing a Percussion Kit

1. Select the slot where you want the Percussion Kit.
You can select Percussion Kits for all four slots if you like, giving you a total of 32 different percussion sounds available simultaneously.
2. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to scroll past Program number 99 and select one of the Percussion Kits.
There are ten Percussion Kits in ROM, located directly after the “regular” Programs and labelled “P0” to “P9”. For example, select Percussion Kit P0.
STORE
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
Percussion Kit P0 selected in Program Slot C.
3. Use the white keys to play the percussion sounds in the selected Kit.
There are eight different percussion sounds in each Percussion Kit, arranged in zones across the key­board like this:
Drum Sound 1
Drum Sound 2
Drum Sound 3
Drum Sound 4
Drum Sound 5
Drum Sound 6
Drum Sound 7
Drum Sound 8
If you for example press the lowest keys F, G, A or B with Percussion Kit P0 selected, you will play a snare sound. A list of the ROM Percussion Kits and their sounds is supplied in page 102.
The keys in a zone will produce different pitches, just as if you played the sound as a regular Program. However, some percussion sounds are not programmed to respond to keyboard pitch.
Page 30 Percussion Kits

Editing the sounds in a Percussion Kit

While the white keys are used to play the percussion sounds, the black keys are used for selecting which sound to make changes for:
Drum Sound 1
If for example you want to edit the snare sound in kit P0, proceed as follows:
1. Select Percussion Kit P0 as described on the previous page.
2. Press one of the keys F#, G#, A# in the lowest octave.
The display will briefly show “-2”, indicating that percussion sound number 2 is selected for editing.
Drum Sound 2
Drum Sound 3
Drum Sound 4
STORE
Drum Sound 5
Drum Sound 6
Drum Sound 7
Drum Sound 8
TUNE OUT MODE LOCAL PROG. CTRL
3. Now you can use the knobs and buttons on the panel to edit the selected percussion sound to your liking, just as in regular Nord Lead 2 programs.
You can play the other sounds freely while editing the selected sound, as long as you don’t press any other black key (since this would select another sound for editing).
There is one limitation when programming the percussion sounds: All of the sounds in a Percussion Kit will share the same LFOs. The Nord Lead 2 will use the LFO rate, waveform and destination settings of the last played percussion sound.
4. When you’re satisfied with the first sound, press another black key to select another percussion sound for editing, according to the figure above.
Edited Percussion Kits cannot be saved in the ROM Bank of the Nord Lead 2. To save Percussion Kits, you can either use an optional PCMCIA S-RAM card or dump MIDI Sys Ex data to a sequencer or MIDI recorder (see page 73).
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