I found that the Nord Lead 4 is the easiest synth I have to get good fm sounds out of it. When I say "good" I'm specifically referring to when making a classic fm piano sound, though other wild fm voices are doable too. I'm making this comparison to Summit, P12, Pro2, Vermona, PEK and Modar NF1. Big variety of Wave shapes is the big thing right now from the manufactures. But I'm learning that the type of shapes offered are more important than the quantity. I think Nord has about 40 wave shapes on the Lead 4. Enough, but not too many These are probably the most useful in this comparison as well. I wish there was more ways to modulate the fm and waveshapes and filter types on the Lead 4 though. P12 wins at that ability hands down. I'm thinking the new Nord instrument will probably improve its ability to modulate waveshapes and fm.
Speaking of fm, in terms of pure fm toying around...I'd have to pick the Modar. The Modar has really been the surprise of the year for me. Being relatively affordable for the module version, I bought it as a B-day present to myself. Its really an fm experimenters tool bench.
100 Replies
25631 Views