Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

sinestro · Post by **sinestro** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:30 am

Hey, I've got myself a Roland SH101 and I've been offered a Nord Lead 2 plus a little cash their way as a trade. Anyone use a Lead 2 and can give me some feedback? It'd be nice to have midi and polyphony, but it'd be hard to part with the 101. I've never had a hard synth like the Lead 2 and was wondering if you can use it as a midi controller for soft synths within Ableton, for example. Also would need to get myself a good USB soundcard, if anyone can recommend an entry-intermediate level card that would be good to use with a Lead 2 that would be appreciated.
Cheers

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:17 am

Personally I'd keep the sh101, but that is just me. You can get a good keyboard midi controller for $100.

sinestro · Post by **sinestro** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:39 am

Have you used either of them nowaysj? just curious as to why you'd prefer the SH101. I am wondering if the 101 is more of a financial investment than a useful synth, especially when compared to something like the Lead 2 or a Virus for instance. So far i've only sampled the 101, although i heard you can get a CV/MIDI converter for them...

contakt321 · Post by **contakt321** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:01 am

SH-101 by a mile.

The 101 is a CLASSIC real VCO analog w/ an identifiable sound that can't be beat.
The Nord Lead is a a "virtual analog", in some ways it's like a hardware VST.

Nord's are cool, and nothing wrong w/ a virtual analog but the 101 is a beast (I have the 202, which is basically the same minus the Noise source) and can do HEAVY bass, the trademark 101 rubbery bass sound, and screaming acid sounds too.

All that said, YMMV

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:06 am

Never used the sh101. Have heard it ad infinitum though. Just has a sound, gnaw what I'm saying? Definitely less "powerful" in terms of functionality, as I've used its vst sister

but come on, the sound...

but you know, if you're not into that "real" sound, fuckit, sell that thing off, shit sell it to me, then in 6 years when you see what is up, you can do this

as you beg for it back!

Ha, jokes!

Best of luck man.

sinestro · Post by **sinestro** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:08 am

fuck it, I'm pulling the auction. I have a feeling I'll be thanking you guys in due course...

sinestro · Post by **sinestro** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:11 am

Hey contakt, does the 202 have midi? or are you just sampling it. whats the best way for me to get sounds outta this thing...I am an amateur producer, doing a course now to up my game and when it comes to hardware I'm still really fresh.

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:23 am

I'll interject as I don't know if contakt321 is coming back any time soon (dude is a don, and donmajor for this kind of info, so pay attention to him). Just get a halfway decent auido interface, ie not an m-audio or lexicon p.o.s. and just record it. You can record whole lines with your tweaking, or just sample out single notes from your patch which you can put together into a sampler for further playing/processing.

I can't speak to the midi implementation on the sh's though. Someone will come along. The big fish only come to this dead reef every once in a while.

sinestro · Post by **sinestro** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:30 am

Hahahaha, cheers for the info nowaysj. Looks like a new audio interface is next on the shopping list. I do, in fact, have a lexicon alpha and I find it very limiting and annoying to use with the 101. Ill start there before I look into cv/midi interfaces as that looks like expensive-ish territory if I don't really know what I'm doing.

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:51 am

People here tend to recommend this:

http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio ... ire_6_usb/

for a basic interface. Two inputs is too limiting for me, but I have a few hardware stuffs.

I really like the higher end emu stuff for price/(sound+usability) ratio, I use an emu 1616m (but I no longer use its preamps).

wub · Post by **wub** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:02 am

Stick with the SH101 - way cooler than the Nord IMO.

Depone · Post by **Depone** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:32 am

I would have gine with the nord imo. Been using both a while ago, and actually although the nord is virtual analogue, it sounds really phat. The 101 is limited, preferred the nord

Electric_Head · Post by **Electric_Head** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:48 am

I`ve been using the Disco DSP Discovery for a few years.
I got all of the Nord Lead 2 sysex data and imported them.
It essentially sounds the same as Nord Lead.

Electric_Head · Post by **Electric_Head** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 10:52 am

Plus the Nord is a biiiig piece of equipment.
well, compared to the 101 that is.

leeany · Post by **leeany** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:38 am

I've got the Nord and I LOVE it. It really doesn't sound like software. You can also stack 4 sounds on top of each other, so you'll be able to get really fat sounds

Electric_Head · Post by **Electric_Head** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:46 am

LumiNiscent wrote:I've got the Nord and I LOVE it. It really doesn't sound like software. You can also stack 4 sounds on top of each other, so you'll be able to get really fat sounds

Have you heard the Nord sysex through the Disco DSP Discovery?
It`s really close.

daft cunt · Post by **daft cunt** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:31 pm

How many osc the SH-101 has again ? Oh yes... 1! So much worth 400 bucks

Come on, it used to cost the half of that when it was fairly priced. Sell that shit and grab the Lead 2!

contakt321 · Post by **contakt321** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:05 pm

sinestro wrote:Hey contakt, does the 202 have midi? or are you just sampling it. whats the best way for me to get sounds outta this thing...I am an amateur producer, doing a course now to up my game and when it comes to hardware I'm still really fresh.

No midi. Actually the CV in is faulty (design flaw) but it has a built in sequencer, so you sequence and just set the tempo and record, or you can use tape sync by sending a recording of a tape sync signal from a DAW. I wouldn't worry about the lack of midi on the 101, but you can get a converter from Kenton. My buddy has a 101, and I have a 202. At his house, we just play the 101 and record it and move stuff around that needs to be fixed.

You can also use the tape-sync on the 101 I believe

FYI - your Lexicon should be fine, I would just re-think your setup/wiring/workflow

@ NowaysJ: cheers man, I am blushing

If you think the Tal-Bassline VST sounds good, you will lose your shit when using the real thing. As good as the Tal is, the real thing is a pretty significantly different (I have compared the same settings on VST vs the real thing). MUCH richer and fatter. The bass on the 101 is HUGE. It can be similar to a Juno 6 (if you want it to) and have this really heavy, heavy, fat bass to it.

@ Depone: Agreed, the 101 is VERY limited. So is the 303, the Juno 6, even the 808 and 909, or the Korg MS-20. Interestingly... all of these synths are 20 years old and still VERY much utilized in modern music - why? B/C they are limited but what they do well, they do AMAZINGLY well. Many people can't afford the luxury of rare hardware, the OP is fortunate to already have the synth in his possession.

@ Daft tnuc: Yep, one oscillator (and a sub oscillator) and that alone sounds much bigger, and heavier (just dry w/ no processing) than stacking 2 or 3 oscillators in any VST I have ever tried. As I mentioned above, these very limited devices fetch this value for a reason, b/c what they do just can't quite get captured by a replacement.

My $0.02

Dear OP, if you sell your 101 let me know...

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:14 pm

contakt321 wrote:If you think the Tal-Bassline VST sounds good

Yeah, no, just referencing that as my experience with the limited functionality of the 101.

contakt321 · Post by **contakt321** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:55 pm

nowaysj wrote:
contakt321 wrote:If you think the Tal-Bassline VST sounds good
Yeah, no, just referencing that as my experience with the limited functionality of the 101.

It's a great VST, both the VST and the real thing are great for learning synthesis, very intuitive and easy to get good sounds. I liked the VST a lot, but when I A/Bed I was like "WHOA". These days I write with the VST and then after the song is written, I re-record with the 202 playing the pattern and replace the VST track.

Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Re: Nord Lead 2 vs SH101

Who is online