Newly available OS v1.24 update also brings welcome improvements.
In addition to all the standard Nord selling points Ð fantastic sounds, thoughtful interfaces, great build quality, red paint, etc. Ð the Nord Sample Library has grown from its humble introduction over 10 years ago to be a powerful draw with a vast library of carefully sampled sounds, many from rare, vintage instruments that few of us could ever hope to own.
When they announced the Nord Stage 3, Nord promised a new Sample Library especially for this model. Given that Sample Library content is provided in a proprietary format to maintain exclusivity for Nord instruments they're a little opaque about any technical reasons there needed to be a new Sample Library for Stage 3, so suffice to say Sample Library 3.0 is now available and is only compatible with Nord Stage 3.
Right out of the gate you'll find familiar favorites from previous versions of the Sample Library, including popular collections like the exclusively licensed Mellotron and Chamberlin tape instrument libraries, a generous selection of synth sounds and lots of traditional instruments, including wind and brass, tuned percussion, solo and ensemble strings and more.
Also worth mentioning is that there's a new OS update out, bringing Stage 3 to OS v1.24. Alongside other improvements and bug fixes the banner new feature Ð a timely one given the subject of this article Ð seems to be improved navigation for synth presets and samples!
The synth preset list view now has 'User,' 'Samp' and 'Cat' sorting modes. 'User' mode shows the 8_50 synth preset banks that can be stored by the user, while 'Samp' mode shows a list of only the 'read only' auto-generated sample presets. 'Cat' mode, meanwhile, will show a list of categories when pressed, allowing you to use the page buttons to quickly switch among categories.
Along with these improvements, the synth section OLED display is now dedicated to showing only the synth/oscillator settings, with synth preset numbers shown only on the main display. Other miscellaneous improvements include:
- Increased pan in synth unison mode and reduction of phasing when using unison with samples
- Extensive redesign of the synth FM implementation
- Smoother analog delay rate changes
- Improved piano response when using both panels and playing many notes
Head on over to Nord's website to read more and download the OS v1.24 updater.
YOUR MUSIC TECHNOLOGY STORE SINCE 1984