Clavia NordStage2 EX 88 User Manual Download Page 32

Page: 32 / 60

32 | nord Stage 2 eX USer ManUal oS v1.7X

Wavetables

This category features 62 different digital waveforms with various tonal
characteristics. The waveforms have been carefully designed and
selected to provide rich and interesting timbres with a great variety,
for those exquisite sounds that could not be produced with the other
algorithms. Advanced wavetable synthesis techniques have been used
to reproduce the waveforms perfectly over the whole keyboard range.

Some waveforms have a number of peaks high up in the spectrum,
making them suitable for voice-like sounds (e.g. 3, 7, 8, 12), while oth-
ers are combinations of several overlapping spectra (e.g. 5, 6, 18, 19).
Yet others are extremely bright, with a fundamental that is softer than
the many harmonics (e.g. 21, 23, 26, 27). Using these waveforms with
the different filter settings, you should be able to create a wide variety
of timbres.

The Shape knob does not have any effect in the Digital Wavetable
category.

Samples

The Samp option allows you to use samples from the Nord Sample
Library as an oscillator waveform and treat these with the other parts
of the subtractive synthesizer architecture. This provides the synthe-
sizer with a tremendous flexibility, but it doesn’t stop there. You can
even add your own samples to load into the Stage 2 EX, with the Nord
Sample Editor application.

The sample memory in the Stage 2 EX can hold up to 384 Megabytes
of sample files in the Nord Sample Library format. Each and every one
of these samples can be replaced if you wish. The sample memory
is loaded with lots of sounds when the Nord Stage 2 EX left the Nord
Factory, there are many more samples to be found on the included
DVD or on the www.nordkeyboards.com website.

The samples are selected with the waveform dial.

Skip Sample Attack

When Samples are being used, the Shape control can be used as a
switch to active the Skip Sample Attack feature. When this is turned
on, the sample playback will begin at a fixed, alternative starting point
which will bypass most, if not all of the original attack portion of the
sample.

Load Sound

When you save a Stage 2 EX program the current synth settings are
of course stored together with all other panel settings, but you can
also select and store synth sounds separately from programs. In this
way, you can build up a library of your favorite synth sounds to access
whenever you need them.

Selecting synth sounds

There are 300 available memory loactions for synth sounds/patches.
Press Shift and the waveform button, then turn the waveform selec-
tor dial to scroll through the available synth sounds. The name of the
sound will appear in the LCD display and the sound will immediately
become active in the Stage 2 EX.

Filter Section

The Filter is one of the most important
components to create the overall timbre of
the sound. The harmonic content that the
oscillators produce can be shaped with the
filter and the filter itself can be modulated
with various functions. The Nord Stage 2
EX features a selection of classical synthe-
sizer filters.

The Filters share the same filter param-
eters: Filter Frequency controls the cutoff
frequency and the Resonance controls the
filter resonance.

Filter button

Press repeatedly on the Filter button to select the desired filter type.
The available filter types are:

Low Pass - LP 24 & LP 12

Frequencies above the Filter Frequency setting will be attenuated,
frequencies below will not be affected.

The LP12 (12 dB/octave slope) leaves more harmonics than the 24dB
variation. This type of filter has been used in e.g. early Oberheim syn-
thesizers. A 12 dB filter is also known as a 2-pole filter.

The LP24 is the classic “synth filter”, used in the Minimoog and
Prophet-5 among others. It cuts out frequencies rather drastically, with
a slope of 24 dB per octave. A 24 dB filter is also known as a 4-pole
filter.

• Both the LP Filters can use the resonance function to emphasize

frequencies around the filter frequency (cutoff frequency), making the
sound thinner.

Filter Frequency

Resonance = 10

Resonance = 0

Resonance = 3

Resonance = 7

Filter Frequency

Resonance = 10

Resonance = 0

Filter Frequency

Resonance = 10