Clavia NL2X or Alesis Ion
 

Hi there....
I have seen those two synth with almost the same price tag.

I own a Virus Indigo II, Fantom-S and some other stuff...

I?ll play around in alot of the more commercial styles (Dance, House, Trance, Hiphop, RnB, etc.)

So I was wondering - 1. Do I gain something from one of those synth compared to the Virus? 2. Which would be the best?

I am actually quite dissapointed looking at the NL2X specifications, I was like "where are the specs!?"

Heard of some problems about the Ion but maybe they were just starting errors....

They talk about the Ion as a whole other league of VA (actually sounding like an analouge!)....

any suggestions are apreciated...

Wait til tomorrow and find out what is coming out before you make your mind up.
But if you are set on either one of those i would go with the ion.

I kind of am considering those 2....And I know if I wait for some new stuff then the price would be twice as high and I cant afford that....

I would say the Nord, but I'm biast because I love my NL2. The powerful leads I get out of it are so different to the VC. The Nord is one synth I will never part with.

The Alesis do sound nice though and have more in the spec area with filters and the like, but I haven't spent heaps of time with them, so for me to compare it to the Virus wouldn't be right.

In the end it will come down to personal choice I rekon.

Good luck. :)

why not get a true analog synth?

Yeah Tomer I understand your point, but I am not so good at trowing alot of money in "old" gear though it could be cool and I am also into the specifications of new gear, like 3 osc., 2 filters, 2 LFOs, etc. and old stuff would be like polyphony 2 or 4 and 1 or 2 osc. and maybe none LFO and the other need stuff.

but I could actually buy a used TB303 here for the same amount! :P

But with my luck it would probably blew up some days after I have bought it and then bye bye to alot of money! :cry:

but if anyone knows or own the Ion I would love to hear their story?

regards Kasper

I don't have experience with Ion but you should be aware that the Ion construction is really cheap (that explains the extremely good price/sound rate). Lot's of stories about loose knobs, etc.

I'd pick Ion because of its sound, but Nordlead is more durable (except that crappy don't-touch-me-or-I'll-get-broken keyboard).

accualy vas tend to lose their price much more then vintage synths.

Specs don't mean crap when talking about the older gear. I have a single OSC mono synth (CS10) with a multi-mode filter that puts out thicker bass than any of my other synths. It won't do moving pads very well, but the bass!!! Have some samples up at sound click that you can listen to it.

A few people on other boards have spoken about the ION being very unreliable with the first release, but they say the newer ones are much better.

Yeah Hollowcell have heard the same about the Ion but I hoped that it was only firmware "beta" problems in like version 1.00! :?
but Im not into bad knobs and shit :(

Cool sounds BTW Hollowcell....

Juho L: Is the keyboard really crappy on the NL? or is it just when you use it for live action hammering!? I would only use it for home studio setup and I am pretty gentle to my gear! :lol:

I would love other synth to be like the Virus C class, they are almost created from my wishes (good knobs, not that plastic cheap feel, have always been steady and reliable to me).....

With you guys answering I am kinda disliking both synth now.... :cry:

You have a Virus: there's your specs. The NL2x will give you the sound. :)

I have a virus b. I like the complexity but I wish a had a NL2x for the nice character and cool simple sounds. I think you should get the Nord because the difference between the Virus and NL2 is bigger than the difference between the Virus and Ion, imo. Ion is also more or less a "do-it-all" synth. Also having a synth without a display and menues is nice.

I have had a NL2 for years now - shit maybe 7 or 8 years! When did they even come out, it could be longer.

Anyway, nothing has broken on it, the knobs still feel stronger than any of my other gear. It's travelled with me here to Japan (rough trip too). It's rock solid as far as construction, but..... The key-action isn't the best for sure - it doesn't have aftertouch and the feel just isn't as good as some other keyboards around. Having said that though, it's damn tough and I hammer the fucker.

I love my NL2 :D - never will sell it.

HC,
How do you like the HPD? I was looking into one those those for percussion stuff, like congas and such.

It's really bad keyboard for playing (No, playing isn't pressing an A minor for cool trance arpeggiation). I've noticed that the keyboard is constrcted exactly like on Korg X5/X5D - It's all plastic. I'm sure it will last, but the feel is awful and it keeps those horrible screecking and snarling sounds that make you afraid of playing it. ?hih.

Try to play something and compare for example Virus keyboard with that Nordlead keyboard. They're like from different planets.

It's a cool little machine actually. Quite versitile with editing - decay, pitch (without changing the length of hits) and onboard compression/FX. The expressiveness with playing is really good too.

Yup, this is for sure. It's tough, but it's not the best action.

One other thing with the Nords - the pitch and mod wheels are bloody great!

Thanx for all yours answers....

BTW does anybody know any good Nord lead or Nord lead 2X forums?

I havnt managed to find any yet and I suppose their must be some great ones.....

I know this isnt what youre looking for, but it might help. It is a G2 forum.

forum

hollowcell : If you love The NL2 so much give her a better spot than on the card board box under that thing that looks like a toy :)

lol

peace

yep love the nord sound - looking to get a rack in the future :)

cheers

blay

Re: Clavia NL2X or Alesis Ion
 

The NL2X is an instrument, not a car or computer. Judge it based on sound, not whats written as a spec.
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Psypher,
What did you end up getting?

Hehehe, it's the only spot I have!

I live in Japan, I'm lucky not to have all my gear on my bed - I've seen people live in one bedroom appartments, that are literaly half height - can't even stand up!

And about that "toy" - if I sold that and the Nord, which do you think I could get more money for? :D

looking at the flooring it looks like it could be in your laundry HC ;)

If you have a seperate room for laundry duties, then you are one rich person in Japan!

That flooring is specially designed for studio use! Some people call it patern lino though. :wink: You should see the roof - it's carpeted! Hehehe.

Merlot, I Havn?t bought it yet. Would gather some more information and maybe some other gear too to make one package and then get some money off! :)


Yes, Saba. But if you can program a synth and know the elements then you have some minimum requirments or wishes to a synth, and mine wasn?t relly satisfied.....

for an example: I might want a 3 Osc. synth with at least 30 tones polyphony, Arpeggiator, 2 LFOs, nice filters, maybe some onboard effects, vocoder, minimum 8 assign routes... and if most of these requirments wasnt there, then the synth maybe isn?t the one for me......

Specs. can be as important as the sound and vice versa.....

a synth can have alot of nice specifications but a bad sound.

but a synth can also have a good sound, but not the specs. to make the requested sound....

Just my opinion :)

Defenitely a good idea. Any $$$ off is a good thing.