Nord Modular

The Clavia Nord Modular series is a line of synthesizers produced by Clavia, a Swedish digital synthesizer manufacturer. The Nord Modular series, in common with their sister range the Nord Lead series, are analogue modelling synthesizers, producing sounds which approximate those produced by conventional analogue synths by using DSP chips to digitally model analogue circuitry.

However, unlike most other analogue modelling synth hardware, which generally simulate one or a small number of (usually subtractive ) synth circuit layouts, the Nord Modular range approximates the much more flexible world of modular synthesizers, offering an almost unlimited variation of synth architectures, with the facility to simulate, in addition to subtractive synthesis, additive, FM, and, in the second generation of the series, physical modelling synthesis methods, as well as a number of other sound generation and processing techniques.

Because of the flexibility offered by these synths, patches cannot be programmed from the controls on the units themselves. Patch editing is instead performed on a PC (connected via 2 dedicated MIDI ports in the case of the first generation and USB in the second generation or G2 systems), running editor software bundled with the synths.

The editor software is in appearance and function not dissimilar to computer-based modular synthesis environments like Reaktor which offer a graphical representation of the simulated modules and the associated connections between...
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