I’ve only ever owned a Nord G2 Modular, and spent most of that time fussing with the modular aspect of it; how many voices, how wide a range of sounds it could produce and so on. I didn’t push it hard as a basic synthesiser. So when I say I thought it was pretty dull and overrated, I know other Nords may have been better than the G2.
The Discovery Pro is supposedly based on the Nord 2x and it loudly kicks balls right into the net. Again, a lick of virtual red paint is no indication of it being accurate. I tend to think that it’s overcompensating, way too much steroids in the gym. I like it a lot on that basis.
So here now is an emulation of a Nord, with the real brain in there. Is it accurate? Well I have a few bits of hardware – I know the OsTIrus sounds like my real Virus, and recently determined that their JE8060 sounds like my JP8080 and would therefore bet at least one whole Australian 2 dollar coin that the Nodal Red 2x is identical to the real thing. So there!
The funny thing is that not owning the real thing takes away some of the interest. Because you’ve put up with all the irritations of the hardware versions you tend to find these emulations a bit of a magic trick. But if you have never fussed with the original all you see is how annoying they were compared to the clones that came after – like the Discovery Pro.
But then, free to all who could never afford the original – that’s worth toilet paper ranking.