Norand Mono (Analog Bass Synth with Sequencer)

Norand sent me another sysex file to try this morning and it worked first time. Great support.

Loving the new random and drunk playmodes for tracking fills and variations.

Excellent box of tricks this one. So much to discover.

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Awesome to hear! I havenā€™t tried updating yet as Iā€™ve been waiting to hear a follow up on this. Will the regular firmware work for most people or should we ask for access to this as well?

Edit: I updated using the firmware from the site and it worked fine!

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As anybody had the same issue I have with this beta frimware, namely the playhead disappearing after a while?

I havenā€™t had that yet but will keep a lookout. This update is so much fun! The only function I donā€™t understand is

  • Added the ability to clear all modulations of a parameter : hold [DELETE], then[FUNC] (in that order), then move the parameterā€™s knob you want to clear.

When I do this, nothing happens. Itā€™s also a really long stretch for my fingers to hold these two together and then wiggle a knob. Am I doing something wrong? How is this different than holding delete and wiggling a knob? That seems to be doing this same thing.

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Ha ha, yeah, it requires some finger gymnastics, I told Mathieu about that but all the other button combinations are used, it seems.

This function resets all X-mod and X-env settings of a parameter to zero. It can be useful. But being so difficult to achieve with shorts fingers, Iā€™m not sure how often I will use it =]

do you have to hold all 3 at the same timeā€¦

or is it just - press the 2 x buttons. (del then func)
let go of everything.
and the next encoder you wobble is the one cleared ?

or
all 3 at same time.
hold del, then Func, AND THEN encoder
then let go of all 3.

For me, as I mainly use Mod Notes as drum kits, the ability to mute Mode Notes is really a game changer. And the mutes are stored in the pattern. Really useful IMHO.

EDIT: The Mod Not mutes are in fact stored per project, not per pattern (unfortunately).

I think itā€™s the second option you mention (hold buttons while twisting the encoder)

Quite tricky

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Update: My USB cable was the cause, stupid me ;( Update works as expected now :wink:

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If anyone runs into the problem where it doesnā€™t seem to boot after the update (and the projects update never ran at the end), make sure you donā€™t have any midi plugged into the input. That was stopping mine from running the projects update after the OS update. It worked fine after I unplugged that and reinstalled.

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Clearly one of the best user interfaces. A bit like a Nord Lead. But pretty expensive for a mono synth. I have to wait for it to be available on the second hand market.

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The price makes it a bit of a tough sell on the surface. I bought mine quite impulsively, but am glad I did. The sequencer is really great and the synth voice itself sounds terrific and covers so much ground. Iā€™m still figuring out some functionality, but most of it is really intuitive, I think.
Just this one synth and a looper can do so much. Iā€™ve considered getting a second one :slight_smile:

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Exactly my approach as well :slight_smile:

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What do you think of your looper?

Right now Iā€™m using my Octatrack, but have considered getting either a BlackBox or an Aeros strictly for looping duties. Octatrack works pretty darn well, though :slight_smile:

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Ah, I really ought to nab a Blackbox again.

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I got the BB about a month ago and it works for me so far.

I never owned an OT, thoughā€¦
for fear of falling into the rabbit hole :grimacing:

I thought it was better to have something very straightforward and rather focus on the Norand, with its crazy sequencing options.
I do use the filters of the BB, though - they really shine when automated (through LFOā€™s or CCā€™s).

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The mono is on sale this weekend. 15% off.

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Can anyone explain how to sequence the sound locks chromatically. It seems like you select a sound and then place trigsā€¦ Do you then have to adjust the oscillator tuning on each step?

Thereā€™s also a transpose function