NAMM 2020: New Nord Wave 2 Features Virtual Analog, Wavetable, Sample and FM synthesis

Nord have been quiet on the synthesiser front of late, their last synth, the Lead A1, appeared in 2014. But the Swedish manufacturer has never been one to rush new products out unnecessarily and the quality of their products makes failure or obsolescence unlikely. However, today they’ve announced a new flagship performance synthesiser, the Wave 2, and it looks like a beast!

It’s been over 12 years since the original Nord Wave came out, a lots happened in the synth market in that time. But one thing hasn’t changed — people still want good quality keyboards to play on stage, and that’s a corner of the market Nord have held a significant presence in with their iconic red enclosures since the ’90s. The new Wave 2 looks to make no significant change to that formula, but adds an enormous boost of power and flexibility. 

the synth engine is based around four layers which each have dedicated volume sliders and panning. Each layer features a powerful synth engine capable of traditional subtractive synthesis (virtual analogue), advanced FM with harmonic and inharmonic algorithms, Wavetable morphing and sample-based synthesis. And yes, you can upload your own sample libraries with the Nord Sample Editor 3 software with 1 GB of memory at your disposal.

The keyboard is a 61-key semi-weighted waterfall keybed with aftertouch and Nord continue to hand make their instruments in their Stockholm factory to ensure quality control.

There’s a lot more to talk about on this synth, quite frankly, if you can think of it, it probably has it. One thing it doesn’t have is a sequencer (although an advanced polyphonic arpeggiator is present) — but it is designed to played after all.  Best you head to the Nord website and read through their extensive breakdown, check it out here.