The Nord Lead is a series of virtual analog subtractive synthesizers , manufactured by Clavia .
37-470: Released in 1995, the original Nord Lead was the digital synthesizer that made the term virtual analog synthesis popular. The now widely accepted term "virtual analog", was first coined by Clavia with the release of the Nord Lead. This synthesizer was distinctive for its red coloration, knob-laden surface and unique pitch-stick and modulation wheel. After the Nord Lead, several updates followed suit; such as
74-458: A TR-808 . A TR-909 drum machine was added in version 2.0. It was hailed as an affordable alternative to buying old, unreliable hardware devices. Roland Corporation requested that an acknowledgment be added to the ReBirth packaging and splash screen; the unofficial endorsement became a marketing boost for Propellerhead, and they have retained a close relationship with Roland ever since. ReWire
111-463: A recording studio with virtual cables and representations of a subtractive synthesizer , sampler and drum machine . It also has a REX file loop player, a pattern step sequencer and a multitude of effects units. Reason has the ability to create as many instances of each device (limited by compute power ) and a simple sequencer for notes and device automation. ReFills compress sounds, settings and instrument configurations into single files, and are
148-503: A Mac and Windows DAW (digital audio workstation), with feature parity across both platforms. The WaveLab audio editing and mastering suite followed in 1995 for Windows, and the VST and ASIO protocols – open technologies that could be used by any manufacturer – were first released in 1997. WaveLab would come to the Mac in 2010. In 2000, the company released Nuendo , a new DAW clearly targeted at
185-440: A drum map feature. The Clavia Nord Lead 2 was launched in 1997, two years after the production of the original Nord Lead. It updated the polyphony from four to 16 voices. Also added were a ring modulator, OSC 1 sync-able with the white noise generator, Sine waveform added for OSC 1, increased LFO and arpeggiator waveforms and patterns, filter distortion and 4 individual outputs. Patch storage was also increased. A PCMCIA storage slot
222-547: A free update. Rack Extensions will be sold in an app store similar in a fashion in which Apple Inc. sells applications for the popular iOS platform. Hosted by Propellerhead Software, developers are free to use their own DSP and existing code to develop instruments and effects for use in Reason. When purchased, the Rack Extensions appear in Reason as a native Reason instrument or effect module and are privy to all of
259-681: A quasi-standard supported by many other audio editing programs. The latest version is VST 3. The VST 3 is a general rework of the long-serving VST plug-in interface. It is not compatible with the older VST versions, but it includes some new features and possibilities. Initially developed for Macintosh only, Steinberg Cubase VST for the PC followed a year later and established VST and the Audio Stream Input/Output Protocol (ASIO) as open standards that enabled third parties to develop plug-ins and audio hardware. ASIO ensures that
296-704: A result of the new "variation" controls in which the user can map up to 7 control parameters per program. Also similar to the Nord Wave, the Lead 4 supports MIDI I/O over USB 2.0. At the 2014 NAMM Show , Clavia announced the Nord Lead A1. The model attempts to make the Nord Lead line accessible to a wider user base, with a new oscillator interface and numerous enhancements intended to facilitate quick and creative sound design. Propellerhead Software Reason Studios (formerly known as Propellerhead Software )
333-402: Is Reason Talk. Though this is an independent forum, some Propellerhead employees have posted there and the forum hosted the official Reason beta test forum for Reason Version 9. Reason is a digital audio workstation developed for macOS and Windows. The first version was released in 2000. When launched Reason could run on average spec computers and was competitively priced. Reason simulates
370-525: Is a music software company , based in Stockholm , Sweden . Founded in 1994, it develops the studio emulation digital audio workstation and audio plug-in Reason . Propellerhead Software was founded in 1994 by Ernst Nathorst-Böös, Marcus Zetterquist and Peter Jubel. Their first release was ReCycle , a sample loop editor that could change the tempo of a loop without affecting the pitch. The export medium
407-417: Is also made to work alongside Reason; if Record is installed on a computer with Reason on it, the modules from Reason will be usable inside of Record. Released 9 September 2009, Record has been praised for its stability, seamless integration with Reason, and sound quality, and has received a number of awards, including Future Music's Platinum Award, Computer Music Editor's Choice and Performance awards, and
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#1732791647951444-533: Is not related to the British electronic music duo Propellerheads . On 26 August 2019, Propellerhead announced they would change their name to Reason Studios to have a name more closely tied to their core product: Reason. From early on, Propellerhead used the Internet as both a marketing tool and as a method to communicate with their user base. An alpha version of ReBirth was made available for free download on
481-631: The Atari ST platform. The ST had built-in MIDI ports which helped to quickly increase interest in the new technology across the music world. In 1989, Steinberg released Cubase for Atari, and versions for the Mac and Windows platforms would follow soon afterwards. It became a very popular MIDI sequencer, used in studios around the globe. Steinberg Media Technologies AG had a revenue of 25 million DM in 1999. It had 180 employees in 2000. A planned entry on
518-563: The Neuer Markt (New Market, NEMAX50) of the Deutsche Börse failed. The company had a revenue of 20 million Euros in 2001 and 130 employees in 2002. In 2003, Steinberg was acquired by Pinnacle Systems and shortly after that, by Yamaha in 2004. With its new mother company Yamaha, Steinberg expanded design and production of its own hardware, and since 2008, it has created a range of audio and MIDI interface hardware including
555-719: The Virtual Studio Technology (VST) format for plug-ins and the ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) protocol . Steinberg has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha since 2005. The company was founded in 1984 by Karl Steinberg and Manfred Rürup in Hamburg. As early proponents and fans of the MIDI protocol, the two developed Pro 16, a MIDI sequencing application for the Commodore 64 and soon afterwards, Pro 24 for
592-573: The MusicTech Excellence award. In April 2010, Propellerhead released their first app for mobile platforms; a remake of their ReBirth RB-338 software for the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Developed together with Retronyms, it's a 100% port of the original with added functionality for sharing song files with other iPhone users, zooming and panning. In July 2011, Propellerhead announced plans for Reason version 6 which includes all
629-567: The Nanologue synth and LoopMash. In 2016, Steinberg released Dorico, a professional music notation and scoring suite. As part of the development of its flagship, the sequencer Cubase , Steinberg defined the VST interface (Virtual Studio Technology) in 1996, by means of which external programs can be integrated as virtual instruments playable via MIDI. VST simulates a real-time studio environment with EQs , effects, mixing and automation and has become
666-415: The Nord Lead 2 and later Nord Lead 2X was sold in parallel to this flagship product. The Nord Lead 3 was discontinued in 2007, leaving the Nord Lead 2X the only remaining product in the Nord Lead series. In 2003 Clavia introduced the 2X, a refresh of the Nord Lead 2. It included increased polyphony (20 voice), high-resolution 24-bit 96 kHz DACs, and vastly expanded patch memory. The PCMCIA patch storage
703-426: The Nord Lead 2, Nord Lead 3, and Nord Lead 2X. The first Nord Lead was released in 1995 to positive reviews. It was created with the help of Peter Jubel, who also co-founded Propellerhead Software . Compared to synthesizers being constructed via analog components, the Nord Lead uses digital signal processors (DSPs) programmed to emulate both Subtractive and analogue FM synthesis (cross-modulation) to reproduce
740-467: The Nord Lead 4 at the annual Musikmesse show in Germany. The new variant boasts an updated sound engine, new filter sections and a "True Voice Unison" mode which can support up to 4 oscillators simultaneously. Furthermore, similar to the Nord Wave, the Lead 4 has a dedicated FX section featuring reverb, delay, crush and distortion. The ability to quickly edit sounds whilst performing live is made possible as
777-740: The Propellerhead website in December 1996, and the company even searched the internet for active users of the TB-303 and sent them invitation emails to try the new software. The user forum has always been at the forefront of the Propellerhead community, with many employees checking them every day. Allowing users to make requests and suggestions directly to the developers led to the first downloadable ReBirth update in 1997, and still today registered users of Propellerhead software can download updates and much additional content online. In November 2013,
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#1732791647951814-540: The UR, MR816, CC and CI series. In 2012, Steinberg launched its first iOS sequencer, Cubasis, which has seen regular updates since then. The Steinberg satellite office in London was also opened in 2012. Steinberg has won a number of industry awards including several MIPA awards, and accolades for Cubasis and its CMC controllers amongst others. In 2012, Steinberg acquired the former development team behind Sibelius , following
851-467: The award-winning digital audio workstation; Reason. It first released in 2000. In May 2009, Propellerhead announced a new product, Record . Designed for recording, arrangement and mixing, Record is made along the lines of Reason and continues the tradition of emulating hardware and the rack. Record emulates a recording studio, with a mixing desk, a rack of virtual instruments and effects, and an audio sequencer (similar to traditional MIDI sequencing.) It
888-464: The broadcast and media industries. 2001 saw the release of HALion , a dedicated software sampler. A complete rewrite of Cubase in 2002 was necessary due to its legacy code which was no longer maintainable, leading to a name change to Cubase SX, ditching older technology and using the audio engine from Nuendo. Since this time, Cubase and Nuendo have shared many core technologies. Cubase currently comes in three versions – Elements, Artist and Pro. Steinberg
925-661: The closure of Avid 's London office in July, to begin development on a new professional scoring software named Dorico . It was released on 19 October 2016. Cubase was released in 1989, initially as a MIDI sequencer. Digital audio recording followed in 1992 with Cubase Audio, followed by VST support in 1996, which made it possible for third-party software programmers to create and sell virtual instruments for Cubase. Steinberg bundled its own VST instruments and effects with Cubase, as well as continuing to develop standalone instruments. Atari support eventually ended, and Cubase became
962-465: The features of Record 1.5. This allowed Propellerhead to discontinue Record and create two different versions of Reason. In March 2012, Propellerhead announced Rack Extensions and the Rack Extension store, a software architecture that will allow 3rd party developers to use their own instruments and effect devices inside of Reason. This technology was announced to appear alongside Reason 6.5 as
999-557: The features that Reason offers in its native instruments and effect devices. In April 2017, Propellerhead announced plans to support VST plugins in Reason, starting from version 9.5 In August 2019, Propellerhead announced they would change their name to Reason Studios to have a name more closely tied to their core product: Reason. In November of that year, the company announced their roadmap for 2020 which would include support for VST3 and native M1 support. Various delays led to VST3 being introduced in December 2022. Native M1/M2 support
1036-504: The forums were shut down indefinitely due to security concerns with the forum software. On 17 December, they were resurrected with 4 new forum categories: Beginner, Advanced User, Rack Extensions and Post Your Music. On 16 January 2014, Propellerhead Software announced that they will close down the 15-year-old Reason community forums, shifting online customer interaction to their general social media accounts instead. The unofficial new forum, run by Reason users rather than by Propellerhead,
1073-639: The most important virtual instruments in the history of electronic music". See List of notable Reason users . Steinberg Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH (trading as Steinberg ) is a German musical software and hardware company based in Hamburg . It develops software for writing, recording, arranging and editing music, most notably Cubase , Nuendo , and Dorico . It also designs audio and MIDI hardware interfaces, controllers, and iOS / Android music apps including Cubasis . Steinberg created several industry standard music technologies including
1110-497: The only way of mass importing additional sounds into Reason. Reason and its antecedents have been widely used by producers and musicians in the hip-hop , electronica and indie music scenes from the 2000s onwards. According to Computer Music it "changed the face of desktop music production". ReBirth RB-338 has been described by Sound on Sound as "one of the first software instruments to achieve widespread acceptance and even cult status" and by Future Music as "one of
1147-412: The warmth and richness of a traditional analog sound. The Nord Lead was also unusual for its time in being "covered in knobs", which gave the player a direct access to all sound parameters without having to walk through editing menus. The Nord Lead featured four notes of polyphony. A later hardware upgrade increased the polyphony to twelve voices. The expansion also added PCMCIA card storage of patches and
Nord Lead - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-422: Was Propellerhead's own REX format. ReCycle was launched in conjunction with Steinberg , who marketed it as a companion to Cubase, as it brought a simple way of gaining control over tempo and timing of audio loops. In 1997, Propellerhead released ReBirth RB-338 , a step based, programmable sequencer which emulated classic Roland instruments commonly associated with techno: two TB-303 Bass Line synthesizers and
1221-456: Was added in version 12.6. In May 2023, Reason Studios announced that they would discontinue support for support for the offline authorization used by Reason versions 1–11, requiring users of older versions to be connected to the internet for authorization. The name propellerhead comes from the pejorative term used to deprecate science fiction fans and other technophiles , who are stereotypically drawn wearing propeller beanies . The company
1258-408: Was also added. The Nord Lead 3 was a more advanced version introduced in 2001, with many new features like 4 operator FM Synthesis (Sinus Modulation), and an arpeggiator. The most visible new feature was replacing all the control knobs with endless rotary knobs surrounded by a lighted indicating collar to show the current setting. The Nord Lead 3 was however much more expensive than the Nord Lead 2, so
1295-422: Was developed jointly between Propellerhead and Steinberg for use with their Cubase sequencer. Released in 1998, it provided a virtual audio and synchronization connection between Cubase and ReBirth. In January 1999 the protocol was opened for general use by third parties without any license fee, to allow communication between different sequencers. Propellerhead soon focused their attention on their new product,
1332-442: Was one of the first DAW manufacturers who started using automatic delay compensation for synchronization of different channels of the mixer which may have different latency. With the growing popularity of mobile devices, Steinberg develops apps for iOS including Cubasis, a fully featured DAW for iPad with plug-ins, full audio and MIDI recording and editing and many other professional features. It also creates standalone apps, including
1369-469: Was removed. The 2X retains the synthesis engine of its predecessor and consequently its sound characteristics. In 2008, Clavia released a special limited edition of the Lead 2X with inverted key colors (black keys and white sharps/flats) and special logos to commemorate the 25-year history of the Clavia company. Each unit (of only 300) came with an individually numbered certificate. In 2013 Clavia announced
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