Verdict: 9/10 (Editors Choice)
Reviewed in June 2014.
Pros:
- A Creative Joy
- Will turn you into a programmer
- Loads of great presets, but you're not relying on them as it's so easy to create your own sounds
- A genuine surprise
A synth that came from nowhere and is creative, addictive, simple and a joy to use. This is like a ‘best of’ for people with valves as organs and wave-shapes as heartbeats. You can program a synth. This synth…
...overall it is simply one of the most creative synths I have come across because you get so much instant, easy, hands-on real-time and dramatic access to any sound.
The oscillator configurations are a genius way of changing the whole architecture at the twist of a dial and, used with the other controls and Morph feature, are simply inspiring. I will use the A1 with my DAW constantly in record mode so I can revisit whatever I capture to use as ideas for songs going forward.
As I stepped through each preset, preparing to describe them for you, I found myself doing something unusual: programming. And exploring I began pressing the hold key, triggering an arpeggiation and simply dialing dials. And this is where turns from your average preset-buster into what it should be used for: Creation!
It’s come from nowhere - a totally unexpected synth from Nord with one of the most ‘instant’ feature sets I’ve ever used. And while it’s smaller than the Lead 4 (in physical and sonic terms) I can’t help thinking that it’s simplicity, its creativity and its quality will win it many friends.
…the A1 stands on its own, and is my kind of synth, as you can probably tell. If you have an analogue heart, hold a note, dial some dials and after five minutes, you’ll be one over too…
Read the complete online version of the review at MusicTech!