LFO 2/Arpeggiator

Arp switch

This switch is used to select functionality for LFO 2. When the indicator over the button is lit or blinks, LFO 2 works as an arpeggiator (or an echo; see below). When the indicator is dark, it works as a regular LFO. On the following pages, these two modes are referred to as “Arpeggiator mode” and “LFO mode”.

When you leave Arpeggiator mode by pressing the Arp button, the Arpeggio will be turned off, but the

LFO 2 function will not be activated until you press the right (LFO 2 Destination) button once. This lets you adjust the Rate and Amt knobs before applying vibrato, wah-wah or tremolo.

LFO 2:Arpeggiator Mode

In this mode, LFO 2 works as an arpeggiator. If you take a chord and hold the keys pressed, the notes in the chord will be played back repeatedly, one after the other. The parameters govern direction, range and speed of the arpeggio:

Rate

This adjusts the speed of the arpeggio.

▼When “Echo” is selected (see below), the Rate setting determines the “speed”, i.e. the delay-time between each echo. A higher Rate setting gives a faster echo (shorter delay-time).

The arpeggio speed can also be controlled externally, via MIDI, see page 63.

Arpeggio Mode

By pressing the button to the right in the LFO2/Arpeggiator version, you can select in which direction the arpeggio should run:

Arp Up: In this mode, the keys pressed on the keyboard will be played one after the other, from bottom to top, at a speed set with the Rate button. For more details, see Arp Range below.

Arp Down: As Arp Up but downwards.

Arp Up/Down: To get an up/down arpeggio, press the button until both Arp Up and Arp Down are lit.

Rnd Arp: In this mode (the two upper LEDs lit), Nord Lead 2 will create random arpeggios from the chords you play on the keyboard. This means that the notes in the chord are played back one at a time, but in random order and in random octaves.

Echo: In this mode (The top LED lit), LFO2 creates an echo-effect by using repeated triggering with decreasing velocity (see explanation on the next page).

Arp range

This knob is used to set the octave range of the arpeggio, as the panel indicates. The Off position turns off the arpeggio completely.

▼When Echo is selected, this knob determines the number of echo repeats (0 – 8).

You can select if you want the generated arpeggio notes to also be sent to MIDI Out. See page 61.

Arpeggio Hold

Normally, the arpeggio will continue for as long as you keep any keys pressed. By activating the Arpeggio Hold function, you can release the keys and have the arpeggio continue playing.

▼Activate Arpeggio Hold by holding down Shift and pressing the Arp Switch. The indicator over the button blinks to indicate that Arpeggio Hold is activated.

The arpeggio will continue playing until you hold down Shift and press the Arp Switch again.

If the Arpeggiator is activated, but the Arp range knob is set to “Off”, the Arpeggio Hold switch will work as a regular Hold switch: If you play a note and release the key, the note will continue to sound, as if you were still pressing the key.

About the Echo function

It is important to understand that the Echo function is not the same as a regular audio delay! What happens when you play a note with Echo activated, is that the same note is triggered (played) again the set number of times, with gradually decreasing velocity. This has the following consequences:

▼If the sound you are playing is not sensitive to velocity (Filter Envelope Amount Velocity and Velocity/ Morph are both turned off) there will be no difference whatsoever between the echo repeats.

▼On the other hand, it is fully possible to use the Velocity/Morph function to make the sound change completely with the echo repeats, making the function ideal for special effects.

▼The echo consumes polyphony, i.e. each echo repeat “steals” one voice, just as if you had played the repeats from the keyboard yourself.

This should not be a problem when using the echo effect with short sounds, but if you play long, sustained notes with echo, you could experience notes being cut off by the echo repeats. The solution is to lower the Amt setting (decrease the number of repeats) and possibly play shorter notes.

▼The echo function may give unexpected results if you use another Play mode than Poly.

For example, in Mono mode, each sustaining note will be cut off by the next echo repeat and in Legato mode, you may end up with no sound at all, since new notes will not re-trigger!