The Nord Lead 3 from Clavia has a mysteriously seductive look to it. Its look is actually the reason I wanted to test it out and put it through the paces in the first place. Let me set the stage so to speak.
I was at a Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s show several months ago and I heard some amazing sounds that I just fell in love with coming from the keyboardist. I wanted to see what she was playing so I could try one out myself. When I looked at what she was playing it was a Clavia Lead and I knew I wanted to try one.
At first glance it just looks appealing. It’s cased in a deep red exterior with well lit knobs and indicators. There are so many lights on the face of this synth that it can light a dark room, but the sounds coming out of the Nord Lead 3 sound just as good as the unit looks.
The Nord Lead 3 has a vintage vibe to it. If you liked the synth sounds of the ’80s then you’re going to fall in love with this unit, but it wouldn’t be fair to pigeonhole it. It can create a modern soundscape as well. As the name implies this keyboard is meant to be a lead synth playing over a band or some other ensemble. It sounds great and really stands out in the mix. The included pads have a great texture too. They’re really usable in a live or mix setting. When I played the Nord Lead 3 in our band practice space the guys were really into what it was doing and they wanted one in the band permanently.
If you like to tweak sounds then this is another go-to keyboard because it’s a digital synthesizer modeling an analog one. As you tweak the settings to your tonal liking you can store them for later use which is huge if you want to switch between sounds on the stage during a show or in a studio when you’re laying down album tracks.
I’m going to add a Nord Lead to my keyboardist’s arsenal as soon as possible so I can increase the tonal weapons at our disposal in live gigs, and add to our soundscapes on our studio offerings.