Nord Tools For Live
What It Is
Nord Tools is a set of three Max For Live midi devices that work together to give you control over your Nord Lead synthesizer from Ableton and allow convenient mapping of some parameters as well as keeping focus on the current slot based on the selected track in Ableton.
These plugins allow you to automate your Nord Lead synth's current patch, selected slot and up to four assignable controls from a midi control surface. (In my case I wanted to control it from the Ableton Push.)
This is intentionally not a complete control implementation. It does not put a little virtual Nord into Live. If you want to control all it's parameters from a midi control surface, you're missing the point of having a Nord Lead. IMNSHO. ;)
What It Does
1) Patch/Bank Controls: These provide mappable controls for patch and bank changes (per slot in program mode!) This allows you automate patch changes at any point in time, not just at the start of clips. You can perform wavetable synthesis-style behaviors by mapping patch changes over time in clips, or simply change timbres as needed.
2) Parameter Mapping: Provide four mappable controls for midi CC's plus modwheel. You choose which midi CC you want to map (read the fine Nord manual) and enter the CC number into the control box for each knob. These can be mapped to control surfaces and will be mapped onto Ableton Push's knobs automatically. These values are saved and loaded with your set!
3) Slot-to-track Autofocus: This is program mode only. You can place a slot control on a Live track and map that track to an incoming midi channel/slot on your Nord Lead. Then by placing the dispatch control on a track in live and mapping it to the master midi channel on your Nord Lead, when you change the selected track in Live, the appropriate slot on your synth will receive focus.
Why is this important for program mode?
It let's you can select a track in Live and be safe when you reach over and tweak knobs on the synth. You won't have to worry about selecting the right slot before tweaking, it will be selected for you. This let's me select tracks with the Push and can be sure that when I reach for a knob on the Nord, it's going to be focused on the correct slot. This may or may not be of value to you...but I love it. (Which is why I wrote the damned thing in the first place!)
Supported Synths
I have a couple A1 racks and this works great with them. From looking at the docs for the Nord Lead 4, this should also work there and maybe also work for other Nord Lead models. Let me know!
UPDATE: It does appear to work with the Nord Lead 4.
Download
Version History
Version 2.0 - Performance mode officially released. Facelift to all modules. Bank patch changes now support +/- buttons for mapping to footswitches. Mod wheel hardcoded in.
Version 1.1 - Added a third plugin for Performance Users (BETA). Nord Performance Controller supports five custom parameter mappings and bank/patch changes for performance mode instead of program mode. Be sure to map your ableton midi track to your Nord's GLOBAL MIDI CHANNEL for this plugin to work.
Version 1.0 - First release.
Setup
If you arrived here on a mobile device, please be aware that the annotations in the video do not show on mobile devices. To get all the details in the video you need to view it in a non-mobile web browser. FYI.
Support
Feel free to drop me a note if you have questions or suggestions. NO PROMISE of support is implied, BUT I will listen and respond to polite inquiry.
Hacking
If you hack up these devices to extend them or make them better, send me a copy or let me know and I might use your version instead. If you give me some credit/attribution after you build on my work, even better. Sharing is caring! :)