Modor NF-1

Digital and proud.

While the synth world chases analog, the Modor NF-1 goes the other way, and owns it. Built in Belgium and something of a rarity, this eight-voice DSP synth wears its digital heart on its sleeve, with an unmistakable white panel, angled knob caps and a sound all its own.

The name says it all: NF-1 stands for Noises and Formants. Alongside a classic 12dB resonant filter sits a formant filter with morphing vowels, never seen in hardware before it, and ten waveforms per oscillator that run from clean saws to arcade noise, wind and feedback FM. Where many digital synths chase clean perfection, the NF-1 has texture, character and a chameleon range that covers pads, leads, dark evolving harmonics and the genuinely strange.

A hands-on tweaker's instrument for anyone who thinks digital should sound like nothing else, not like analog.

Polyphony

• 8 voices
• Poly, Mono, and Mono-legato modes

Oscillator Section

• 3 fully independent oscillators with 10 waveforms:
  • SAW: Pulse width modulation sawtooth wave
  • SQU: Pulse width modulation pulse wave
  • TRI: Pulse width modulation triangle wave
• SYNC: Oscillator-synced wave
• ADD: Additive harmonics
• SONAR: Resonant bandpass filtered noise
• WIND: Wind instrument noise
• ARC: Arcade game style noise
• FM: Sinus FM pair
• FBFM: Feedback sinus FM pair

Filter Section

• 12dB/oct resonant filter, mixable between lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and bandstop (notch)
• Formant filter with 3 morphing vowels, 10 vowel presets, and user-controllable formant frequencies

Effects Section

• Comb filter effect for creating chorus, flanger, and other effects
• Delay effect for creating echo effects
• All parameters independently adjustable and modulable

Modulation Section

• 4 three-stage envelopes, each with 3 level settings and 4 time settings
• 2 switchable LFOs with TRI/SAW/SQU/SIN waveforms, 1 TRI-LFO connected to modwheel, 1 random S&H with lowpass option
• Modulation matrix with 7 user-definable modulation wires, 19 source signals, and 86 destination parameters

Memory

• 448 patches, organized into 14 banks [A-N] of 32 patches each
• All factory presets are overwritable

Connections

• 9V, 600mA adapter connection, positive voltage on center pin
• MIDI IN/THRU/OUT connections (3x 5-pin DIN)
• Audio Left/Stereo output (6.35mm TRS or mono jack, unbalanced, capable of driving headphones)
• Audio Right output (6.35mm mono jack, unbalanced)
• Sustain switch (6.35mm mono jack)
• Volume/modulation pedal (6.35mm TRS jack)
• USB connector for MIDI (class compliant, no driver installation necessary)

Front Panel Controls

• 42 rotary knobs
• 20 pushbuttons
• 1 rotary encoder
• 1 Power switch/volume knob

Display

16x2 green backlit LCD display (supports Latin and Cyrillic characters)

MIDI

• Realtime MIDI control for all continuous sound parameters
• Supports Pitch Bend, Velocity, Aftertouch (Channel & Poly), Modwheel (CC#1), BreathCtrl (CC#2), CC#3, and Expression pedal (CC#4) modulation
• Supports backups and patch exchanges via Patch, Bank, and Memory Sysex Dumps
• Firmware upgrades via Sysex
• MIDI MPE-compatible

Measurements

• Width: 440mm (without rack ears), 480mm (with rack ears)
• Height: 267mm (10.5" / 6U)
• Depth: 40mm (front) - 80mm (back)
• Weight: approximately 6kg

Rack Mountable

• 6 rack units height
• Recessed backside connections for easy rack mounting (no lost rack space above)
• Rack mounting ears included plus wooden sides for desktop use.