With its meaty virtual analogue engine and simple interface, the Nord Lead A1 remains a great hardware synth. In fact, you could probably call it a modern classic (it was released in 2014), which goes some way to explaining why AudioKit has taken inspiration from it for its new Nerd Synth A2X.
It’s important to note that this isn’t a straight emulation of the A1 - “we prefer innovation over imitation,” says AudioKit - but, unlike many of the company’s previous releases, it’s a synth rather than a rompler. What’s more, all 40+ A1 waveforms are included, as are a noise generator, filters, envelopes and modulation sources.
