XOR Nerdseq Thoughts and Opinions?

Hi there wigglers and gridders,

if you've had any experience with this module please let me know what you think! pros and cons!

I've been looking for a sequencer with plenty of cv and gates and this seems like its capable of lot more in a small HP too, not to mention all the expandable options. There are great videos like cuckoo's, look mum no computer, and the extensive tutorials series from SonicVoltage but i would love to know your opinions or if there's anything else to recommend.

The thought of a tracker sequencer intrigues me but also intimidates me a little since I compose mainly on a keyboard but from what I've watched and read it seems like you can get the hang of it in about 20 minutes or so. what was your learning curve like? with the midi expander could i still compose on the keyboard or DAW either mono or ploy and have it on the nerdseq?

I've been going back and forth from the Nerdseq to the Hermod and even the Eloquencer and i know they're all very different workflows but are able to sequence up to 8 sources (even though 2 tracks of the Nerdseq are for samples). The Eloquencer seems to be very fast and intuitive to use but takes up too much HP and i may get stuck and tired of the XoX style. Hermod is great with its I/O, no need for midi expander, small HP, and all those videos of people playing classical pieces via DAW is priceless but the screen size and no cv/tigger expansion is a bummer.

All that being said i always end up back at the Nerdseq, It has almost all the bells and whistles you'd want, and i could probably sequence an entire album but with all this depth and option, would i be too overwhelmed?

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading!

If you like "tracker style sequencing" then go for it. Thing has nearly endless options, midi capabilities if needed, low price for fully fledged small footprint with man cv outputs by default. You can read the manual in advance to see what you get.

NerdSeq is likely the deepest and most versatile sequencer available for the money and HP (excluding using a DAW with stuff like the FH-2). You have a highly manipulable sequencing environment, a very capable little sampler, and (especially with the LaunchPad integration) an extremely powerful performance tool with its Ableton-style pattern launching. The UI is extremely well thought out, and even though you can go extremely deep with it, I never feel like I'm diving deep into menus or forced to remember too many esoteric input combinations. Just about anything I can think of, I can find a way to accomplish with the NerdSeq, often without involving any other modules.

That said: I occasionally find myself considering selling it. It's not due to any fault of the sequencer itself, but rather that because it's so deep, concessions have to be made in regards to workflow. I'm an avid tracker user, with Renoise as my DAW of choice, but it can be extremely frustrating having to set up menu options and perform a bunch of inputs to accomplish something I could have done in a couple button presses or knob turns on another sequencer. The LaunchPad integration does help immensely with this, but it is still a persistent source of frustration.

My issues with the NerdSeq largely stem from my philosophy around modular. I prefer to treat my patches less as realization of a cohesive musical idea, but rather a meditative exploration that may or may not grow into something more. I hold on to the NerdSeq in hopes firmware updates, expanders, and creative patching solutions will offer new promise, but I do seriously wonder if I'd be happier with a Metron and a couple Volteras. If you're the kind of person with a really thoughtful and prescriptive approach to composition, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better tool than the NerdSeq.

That's an interesting observation thanks epsteinframe!

I intuitively knew, or lets say I had a gut feeling, that this is exactly what it would be like and have always resisted, good to know I was on the right lines.

I use Per|former - and I am very happy!!

Bought and sold ER-101/2 again very powerful, but shockingly awful to actually use in any meaningful way, unless you happen to like never being able to see your entire sequence and can hold everything in your memory, if you were good at playing Simon as a kid and can remember multiple instances of very long strings of numbers then it may suit you.

Bought ad sold Eloquencer, it's fine but I just didn't get on with it, especially the song mode, I believe it has had firmware updates since I used it so it may be different now.

Hope this helps :)

EDITED Jun 4th 2020, 20:27

It's pretty fantastic. Midi in and out, plus Launchpad support, sampling, nice amount of channels.
The firmware gets updated fairly often, always adding new stuff to it. Granted it's a different approach, hence the tracker format/notating vertically, but it does help to already have some exposure to any other type of tracker.

I've had a NerdSeq for a couple years now, and no complaints at all.

My issues with the NerdSeq largely stem from my philosophy around modular. I prefer to treat my patches less as realization of a cohesive musical idea, but rather a meditative exploration that may or may not grow into something more. I hold on to the NerdSeq in hopes firmware updates, expanders, and creative patching solutions will offer new promise, but I do seriously wonder if I'd be happier with a Metron and a couple Volteras.
-- epsteinframe

I feel exactly the same. It is one of the most comprehensive modules out there. Continued updates have made it to the point it could work stand alone.

That being said, I continue to feel some issue with the philosophy. The interface and act of programming take a little getting used to having never used a tracker, but at this point, it feels incredibly natural and programming on the fly is where I have the most fun. I would highly recommend reading the manual to get and idea for what is capable of and if that's desirable to you.

I am curious if anyone has experimented with the any FSR tile as a way to record CV and Gate patterns.

I found this thread by googling 'considering selling Nerdseq'.

I've had mine for many years, and while it's very capable it's complicated and confusing. And horrific for input in my opinion. I've been waiting years for the USB expander with the latest Novation Mini Launchpad sitting in a box ready for it, but I'm tired of waiting and tired of being frustrated with it.

Now that Digitakt has song mode, I think I might sell the Nerdseq and use the Digi alongside something like the Endorphines Shuttle Control.

It's kind of sad to let it go but if I'm honest with myself, I'm just not happy with it at all, even though it's the best 'in the rack' sequencer available. I just hope I don't regret it!

EDITED Feb 27th 2023, 07:25

I love sequencers, I love Nerdseq. Everyone else is doing a great job explicating it, so I'll be brief:

Nerdseq can do intricately programmed music/ cv modulation etc. on par with a DAW, but when I play modular I am not interested in just pressing play on a composition, I want to be able to improvise and genuinely 'play' the instrument. SO, after years of testing many different sequencers, I've settled on a suitcase rack with a performer, and a suitcase rack with a nerdseq. The performer is very immediate obviously, and the Nerdseq is as well, but it took me longer to get to the point where I could real-time jam on it.

For me, the biggest hurdle with getting fast on the Nerdseq was simply the screen.
1. There are a lot of numbers, so it takes concentration to decipher quickly, and 2. It's in hex, so you have to be ok with that.
It took time for me to get comfortable with it, at first it gave me eye fatigue from staring deeply, trying to figure out what's going on. Two years in, I feel like I can start from scratch, and just play a show, boom. Love elektron sequencers and many others also, but to me, it's the holy grail!

PS. I understand anyone frustrated by it, literally every sequencer has advantages/disadvantages, and I get how annoying it can be to look at a moving screen covered in numbers. uggh