Modor Music NF-1k is the keyboard version of the NF-1 digital Synthesizer, featuring an upgraded engine and a polyphonic aftertouch keyboard.
Belgian developer Marcel Belmans launched Modor Music 10 years ago. His first product was the NF-1, a desktop digital Synthesizer with a striking white design. You can find the story behind it in my developer talk here.
The one-man company is celebrating this anniversary with a surprise at the Machina Bristonica 2025 event. Modor Music is showing the prototype of the NF-1k, a keyboard version with some great extras.
Modor Music NF-1k
At first glance, you’d think the developer plugged a keyboard into the NF-1. Yes, that’s what it looks like, but there’s more to it. The design of the Modor Music NF-1k is sure to be polarizing. It’s large, measuring 73x51x14cm and weighing 12kg.
There is a lot of space on the interface where more control could have been incorporated. It seems a bit too big to me, but that’s a matter of personal taste. It bears 44 knobs and 27 buttons for hands-on control over the engine.
Two elements: the synth and the keyboard. For the latter, the developer utilizes a Fatar polyphonic aftertouch keyboard with 49 keys, enabling expressive play of the NF-1k engine.
Additionally, a new large touch strip (50cm) is available for pitch bends, and two small touch strips (2x 10cm) on the side can be assigned to modulation.
Digital Modor-Style VA Engine
In terms of the engine, the NF-1k is mainly identical to the NF-1 desktop. However, there are some significant upgrades.
First of all, it contains an extra voice board that doubles the polyphony to 16 voices, instead of the eight voices. This also turns the NF-1k into a bi-timbral Synthesizer as you get two NF-1s in a single housing.
Then, Modor Music added a unison, a chord mode, an extensive synchronisable arpeggiator, and a hold function in the NF-1k. All the necessary buttons are added to the front panel, making them easy to control.
The internal patch memory remains the same, with 448 single patches, but now also has slots for up to 64 full patches.
Otherwise, the engine remains the same:
- three identical oscillators with 10 waveforms (classic and unique waves such as sonar, wind, arcade, FM, and a feedback sinus FM pair.
- mixable 12dB/oct resonant multimode filter (low, high, bandpass, and bandstop)
- formant filter with three morphing vowels, with 10 selectable vowel presets and user-controllable formant frequencies.
- a modulatable multi-FX processor with a comb filter section (chorus, flanger…) and a delay section for echo effects.
- four 3-stage envelopes, three-level settings, and four time settings
- two multi-wave LFOs, one tri-LFO, and a random S&H
- modulation matrix with seven user-definable modulation wires, 19 source signals, 86 destination parameters
On the backside, everything remains the same: 220V power connector, 5-pin MIDI IN/THRU/OUT connections, two 6.35 mm jacks (one a TRS for driving headphones), two expression pedal inputs (sustain/volume or modulation), and USB for MIDI duties.
Like the NF-1, the Modor NF-1k is also fully MPE compatible.
First Impression
Congratulations to Marcel and the NF-1. Time has flown by. I’m happy to see the NF-1 will get a big brother with the power under the hood. In my opinion, the NF-1 is a very underrated VA synth with a unique sound.
I hope this new keyboard will also bring the desktop version back into focus for music producers.
The NF-1K is currently a prototype and is in development. The hardware design, however, is ready, and they are about to start production. You can pre-order it in the coming days.
The price has not yet been fixed, but Marcel estimates it to be around 3,000€, including VAT and assembled by hand in Belgium. The first production will be limited to 30 units. More will be produced depending on the demand.
More information will follow here: Modor Music
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