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Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby onthecorner » 17 Aug 2017, 14:35

I am sure variants of this thread have been posted dozens of times, but I didn't find any with the new Stage 3. It's upgrade time after ~8 years of getting by on a single (but trusty and beloved) Nord Electro 3. I have some higher paying GB and pop gigs on the horizon and need to be able to use two sounds at once (lots of piano and organ), layer sounds (piano and strings), and access some synth leads w/ pitch bend (which I'm told the Nord can do over midi with a second keyboard).

When I bought the Electro 3 the differences between that and the Stage were very clear. But with the 5D it's less so. It seems to me the primary difference now is the synth engine on the Stage, which I'm not sure I need. (And, you know, $1000 :) ) Am I missing something huge?
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Electro 5d vs Stage 3


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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby anotherscott » 17 Aug 2017, 15:38

The NS3 gives you a lot of things over the Electro besides just the synth. Much more split/layer flexibility, aftertouch, a lot more sample memory, the ability to process sampled sounds through the synth, more flexible output routing, a lot of MIDI functionality, the cool pitch stick, seamless sound transitions, clav EQ, visual split point indicators, more effects controls...

But if you're not committed to having everything you need in one board (since you talked about adding pitch bend via a second keyboard), there are lots of things you can do with the combination of an NE5D and a second keyboard... maybe not everything an NS3 can do but also probably things the NS3 cannot do. And there are some other advantages to adding a second board to an NE5D, like the ability to have piano-action for piano sounds, more total real estate (you don't have to worry about the piano section of your piano-something split having enough keys for what you want to play), backup to get through a gig if a board fails (which is not simply a matter of reliability... boards can gets dropped, have something spilled into them, whatever).

(edit was to strikeout the visual split point indicators reference, the NE5D has them too, not sure what made me type that...)
Last edited by anotherscott on 22 Dec 2017, 17:46, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby Quai34 » 17 Aug 2017, 16:32

If $$$$ is not an issue, update with a Stage 3 HA 88 and an Electro 5 or a Stage 3 HA 88 and a Lead or other board? Anotherscott is right, the advantages of a two KB set up is unmatched, even with the Stage 3...Otherwise, what would you have seen so many people with a Stage 2 and a second keyboard....
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby Rusty Mike » 17 Aug 2017, 18:24

For the mix of capabilities you described, you can consider a Stage 2EX. It will still be more flexible/powerful than the Electro 5, and you can probably find closeout pricing right now, which will put it closer to the Electro.

That is, of course, unless you need some specific feature on the Stage 3 that the 2EX doesn't have.
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby ericL » 17 Aug 2017, 19:58

Agree with Mike, the NS2 EX may be the ticket if you want to act sooner - lots of great deals and Nord rebate available as well to put this into a similar price bracket as the NE5D. The NE3 will be awesome, but it's super new and still going through the early OS and bug-fix/feature add cycle. It will probably take a few more months to stabilize. I'll probably get one in 2018.

I recently pounced on a killer deal for a new NS2 EX Compact, as I had always wanted one to use for rehearsals and pick-up gigs. I'm very happy with it.
Nords: NE2, NS2 88, NS3 Compact x 2
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby anotherscott » 18 Aug 2017, 05:20

Rusty Mike wrote:For the mix of capabilities you described, you can consider a Stage 2EX. It will still be more flexible/powerful than the Electro 5

On the other hand, the Stage 2EX really falls short of the NE5D in its organ functionality... the organ sound itself, the rotary effect, the drawbars. And the OLED display functionality is nice, too.
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby criss » 18 Aug 2017, 11:19

I would recommend the NE5D + NLA1 combination.
NE5D, NLA1, BS2, Boog, TX81Z, JV-1080, A33, AX-Synth, PC3K6, M350, BeatstepP. etc.
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby BuckW » 18 Aug 2017, 13:55

What about keyboard differences between the Electto5D and the Stage 3? In the following thread someone points out that the aftertouch of the stage sw makes it feel different; that I might consider the Electro 5D with the Roland Boutique. Can anyone expound on that?

http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2872254/Nord_Stage_3_as_a_home_studio_#Post2872254
Last edited by BuckW on 18 Aug 2017, 14:05, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby cphollis » 19 Aug 2017, 03:49

I play a Nord Piano 2 (no after touch) and a Nord Stage 2 (after touch). Not much of a difference, except when you're looking for bounce from a key strike, the Nord Stage 2 give you less because there's a sensor strip absorbing some energy. It makes a difference for me when playing aggressive piano parts.

Can't comment on the Roland thing.
I think I have gear issues ....
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Re: Electro 5d vs Stage 3

Postby BuckW » 19 Aug 2017, 14:05

I may have not been clear enough.
My question concerns the difference in feel of the sw waterfall organ keyboards of the E5D (no after touch) and Stage 2 compact or Stage 3 compact (after touch).
Last edited by BuckW on 19 Aug 2017, 14:07, edited 2 times in total.

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