Nord User Forum

[Nadroj]

This has been discussed time and time again over the years, but I'm interested in hearing people's resposnes in 2017.

As you vote, leave a comment; do you gig with your Nord, or play it primarily at home? Was this a factor when you bought it? Did you buy one then switch it for another?

[Nadroj]

As for myself, I currently use the SW73 action on my E4, but I've been wanting to upgrade to either HP or HA for a while now. Wonderful action for playing organ and clav parts on, but a night of hard piano playing at a gig usually leaves my hands hurting afterwards!

[maxpiano]

NS2 SW73, rehearsals + gigs (with a weighted masterkeyboard, when needed)

[dhbp-nord]

Gigging and home practice, chose the P2-HA88 to have good piano action alongside my other controllers. No regrets at all, still love it.

DH

[LudovicVDP]

HP (NS2EX76HP) for rehearsals and gigs.
Not good enough for a good organ player.
Not good enough for a good piano player.
But good for me (I'm neither) and for my back. It's already heavy as s*** with the Nord 76 bag.
And to practice piano, I have a Kawai CA7 at home.

[afroskully]

electro 5D SW. Do I love playing piano on this? No... but I do love the versatility of being able to do it all (organ, piano, rhodes, synth, etc) on one board. Pretty much practice at home on a Baldwin upright, and only gig with the nord, but every once in a while I keep the nord setup in my living room since I feel that playing acoustic piano on a SW keybed actually requires practice as well.

[Quai34]

Stage 2 HA: Classical then Jazz training made me always looking for the "hardest" feeeling. Close to get it with the Stage 2 up to any Jazz pieces (Pop, gig, practice is always perfect..) but not enough responsive and "heavy" to play fast and difficult classical part. I don't have any acoustic piano at home, might never been able to buy one, so, nest step up for me will be a Kawai VPC-1 or MP11 for their piano action..

[magpie85]

HP - I have the electro 3HP.
I grew up playing a Bosendorfer grand piano but slowly progressed to keyboards when I went to uni. I was looking for something portable with a heavier action than the waterfall feel, I could use both as a second keyboard and on it's own for piano when necessary. The HP ticked the box. I mostly play at church, but also a bit at home, although I also have a Roland RD 700GX that I generally use for the excellent keybed at home as it is much quieter.

With the Stage 3 being released I'll be looking out for a good deal on a Stage 2EX compact (SW keys) as it will compliment the Roland better than the electro, and I would prefer more portability.

[Gustavo]

I originally got the SW because I had the hope of becoming a gigging amateur musician. But now that I went with another path that doesn't allow that, I must say I will not get the NS3 SW because I kinda grew to hate the keybed. It's a great compromise if you need portability, but now that I don't I'm torn between HP or HA.

[Gambold]

For me the Electro's chief purpose in life is as a B3 emulator, so SW waterfall keys all the way. I have a Korg SV-1 that has a good keybed feel, but I never bring both to a gig - since I also have to play guitar sometimes and I don't have a roadie.

Speaking of the SV-1 - it's light-years ahead of the Nord for a Rhodes or Wurli. But its organ is bottom-feeding (with no drawbars) and the pianos, while serviceable, are no match for the Nord's. The SV-1 is built like a tank and is under 2K, with XLR outs and some interesting amp emulations that use an actual tube...I would recommend it as a first keyboard. Nords are finesse instruments.