Nord User Forum

[lgexz]

Hi guys, first of all I am new to the nord product and I'm looking for a replacement for my yamaha psr-740...it is ancient and heavy and not ideal for carrying around,especially for gigs. No I don't think I need a replacement for my psr-740 anymore, I think I need a major upgrade. I'm just getting back into playing the keys again after almost 5 years and I'm so glad I'm back on it again and never have I been so excited discovering these nord keyboards that I never knew before! I was always a yamaha/roland person and I've been using my yamaha way back then and still using it ever since I joined a band this year. So whenever a gig comes up, I rent one of the roland juno lines instead of using my bulky, heavy yamaha, it actually hurts my back sometimes. I'm basically going back and forth renting roland keyboards for gigs only and using my yamaha for rehearsals. And when I don't have the time to rent, I use my yamaha instead. It just gets so frustrating switching back and forth trying to find that consistent sound and creativity that I need. My ps3-740 is pretty much meant for home use. When I found out about the nord lines, I was just blown away at how beautiful those piano and organ samples are, for the lack of better word, orgasmic. My main concern is that I play the piano, organs/b3 and strings a lot and I do dabble in some synth and horns/flute/orchestra as well. That's why I rent the Roland Juno lines since they've got great piano, strings, synth and extra samples. But their organs and e.pianos ...hm they really fell short for me, big time. I'm used to memory banks and pads so one touch on the go sounds that I want for specific parts in a song are crucial for me. But, I'm always willing to learn and adapt to new methods.

I'm fixed on getting an electro 3 but the stage has got the added synth section. I just need to know things or features that I'll be losing from the stage 2 when I purchase the electro 3 and vice versa. The stage 2 has the modulation wheel which I'm not sure if users are able to use it for pitch bending. I'm always open to the fact that I'll purchase the electro 3 and the nord wave synth but it'll cost me quite a bit. Or not specifically the wave synth but I'll probably settle for another brand that's cheaper just to get that synth sound.

So, all in all I need a keyboard that's light, got great piano sounds, awesome organs, ridiculous e. pianos, good strings (with the pizzicato/staccato), and a way to emulate some synth that has a pitch bend. I've been listening to some samples posted by you guys and they turn out to be amazing! I like to hear the occasional horns sections, vocals and some alto sax, flute and cello/violin which I may incorporate in some songs that we have.

Sometimes, it takes an instrument to be inspired to create music. This is just one of it. I just spent a good 3 hours playing with the nord lines in my local music store and I just can't get my mind off from them. It's a long read and my first post, I hope you don't mind since this is a huge purchase for me so I have to choose wisely, it's almost as if I'm getting a car. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Hanon_CTS]

The E3 does not pitch bend & does not repond to pitch bend thru midi. Ep &Organs are great. Pianos lack features that
Have been included on the Stage & Nord Piano & E3 HP.
E3 is not mult-timbral. The Stock samples of instruments are better than
Most Romplers.
The E3 is a great replacement for the Yammie.
Stage compact has unweighted keys and is multi-timbral. I don't believe it has
The samples the E3 has since it has it's own synth section.
Good luck & Enjoy,
RB4u1

[Hanon_CTS]

+1
for the Stage 2

[bdodds]

The stage 2 has all of the same sample capability that the E3 has and then some. If the sounds are the ones you're looking for the Stage 2 will fit your bill perfectly, and allow you much greater flexibility in setting up your live program to operate like you need at a gig. Having owned both I can say that a Stage 2 will get you all the way to where you want to go, again assuming the sounds are what you are looking for. The samples I think are a little more esoteric and purpose-built i.e. Mellotrons or samples of famous symth sounds, as opposed to something like a Kurzweil that tries to emulate the actual orchestral instrument it's attempting to sound like.

[anotherscott]

The Stock samples of instruments are better than
Most Romplers.

I think that's a stretch. There are some great samples in the sample library, but when it comes to recreating acoustic instruments, I think most of the competitive romplers have the edge, because they can include multi-layered samples (trigger different samples at different velocities) and often include various articulations that can be called up based either on velocity or holding a switch or pedal. The Nord samples of strings, brass, woodwinds, etc., don't include that kind of real-time performance variability. Still, for many purposes, they are just fine. Particularly for live performance, they're probably quite sufficient more often than not.

Stage compact has unweighted keys and is multi-timbral. I don't believe it has
The samples the E3 has since it has it's own synth section.

All the E3 samples can also be loaded into the NS2...with the advantage that they can be further manipulated by the NS2's synth section, and also split and layered, plus there's more sample memory to hold more of them.

To the OP, if you can stretch to the Stage 2, it will give you everything you like in the E3, plus a lot more, including the pitch bend you want, and the big advantage of being able to play more than one sound at a time (whether split, layered, or even driven from different keyboards). Plus it may well have enough pure synth functionality that you could be happy enough even without adding the Wave or other synth in the future.

[bdodds]

The Stock samples of instruments are better than
Most Romplers.

I think that's a stretch. There are some great samples in the sample library, but when it comes to recreating acoustic instruments, I think most of the competitive romplers have the edge, because they can include multi-layered samples (trigger different samples at different velocities) and often include various articulations that can be called up based either on velocity or holding a switch or pedal. The Nord samples of strings, brass, woodwinds, etc., don't include that kind of real-time performance variability. Still, for many purposes, they are just fine. Particularly for live performance, they're probably quite sufficient more often than not.

Definitely. I think it's the best at recreating a Mellotron or 70s string emulators or those types of quirky instruments that are easily sampled with single layers. Personally, that's the type of thing I go for, I'm not after realism, I'm after retro awesomeness. The only thing I have that does Mellotrons better is the M-Tron, and I can't gig with that.

If the sound that you're after is one of realistic strings or horns or other natural instruments, there are much better choices out there.

[bdodds]

To give a real-world example of how the Stage 2 works in a gig environment, this I couldn't do with any other board:

Slot A has a split at the lowest point, it allows me to assign a synth bass to that section that gives me a low drone for the intro to a song. The high split has a Rhodes that I play during the first verse of the song. Hitting "Slot B" takes me over to the other slot which has another split that puts an organ on the top and a Rhodes at the bottom for the chorus. The bridge goes straight from a full 888888888 in the chorus to a mellow 808000000 so I use the preset button in the organ section to quickly switch to that without missing a beat. Then back to Slot A for the last verse, organ in the chorus then the preset button again to hold a mellow pad out in the outro jam.

Having that flexibility without needing to change patches is what really sold me on the Stage 2. On the Electro 3 I couldn't do that without at least 3 different presets and then I wouldn't have the split abilities. I thought split would be a throwaway feature but I rely on it heavily. We play an interesting arrangement of "FInding My Way Home" that is solo Rhodes for a few times through, then Rhodes and vocals, then bass and drums come in. It has a repeating pattern across an octave up high with the chords comped below. Because of limitations in my dexterity, it's easier for me to play the high part with my left hand and the low part with my right. With the Electro 3 I actually crossed my hands and played it that way, but the Stage allows me to split two Rhodes patches and shift the octaves to put the high part low and the low part high. Once you start playing with it you begin to see all kinds of interesting things you can do that you didn't consider before.

[lgexz]

I've been thinking over the past few days about it now and I think that it will be definitely a huge investment on my part but I'll have to save up and wait for the right time. I think i've decided to grab the stage 2 since it has everything that i wanted. Buying an electro + an additional synth would cost me abit more combined than having the stage 2.

[Hanon_CTS]

Hello lgexz,
Welcome to the forums!
That would be an awesome choice.
Cheers, Hanon