Nord User Forum

[Dyffryn Studios]

Just seen the press releases and some demos of a new 73 note keyboard ...looks like it was inspired by something Red.
https://www.roland.com/us/products/v-combo_vr-730/

It does have a battery option which may be of use to some.

No risk of swapping my Electro 5.

I do own a Roland FA06 so that with the Nord gives me all I need. Both very good in their own ways

The nord is currently very expensive in the UK due to currency rates so the Roland may well start to nibble at Nord's UK sales

Rob

[JXrays]

There are a couple of owners on this forum of the earlier VR-09 61-key version. (I'm one of them). It will be interesting to see if some limitations of the earlier version are improved such as the midi spec. As of just now I can't see any Edit: I can see midi details on the roland site now
https://www.roland.com/global/support/b ... bo_vr-730/

The implementation looks more extensive than for original VR-09.

[Spider]

It is definitely interesting (and I always thought the VR-09 took inspiration from the Electro-Stage concept).
The weak point of the VR-09 was the keybed, that I found horrific. But at that price, it was a great value anyway.
The new waterfall 73-key action promises to be much better, we'll see.
At the same time however, the 730 price is not too far from the Electro, and if I'd have to spend 1.5-2 K for keyboards with similar features , I would choose Nord without even thinking

[hammondking]

The 730 goes for around US$1500, where the 5D73 is around US$2500, so I don't think they're in the same league price-wise (unless you want to compare to the 61 key, which is better compared to the VR09).

I have the VR-09 upgraded to the new firmware (so it's essentially a VR-09b). The organ is a fair bit better than it used to be, and is probably in the same league as my Electro 3 at a minimum. I can't compare to a 5D at the moment.

Pianos are decent, but they suffer from the same complaint I have about most keyboards - you really need to setup presets and save them, as you can't edit them quickly enough on the fly. With my Electro (and my Korg SV-1), I can pretty much just call up a raw sample of an EP and add phaser/chorus/tremolo/delay/amp effects quickly on the fly. The Roland has some of these settings on the front panel but if you want to change from a phaser to a flanger (for example), you have to get into the menus a bit. So, you need to spend some time setting up presets that you like, which I suppose is what most people do anyway. But in a situation where you're using someone else's board, you are beholden (for the most part) to the presets they've setup. This is a real strength of the Nord, and the only other board I know of that compares in this way is the Korg SV-1.

[anotherscott]

I compared the NE5D and VR09 at http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthread ... oland_VR_0

I think the comparison would be the same against the VR730 apart from the VR730's improvements in the action and organ sound.

[hammondking]

To me, the keyboard most trying to imitate the Electro is the new Vox Continental. It seems like a direct copy of a Nord Electro 3, minus the synth samples.

[Quai34]

+1 on the Vox. For the rate change due to Euro and GBP, is this a direct consequence of the Brexit?

[anotherscott]

To me, the keyboard most trying to imitate the Electro is the new Vox Continental. It seems like a direct copy of a Nord Electro 3, minus the synth samples.

Lots of similarities, but lots of differences, too. Vox advantages over Electro 3 include the ability to layer two sounds, direct touchstrip control (instead of up/down buttons), tube, 9-band EQ (vs. 3 w/sweepable mid), pitch lever, some synth functions (attack, decay, release, cutoff, resonance, pitch LFO/frequency), and that desirable low E on the 73. Also, it's non-piano sampled sounds probably aren't limited to a single velocity layer. It also has a lot more memory in it, for both piano and other sampled sounds, though whether that means it sounds better is an open question (and subjective). Nord has more effects control and the ability to load your own samples. And if you look at the newer Electro 5, some of those Vox advantages disappear, as it also has the ability to layer (better split/layer capabilities than the Vox), some envelope control, and the low E on the 73

[formercakid]

I have never liked Rolands clonewheel impersonators and I have owned them all from the VK8M to the VR-700. I have found that the Hammond tones are not level across the entire 5 octaves. The lower octaves are too bassy and the higher octaves are shrill sounding. My Nord Electro 5D is the only clonewheel where the tones are level across the entire 5 octaves. Even on my Studiologic NUMA 2 the lower octaves are too bassy and the higher octaves are a bit shrill sounding. IMO, NORD has nailed the Hammond tone and Leslie speaker simulation. The only thing I liked about the VR-700 was the keyboard action. Also, Studiologic is not progressive in developing firmware updates. I am much impressed with the Nord build quality and quality control.