Nord User Forum

[Johannes]

Now that I've had the Nord P3 for a few months here are some (long winded) mid-term thoughts.

The ease of use - hooking up to my laptop to download sounds - just fantastic, sound management, website features - very good user experience from my perspective

Weight is manageable. I've had keyboards closer to 60 lbs and that does make a difference.

I really didn't buy this for the synth sounds. I bought it almost exclusively for the piano sounds and I am not close to being disappointed. These pianos are just stunning. Any synth sounds are just icing on the cake.

It's odd that there's not a drum kit(s) mapped to keys (you know - C1 is bass drum, D1 is snare, etc.). That's so standard on every other synth - just hard to believe there aren't 5 natural/synth drum kits in the lineup.

Since I really only got this for pianos, it's hard to complain there isn't a pitch/mod wheel combo on board somewhere...My piano lineup is currently:

Studio 1 - a C7 that sounds exactly like my recordings of my own Yamaha C7. It's uncanny how it feels like I'm playing a mic'd version of the actual C7 piano in my living room...

Grand Lady D - again, sounds eerily like the recording of the Steinway D I played at a friend's studio for an album I did years ago. Haven't used the P3 for any recording yet but I can't see how I could possibly be disappointed there...

Concert Grand Ambient - this is a Steinway D that cuts right through a mix. On its own it sounds thin to me but it works perfectly on some tunes

Studio 2 - a much darker Yamaha C7 that really works for slower, darker, intimate solo tunes

Grand Imperial - that unreal Bosey bass... this really sings on "Bennie and the Jets" - just rocks out!

Then the Chris Maene Mozart Fortepiano. I tried his Steinway 1 but wasn't as inspired as I was with the Mozart. This sounds almost halfway between a harpsichord and a piano - I seem to gravitate toward Minuet in G when I select it...can't imagine using it much but how fun to have on board! Going to have to try a transition to "Desperado" on this one and see what happens

E.G. Gerbstedt - not used much but if I want that CP80 sound (think 80s Hall and Oates) this is a great platform to start with (modified by the amp simulator and effects units on board).

Then 4 uprights - and who would have thought upright samples were even necessary? I can't live without them! I go with:

Rain - very nasaly - cuts right through anything

Blue Swede - very full and rich but you know it's an upright

Bambino - and here I have to use the XL version (even in mono with my Bose T1) because it just has a phenomenal home/consumer piano sound to it - so amazing! The L version didn't work as nicely for me (to my ears) - even in mono. This is absolutely perfect for the version of Neil Diamond's "We" that my wife (on uke) and I play together.

Queen - God this is a rich upright! Beefy but still cuts through a mix.

Then 5 electrics - not used much but such small memory requirements - gotta have them (Nefertiti, Sparkletop and 2 more Rhodes plus the straight Wurly) and last but not least a DX7 Rhodes. Great for "Still Crazy After All These Years"

I set up the sounds above as Bank A. For bank B - I repeat them all and used a contra bass synth sample as the foundation with piano off. Since I haven't moved any of the sample sounds, I can dial up or down different basses easily if I want to. And easy enough to add piano in with the push of a button, but I'm really bummed I can't LAYER the sounds so the bass is ONLY on the lowest 2 octaves while the piano is all 88 keys. This seems like such a simple thing - it bothers me it's not available. Bank C is orchestral strings with pianos on - rare usage - maybe a sappy love song every now and then... D is voices and E is dramatic brass. Honestly - I won't use these much, but they're there for fun and one off needs.

The piano sounds are absolutely stunning! Truly like the best recordings of these pianos I've heard. When I play the Studio 1 - it's exactly like when I record my own Yamaha C7 - it's not like playing the C7 live - that's a different experience altogether- but - it is a precise reproduction of the best recording/live mic'ing of a C7 I've ever heard - same for the Grand Lady D and an actual Steinway D. The uprights are inspirational too. Reminds me of being a kid hammering away for hours on that big upright my parents bought for me from my junior high school music teachers. Honestly - just the best library of piano sounds I've ever used.

The only downsides are the inability to assign samples to a specific portion of the keyboard and the Fatar keyboard itself. I've had several Yamaha and Roland digital pianos, keyboards, controllers - all of which outperform the Fatar keyboard by miles - not even close. I find that with the brilliance of the piano sounds - I'm so inspired to play - and wonder - how much more amazing it would be to have a GREAT keybed???

The effects interface is perfect. Lots of features, very simple to use. Setting the velocity is good. 3 levels - I'm at 2 90% of the time. 3 is not useful for my ham-handed style - 1 provides some quiet dynamics and 2 is closest to my acoustic style. But I find I ant something like 70% between 1 and 2. Maybe Nord will do a dial with 10 levels for the next version?

I literally just spent 5 hours playing this thing last night and another 3 tonight. It's just stunning despite my disappointment with the Fatar action - the sounds are so amazingly delicious it overcomes the less-than-ideal keyboard...and if Piano 4 is done with some other keyboard maker, I'm going to be VERY tempted

Last - I find when I play the Nord - I FEEL like I'm playing mic'd acoustic pianos (the brands already mentioned) and I am more engaged with and inspired in the performance. I feel much more like I'm actually playing a mic'd piano than I ever have with Yamaha, Roland, or Kurzweil piano (the last of which also used a Fatar keyboard and fell flat of expectations).

Overall - the absolute BEST digital piano I've ever owned. It's the holy grail. Complaints aside, still 9 stars out of 10!

[ChillOnTheSun]

I really miss the rotary speaker on piano 3. i use this effect on most my piano playing. If I wish to have it, i need to buy Stage, but it has not so good keybed..also 40 voice polyphony on piano 3 is very weak if you want to play Rachmaninov for example..then the Nord Stage 3 have 120 polyphony but not suitable keyboard for classical music...really wish to have all in 1. Also the different types of tunings for early harpsichord music... Then, if I play classical piano pretty much and also hammond organ, I need real drawbars. Seems there is no way to have it all in 1 keyboard...and no money and space for two separate keyboards to travel with...But I really enjoy piano samples in P3 and farfisa organ sounds and all efects on-hand in Stage 2Ex.

[Spider]

You play Rachmaninov and early harpsichord music through the rotary effect?!?

[ChillOnTheSun]

You play Rachmaninov and early harpsichord music through the rotary effect?!?

Well, yes, I play lot of "classical-like style" on piano sound thru the leslie speaker even, when you want to play Pink Floyd´s Echoes cover...Tori Amos recorded several songs on Bosendorfer thru the Leslie...

[markamft]

You seem to have had a lot of experience with a variety of products...do you have any thoughts on Yamaha's Clavinova line?

[drparticle]

Hi SteveNordP3,

Nice to read your review/experience with the NP3. Very throrough. Thanks!

Can you please describe the sound system (signal path) that you listen with while you are playing? It would help to know what speakers/amplifier/mixer etc .

For comparison, in my home studio/living room I have my pianos (Nord Piano 88 & Kawai MP7) thru an Onyx 820i mixer, feeding a pair of Focal CMS 65 powered monitors. This is OK, but the sound is not a good as I would like. And yes, I realize there are many details to achieving a good piano sound. Any other advice is appreciated. FYI: Mixer and speakers cost $2000 in 2013!

[SteveNordP3]

Hi SteveNordP3,

Nice to read your review/experience with the NP3. Very throrough. Thanks!

Can you please describe the sound system (signal path) that you listen with while you are playing? It would help to know what speakers/amplifier/mixer etc .

For comparison, in my home studio/living room I have my pianos (Nord Piano 88 & Kawai MP7) thru an Onyx 820i mixer, feeding a pair of Focal CMS 65 powered monitors. This is OK, but the sound is not a good as I would like. And yes, I realize there are many details to achieving a good piano sound. Any other advice is appreciated. FYI: Mixer and speakers cost $2000 in 2013!

Hi - well, in my opinion, it depends on what you're doing. For just listening, any decent see of headphones is perfect. For simple single room playback, I have a pair of Mackie powered monitors I used to use for my recording studio. Those work well. For playing out I use a Bose 1s B2 T1 PA - note this is a MONO system which sounds stellar in my ears. I was addicted to stereo but I must tell you this kit is outstanding for the P3, vocals, my wife's uke and my bass uke (it rumbles the house!).

Everyone mileage varies - this is my $0.02. Good luck!

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/spe ... _pkg_black

[themixtape]

Superb review! Basically agree with everything you wrote. Rain Piano is KING. I have the Sampletekk version for recording with (the one Nord licensed) and it's wonderful on EVERYTHING.

[themixtape]

Give the Black Upright another listen, and the Amber... tremendous! Those are my go-to uprights these days. And that new Baby... sweeeet.

[anotherscott]

I really miss the rotary speaker on piano 3. i use this effect on most my piano playing. If I wish to have it, i need to buy Stage, but it has not so good keybed

You could play the NP3 through an external rotary pedal like Neo Ventilator or Electro Harmonix Lester-K.

if I play classical piano pretty much and also hammond organ, I need real drawbars. Seems there is no way to have it all in 1 keyboard

Nope, no way to get one board that's truly excellent for both piano and drawbar organ. The best piano actions are not so good for organ and vice versa.