Nord User Forum

[Stupidmelody]

Hi all!

HP73 keybed on NE4 was very unsatisfying in feel and action for me. I've heard from my friend that HP76 in NS2 EX is unacceptable for him even he has given it 8 months trials with the hope to accustom. Does Nord improve the feel and action of their HP keybeds with new models? Maybe NS3 HP76 keybed is better now? Before I’ll try it personally in a shop I’d like to ask you for your experiences with Nord HP keybeds action, especially in NS3.

Thank you!

[Ecaroh]

Hi!

I bought one of those early NS3 HP76s. At first it felt in fact better than what I was presuming - key action was pretty silent and keys were heavy enough for a piano player. But in a week or two it started making noises (especially with black keys). Also with more time spent with it, key action started to feel not so good anymore. It felt somewhat "springy" and some passages (which I could play well with my earlier Stage 2 HA76) were difficult to play. Unwanted noises being the most disturbing I cancelled the deal and ordered NS3 HA88 instead. I am happy with that (but of course waiting those same things like others: Sample editor and bug free OS):

[Schnicki]

Hi,

I bought my HP 76 last week and I like the key action. But it is a little bit harder to play than on the NS 2 88.
I hope that my key action is better than yours...
The reason for buying was the lower weight and the size.

Dirk

[Stupidmelody]

Well, I also eventually bought HP76 yesterday. So far I'm testing. If after a few days there won't be any problems with "noises" as Ecaroh has experienced them I will probably stay with HP otherwise I will definitively exchange it to HA. Thanks to Ecaroh I precisely defined that possibility with the seller…

My observations:
So HP is surprisingly hard at initial step of touch. I even started for a moment to afraid about my hand (injuries and muscle pain). But I want to practice it. This HP is actually quite interesting musically. And this strong springy feel of action, at the beginning not nice, starts to be also interesting. The deeper pressing also is so different from piano standard but I think I can accustom to it. The most important: this keybed lets play at every emotion level, no problem, just need to be practiced.

I’ll let you know what I finally decide if I keep it or go for HA. Meantime I hope here comes more opinions. Cheers!

[kirsty]

I would agree that although different the HP action isnt all that bad really, especially for the weight advantages it gives in its compact size.

I have a CP4 to compare it to which has the Natural wood Graded Hammer keybed and is excellent. Although the CP4 obviously feels the better of the two I do find the HP quite satisfying and still very expressive to play.

[Stupidmelody]

Yes, and I like so much this texture of black keys in HP. I wish they were a bit wider by the way. And similar texture on whites please!

[friendben]

I replaced an NS2 HA76 with the HP76 NS3 about 6 weeks ago. I enjoyed playing the HA76, but it had a very light touch for a piano player. The HP76 is responsive, but in a different way. It takes more effort, but I seem to have more control over dynamics than before. And I immediately felt that my playing was "cleaner". I tend to program every song I play, not just in switches and sounds, but I program myself, in the way I play it. With this new feel of the keyboard, I have yet a lot of self programming to do, but I believe the change will be worth it.

[amgems22]

Have been working with a new NS3 HP76 for a few days after playing the Stage 2 76 with weighted keys for a few years.

The one difficulty with the Stage 3 action is the difference in soft touch and a hard hit..........the Stage 2 seems more responsive. It's hard to describe, but there just seems to be more dynamic range between soft and more solid hits with the action on the Stage 2. There's just a little more "ping" with the weighted action. And I'm not 100% sure that it's not the software of the new Stage 3 either. (Would like comments on this)

The Stage 3 HP feel reminds me of my old Kurzweil; which I always liked. But the Stage 2 weighted keys seem to have the edge.

I'll leave the organ section to another thread.

Feel free to PM me if you wish more input.

[Rusty Mike]

I’ve had a Stage 2EX 76HP for about a year now, and played and Electro 3HP for several years before that. Like any keyboard action, you acclimate. I have found that it’s most expressive when you play it lighter than you think you should.

I agree that the HA action is a bit more “buttery”, but I’m intolerant of the weight.

The Electro developed some action noise, but once it was out of warranty, I completely disassembled and lubricated the action. Noise went away completely. I’ll do it again on the Stage if I need to.

I’ve gotten along great with the HP for years. It hits the sweet spot for me.

[Ecaroh]

Well, I also eventually bought HP76 yesterday. So far I'm testing. If after a few days there won't be any problems with "noises" as Ecaroh has experienced them I will probably stay with HP otherwise I will definitively exchange it to HA. Thanks to Ecaroh I precisely defined that possibility with the seller…

@Stupidmelody or any other with new NS3 HP76:

I am curious to hear if you can find something similar which I did found with my HP76 (which I returned and traded with HA88). Here's what you can try: take power off (or main volume=0) and press lightly but fast to the edge of the key. When I had this issue I needed to find a way to evoke this "clonk" consistently - at first it just came out here and there in the middle of normal playing. With this "special pressing" I could see that some keys were noisier than others and I found one very noisy one. As said, it was more evident with some black keys, but there were few white keys also.

Check my video demo, which I recorded mainly for Clavia:
https://youtu.be/jlbRCIfh9us

P.S. Before returning my HP76 it was checked by two service places (one in my home town and other in Helsinki, main Clavia service in Finland). I think that they could not find anything "broken" in this unit. I believe that it was just bad build quality.