General Discussion of the Nord Stage (EX), Nord Stage 2 (EX), Nord Stage 3, and Nord Stage 4 Synths, FAQ, Troubleshooting etc.

Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby kbrkr » 15 Oct 2017, 04:00

Gospelkeys wrote:The NS3 is the only board that gives you top quality Piano / EP / B3 and VA synth in one package.


You would get a disagreement with me on this. I think the Kronos blows the NS3 away on sonic performance alone.

However, I do LOVE the NS3C keyboard action and its control surfaces. I do think it is very overpriced for what it is.

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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?


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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby anotherscott » 15 Oct 2017, 04:19

kbrkr wrote:
Gospelkeys wrote:The NS3 is the only board that gives you top quality Piano / EP / B3 and VA synth in one package.


You would get a disagreement with me on this. I think the Kronos blows the NS3 away on sonic performance alone.

Of course a lot of this is subjective. Even apart from what you think of the Nord vs CX3 sound, if your definition of "top quality B3" includes drawbars and dedicated controls for things like percussion and C/V, then Kronos doesn't quite fit the bill, at least compared to the NS3-73. Similarly, if your definition of a top quality VA synth means a complete battery of logically laid out labeled knobs for thorough, instant real-time control, Kronos doesn't have it. I happen to also think the Nord pianos sound better than the Kronos pianos (though I admit, I haven't heard their newest ones). When it comes to EPs, I think both are good and neither are my favorite (I prefer the Korg SV1, maybe Kurzweil too). The Kronos does a whole lot of things better than Nord... but arguably not these particular things (and especially if you value operational ergonomics as much as sound). Not to mention if you'd like it in a 73-note semi-weighted 22 pound package. Or if you prefer a weighted board, if you want a hammer action board that isn't really terrible for organ playing.
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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby Jonnie Cache » 15 Oct 2017, 04:26

I love my Stage 3 88 so far. The bugs have not bitten me yet. I think there are perhaps a lot of small ones that many people won’t even notice. I have come across none that affect live play for my use.

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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby BuckW » 15 Oct 2017, 14:12

I love my ns3 sw73. I love the keyboard and ability to program and layer up to 2 organs, 2 synths, and 2 pianos; it's amazing. With the effects I find it lush and there are no bugs that annoy me yet though I've only had it a few days.
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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby Gospelkeys » 15 Oct 2017, 16:59

kbrkr wrote:
Gospelkeys wrote:The NS3 is the only board that gives you top quality Piano / EP / B3 and VA synth in one package.


You would get a disagreement with me on this. I think the Kronos blows the NS3 away on sonic performance alone.

However, I do LOVE the NS3C keyboard action and its control surfaces. I do think it is very overpriced for what it is.


Always a lively debate on the Kronos vs Nord topic :)

I am a former Kronos owner, at one point I had both the 88 and 61 keys versions. Lots to love about the Kronos but the CX3 engine isn't one of them. I tried to like it, wanted to like it, but at the end of the day it has its own sound and character and I just couldn't get the sound I'm looking for.

I know a number of keyboard players in this area that use a Kronos live, but all of them use a different board for B3. Either an Electro of Hammond SK1 - although I think one of them just traded his SK1 for a Mojo 61 which he likes a lot. So it isn't just me.

The Kronos 88 was also a beast to move. Not just the weight but it was long, wide and hard to get your arms around. I was always afraid I would drop it. I usually had someone help me take it out of the case.

Not trashing the Kronos - I consider it the best in it's category of workstation keyboard. I had always hoped they would come out with a new B3 engine to replace the CX3. Maybe it is in the works.

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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby baekgaard » 15 Oct 2017, 17:20

NordNerd431 wrote:Thanks for all who provided their opinions and perspective. It’s always helpful to hear from people who uses the gear.


I've had mine for roughly 3 months now; I probably got one of the very first NS3 88HA shipped to normal end-customers, and started using it immediately. I've played live with others/gigging 1-2 times a week on average since then, and I've never had any problems with it playing live. It has always delivered, and the ability to e.g. tweak sounds as you play is so nice compared to my previous stage pianos. I initially had the idea that I would use my Roland RD-700 NX as a controller for more "acoustic driven" piano work, but I adjusted so quickly to the NS3 that I've never gigged with both. In fact, the RD-700 NX is no longer on my keyboard stand here and has been moved to a less prominent position in another room.

So for me, the sounds are really nice across the board (acoustic, epiano, various synth and samples and organs). No one has complained that it sounds bad; people usually say the like "my" (nord-based) sound very much. I may contemplate taking my NE3 (with waterfall keys) for those jobs where I may play pianos and organs simultaneously or if I need to do a lot of organ based stuff -- mainly to have two sets of keyboards. I like the organ in the NS3 better than the older one in the NE3.

So generally I'm very happy with the board. It's so light, and sounds great overall.

As for the other brands: First, you need to compare apples to apples. The Nord is a very complex instrument, and cannot of course be compared to more simple sample-players. Having said that, none of my other (Roland and Yamaha) boards have been without flaws. On one Roland, the buttons on the surface only work for some time and then "dies" and then needs to be replaced :-( It also has lost a few of the contra-weights glued to the keys, and makes now a very clonky sound. The other Roland had problems cutting out layered voices when playing live, and if you had e.g. a simple click-track running, it could cut out suddenly and would then require a reboot. It was somewhat fixed in an update after some 6 months, but only partially. Another update a year(!) later possibly took care of it... It also had the entire set of keys replaced after 3 months of playing, as the surface was scratched and you ended up with white dust on your hands after playing it for a while. I opted to have a different set of key surfaces installed in mine. My Yamaha also had to have probably half the keys replaced since the springs started to dig into the plastic, so that they would not return to the correct position. And it has a weird problem that sometimes it thinks the sostenuto pedal is pressed -- and the remedy is a reboot.

The only other keyboard that have not given me any problems was my NE3, and yeah -- there are some bugs with the NS3, but none that have prevented me from enjoying playing it for now 3 months. I also think that Nord is going to fix the real bugs; they seem to respond quite quickly to any major things, and generally crank out new features and updates (unlike I guess most others).

YMMV, of course.

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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby Copia » 15 Oct 2017, 20:37

I've been playing the Stage 3 88 for four days. For me, it's the perfect keyboard. I play about four hours a night and can't go to bed because I'm so in the zone with this board. I've felt this way before on $90,000 handmade grand pianos, but never with a keyboard before. But the action and sounds are so beautiful I'm actually inspired with the hand-ear connection.

I also own the Stage 2, RD-700NX, and RD-800, and I sent back the RD-2000. I didn't feel about those boards what I do with this one. Personally, I find the organs an upgrade from the Stage 2. The synth, of course, is spectacular. But the action-touch combination is what makes me dream about this board when I get to work and just wish I were home already. This is the one.

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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby NordNerd431 » 15 Oct 2017, 22:17

Copia wrote:I also own the Stage 2, RD-700NX, and RD-800, and I sent back the RD-2000. I didn't feel about those boards what I do with this one.


I played the RD2000 a few days ago. Wanted to like it, but was disappointed. Action didn’t feel right to me, and the controls didn’t seem intuitive enough in a live setting. I’m leaning more to giving the Stage 3 a try, but not certain if 88 or 76 is best for me. I love using 88 boards, but the weight of the 76 is hard to pass up!
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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby lordy » 15 Oct 2017, 23:18

The nord stage 3 is a Rolls Royce to me.
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Re: Stage 3 even worth getting?

Postby analogika » 15 Oct 2017, 23:44

lordy wrote:The nord stage 3 is a Rolls Royce to me.


More like Apple: limited in ways that might be extremely frustrating to people with different needs, but extremely well thought-through in what it does, while priced in-line with other instruments of its class (at least in Europe), yet not without bugs to be expected within the limits of modern production, usually fixed by stellar service.

And yet, (having been in Apple sales and support in a former life): there are plenty of users who seem to think that they've bought a Rolls-Royce and are entitled to magic, but fail to realise that a Rolls isn't just in the upper regions of normal product lines or slightly higher, but rather an order of magnitude more expensive.
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