Nord User Forum

Need some advice please. Just bought an Electro 3-73. It's now on eBay.
Love the sounds, but want the "tweakability" of the Stage. I am caught between the Korg Kronos 73 and the Stage 2 76.
I do not do much Workstation work - just jamming onstage with my Classic Rock / Blues Band.
I like the large display on the Korg - as the small display on the S2 is hard to see on a dim stage.
I play mostly Piano., EP and B3 stuff...
Any thoughts?

Thanks!!!!!

I would not want to play organ from a weighted action, but if you must, I think the Nord weighted action is better for organ than the Korg weighted action is (kind of damning with faint praise, but there you are).

Maybe you could keep the Electro and add the Kronos and kind of have the best of both worlds? (You could also use MIDI to drive the Electro from the Korg's weighted action when desired, very easily.)

Also, if you mostly play piano, EP, and organ, the Stage 2 is not really more "tweakable" than the E3; its enhancements are in other areas rather than piano/EP/organ tweakability. It will let you split/layer sounds, it has bigger sample memory, it has the full synth section, etc. The pianos are slightly better, though, by virtue of the Long Release feature, the enhanced string resonance (i.e. when you play notes with other notes held down, but no pedal), and the ability to load the XL versions for less sample stretching.

But back to simply comparing the Kronos and the NS2, it's subjective, but I prefer the EPs of the Korg, as do most people who I've seen compare them. More controversially, I happen to generally prefer the pianos and organ of the Nord.

As for the display, the Kronos display is a mixed blessing. It provides a lot more information, and much better patch selection facilities. OTOH, a lot of the type is kind of small, some of the on screen buttons demand an annoying amount of precision to hit, and the screen can wash out (i.e. if you're playing in sunlight), so sometimes the dedicated knobs and buttons of a Nord can be more beneficial than a big screen!

To some extent, there is a trade-off between flexibility and simplicity. Overall, the Kronos is far more capable than the Nord... but for the things Nord does well, it definitely has its advantages. If the Nord does everything you need, I'd lean that way.

There is also a thread about this at http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthread ... /2267050/1

I strongly dislike the Kronos touch screen. Font WAY too small, too hard to hit the buttons with normal size hands. Find the Stage, and the Kurz PC3 to be much easier to read.

I've never had any problem with the Stage's display - the main display I rarely rely upon when gigging/jamming except to verify what I think is reality, the rest of the knobs and lights do the real work. To me it's like playing the classic instrument it's modeling, you play it mostly by feel anyhow.

My like new Stage 2 73 is for sale..............message me if interested. I am in Va Beach, VA.

Personally,

I'd choose the NS2 any day over the Kronos in regards to B3's, transistor organs, Acoustic Pianos, portability and keybed. I might even say the same for ease of use for the synth part.

BUT the Kronos does have all the possible range of sounds. I personally love the MS-20 sound engine and the sampled instruments are much better than the NS2, although mellotrons are the best on the Nords.

What I would ask is if you really need all the bells and whistles of the Kronos. If you do need one thing the NS2 cannot do, then go ahead and grab a Kronos, you probably won't regret it. But if the NS2 has all you need, then go ahead and get it, as you might end up enjoying it more than a Kronos due to its quick access to sounds and sheer-players-power. In my opinion, the Kronos is more of a tool and the NS2 feels more like a real instrument, something more artistic and less capable/technical.

My words...
Bought a Kronos 61 a couple of months ago as an addon to my NS88Classic.
The choice was between a Kronos, or to up/downgrade my 88 to a NS2/76.
I decided to buy the Kronos now, and switch the NS later on.
Mostly because the Kronos are smaller, and easier to bring home from the place where we practice with oure band.

As other write, they are two complete different animals, while i really like my new Kronos, with much deeper sound engine then I ever came around, it are a complex beast to do editing on, and to difficult to do any deeper editing on on the fly, you have to plan the choice as homework.
The more I play on the Kronos, the more i love my NS.

The NS are so simple, but still capable to fill out my basic needs for rock/blues, and are a dream to tweak on the fly.
Lets say you suddenly want to try out a flanger instead of a chorus on the piano, or adding a pad under the acoustic piano ... done between two beats ! No digging into small fonts on a large glossy display, adjust as you play.

The Kronos are indeed a great instrument, the Set List are superb if you have a repetoire you are playing, and my plan is to integrate my NS in that setup for fast and easy switches between different songs. The large display on the Kronos are fine for home use when editing, but to complexe when playing live. Also a good studio keyboard.
On the NS, you see what you need, the rest you adjust directly on its dedicated knob, fast end extreme easy.

I prefer the Organ and pianos from my NS for my use, the Wurly on the Kronos do not bark as I think it should.
The Rhodes might seems better on the Kronos at first glance, but again, I prefer them from my NS, they feels a little bit more alive (and I have played the kronos via Midi from my NS, so it are not the velocity and weighted keys that do the difference). Much of the WOW factor on the Kronos are because they have did a better job with parts of the effect-engine.
The acoustic piano, well, it play well with the upright piano I have in my NS.

I am still happy for my Kronos, and will continue to use it even more, but mostly for synth, strings, pads and that sorts of things.

If i should choose again between those two boards for rock/blues, I would again choose the NS2.
If you do a lot of covers and are more into pop and moderne stuff, then a Kronos might be a better choice.
Or, both as I have did, the best from two different continent of the world

Now, where are that spell checker and english translator.......SHIFT+ ..... Nah ..............Slider 7.....nah ......

The thing which was a deal breaker for me about the Kronos was the really, really long boot up time. At gigs, sometimes somebody steps on the power and I can't wait 1.5 minutes (or longer) for a reboot.

I have both the NS2 88 and the Kronos 88. I love them both!! They are two very different animals though. One is a stage piano and the other a workstation. I would never take the Kronos to a gig due to the size & weight (and the hard case adds another 20+ lbs to that)! The NS2 is the ultimate in terms of authentic piano sounds, and the ability to change settings in realtime is a real blessing! Try adding some reverb to a piano on the Kronos and you're in for a nightmare (as opposed to just twiddling the reverb knob on the NS2). Boot time of 10 seconds on the NS2 vs 2.5 minutes on the Kronos (unacceptable at a gig in case of a momentary power loss, as in the power cord becoming inadvertantly disconnected). String resonance on the NS2 is awesome (Kronos does not have that feature... I don't know why, even my Casio Priva has string resonance!)... but unless you're doing a solo piano passage/piece, it won't really be noticed. The Kronos has everything though... need a particular instrument? It has it!

Navigation: this is a real problem for me with the NS2. That tiny one-line screen and lack of menuing really takes its toll when trying to navigate to a particular instrument... this is where the Kronos really shines! I have a notebook computer that I take with me wherever the NS2 goes... I hook it up via USB so that I have a big screen and can navigate easily to whatever instrument I want via the sound manager program... a real hassle, but its more of a hassle trying to navigate the NS2's little screen... and I still can't make sense of NS2's navigation... I'm lost without my notebook computer hooked up to it.

The NS2 really is the ultimate stage piano.... and the Kronos really is the ultimate workstation! I don't use the Kronos as a workstation (I use a computer-based DAW), but the Kronos offers soooo much more in terms of whatever instruments / sounds / patches you want... along with drums and their KARMA system.

I consider myself very lucky to have both of these fine boards. I'm finding more and more that I'm reaching for the NS2 for all of my piano needs. And I really love the FM Bass on the NS2. Of course, being able to tweak these in realtime via the knobs & buttons makes it that much more desirable! If you're a gigging musician, or find that you need to transport your keyboard(s) often, go with the NS2. If you're a pianist, go with the NS2. If you're going to have your keyboard anchored into your studio, never to be transported, go with the Kronos... its a much more capable board.

Lastly, consider the fact that Nord offers their free sample library! That alone makes the higher price of the NS2 worth it! Kronos additional sounds, samples, instruments are NOT free. I paid an exhorbitant amount of money to add the "Austrian Piano" on the Kronos and am very disappointed with it. The Kronos' stock "German Grand" however, is quite good. Its easy to tweak velocities, lid position and some other piano settings on the Kronos... but the overall sound such as reverb, compression, EQ, etc is much, much, much easier to do with the NS2, and those are what's important when moving your keyboard to another room or venue, or fitting in with the instruments of a band.

If I had to keep one of the two keyboards, I'd be very hard pressed to make a decision. The NS2 gives me mobility, flexibility for realtime adjustements, new patches for free via the online sound library, and a short boot time. The Kronos gives me everything I need (and then some) in terms of patches, KARMA, excellent percussion possibilities & choices, and I don't have to get frustrated deciding what I need to delete in order to add a new patch (major plus there)!

There's probably more I can think of given more time, but this should pretty much cover it for someone considering these boards.

Hope this offers some insight for you, and for anyone else considering these two awesome boards!