Nord User Forum

I would consider the Nord Stage 2 IF the acoustic pianos and the action (88 weighted) are the same as the Nord Piano. Are they? Thanks so much!

Melodialwork wrote:I would consider the Nord Stage 2 IF the acoustic pianos and the action (88 weighted) are the same as the Nord Piano. Are they? Thanks so much!

Hello Melodialwork,
Welcome to the forums!

The Stage 2 uses all of the same samples as the Nord Piano.

The Nord Piano and Nord Stage 2 88 share the same series of keybed action. It's the Fatar TP/40.
They will feel very similar, but not exactly alike.

There are several different models of the TP/40
(GH, Graded Hammer)
(H, Hard Touch Feeling 95gr)
(M, Medium Touch Feeling 85gr)
(L, Light Touch Feeling 75gr)
(WOOD, real Wooden keys)

The US rep for Nord confirmed only that they have the same series kebed but not the specifics of which (other than the Stage 2 has the -AFT option and the Piano does not)

In addition, there are two options that can be added to the TP/40 series, one of which the Stage 2 88 and 76 has, which is the -AFT (2 strip of monophonic aftertouch) this will make the keyboard feel slightly different from the Nord Piano.

The other option is - ES: (mechanical Escapment Touch Feeling Kit) which simulates the breakaway and fallback of real piano hammers.

I believe that the WOOD and -ES is considerably newer than the initial development and production run of the Nord Piano.

I hope this helps.

Cheers, Hanon

Hi Lawrence.

The NP feels heavier to me then the Stage. The Stage is good though, I played a brand new one right out of the box at the GC and I felt I could make it work for me.

I didn't know there were that many different models of that Fatar keyboard. Thanks for that Hanon...

If nothing interesting turns up at NAMM in a few weeks, I'll probably spring for the NS 2 76 myself at some point during next year. I'd probably keep the NP 88 too- I'm growing to really like it the more gigs I use it on.

Hanon_CTS wrote:
I believe that the WOOD and -ES is considerably newer than the initial development and production run of the Nord Piano.


Cheers, Hanon

Thanks, Hanon, for clarifying the differences between the actions. Are you suggesting that the WOOD and -ES options will become available on the NP? (I suspect not).

Lawrence
http://www.lawrencelougheed.com

Melodialwork wrote: Are you suggesting that the WOOD and -ES options will become available on the NP? (I suspect not).

Probably not with the Nord Piano Classic.
But who's to say there isn't a Nord Piano 2 in the future somewhere?

The wood keyboard with escapement would be about as close to feeling like a real piano as one could hope for.
I'd say that would be a perfect match to an instrument that already sounds as close as I've ever heard to one.

Merry Christmas, Hanon

Nord Piano 2 is availiable

Hi, Im new in this forum and just found this thread.
I'm thinking of getting the Nord Stage 2 but have some concerns according to the keybed:

Hanon, you write that the Nord Stage 2 has the AFT-option. Does this mean that you can choose whether or not to have the aftertouch, or is it a constant thing?

And in addition to that; can anyone tell me if the keybed in the NE3 HP is the same as in the NS2 ? I haven't been able to try the NS2, but I played the NE3 HP and like this keybed.

Thank you

The keyboards of the NE 3HP and the Nord Stage are different. The 3HP uses the Fatar TP100 action, which allows a more lightweight construction of the instrument. The throw of the keys is different (smaller on the Electro 3HP), and the keys of the Stage are less 'springy'. Chances are that you'll like the Stage action a little better for playing pianos. For organ playing I'd think it's vice versa, for EP's it's a matter of taste.

soluho wrote:Hanon, you write that the Nord Stage 2 has the AFT-option. Does this mean that you can choose whether or not to have the aftertouch, or is it a constant thing?

You could choose to use it (or not). On sounds that use it you could easily disable it (most likely synthesizer sounds), while on sounds that don't you could configure it to use aftertouch (using 'morphing', which is something the Stage and Lead/Wave can do).

This aftertouch functionality is technically implemented with an additional strip underneath the keys. You won't see it, but you'll feel it - on the Piano you'll reach a point where the key can't be pushed in any further, while on the Stage this area is 'softer', where you can push harder (after pressing the key all the way down) to increase the amount of aftertouch you are applying.

So this difference in feeling happens after you've pushed a key all the way down.

The velocity curves might be somewhat different (I wouldn't be surprised if Clavia tweaked those with the specific type of players for each instrument in mind). The NS2 has some additional springs that help the keys to come up quicker to make fast playing easier, but the Piano might also have those (don't know).

If you're a piano purist, you might not like the aftertouch strip. I'm sure the shop you were at has some other keyboard with aftertouch (most of the more expensive ones do). Press a key down and then press a bit harder; you'll feel the key sinking a bit deeper in the rubber aftertouch strip.

The Stage adds organ sounds, a synthesizer section, more effects and the ability to control external equipment (such as a sound module). Better than that, it actually has two of each. That's a much bigger difference than the aftertouch (and the 50% price increase) it adds. The Piano 2 can play samples so you can add a simple pad sound to your piano playing, but the NS2's synthesizer can do a lot more with them and makes that much more viable.

Wow, the info from Hanon is very interesting. It sure would be nice to have a chart to compare the various Nord keyboard actions. Or, an informative statement from Fatar or Nord as to which action is employed in each keyboard.