Nord User Forum

Hi, got my Nord Piano 88 yesterday. I used to own Rolands, most recently the 15kg RD300SX which I bought for £750 five years ago. I upgraded to the new RD300NX (£1300) but it was disgusting, horrible, can't describe how ugly and metallic the sound was. Went straight back to the shop.

So I spent a little more and got the NP88!

First impressions: can't find out how to split the keyboard so piano in the right and acoustic bass in the left. Surely I don't need to keep my Roland just because the NP88 can't do this basic function which I use often when playing jazz duo gigs without a bass player?

Also, the instruction book has an index in the back with page numbers, but the manual itself has no page numbers. What's going on here? It just seems sloppy.

I installed the USB apps, worked extremely well. Deleted all the crappy sounds and put on the latest large pianos. Where do I go to find people's tweaked patches / settings which have the best combination of reverd and EQ and what not? Presumably people upload these and over time it becomes clear that some work better than others. If you can point me to the best setup for jazz piano then I'm all ears.

I amplify my piano with a pair of Yamaha Stagepas 300 PA speakers. They work well for most small to medium gigs. I think powered speakers or monitors are the way forward, but if anyone has any tips in this department again I'm all ears!

Thanks!

Hi JazzJohn

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but both the Nord Piano 88 & Electro are not multi timbral instruments--you can't split the keyboard or layer sounds on either model. Only the Nord Stage gives you that capability.

I'm sorry but I can't be of much help in the third party area in regards to custom patches.

I do agree that a powered/active speaker setup with a small mixer running the NP (or most any keyboard for that matter) stereo is the way to go for optimum sound. I've never used the Yamaha speakers before so I can't comment there.
Currently I use RCF TT08A, and for larger gigs TT22A, speakers with an Allen Heath Zed 10 FX mixer. These are fairly high end speakers and are priced accordingly. Good results can certainly be had for cheaper. Before RCF I used the EV SXA360s and found them to be very good. Many people like QSC--the K8,10 or 12 models. For my ears they are a bit harsh for piano and not quite has hi-fi has the EVs. You might check out the EV ZXA-1 which is a two way 8" super lightweight box.
The JBL PRX612Ms seem to get good reviews for piano too.

Thanks Dave for this very helpful reply. It's a pity that a £1700 instrument can't split, so I may need to keep my roland for this reason.

I am very interested in your advice on speakers. Many people say what's the point of getting a good piano if you use bad speakers. I think my Yamaha Stagepas is good, but certain notes resonate in an unpleasant fashion. Also, the dynamics of playing compared to using headphones is very different. Sometimes it's too loud and sometimes too soft. Maybe I need to experiment with the compressor settings.

I will look into the EVs. My gigs are mostly small jazz gigs with drums, double bass, generally in smallish rooms. Sometimes we play in larger rooms for student dinners with say 300 people, but generally such larger rooms have good acoustics and I can still get away with the Stagepas. We rarely play on big stages with proper sound guys, but when we do I use the Stagepas as a monitor for me and works well.

I just want the best sound possible for my jazz sets! Thanks