Nord User Forum

Ok great, that 's what I was thinking, thanks

Fallboard wrote:
But the real clue was in how much NICER it feels to play the NS3C with the SW action in the Piano Section. I think they adjusted their piano input curves from the internal keyboard and didn't bother to do a lot of testing to calibrate it differently for MIDI input or add a user option.

I do hope Clavia addresses this issue but there is the possibility it may never get on the ever-growing list of fixits I'm sure the team in Stockholm is scrambling to iron out. That's why opening tickets is so important.

I am glad they plan to address this issue, but I also hope they don't take anything away from the outstanding work they did on the internal keyboard of the NS3C. It seems like they must have spent a lot of time improving the expressiveness of the internal keyboard of the NS3C, and from my experience, they succeeded to a degree not matched by any other SW keyboard I've played. On the other hand, I always thought Clavia needed to give us more keyboard velocity settings, for both internal and external keyboards. I highly recommend the NS3C because I can do away with my hammer-weighted keyboard controller for most of my current gigs. Amazing piano upgrade from my Nord Electro 5D73. Just my two cents.

Murphy wrote:

Fallboard wrote:
But the real clue was in how much NICER it feels to play the NS3C with the SW action in the Piano Section. I think they adjusted their piano input curves from the internal keyboard and didn't bother to do a lot of testing to calibrate it differently for MIDI input or add a user option.

I do hope Clavia addresses this issue but there is the possibility it may never get on the ever-growing list of fixits I'm sure the team in Stockholm is scrambling to iron out. That's why opening tickets is so important.

I am glad they plan to address this issue, but I also hope they don't take anything away from the outstanding work they did on the internal keyboard of the NS3C. It seems like they must have spent a lot of time improving the expressiveness of the internal keyboard of the NS3C, and from my experience, they succeeded to a degree not matched by any other SW keyboard I've played. On the other hand, I always thought Clavia needed to give us more keyboard velocity settings, for both internal and external keyboards. I highly recommend the NS3C because I can do away with my hammer-weighted keyboard controller for most of my current gigs. Amazing piano upgrade from my Nord Electro 5D73. Just my two cents.

Yeah this is why it's not the end of the world for me. When I play piano at home in the studio, I'm using my real grand. Using "Heavy+" on the Kawai with the "1" setting on the NS3C is good enough, but not great. I'd also like to chime in and say that the SW action and curves are fantastic on the NS3C and I hope they don't change them.

1+

NS3C action is great. It's not piano action but more I play it more I begin to appreciate it. It has enough resistance to have a good control and touch even on difficult acoustics (noisy stage etc.). I am perfectly happy the way it is, I don't need any external midi controller with it.

To those who have the MP11, do you really need to use the Stage 3 piano instead of the Internal piano sounds of the MP11? Is the Kawai Grand in the MP11 is bad? Does it stand his own compared to the Nord Imperial for example? I read a review where they were saying that the sound is great? I ask the question because my plan to buy the MP11 is to be able to play difficult classical parts that I cannot master well enough due to the Stage 2 hammer action and as the Stage 3/Piano 3 action seems that be quite close but still not as good as the Kawai's or Yamaha's, that's why I came with the idea of buying the MP11...Is the current velocity curve relation between the MP11 and the stage 3 compact are good enough for any Pop/Rock gig or even smooth Jazz?

Quai34 wrote:To those who have the MP11, do you really need to use the Stage 3 piano instead of the Internal piano sounds of the MP11? Is the Kawai Grand in the MP11 is bad? Does it stand his own compared to the Nord Imperial for example? I read a review where they were saying that the sound is great? I ask the question because my plan to buy the MP11 is to be able to play difficult classical parts that I cannot master well enough due to the Stage 2 hammer action and as the Stage 3/Piano 3 action seems that be quite close but still not as good as the Kawai's or Yamaha's, that's why I came with the idea of buying the MP11...Is the current velocity curve relation between the MP11 and the stage 3 compact are good enough for any Pop/Rock gig or even smooth Jazz?

Kawai's internal sound on the MP11 is generally considered good but not great. It's one of Kawai's EX concert grands, so not exactly the most familiar sound for people used to European or American grands. It's bright, not terribly inspiring. A lot of us I think were disappointed they didn't sample their high end Shigeru for this application (and indeed, in the MP11SE they did). It's kind of like the bread that comes before your meal. It's enjoyable and comfortable but not very exciting and leaves you wanting more. You may love it, who knows?

Most people buy the MP11 for the action, of which it has the BEST you can find in any digital slab. There is nothing more accurate I have ever seen. I can come upstairs from playing my B and resume practicing the same piece on the Kawai and feel comfortable. Truth be told I actually had the MP11 in storage until recently because I had acquired the Physis H1 modeling piano and realized that the action was just...not up to the task and not even as good as Korg's RH3 action. I think the Physis and NS288 share the same Fatar keybed for the most part. So I switched back.

And yes, I'd say the current setup with the MP11 and NS3C is good enough for pop, rock, and jazz as it is, though I still would very much like to see Clavia offer adjustments to the velocity curve because eventually I would like to have the option of using a slim 88 key controller on a gig which requires a lot of piano work, since the MP11 is not very giggable unless you have roadies.

Fallboard wrote:I should mention I got a response from Nord about the velocity issue and they are aware of it

Sounds like it's been fixed...

From nord-stage-forum-f3/is-it-just-me-stage-2-sounds-better-than-stage-3-t14123-80.html

Murphy wrote:I love the response of the Compact with its standard keyboard, but since the firmware, an external keyboard works great too (tried it at the studio with several Roland and Yamaha keyboards).

Back home I also connected it to two more low-end keyboards that have limited touch settings (one has three and the other one has five) and everything is still working fine. I was considering a Midi Solutions Velocity Converter prior to the latest firmware upgrade, but I'm certain I don't need it anymore. The Compact is working out great for me.

maurich wrote:

Murphy wrote:

Fallboard wrote:So I have tried setting the velocity dynamics on the piano panel to the lowest setting (no LEDs lit) and the MIDI Keyb in "EXTERN" to "Hard" on both panels, or even "soft" and it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I was trying to use my Kawai MP11 to control the piano sounds in my NS3 but no matter what, the velocity curve is just too sensitive and it's very hard to play softly with the weighted controller. I get better control just playing the SW waterfall keys straight. I was really hoping I could have the option of using an external keyboard for my NS3C, especially if I want to play a show where there's a lot of piano-heavy stuff, but not have to by an NS388 and lose the portability of the smaller instrument. Am I missing something here?

I too am having difficulties getting the velocity right with an external keyboard (using my NS3C). It appears to me the NS3C handles velocity curves differently than my NE5. My NE5 handles this perfectly. I agree the NS3C keyboard's SW action is amazingly great for sensitive and quiet sounds. This is a great surprise and I'm very happy to have chosen the NS3C over the 76 or 88 key version. I can use Pianoteq, which allows for great control over velocity curves, so I'm not in any major inconvenience. However, I am disappointed in the fact that I can't use my external weighted action keys to accurately control the dynamics of my Nord's piano fantastic piano samples. I need the NSC3; a single, lightweight keyboard to handle all of the short one-off gigs I get. It's invaluable. But there are longer or different types of gigs where plugging an external weighted keyboard would be very handy for me. I wonder if Nord could put a new parameter in their MIDI settings? I wouldn't want that if it meant losing the great dynamic control Nord has created with the SW key action. Meanwhile, I'll check out products from midisolutions.com.

I have the same problem...Today I received my NS3 Compact...great keyboard feel, I think it's different from my NE5D...much better feeling when I play piano or Rhodes...when I connect to my master keyboard Dopfer PK88 with hammer keys ( Doepfer has fixed velocity curve), piano sounds like I all the time playin hard, like all the time velocity is 120-127...
What to do now? Waiting for next firmware or find other solution?

Either that, buy another controller, or use a MIDI Solutions device to correct the velocity problems..it would help us all if you submitted a Support request to Clavia to let them know this is a big problem that they need to address soon. Support@clavia.se

Are you on the latest firmware version? I believe it offered some improvement but the issue wasn't completely resolved from what I'm experiencing.

Since updating the firmware to 1.32 it hasn't been a problem with at least four digital pianos I've used. I work with the DP's touch sensitivity, the Nord's settings, and equalization controls; and it works fine for me now. It might be that I've just gotten to know the keyboard better, but the magic appeared with update 1.32. Regardless, I'm certain Nord will give us more options for more scenarios in future updates, but at this point, I don't need a Velocity Converter. Update 1.32 is a real game changer for me and I'm still unbelievably happy with the internal touch sensitivity of the NS3 Compact. Hope they don't change that. I like carrying one keyboard to gigs and rehearsals and still be able to play piano sounds well on a 22-pound keyboard.