Nord User Forum

[Doughster]

I currently play in a covers band in Switzerland. We do a variety of stuff from Hendrix, Clapton to Adele and Muse and everything in between.

So I need a little bit of everything, even sampling (song intros and special sounds).

Currently I have a Motif XS8, Access Virus TI, Roland XP80, iPad, MacBook with several plugins (Komplete and omnisphere mainly).

To play live I only use the motif, the virus and the ipad, I like my sound very much, but I hate the weight and lack of portability of my whole setup, it doesn't even fit in my car!

So I am thinking that for gigging I will replace both the virus and motif with a NS2 73c and keep the iPad.

I am getting the feeling after reading extensibly about the NS2 that I will miss the layering capabilities of both the virus and the motif, which is a compromise I can make for better portability, but I am not sure if the NS will be able to handle the bread and butter sounds as well (brass, vintage synths, choirs).

So I come to you to see after your experience with the NS2 you can share some light as to if it is the right choice.

Thanks a lot in advance!

[anotherscott]

The NS2 will sound better for some things, weaker for others. If you miss the Yamaha sounds, you can add a Motif Rack XS and have all the same stock voices that come with the XS8 and still maintain the high portability. But another issue to consider is that you're going from a weighted action (XS8) to a non-weighted NS2, which you may find unsatisfying for piano. You can get the same voices as the XS8 in a MOX8 at half the weight of your XS8, so that could be another way to go. A MOX8 and an NS2 is a very nice combo, too...

[RedLeo]

I would second anotherscott's suggestions. The Nord sample library is very good, but it will not make a Stage into a workstation. A Stage and a workstation (keyboard or module) together would be a very powerful and versatile combination.

[gfullick]

I third anotherscott's suggestion. I have the MOX8 and the NS2 - a great combo. Very light and portable, all the good Yamaha voices and the flexibility of the NORD!

[Niarf]

You can take a NS2 76 and sample the sounds you like /use from your Motif ^^

[anotherscott]

You can take a NS2 76 and sample the sounds you like /use from your Motif ^^

Within certain limits, yes. For example, one of the things that makes many Yamaha sounds work so well is that different velocities can trigger different samples. When you sample a Yamaha into a Nord, you only get one velocity layer.

[Johannes]

Been there done that. IMHO, the biggest discrepancy are Brass and Choirs, here the Motifs are excellent IMHO in particular the velocity switching allows some very realistic playing there. I love the additional punch you can give to these sounds on the Motif.
Sampling in one velocity layer will not give you that. Strings and Synth stuff are IMHO very good on the NORD so there I would not worry too much about the Motif.
But you say youll continue using Omnisphere etc. on the ipad anyhow, so you should be able to get the missing sound from there??!

[Doughster]

Thanks all for the suggestions, I took a look at the MOX8 and it also looks promising and not so heavy. Anyway I would like to keep it as light as possible, that means only one board if possible.

After your comments, Iam now then considering a Motif XF7 instead of the NS2, although the pianos and organs will not be as good, it will give me all the bread and butter at a "light" single board package.

Johannes: I use Omnisphere on my MacBook but only for studio work, I decided about 2 years ago to stop using the laptop with virtual instruments live, too unstable and unreliable.