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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby BuckW » 26 Jul 2017, 22:43

TerryW wrote:
LudovicVDP wrote:You can also sample your old keyboard sounds and import them in the Nord.
If the sounds are too complex and evolving, it won't work that good of course. But for the rest, that's an option to consider so you can still have your "old" sounds without having to move your old keyboard around.


Now *that* would be great, except . . . I know nothing about how to sample, what equipment I need to do sampling, etc.

But I will read up on it if there's a good overview online, thanks for this option.


https://youtu.be/B1pYtxWn0_A

Looks very straightforward but I haven't done it.

To those that have, how do you handle looping sustaining patches?
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?


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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby TerryW » 28 Jul 2017, 15:10

Every one of you have given me great info to think about, thanks. Even those of you who give totally opposing viewpoints from each other give me a lot to consider.

I'll give some more detailed replies later when I have more time, but for now:

Are there any other light-weight compact models available from other brands, and why not?

Are there at least rumors that some may be coming out? I'm assuming the Nord compacts are becoming popular and selling well, and that other brands would want to compete, no?

If there was a basic compact Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc., with a couple thousand knock-out sounds in presets, I'd love it, and leave all of the tweaking to *you* guys. ;-)

The major factor drawing me to the Nord is the small footprint and 22 pounds, although the design of all the dials and operating components looks like it would be fun to master them. I can't say I like the "red" much, but I can look past that. ;-)
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby anotherscott » 28 Jul 2017, 16:56

TerryW wrote:Are there any other light-weight compact models available from other brands, and why not?

Are there at least rumors that some may be coming out? I'm assuming the Nord compacts are becoming popular and selling well, and that other brands would want to compete, no?

If there was a basic compact Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc., with a couple thousand knock-out sounds in presets, I'd love it, and leave all of the tweaking to *you* guys. ;-)


As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I think the Roland FA-07 might be a strong choice for you. Kurzweil Artis7 is a bit heavier, but still not too bad. The main limitation is that there aren't so many 7x key boards. 61s and weighted 88s are much more common. One other 7x possibility could be the Korg Krome, though it does not have the drawbar organ functions of the Nord, Roland, or Kurzweil, if that matters. (The Roland doesn't have real-time drawbar control, but you can adjust the virtual drawbars through the menus.)

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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby Jonnie Cache » 29 Jul 2017, 17:25

TerryW wrote:Every one of you have given me great info to think about, thanks. Even those of you who give totally opposing viewpoints from each other give me a lot to consider.

I'll give some more detailed replies later when I have more time, but for now:

Are there any other light-weight compact models available from other brands, and why not?

Are there at least rumors that some may be coming out? I'm assuming the Nord compacts are becoming popular and selling well, and that other brands would want to compete, no?

If there was a basic compact Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc., with a couple thousand knock-out sounds in presets, I'd love it, and leave all of the tweaking to *you* guys. ;-)

The major factor drawing me to the Nord is the small footprint and 22 pounds, although the design of all the dials and operating components looks like it would be fun to master them. I can't say I like the "red" much, but I can look past that. ;-)


I am like you, I think. I have relied on presets my whole life (I’m 45 for context). For me, I decided this time I want realism first and synth second. In terms of the synth features, I’m actually looking forward to learning about synthesis and how to get the sounds I want. So, I ordered an NS3 88 sight unseen. I don’t have a music store nearby that even stocks Nord so it is a leap of faith.

There are so many resources online for Nord users that I am confident that I can get the sounds that I want/need. Plenty of people submit patches and samples... some free, some paid. If I need to, I’m also looking forward to learning how to build samples for it myself.

I guess for me, the learning will be part of the fun. In the meantime, I will continue to use my existing gear, which consists only of soft instruments in my Native Instruments S76. You would probably want to keep your old board while you are learning the Nord. But, I still think that is part of the fun/adventure!

In terms of build quality and quality of sound, from everything I have read/learned, you can’t get better than a Nord.
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby TerryW » 01 Aug 2017, 10:09

anotherscott wrote:
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I think the Roland FA-07 might be a strong choice for you...


Yowzah! (Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding)

The FA-07 (76-key) looks to be the perfect replacement for my old Fantom. 2000+ sounds onboard plus free downloads from other libraries, WEIGHT . . . EQUALS . . . 19 POUNDS (Yay!), *and* only $1500 compared to $3600 for the Stage 3 Compact. Thanks so much Scott.

I looked at the sound list, and as you said, I did see some of the same patch names that I currently use a lot on my Fantom. Obviously, I'll have to learn some of the new features, but it looks like this will pretty much be a " just plug in and play" deal, compared to lots of time consuming tweaking on the Nord which still might not get me the sounds I want.

This is pretty much a no-brainer for me, thanks to all of you who told me I might be disappointed in the NS3. Okay, the Nord has more splits and layers and has drawbar sliders, but for sure those features nare not worth $2100 more than the FA-07, which better suits my needs anyway.

For anyone reading this who has a similar situation to me, check out the demo vids on Roland's "FA series" page, it looks incredible for $1500: https://www.roland.com/global/products/fa_series/
Last edited by TerryW on 01 Aug 2017, 10:20, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby kbrkr » 01 Aug 2017, 14:34

I've checked every FA-06 and FA-07 video and it really looks like a dynamite keyboard. There are some concerns, however; For one, there is no Chorus on the Organ patches. I used to have a Roland VK8M module and it was amazing. Although the FA07 uses organ modeling, the missing chorus could be a deal breaker for me. Also, sample will only allow single voices; you can't do multi-samples. And lastly, it does not have Aftertouch. I know it's only $1,500.00 but a tradeoff is a tradeoff.
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby Graspieper » 01 Aug 2017, 20:25

Regarding the Roland FA06-FA07:
I've had the FA06 in the past, before switching to Kurzweil PC3 and then Nord Stage 2.
The FA06 (and hence, also the FA07) are toys compared to the other, not meant to be used on a stage.
External power supply, way too many menus, and small buttons + small font for the text above the buttons,
which makes it hard to quickly press the right button at the right time during a live performance, a very glossy & scratch prone surface, ...
The sound quality was a bit 'thin' (of which some people say it has something to do with cheaper DA converters being used?)
Of course, there are other benefits: lots of sounds, sample pads, sequencing, mp3/USB support, ...
It just depends what you really want: a workstation for home usage, or a musical instrument designed for live usage.
The organ sim on the FA is not bad, but the rotary sim is not so good; I paired it with a Neo Vent to overcome this.

The Kurzweil was a big step up, but was too difficult to manage
(even though I understood all available functions really good, there just was way too much menu digging...).
There are way too many possibilities & features, which makes it hard to use it in a consistent way.
Nord got this just right: a dedicated button for a feature. I love it (and hope the 2 displays on the NS3 will not lead to another direction in the future...)

Anyway, bottom line: before buying Roland FA: try it first, and take a good look at it...
Good luck!
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby anotherscott » 01 Aug 2017, 23:51

TerryW wrote:Okay, the Nord has more splits and layers and has drawbar sliders,

Actually, the Roland has more splits and layers. Check https://www.roland.com/us/rtv/product_s ... tutorials/ and there's a 3-part video for Advanced Layers and Splits, and then a 4-part video that goes further.

As for drawbars, there was an aftermarket drawbar module http://www.oceanbeachdigital.com/products.html but it's been discontinued. If you have an Ipad, you can at least do drawbar manipulation with an app, scroll down toward the bottom of the page at https://mididesigner.com/qa/3093/roland ... nth-editor

kbrkr wrote:I've checked every FA-06 and FA-07 video and it really looks like a dynamite keyboard. There are some concerns, however; For one, there is no Chorus on the Organ patches. I used to have a Roland VK8M module and it was amazing.

Yeah, there's no C/V in the tonewheel organ emulation. I believe there are some rompler organ sounds with C/V (if not stock, then in the axial SRX downloads), but of course, they are very limited in other respects. The VK8M was definitely a better Roland organ than what's in the FA. It also had all the nice COSM amp emulations.

Graspieper wrote:a very glossy & scratch prone surface, ...

solvable... http://forums.rolandclan.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=53680

Graspieper wrote:The organ sim on the FA is not bad, but the rotary sim is not so good; I paired it with a Neo Vent to overcome this.

and it's nice that the FA has the sub out feature to more easily facilitate that.

The FA-07 lags the Nord in the hands-on immediacy of its controls, aftertouch, the cool pitch stick, the quality of the organ/rotary sound, the quality/variety of the piano sounds, the library of mellotron/chamberlin and other less common vintage analog keyboard sounds, the ability to load custom samples mapped across the keyboard. OTOH, the FA is a lot less expensive and actually also includes some functionalities the Nord lacks (sequencer, trigger pads, 16-channel multi-timbral ability) and it has a library of rompler acoustic instrument sounds that are generally better than Nord's (strings, brass, woodwinds, etc.). Two very nice boards, with some different strengths.

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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby Quai34 » 02 Aug 2017, 10:28

You know what? Get both, ask the Nord to your wife for your birthday....
Stage 2/C2/NL2X+TC Pedals, 2XMatrix, EMU P2K, TX802, DSI P8/Tetra+H9, P12+TC HoF, D50+PG1000, XV5080,AX keytar, Streichfett, Drumbrute.Ibanez SR1200 & 2605 basses, Artstar AS153,G&L L2000,Legacy HSS,Asat Blueboys,Asat Deluxe Savanna.genelec 8040A.
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Re: Will I be disappointed w/synth patch selection?

Postby kbrkr » 02 Aug 2017, 14:11

I actually pulled the Trigger on the FA-07. I needed a backup keyboard fast and with the Nord not expected at my dealer until October, I went ahead and purchased the FA-07 for a 30day trial. Who knows how I'll like it. I will use this to backup my Kronos until the Nord arrives.
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