Nord Drum 3p is very noisy

[Nebula]

Hello,

There is a very annoying issue with Nord Drum 3p.

It's a very noisy product.The noise increases when you use the reverb/delay engine.Noise fade outs with the reverb time and with long reverbs you have a very high noise level.

I uptade the OS to v1.24 which Clavia claims that they fixed the issue:

'Using certain Reverb types (P3, P4, St, Ha) could cause a persistent increase of the output noise floor. Fixed.' ???

But as I hear they did not.

Most of the reviews about the product tells how wonderful the product is, but does not mention about noise problem except;

http://www.musicnstuff.de/drums/article ... um-3p.html.

So please beware before you buy!

Nord Drum is a fun instrument but it's not suitable for studio use without a noise gate.

I hope they can fix this issue with the next update.

[lucasdmacaluso]

has anyone else experienced this? trying to decide if I am going to purchase the 3P and would like further discussion on this issue.

[Falkom]

Yes, same here!
The noise level when reverb is in use is enormous!
It's not even depending on how hard you hit a pad, even a slight touch with the stick
triggers the maximum hiss. Can be only reduced by shutting the reverb down.
The noise level control has no effect on it, what so ever.
Sounds very wrong if not broken. Unusable for recording and annoying via PA.
My fellow musicians gave me a long unbelieving stare, when they heard it on our Bose towers.

Not sure what version I´m on. Just recieved mine last friday.
Kind of falling out of love with it atm

[Jon Lukas]

The noise level when reverb is in use is enormous!

Just to double check...did you try updating to the latest firmware which supposedly fixes this issue?
http://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads/ ... rd-drum-3p
http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/n ... te-history

Mine is coming this week and I'm a little concerned....

[Falkom]

To be fair, no I didn't update the firmware, yet.
Was looking for my old USB to MIDI converter, couldn't find..

The OP (nebula) mentiones updating didn't fix the issue.
But I will definitely give it a try.

I will know tonight and share it here.

[Falkom]

Quick update:

Just switched on the ND3P, it says 1.24 on the led
displays. Reckon this is the version number.

Well, I guess that's that.
1.24 comes with major hiss. Shame.

Let me know, if yours does as well.

[Jon Lukas]

Well, I guess that's that.
1.24 comes with major hiss. Shame.

Thanks for the info...that doesn't sound promising...mine is coming on Saturday; I'll let you know what happens.

[Falkom]

Hi,
I don't have the 3p, just wondering what this could be,
So when you engage reverb nothing happens, but if you then hit a pad you hear a hiss,
Does is matter what drum sound you are using? Did you try sounds with just tone (eg sine), without click or noise?
Does the hiss fade away, does the duration depend on the set reverb tail length?

A reverb related noise problem was supposedly solved with the latest update, was it any worse with the previous OS?
Did any of you try to contact Nord already thru the website?

Cheers,
Albert

[Falkom]

Thanks again, Albert, for chiming in.

Correct, by just increasing reverb on (any) pad doesn't produce any hiss.

Only when the pad is hit. It lasts for whatever reverb time you've chosen. When zero reverb is set, the sound is perfectly clean.
It's a thin hissing noise that decays in a kind of dirty grainy crackle.
(Like you deliberately wanted to add some cheesy vintage noise to an otherwise clean reverb)
The hiss doesn't seem to be connected to any particular sound. It always does whatever the reverb does.

The noise is not dynamic. Means, no matter how softly I hit the pad, the hiss comes with it's full volume.
It is especially recognisable on small in-ear headphones, that exaggerate high fequencies.
And obviously when high frequencies are pushed in EQ and/or compressed in a recording mix.

Didn't try it on a clean sine wave yet.
If I wouldn't know better, I'd say it's just a really cheap reverb, but besides the hiss the reverb operates really well.

I recieved the 3P with latest firmware (1.24 already on board.) so I don't know about any other versions.

And yes, I did contact Clavia Support via email on monday, haven't heard from them yet.

I really hope this get's fixed, because, despite other minor shortcomings, this little thing sounds simply awesome and
I would hate to see it send back.

Do you relay any information to Clavia, by chance or do you know, if any Clavia techs visit this place every once in while?

Cheers,
Falko

[wartaler]

Hi Falko,

Very clear description,
No, this forum is 'unofficial' and I am as much a Nord user as you, no direct contact with Nord (other than thru the usual contact form, but the last time I used it was years ago). I can't tell if they check the forum regularly, so I think you did the right thing to notify them directly. Let's hope they can fix it!
Albert