Nord User Forum

[bluesmongrel]

Hello,

I'm brand new to the board but I've had my Nord 5 for at least a year now maybe more. I have a few questions and I know they're basic but I couldn't figure out how to word a search to get the right answer. Please feel free to link me to the right area if available.

Anyway, I've always noticed that the piano samples on the Nord are far quieter than the organ. How do folks on here manage this?

I'm in a band and for a long time we had a piano player in addition to myself so I didn't have to worry about this. I only really used the the organ patches hence my just asking now. Currently I find I have to crank up my volume every time I switch over to piano which is a drag and it seems to me shouldn't be the case. I'm also worried about blowing speakers or the audience away should I forget.

This brings me to a second question, What is the easiest way to transition back and forth from piano or any other non organ sound to organ without losing presets on either end.

Last but not least I can't seem to find where I read how to shut off memory control mode. I mean to do this so I can start loading some presets into the setlist feature.

Thanks

[Akorder]

Perhaps you have a very light touch from mainly playing organ patches before? Depending on the instrument and its settings, organ sound usually triggers at the first third of the keys' downward travel.

For pianos - even on a semi weighted keyboard as on an Electro - you need a stronger finger attack to press down the whole travel of the key. They are actually two different instruments with quite a difference in the playing technique. Once you get hang of the that, their balance should even out.

It's also easy to assign an expression pedal (CTRLPED) to adjust the organs' volume. And of course you can just push in the drawbars for less volume and save those settings.

For how to disable memory protect to store sounds and settings, and everything else on the NE5, the manual is an essential source. https://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads ... -electro-5

[bluesmongrel]

Perhaps you have a very light touch from mainly playing organ patches before? Depending on the instrument and its settings, organ sound usually triggers at the first third of the keys' downward travel.

For pianos - even on a semi weighted keyboard as on an Electro - you need a stronger finger attack to press down the whole travel of the key. They are actually two different instruments with quite a difference in the playing technique. Once you get hang of the that, their balance should even out.

It's also easy to assign an expression pedal (CTRLPED) to adjust the organs' volume. And of course you can just push in the drawbars for less volume and save those settings.

For how to disable memory protect to store sounds and settings, and everything else on the NE5, the manual is an essential source. https://www.nordkeyboards.com/downloads ... -electro-5

On the first part I can hammer the hell out of some piano keys so that's not quite it. Thanks for the info on disabling the memory though.

[alex78]

When playing with a band the volume levels can be a great problem sometimes. The danger of blowing a speaker when changing sound is always there!
The safest way is to create programs for all the songs you are playing and adjust the levels from home.
I had the same problems with my band, so I decided to spend some time to brink all my programs at the same level.
What I did was to set the master volume and the mixers volume (I use 2 keyboards so I run them through a small stereo mixer) to a certain position and leave it there. Then I scrolled through all the programs on both keyboards, adjusted the gain and the balance between the two keyboards while recording everything.
When the incoming level indicator at my recording software turned orange (just before starting to distort) I saved the programs and moved to the next song. Now I have all my sounds to the desired level and I never move the master volume again, I set the overall volume from my mixer once when we sound check and I'm done. If the others play louder I just use my mixer's volume to follow...

[anotherscott]

What is the easiest way to transition back and forth from piano or any other non organ sound to organ without losing presets on either end.

I'm not sure what you mean by "without losing presets."

But here are lots of ways to switch between a piano sound and an organ sound...

1. Create two adjacent programs, e.g, sound A:1 = your favorite piano sound, A:2 = your favorite organ sound. Then you can go back and forth by switching between Programs 1 and 2, with the buttons or the knob. Save each one with the appropriate Gain setting to address your other issue of wanting the volumes to be even when you switch from one to the other. Note that every time you switch, the sound will be set back to the way it was originally stored as a preset.

2. Create two adjacent Live locations, e.g, LIVE 1 = your favorite piano sound, LIVE 2 = your favorite organ sound. Then you can go back and forth by switching between LIVE 1 and 2, with the buttons. Note that every time you switch, the sound will be restored to how you left it the last time you used it (changes to these locations are auto-saved).

3. Create a single Program with the Piano and Organ sounds you want to switch between, and assign them to the same part (e.g. both Upper). Then you can go back and forth as much as you like with that part's SELECT button. When you switch back away from a sound and then back to it, it will reflect any changes you made since you first invoked the Program (similar to option 2 above); however when you move away from that Program and go to another and then come back to it (or if you restart), the Piano and Organ will revert to their originally saved state (similar to option 1 above).

4. Create a single Program with the Piano and Organ sounds you want to switch between, and assign them to different parts (e.g. Piano to Upper, Organ to Lower). Then you can go back and forth as much as you like ny turning each part On or Off with that part's SELECT button. This is very similar to option 3 above. The advantage is that you can balance the piano and organ sounds with the PART MIX knob. The disadvantage is, whenever you want to switch between piano and organ, you have to manipulate two buttons (the SELECT buttons for the Upper and Lower parts) instead of just one.

For options 3 and 4, note that the SELECT button behaves differently with a single-click vs. a double-click, you have to use the appropriate command to get it to work the way you want.

[bluesmongrel]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try saving some programs or live option.

I'm surprised to not see more general acknowledgement of the issue. A friends' Nord that I used to use had the same issue and I understand its something with Nords across the board "great Hammond sounds, not as strong w/ the piano" I've heard that said. I used to use a different keyboard for piano as a result but don't have that luxury right now.

[CountFosco]

I'll try saving some programs or live option.

I'm surprised to not see more general acknowledgement of the issue.

I don't believe there is a general issue of organ section being louder than piano at all (unless your only drawbar setting is balls out). Sure you may need to adjust some gains between programs to optimise for live performance, but there are many settings and effects for which that statement applies. What I can't get my head around is how you could play an E5 for a year without turning off the memory protection, and then insist it's the board with the problem. Do yourself a favour, take 45 minutes, sit at the keyboard, read the manual, start to finish.

[anotherscott]

I'm surprised to not see more general acknowledgement of the issue.

You'll need to learn how to get the balance you need. There is no way to universally equalize the volume between piano sounds and organ sounds. For one thing, piano sounds get louder or quieter depending on how hard you hit the keys, organ sounds don't. So an organ sound that seems balanced relative to a gently played piano ballad can't also be balanced relative to a loud rocker, and vice versa. Organ sounds also change in volume with different settings (i.e. how many drawbars are pulled out how far). Also keep in mind that organs had swell pedals to control the volume. Nord supports the pedal, but not everyone has one, and if you don't, that could be contributing to what you experience. With no pedal to control volume, the organ will always be at its maximum programmed volume. So either you can lower the programmed level (and re-save the program with your preferred level), or you can use a swell pedal and control the level in real time that way.