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Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby Nepean » 20 Jun 2018, 23:13

About a month ago, I took the plunge and splurged out on a Nord Piano 3.

Previous to this, I had used for over 10 years a much loved Roland FP-4. It had provided many years of good times at gigs and jams. The wonderful thing about the FP-4, for me, was that it had onboard speakers that gave an organic quality to the instrument. Because the sound was coming from the actual keyboard, it would feel much more like a real piano than if the sound was coming only from a separate amplifier. I also thought at times it could have a clear, brilliant sound that would work very well in small jazz ensembles, like trios. Maybe that was the classic Roland sound which could be quite brilliant in some settings.

The area where the Roland FP-4 was not so good, in my opinion, was in doing a recording, because in that setting, when the piano sounds are being dissected very carefully, the piano sound can sound a bit artificial and jarring.

Anyway after having the Nord Piano 3 for a month, when playing it through headphones, some of the sounds are absolutely spectacular, absolutely fantastic. Clearly sounds much better than the FP-4 through the headphones. I particularly like the Studio Grand 2 and a few of the uprights. Personally I found the other grands a little bit too sparkly for my taste. But playing the Studio Grand 2 through headphones is really something. I really only bought the Nord for the piano sounds and was not very interested in all the other sounds, and have not actually checked them out too much.

But......

The problem is....whilst it sounds fantastic through the headphones, through my amplifier...I just can't get it to sound to the level where I actually enjoy playing it much. I'm just running it through a Yamaha DX-10 which I used previously with my old Roland. I've read through the forum here and everyone says the DX-10 is great - so what am I doing wrong? Maybe I'm expecting too much out of an amplifier. When I use the DX-10 with the Nord it gets that slightly boomy bass / mid-range feel which I can't EQ out, and it has that tinny superficial sound with no real resonance. Bit hard to explain I suppose. Being used to the onboard speakers of the Roland, I still do find hearing the sound come out of an amplifier a distance away from the keyboard a bit unusual. I don't enjoy playing it through the DX-10 to the extent that I'm seriously considering just using the Nord Piano as a studio / recording keyboard and continuing with the Roland for gigs or jams. Which seems a bit of a pity.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how I should improve the amplification I would be infinitely grateful! Thank you.
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Review one month in and amplification problems


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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby baekgaard » 20 Jun 2018, 23:38

Welcome to Nord-land :-)

The Nords sound best with a very good PA system, and they are best in stereo. If you have something less than very good, you should consider some of the other pianos that may work better over even a crappy system (not saying yours is crappy! -- just a general comment). Try e.g. the Amber Upright, the Bright or the Silver.

Also, you should try to have someone else play the piano and you listening from some distance. I had another guy play mine some weeks ago, and using the Amber Upright in some smaller monitors on the floor near to the piano, I could almost close my eyes and get the impression he was playing a real upright.
Last edited by baekgaard on 20 Jun 2018, 23:39, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby NoDirection » 21 Jun 2018, 09:26

First - you write "a Yamaha DX-10" - so I presume you run it in mono - only one speaker. The piano samples need stereo - I suggest you try to sell that one DX-10 and buy a pair of QSC 8.2 - I think your sound will be much better.
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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby harmonizer » 21 Jun 2018, 18:03

Most of the Nord acoustic piano samples suffer when using a single speaker. When you listen on headphones, you get a 2 speaker stereo sound. The Royal Grand is the one that sounds the best when using a single speaker at home. It's upper end does not "cut" for a covers band scenario, but at home it is really nice. (This has been my experience).

Regarding the Roland - I have an old Roland XV synth which supplements my Nord Electro. Time and time again, I have discovered that Roland is the master of sounds which sound sub-standard by themselves, but absolutely sit perfectly in the mix with a 7 piece covers band. Nord has not figured this out yet for their AP sounds when used with a single speaker.

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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby daniel70 » 21 Jun 2018, 22:25

If i play mono, i take the right output („Output 2“ in Nord Stage 2) and all pianos that i use sound good. I use Royal, Bright, Amber and Silver. For cutting through the mix in a 15 members loud soul band i use Silver Grand and it cuts!

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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby Nepean » 22 Jun 2018, 13:48

Thanks a lot for the tips. I really appreciate it.

Stereo sound! How have I gone so long without really thinking about stereo vs mono

I tried the Nord again using the DXR-10 and a Bose speaker in stereo, and you're right, things sound a lot better. Wow, big difference. I found getting rid of some of the reverb helps reduce the muddiness a bit. Still not 100% perfect sound, but a lot better.

Would two DXR-10's in stereo on poles be the way to go? NoDirection, why do you suggest selling the Yamaha amp and getting the two QSC 8.2's? What's the advantage of doing that over just using the two DXR-10's?

Thanks again, I really appreciate the advice.
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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby NoDirection » 22 Jun 2018, 15:24

Great that you tried stereo. The reason I suggested QSC over DXR-10 is because I have read reviews from people that I really trust about getting the best piano sound from the speaker. I have tried DXR-10 in stereo myself, but I believe it can be even better with QSC 8.2 - read this blog from one of the users on this forum:
http://chucksblog.typepad.com/late_bloo ... c-k82.html

I also have a SpaceStaion v3 that is great for organ, but not the best for piano...

Good luck with stereo :-)
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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby kirsty » 22 Jun 2018, 20:28

daniel70 wrote:If i play mono, i take the right output („Output 2“ in Nord Stage 2) and all pianos that i use sound good. I use Royal, Bright, Amber and Silver. For cutting through the mix in a 15 members loud soul band i use Silver Grand and it cuts!


Read your comment with interest. Can I ask why you use the right output (2) rather than the Left and Output 1?
Also do you activate the MONO setting on the board itself?

When i play at the jam sessions locally due to the simplicity of their house PA setup I always end up in Mono and although its all for fun i know in my head the sound is suffering compared to a stereo gig.
Is the right output some secret?
Last edited by kirsty on 22 Jun 2018, 20:29, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby baekgaard » 22 Jun 2018, 23:16

The right output favours the right-hand part of the piano somehow (consider it like a mic that is more sensitive to those strings than the bass strings). So if you find you lack clarity in the mid to upper ranges, trying out the right output instead might be a good thing to try out.
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Re: Review one month in and amplification problems

Postby daniel70 » 22 Jun 2018, 23:26

First of all: No, i do not use the mono button. I use the right output, behause it emphasizes the high notes on the piano samples (keys on the right side of the piano) - i like them crisp. I play in bands with a bass player, so the bass notes of the pianos are not so important for me. I‘m not the only one who doesn‘t use the left/„mono“ output, i heard this from other players too.
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