Nord User Forum

[GuiliClayder]

As we still don't know what exactly you, GuiliClayder, are looking for, I can't give an advice. In any case, I'm quite sure you are better off if you don't tend to get something that meets all needs together. None of those instruments will.

This...

So I guess I'm looking for something as close to the MP11SE as possible, action wise, but which can be lifted and moved by one person.

[Dave Ferris]

Fwiw, even though the Nord Grand is something like 5 lbs. heavier then the CP88, I find it easier to grasp by myself and move around then the Yamaha.

The front edges of the CP88 are too round, plus the finish feels slick, when grasping it. It doesn't feel secure in my hands/arms like the Yamaha CP4 or Nord.

[SteveNordP3]

As we still don't know what exactly you, GuiliClayder, are looking for, I can't give an advice. In any case, I'm quite sure you are better off if you don't tend to get something that meets all needs together. None of those instruments will.

This...

So I guess I'm looking for something as close to the MP11SE as possible, action wise, but which can be lifted and moved by one person.

Hello GuiliClayder,

The Nord Grand’s Kawai action is very good (as I think you know) and it’s only about 5# heavier than the Piano 3 I used to use. In the Nord padded case ($700 additional bucks - yikes!) it is definitely transportable by one person - I’ve done it. It’s bulkier than a 3, 4, or 5 (especially a 5 with 76 keys obviously) but if you’re looking for an action close to Kawai’s best and something you can move yourself (assuming you’re able to move say 50# or so) the Grand may be perfect for you.

As to key noise, I’m not sure what your threshold is - I used to play a Yamaha C7 acoustic and could beat the tar out of it - it makes some noise naturally. So the Grand’s keybed doesn’t sound noisy to me - the Nord Piano 3 I used to own was much noisier to my ears but it’s possible for people’s mileage to vary on that.

Personal note here: having used the Piano 3 before buying the Grand, I absolutely love the Grand. It just feels amazing to me. And while I played both through a stereo set of Bose L1s, doing so with the Grand BECAUSE of the action is just a complete joy. I miss my Yamaha C7 which we sold when downsizing our house, but honestly, the sounds and feel I get from the Grand with my setup is completely satisfying and inspirational. You should also know I’m not a classical pianist - more stuck in the 70s singer/songwriter genre so I’m not trying to get out of the action things a classically trained pianist may need. I am not qualified to speak to that part of the feel of the keyboard. But you seem to know what you’re looking for…

I’m including a link to a great user review addressing a question similar to yours - and in addition to a very thorough review with pros and cons in its summary, there are some interesting reactions and comments - one of which describes keybed noise being related to the quality of the stand you’re using. And that is a distinct possibility to consider. My Grand is in a piano shell case (I posted a thread on that somewhere here I’ll see if I can find it) and that’s working well for me.

Here’s the article. Good luck in your search!!

https://www.pianodreamers.com/nord-grand-review/

Also - on edit - here’s a link to a thread another Steve posted about a stand he was building for a Nord Grand - I don’t know whether he found anyone to test it yet - and in that thread I shared pics of my setup with the Plan B piano shell stand. Again - good luck!

accessories-and-amplification-f8/feedback-and-testing-of-wooden-nord-stage-piano-grand-stand-t20866.html

[GuiliClayder]

@SteveNordP3 : thanks for your reply !

Watched a review of the MP7SE yesterday, and the guy said something interesting on the RHIII ation :
https://youtu.be/-1qtXYIviC4?t=1577

That's very quiet, indeed, and I don't remember it being that way when playing either the MP7SE or the Grand. Maybe I should give them a try again.
Mind you, if the MP7SE turns out to be not quite noisy as I remember it, and if the same goes for the Grand, it would then come down to the fact of pricing : the Grand almost costs 3 times as much as the MP7SE where I live, so I'll have to ask myself whether I'm willing to pay that much more to basically have access to the Nord sound library.
I mean, the MP7SE is a really good stage piano in its own right. It's basically a lighter brother to the MP11SE.
However, if this Kawai is back in the game, then the choice will be even more difficult.

That's not to say that I have written off the Grand or the Piano 5, but I've just made the choice even more difficult for myself...

[FZiegler]

I like my Nord because of its good sound. But also because of the UI with all those knobs. That's quite different with the Kawais, but in the end it might be just a question of getting accustomed.

[SteveNordP3]

@SteveNordP3 : thanks for your reply !

Watched a review of the MP7SE yesterday, and the guy said something interesting on the RHIII ation :
https://youtu.be/-1qtXYIviC4?t=1577

That's very quiet, indeed, and I don't remember it being that way when playing either the MP7SE or the Grand. Maybe I should give them a try again.
Mind you, if the MP7SE turns out to be not quite noisy as I remember it, and if the same goes for the Grand, it would then come down to the fact of pricing : the Grand almost costs 3 times as much as the MP7SE where I live, so I'll have to ask myself whether I'm willing to pay that much more to basically have access to the Nord sound library.
I mean, the MP7SE is a really good stage piano in its own right. It's basically a lighter brother to the MP11SE.
However, if this Kawai is back in the game, then the choice will be even more difficult.

That's not to say that I have written off the Grand or the Piano 5, but I've just made the choice even more difficult for myself...

You’re very welcome. There are usually a small number of x-factors that weigh in to a decision like this. I’m a fan of knowing WHAT you want to accomplish and WHY then evaluating choices that best match your criteria. For example, for me, the #1 issue was the realism of multiple grand pianos. On a 10 point scale, that’s important at a 10 for me. Feel of the keyboard, transportability, upgradability, cost - all of these become decision criteria points. In my calculus, Nord was the only decision. In your analysis, that newer Kawai MP7 may be the obvious winner. There’s no single wrong or right decision - just one that best addresses your unique criteria.

One other demonstration of criteria and decisions - I do a bit of camping in a travel trailer (or caravan for my friends across the pond) and I had a whole different set of criteria for bringing a piano with me. There I chose an MAudio 88 key midi controller that weighs 13# and takes up just about the space of the keys (VERY small/compact form factor) and use Korg’s Module app with Ivory in-app purchase for my piano sounds. I just don’t see bringing the full Nord setup with me while camping but this alternative set up gets me 90% of the experience for about 10% of the cost of the Nord and it’s easy as pie to carry on the road. I wouldn’t use it for recording or serious playing - but with that criteria, it was worth it to me to make an additional purchase to achieve different objectives.

Good luck in your decision! If you know what you’re trying to accomplish and why, you can’t go wrong!

[GuiliClayder]

Well, you might be right about the MP7SE, it really is a 'transportable' MP11SE, or perhaps as close as I'm going to get.
If that RHIII action turns out to be what I expect of it, the Grand comes into view as well, although I have to admit it comes with a hefty price tag compared to the MP7SE, or even the CP88 or SV2S88 (SV2S88 and CP88 are both around 2150 euros over here, the MP7SE is 1350 euros and the Grand is a whopping 3250 euros !
Yes, it's a Nord, but still, don't know if it's worth the premium price tag...

Will keep you posted !

[GuiliClayder]

I don't seem to be able to edit my posts anymore, strange...

[ziozeus]

I chimed in on jazzrock's thread. I just re-bought the CP88 because of the new os update which allows you to tweak the velocity response on the action, which is my main complaint on the CP88. I like the CFX sound as it is. While the update helps, I still don't feel a world of difference in the basic action.

Yamahas aside, even though I had pretty much written the Nord Grand off, I'm actually considering it again. Yes I'm nuts.

Dave you are not nuts, it's these products that are beaitiful an always incomplete for a nerd audience.
On the grand I would now say... Go for it (now that I own the cp88 and the grand in the same room and am trying them both also connecting them via midi to feel the respective sounds with exchanged actions hehe..)
One thing I can firmly say: not only is the kawai action enableing you to swing your lines and comp at different sound level easily, but also the way the nord throw out the sound regardless of the action is way way more dynamic than the yamaha. It's as if yamaha sampled with an embedded limiter working his way say... 0,5 seconds after the hammer sound is played, expecially in the higher registry, while nord lets the piano throw out all that it can without any postprocessing, at least as far as the dynamic is concerned. And the difference in the power you can throw with the nord when you want it to is huge. And this is what I get and what I need when I play a real acoustic.
Now, I would like the wooden cp88 keys with the kawai graded RHIII mechanics and the nord library with the addiction of a nord revised cfx, c7 and hamburg.
Let's dream.
Meanwhile, I think I will keep the grand.
Should you try the nord again, don't miss the uprights: amber, grand and mellow can really be something in a live context. The amber let your lines shine, I've had some good trio gigs with it, I also had some good gigs with the mellow while the grand upright (yamaha U3) is to be heared to know how good it can behave in a quartet and similar noisy formation.

[sentionaut]

Does anyone know if the MP7SE and MP11SE allow users to upload their own sound samples?