Nord User Forum

[desjouwer]

Hello,

I'm considering buying the Nord Grand and the monitor v2 speakers.
I wonder if there's a button on the Nord so I can record directly and listen to my performance afterwards without any other device?
What could be a reason not to buy this set, without looking at the price?

Thanks in case you can answer my questions.

[FZiegler]

You can use a Nord Grand very well for recording - the sounds are great. It's easily adjustable. But there is no magic button on the instrument. No recording unit or sequencer built in. No bluetooth. No smart app. The memory is only 2 GB which would practically be nothing on a smartphone - but everything is accessible in a moment.

To record either audio or MIDI deserves a cable and another device. Recording is, so to say, outside the core competence of the Grand - which is playing piano rather close to the real thing on a reliable mobile unit.

It's a very interesting instrument, but you should have test played it. There are dozens of "stage pianos" or digital grands on the market and they all have their special skills.

Besides: Welcome to the forum!

[FZiegler]

Thank for answering. You gave me a clear answer. If I see the reviews, the grand would be very good. It's very hard to make a decision.

[desjouwer]

Thank you for explaning. I am not familiar with keyboards and recording. I do know now the difference between MIDI recording and audio recording.
I meant recording the audio recording.
If I understand correctly it's not possible to record audio files with only the Nord Grand.
Now I have investigate what the best solution is to record audio, because I like this keyboard.

[FZiegler]

I'd see four types of gear to feature what you want. They all do the job to convert analog audio (wave forms) into digital audio (distinct data) - in the best case with little noise/hiss. For all those solutions you would have to look that your sound can be forwarded to the speakers and the recording gear at the same time for recording (either use the main out + the phones jack for both monitors and recording unit, split the main-out signal in a mixer with aux outs or forward the sound through the audio interface to the monitors). And you would have to look how to play back your recordings.

a) an audio interface that would connect your Grand to a PC or a tablet/smartphone depending on its connection types; that way you would use a PC or a smartphone to record and save the files (WAV, MP3 etc.). That audio interface should be capable of direct monitoring which means you can hear what you play/record from a monitor that gets the signal forwarded with little or no delay/latency (as the conversion and digital treatment in the PC sometimes takes more than 10 ms - which feels not good when playing);
b) if you use the phones jack on your Grand for recording, you could connect a field recorder (portable audio recorder) that has an unbalanced line-in (the easiest could be a Tascam DR-05X or the like); could be used for recording performances, conferences or natural sounds, too; probably no solution for automatical playback after recording;
c) a small mixing console with built-in AD/DA-converter - it has an USB interface to forward the sound digitally to a PC; much more than you need, but it contains a converter, too (probably only for PC, not for a tablet); that way you could easily open and close the tracks for recording/playing and playback, too;
d) a small mixing console with built-in recording unit (like with an SD card); it's more than you need for that problem - but maybe you have use of it for other reasons, too. It's somewhat b) + c) together in one unit; your phones jack would remain free. I'm not sure if there's one without a certain basic noise for a reasonable price.

Version b) and d) is without the need of a computer while recording - but you'd have to forward the files to one for further handling. Some of them could be able to play your recordings directly or play them back to the monitor input of your Grand (which should not be done while playing and/or recording in order not to create an endless loop). Version a) and c) would do the same handled via your computer.

That's all possibilities I can think of at the moment - one of them would be enough. Maybe, someone has an idea for the easiest and most reliable solution.

You would have to find the right audio level (loudness) for the recordings, and you would have to edit every file, because they all will have some silence mixed with noise in the beginning and the end.

[catosim]

Also, it's possible to record directly to your phone, either via the microphone or the minijack (on the phone) as line-input.
Probably gonna need a TRRS connection if using the last method, but possible.
This way you wont have to purchase additional gear just to get a playback file of you performance.
On the other side, more gear is a good way to learn about DAW and recordings.
Best of luck.

[FZiegler]

Via the microphone of the smart phone, it probably would be mono, right?

There are adapter packs, though, for recording on a smart phone - which I summed up under my point a). That solution would depend on the platform: iPhone or Android. Not very clear from my side, maybe.

[catosim]

Via the microphone of the smart phone, it probably would be mono, right?

There are adapter packs, though, for recording on a smart phone - which I summed up under my point a). That solution would depend on the platform: iPhone or Android. Not very clear from my side, maybe.

I think an adapter is necessary if stereo is needed, and the platform/connection-type of the phone will also matter.
I’m not sure what is needed or wanted, so I guess it’s better to bring in different solutions
If it’s primarily as a kind of “note/sketch-book” the phone would work ok, even in mono.
If more quality recordings are needed, then DAW or a quality recorder (like Zoom, Tascam, etc).