Nord User Forum

[Dave Ferris]

Hi all. I haven't been here in quite some time. I'm seriously looking at the NG. I'm not gigging as much as in the past but I still might take it out for selected Jazz gigs when the load in is easy and the set up space isn't cramped.

I bought the Yamaha AvantGrand N3X back in Feb. and I'm enjoying that. A great instrument in the house in being able to turn the volume down and not drive my wife nuts with my repetitive practicing. My Steinway D still sees the bulk of action in my detached studio from the house.

For gigging I've still been using my seven year old Yamaha CP4. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it- action or electronics. But I sort of have an itch to upgrade after seven years. I was considering both the Yamaha CP88 and even the P-515. The latter is back ordered to the end of the year. The CP88 is available at a premium price through Sweetwater. The playing demos that involve jazz type playing, my style, have left me cold and underwhelmed on the CP88. The piano sounds bright compared to my CP4 and the few times I've played it, the action felt too light.

So that brought me to the NG. I have a very good price on it and it's available for immediate delivery. That in itself almost makes me want to pull the trigger on it.

Perhaps some of you might have seen my threads on piano world and keyboard corner asking about owner feedback. I received a couple of detailed and very helpful reports. But I thought I'd go to the source as they say and see if I can solicit some more opinions. Old timers here might recall me owning the original NP and NP2. I've been out of the loop sample wise since then. Basically wanted to see if owners still feel good about it, would buy it again, or anything else you'd like to add.

Thanks in advance.

[SteveNordP3]

Hi - I bought a NG to upgrade from my Nord Piano 3 - primarily because of the feel of the 3’s Fatar keybed. The Kawai keybed in the NG is a delight to play and while the dimensions of the NG are larger/bulkier for transport, the weight isn’t that much different.

The sound library has a few recent updates - the White Grand (Steinway B) being the most recent and in my view tastiest grand in the portfolio. My experience is with Kurzweils, Yamahas, Rolands, and a one-off Emu with the Coakley piano which was a pretty good sample. The Nord library is to my ears the absolute best of you want a natural recorded piano sound. All others (except the Coakley) are too sanitized for my liking.

I’m very happy with it and would suggest getting your hands on one to feel it for yourself and scroll through the library (White is loaded standard) to see what you think.

Good luck!

[Jerry Huber]

I bought my Nord Grand last summer and am very happy with it. I've been gigging with a Nord Stage 2 since 2011, it does everything I need and was happy with it, too. I used a Stage Classic 88 before that. Although I never had a problem with it, I was concerned with it's age and mileage, I thought I should getting something new. I grew up learning piano on a real grand and always wanted one, but after I left home, didn't have the space or finances to get one in the past. The Grand seemed like it would get me closer. I was impressed with the Kawai action and liked the subdued red appearance and controls hidden from audience view. Sweetwater's 24 month no interest financing was a motivator, too. I had a mediocre upright that I never really liked, but I wanted my sons to learn to play on a real piano.
After having the Grand a few months, and playing it a lot because I enjoyed it so much, the desire for a real grand grew even more. I found a used Yamaha C3 in mint condition at a good price and bought it. Now, I don't play the Nord as much at home, but through headphones (Sennheiser HD600), the Nord sounds better than the C3. Granted, the C3 is not a high end grand by any means, but the physical experience, vibration in the floor, in the keys, etc. is something no digital piano can do in my opinion.
The Grand is heavy at 46 lbs., with the SKB flight case with wheels (must have), together it's close to 75 lbs. I would buy it again, I'm primarily acoustic piano and LH bass working with an acoustic guitar player and occasional drummer. It is expensive, but I've never based a keyboard purchase on what the price is. I viewed it as one of the best out there at the time, but I'm fully aware there's always going to be something better in the future.

[Dave Ferris]

Steve and Jerry, thank you both for the reply.

I'm still considering the NG but have a line on barely used Yamaha YC88 at a very good price.

I haven't been able to locate a NG in Los Angeles to check out again, it's probably been two years since I last played it. There's a part of me that's a tad apprehensive about Nord QC even though this is not a fatar action. Highly wish I could play it again.

[ziozeus]

Hi dave. I went from yamaha p120 to cp5, cp4, kawai mp7se. Leaving the very similar to cp/yc88 action of the cp4 for the kawai one has been a tought transition. Then I had a chance to buy a second hand nord grand and tyred of the kawai sound (expecially of what I heared live) i jumped in (never I would for a fatar action).
Now, both the action and the sound concepts are totally different compared to yamaha's.
Sounds are full with imperfections, to the point to be annoying at times. But for the first time on a digital I prefer the sound from my speakers then from headphones (never would I think this were possible with a digital) and I'm talking two jbl control p2 I use for monitoring myself during gigs and for studying at home. Upright u3 and stainway k132 are work of art samples I used live nicely. Grands are more difficult to digest still searching for my preferred ones. Bright needs tweaking to be more round and soft but can do, white mixed feelings (too much character to be brief) , royal too harsh. Velvet can really be impressive for live jazz 60thies sounding, stainwayD old but still beautifull and well responding to eq maneuvres. All very different. There's no yamaha perfect sound and I'd say I miss that in a way but then I recall it's the first time I like a digital sound so maybe this is the way to go.
I essentially play jazz (b evans kind mostly)
The action is different in the fact that its weight is more about inerthia (hammers role I guess) than about resistance to be pressed. You have less resistance in the very first moment you press the key so you can better control soft playing in my opinion. But when you run on the keyboard the inerthia starts to play and it gives you a good sensation. A grand piano is generally more heavy, but the dynamics have some similarities and the interaction is somehow pleasant to me. The mp7se was graded where the NG is not but I can live with it.
There's limited tweaking options for sound and velocity response (the same is true for the new yamahas thogh) but I bet you will find something that will fits you in the library.
The onboard eq is well designed and pretty effective anyway

[Dave Ferris]

Thanks for your very detailed reply.

So I did locate a Nord Grand to play, actually by accident. When I went to the Guitar Center in Pasadena mainly to check out the Yamaha YC88, they had just un-boxed a brand new NG unit and placed it on one of their shelve tiers they use for displaying keyboards. Fortunately it was at a decent piano playing height for sitting.

Not knowing much about the UI, I just scrolled through the pianos. The White XL came up first. I tried all the other pre-loaded pianos and the White I heard as superior to the rest. Unfortunately though, I did not at all feel comfortable or connect with the action and sound in my style, which is acoustic jazz. In comparison the Yamaha felt and sounded more "right" from my long experience with quality acoustic grand pianos. I don't need the organ of the YC so I would be getting the CP88, if and when I decide to upgrade.

Actually after demoing all the of these keyboards last week, my CP4 is looking and sounding pretty good. I'm most likely to spend the money on upgrading my gigging speakers to the latest generation of RCF TT-08A IIs after returning the QSC K8.2s to the Guitar Center.

I'm thankful I was able to play the NG twice (I played it again yesterday after returning the speakers) after all that time had elapsed since my last playing on it. Now I know it's definitively not for me, as opposed to ordering it through Calistro Music, who doesn't offer a return, and then being stuck with it.

Thanks again to all that wrote a reply.

[harmonizer]

When you tried the Nord Grand at the Guitar Center, did the amplification they provided use a single speaker, or two speakers (to allow you to hear stereo sound)? Most of the Nord AP sounds have a strong preference for stereo amplification. While I have never had the opportunity to use the White Grand AP sound (because it cannot be used on my old Electro 3), I have heard others say that the White Grand works with mono amplification better than most AP sounds. I am wondering if the amplification provided by Guitar Center might have been the reason why the White Grand sounded better to you than the other Nord AP sounds.

[Dave Ferris]

Yes sorry, I forgot to mention I listened to all keyboards with my Sennheiser HD650 phones. I did not at all trust the cr*ppy monitors they use at the GC.

[jimkost2002]

Dave, I just played a YC88 yesterday. I think the action is tighter and more responsive than the CP. It may be worth looking into for you.