Nord User Forum

[AlexTognam]

Hello all,

I am about to buy my first Nord, namely the Stage 3 88 HA. I currently owned a Roland RD-300NX, so that will be a big improvement. I have couple questions regarding my future setup and how to best optimize my purchase.

Not knowing a lot about midi keyboard controller, I have learned a good amount reading online. I would like to use a second keyboard/midi controller for organ, synth, and potentially clav that would play the sound of the NS3. I would keep piano an EP sounds on the NS3. I am thinking 49 or 61 keys with waterfall keybed for the midi controller to best represent the feel of an organ. What are some of the best midi controller for such use as of late 2018? Some criteria are to have all 9 faders and to be able to pitch bend and other expression controls.

The thought crossed my mind of not selling my RD300NX, but just getting a 76 NS3 and using my RD300NX to control the NS3 for piano sound as I like the action on the 300NX. But I would dislike having to always bring 2 keyboards to have nice acoustic piano sound when I could have all in 1 with the 88 HA NS3.

Another question I have is whether it is possible to save Nord patches and use them on the midi controller without having it connected to the NS3? I understand that would remove all the effects control. My use for that would be to not have to carry the 88 NS3 to band practice all the time but just bringing the lightweight midi controller with all those great Nord sounds. What do you all recommend for that?

Thank you

[ndaustin]

Wait until the NS3 operating system works properly with an external midi controller. It's currently having some major teething problems. I'm hoping Nord will have it fixed within a few days, but they have been in production for many months so no guarantees. If it's not fixed within a few days I'm sending mine back.

Re your last question, it's impossible to store Nord or any other keyboards own sounds on a midi controller, though some keyboards that incorporate their own proprietary sounds may be used as midi controllers also.

[AlexTognam]

They will probably fix that soon. I’ll wait like you said, but besides that, I am still interested in some midi controller suggestions?

[anotherscott]

The best controller for you migh be the Numa Organ 2, which is a self-contained organ that also works as a controller. It's bigger than you want (73 keys) but still not too heavy, nor overly expensive, and it has waterfall keys (particularly good feeling ones, actually), pitch and mod wheels, 9 drawbars. Plus you might even find you like its organ sound better than Nord's. As ndaustin said, you can't play your Nord sounds without bringing your Nord (no matter what else you buy), but for rehearsals, it would at least have an organ sound you can use, and if need be, you could hook it up to (for example) an iPhone or iPad to get other sounds out of it as well. The main issue is that the 9 drawbars are not MIDI-definable so, if you want to use them to control the Nord's organ sound, you'd probably have to remap them, which you should be able to do with something like a MIDI Solutions Event Processor (or an iOS app). But I'd be inclined to just use the Numa's own organ sounds.

To my memory, there are currently no single-manual soundless controllers with waterfall keys, nor other 49 or 61 key keyboards that have waterfall keys and pitch bend controller. The GSI DMC-122 does it but it has two manuals and is a lot bigger and heavier to deal with, and is not designed to stack.

You'll have numerous other options if you give up on waterfall keys, which, honestly, I don't find a big deal... the important thing for organ is that they are not hammer action, but the actual waterfall shape is not crucial, there were even real Hammond tonewheel organs that didn't have waterfall keys. That said, regardless of key shape, some controllers have much nicer feeling actions than others.

Another option is to bring a board that does what you want, but also has a lot of other sounds in it (not just organ like the Numa), not only so that you can more easily use it by itself as a lighter weight rehearsal board, but also to supply additional sounds to use in conjunction with the Nord's, in areas where the Nord's sounds are not always the best (things like strings, horns, winds). A Kurzweil Artis 7 or Korg Kronos 61 could work well then. They also have their own organ sounds, but their sliders are MIDI mappable so they should be able to directly control the Nord's organ as well. (ETA: Vox Continental might also work, if you're okay with touch sliders, though this is another case where you would have to use some other device to remap the MIDI.)

For an inexpensive, lightweight, soundless controller with 9 sliders, the Samson Graphite 49 has an above average feel and is very low-priced. Behringer Motor 49/61 has motorized sliders which could be interesting in some contexts... it might be possible to program the Behringer to call up Nord organs drawbar-by-drawbar (as opposed to sending program changes), in which case the drawbars might always be in the "right" position. I don't know, but maybe.

[Schorsch]

I would keep the Roland RD300NX and buy a Nord Stage 3 Compact, to play the piano sounds of the Nord from the Roland keybed and play organ/synth from the NS3 Compact waterfall keybed

[Murphy]

I would keep the Roland RD300NX and buy a Nord Stage 3 Compact, to play the piano sounds of the Nord from the Roland keybed and play organ/synth from the NS3 Compact waterfall keybed

I agree wholeheartedly, this is a great solution. The Roland has a robust key bed that should last thousands of hours. If the Roland is too heavy to continue to lug, the StudioLogic SL73 or SL88 would be a lighter and very good solution too.

[AlexTognam]

I would keep the Roland RD300NX and buy a Nord Stage 3 Compact, to play the piano sounds of the Nord from the Roland keybed and play organ/synth from the NS3 Compact waterfall keybed

The RD-300NX definitely has a robust keybed and a good feel to it. I have been playing it for 3 years now after being disappointed with the feel of the Korg SV1.
It is definitely a good option to keep it and just get the NS3 Compact. But I hate to have to bring both keys to get the nice Nord Piano and EP sounds. I often play in a Jazz setting and that's where that option fails for me as I envisioned just bringing one 88HA keyboard. I would hate to get the expensive an amazing NS3 and not bringing to Jazz gigs because that's not a HA feel.
But getting the NS3 Compact is the best option for home use and the rock/jam band rehearsal that I am with as well. For the rock/jam band gigs, I don't mind bringing both keys as that's the perfect setup.

That's why I envisioned getting the NS3 88 HA with a not too expensive midi controller. Also, note that it is the RD-300NX that I have, not the high up models like the 700NX, 800NX, or the 2000NX. Still really a good keyboard though.

Would I be able to put effects and change them on the fly on the NS3 and have that be heard through the midi controller?

Also, it seems that I am restricting my choices by wanting a waterfall keybed on the midi controller - maybe another option is to just get a semi-weighted or synth kind of feel. I am open to these options as well.

[anotherscott]

Would I be able to put effects and change them on the fly on the NS3 and have that be heard through the midi controller?

Controllers make no sounds, so you don't hear anything through them. You'd be using the controller as an extra set of keys to trigger the Nord sounds, which, as always, will come out of the Nord, and its effects will work regardless of whether you are triggering those sounds from the Nord's own keys or from some other set of keys.

[AlexTognam]

Would I be able to put effects and change them on the fly on the NS3 and have that be heard through the midi controller?

Controllers make no sounds, so you don't hear anything through them. You'd be using the controller as an extra set of keys to trigger the Nord sounds, which, as always, will come out of the Nord, and its effects will work regardless of whether you are triggering those sounds from the Nord's own keys or from some other set of keys.

Yes, I meant the nord would translate the effects to the midi controller.
It sounds a lot that I just need a decent midi controller with drawbars, pitch bend and mod wheel. Any suggestions beside the Numa Organ 2 that is outside my budget (as I will spend all of it on the NS3 haha).

[dfresh25]

I have the NS3 compact. I use it for almost all my gigs unless I am doing a jazz gig with almost exclusively piano, then I use a Yamaha p105 which is weighted 88 keys. I think this is a pretty good solution.

However, like you, I wanted to use those nice pianos from the NS3. So I recently picked up a Roland A88. It may have the exact same keybed as your Roland. Its quite nice, only 35lbs and very slim. I think you could get away with bringing both to a jazz gig because they are very low profile keyboards, especially if you stack them.

So consider the Roland A88 as an option! Part of the selling point for me were the Keyscape videos which this Roland is used in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VlZ3OiRReM

I haven't gigged with the Roland/Nord combo yet, but I will be doing so soon.