Is the Nord Stage EX still worth it?

[malachy27]

My friend is trying to sell me their old Nord Stage Ex 88 (2009). It’s in fully working order as far as I can tell. I’m a jazz pianist primarily looking for quality organ and (E) piano sounds, but would also like to hook it up to Mainstage and Logic to use as a midi keyboard. Assuming I could do this and connect the keyboard to Keyscape etc. to compensate for not being able to use newer Nord sounds with the older keyboard, do you think this model would suit my needs? Also, is £800 for it a good deal? Thanks!

[anotherscott]

It should do what you need, and that price sounds good to me. You could check eBay's "sold" listings to see what they have gone for where you are.

[malachy27]

Are you sure EX-88 is the best keyboard action for your needs - since you are looking for organ and e-piano sounds ? What about a used semi weighted Nord Electro 5D? 61 or 73 - about the same price - better organs, and organ action - better pianos...

[malachy27]

Thanks for replying! As a classically trained jazz pianist I'm used to fully weighted hammer action keys so would probably feel slightly uncomfortable on waterfall/organ-style keys. I'd be worried that I might not be able to get the same expression and clarity, and it would also feel slightly unusual moving from my upright at home to a organ style keyboard... That's not a bad suggestion though. What was most appealing about this Nord Stage EX is how cheap it is - the electros seem to be going for much more online...

[malachy27]

I should also mention that normal high quality piano sounds are definitely my priority.

[superbender]

I should also mention that normal high quality piano sounds are definitely my priority.

In this case the Nord Piano 4 (if you don´t need A/B) or the Nord Piano 5 would be a better choice.

[malachy27]

For your stated needs, I would consider it for that price. One thing to consider however, is that while the Nord Stage EX has some great pianos, any new pianos released by Nord will not be able to be loaded into it. The latest White Grand notes which keyboards are compatible and the Stage EX is not listed. The organ was upgraded with the Stage 2 model, but still covers the Hammond well. Hopefully someone else can add their thoughts on the MIDI capabilities that you also mentioned. Good luck to you.

[Hlaalu]

I'd be worried that I might not be able to get the same expression and clarity

Not knowing your knowledge of organs, there's a chance what I'll say can sound obvious to you. But anyway: expression and clarity are not delivered, in organs, by how you press the keys, in any sense. Velocity doesn't make a difference in any way one can think of.*

If by expression you mean loudness/volume/timbre quality, the expression pedal is in charge of that. With "clarity" I'm not sure what you mean but I guess it's a general term of articulation, legato/staccato, and tone. Again, none of these is controlled by key pressure on the organ.

On the contrary, with a weighted keybed like the one of the NS EX 88 you might end up getting repeated notes when the keys "bounce" a bit and retrigger the first sensor. I sometimes do have that with the NS3 88 if I use its own keybed as opposed to the non-weighted MIDI controller I have specifically for that purpose.

Percussion would also be negatively affected by weighted keys because the split second more that it takes for the key to return up from its depressed position might not reset the percussion circuit, thus losing it on the next key you strike.

Playing organ on weighted keys is certainly "possible" and one could get it used to the point that the result is the same, but it's not like you would "gain" something more from weighted keys as you say.

If it's then just a matter of not wanting to keep switching back and forth between keybeds of different type, then of course it's a different argument...


* On vintage Hammonds and some modern clonewheels, velocity plays a very marginal role in terms of how close you hear each harmonic kick in when you press a key, which is itself part of the key click effect (other parts being the electrical noise that contacts make when they close). No Nord emulate this however, so in Nords velocity is literally irrelevant with respect to organ playing. And it's not even calculated internally (except from being sent over MIDI), since only one of the two sensors is at work for the organ engine.

[harmonizer]

If it cannot use the latest Acoustic Piano sounds from Nord, such as the White Grand, then I would recommend against it.

[malachy27]

I'm coming from classical piano playing. Wasn't too successful, though (Beethoven/Chopin was partially doable for me as a left hander). AFAIK, there's no keyboard on the market that fits perfectly for me for both EP and organ playing. So, I opted for what I thought was closest and went with a Stage 3 Compact. That way I got a great organ board and EP sounds that can be played OK from the built-in keyboard and perfectly from an external second keyboard which I use for acoustic piano, too. It wasn't evident for me at all to play organ on weighted keys.

Apart from the newest piano samples that can't be played on a Stage EX, there is no option to play other samples (strings etc.) in the synth section: It's only a synth, no sample player AFAIK. That feature came with the Stage 2, I think. And you will need to use a converter cable for MIDI as there is no USB-MIDI on the Stage EX. Should work, though.

If you take it, make sure to document well the settings you use most - in case you one day need to switch to another board. Programs can't be imported into a Stage 2/3/4.