Nord User Forum

[wkrbee]

Hello all. I'm looking to slim down and upgrade. Presently own a E2 and C1. I have been shopping around and notice there are quite a number of "refurbished" Stage 3 boards up on Ebay and elsewhere. I've never had a problem with either of the two Nords I own now. So I'm trying to get a feel about reliability from owners- and you too Pablo.

[alex78]

Hi! although I don't own any recent nord model (both my E4 and wave are relatively old), I have noticed that there are too many posts in this forum regarding software and hardware issues on newer boards.
I can't tell if it's clavia that has dropped the quality for economic or other reasons, or the users that tend to complain more than they did in the past. So this will be an interesting thread to discuss, I guess!

[wkrbee]

From my experience working 25 years for a well known Japanese consumer and Pro Audio company as a Field Service/Sr.Tech, and Service Mgr., NO manufacturer admits there is any issue with any product, mainly because owners panic and immediately start returning units for testing or refunds whether or not there is a problem, and the Service Dept. gets buried with "NTF"- No Trouble Found- units to the detriment of units actually needing repair.

[alex78]

When I contacted Thomann about my "LED ghosting" issue, they incidentally said that Nord boards haven't really a history of failures & complainings from people, like other brands have, and that they generally are very issue-free.

I believe that's true, the number of other brand's instruments being produced is much larger than clavia's so the nord failures in real numbers must be much lower.
I have no problem with mine either, I got the electro second hand and the wave third hand and they work like charm! Regarding the refurbished boards wkrbee is reffering to, I guess they will be out of guarantee so if there is an issue he will not be able to send them back. There is also no way to check them himself, so is it worth to take the risk?

[cphollis]

@wrkbee, as you are in the US your experience is likely to be similar to mine. I never buy audio stuff "new", I always call around for B-stock, returns, refurb whatever. More often than not, I get a like-new unit for many hundreds less.

As far as overall reliability of Stage 3, there were some early issues with an internal connector, easily resolved. I had some "ghosting" issues a bit back which I've written off to garbage power issues. Other than that, the Stage 3 has been a complete joy, worth every penny.

Being a long-time Nord owner, I've had to repair a few boards due to physical damage. All has been reasonable.

Amazing keyboard.

[pablomastodon]

"refurbished" is a somewhat vague term when it is not accompanied by more detailed information. Who is doing the refurbishing?

PLEASE NOTE: the below discussion applies to the US market. There may, or may not, be similar situations in other nations around the world.

When the Winter NAMM trade show is over instruments are packed back into their original boxes and sent back to the US distributor's warehouse where a pro Nord bench tech (they have the only Nord-trained tech staff in the Western Hemisphere) will unpack and examine each instrument, putting it through Quality Control testing. Original factory programming will be loaded (just in case someone at the show "customized" some sounds), after which it will be re-packed and offered to their retail dealer network for resale to the public as a "B-Stock" unit. There are varying levels of B-stock. B-1 is basically in immaculate condition, could be considered new except for the technicality that the box was opened and it was played for a few days. B-2 may show some little signs of wear and tear; perhaps it was bounced around the country for a while for some several demos. B-3 might have dents and dings. B-stock instruments coming from the distributor's warehouse and sold through the official authorized retail dealer network will come with routine warranty coverage against defects in materials or workmanship.

Some retail dealers may acquire used instruments on the open market and have their in-house tech in a back room look it over, perhaps perform some small service to the unit, and declare it to be "refurbished." Some may even stretch the truth and say "factory refurbished." These kinds of instruments are NOT being sent back to Sweden for service or refurbishment. Instruments serviced by AM&S at their warehouse in Southaven, MS, can perhaps be considered to be "factory refurbished," but no other service shop in the US can qualify for this term.

If you are looking at purchasing a refurbished or B-stock instrument, be pro-active in asking the retailer for detailed information about this. They will not have access to background info (what was wrong with it which caused it to be in need of refurb), but they should be able to tell you where it came from, where it was serviced. And they should be able to tell you whether it comes with warranty or not. I would stay away from any such purchase if the dealer will not say, IN WRITING, that it comes with warranty. I would not worry about it if you have written representation that one year warranty is included.

One additional detail about that last statement: if you live in/near a major metro area, warranty service will generally be available locally. If you live in Bummphuk, that will be a different story. Warranty will cover return shipping to you after service, but the cost of shipping to the Service HQ in Southaven, MS, will be on you.

bless, Pablo

[wkrbee]

Thanks for the clarification Pablo. Didn't work NAMM this year. Jim @Tascam