Valpurgis wrote:anotherscott wrote:
Though sure, it is also missing some NS3 features... most notably:
* the complete VA synth
* aftertouch
* custom sample loading
* more flexible output routing
You forget that the NS3 has two panels, 6 vs 3 sections for the YC. Also think the morphing functions on the NS3 is way more flexible. The restriction to only two audio outputs on the YC also makes it irrelevant as an NS3 rival for someone like me often using a real Leslie with the NS3.
My list of differentiating features was not intended to be exhaustive, and as I said, there is no one-to-one perfect correspondence of features between ANY two boards, so certainly, if you want something that has
exactly the NS3 feature set, there's no option but an NS3. I was just going with things that I thought broadly hit the category, e.g.
1) a lot of front panel immediacy (knobs/sliders/buttons for real-time sound manipulation and ease of programming)
2) a good number of dedicated controls, labeled and laid out logically to do a particular thing (as opposed to more use of generic or assignable controls that do different things at different times, or have to be user-programmed to do those things, etc.)
3) full drawbar organ functionality
4) some typical lead synth functionality (e.g. pitch/mod controls, envelope/filter adjustments, portamento)
5) decent split/layer functionality (things like the ability to put different effects on different sounds, or mix-and-match internal and external sounds)
So I didn't forget that the NS3 has two panels, and it is a bit nicer in that you can play 2 organ sounds, 4 other internal sounds (2 piano and 2 other), and 2 external sounds... but maybe not so dramatically different from the YC, which lets you play 2 organ sounds (upper/lower manual), 2 other internal sounds, and 4 external sounds... it's actually the same number of total sounds. Though yes, since I mentioned that the YC supports 4
external sounds compared to the 2 on the NS3, it's fair to say that NS3 does have the countering advantage of letting you combine 4 rather than 2 non-organ
internal sounds (2 piano and 2 other). Management of split points for these sound combinations differ as well. Nord supports more split points for internal sounds, with varying width, but less flexible placement. YC supports more (and more flexible) split points for external sounds. But we're kind of getting into more and more subtle differences here.
Similarly, yes, morph is WAY more flexible than the YC mod lever. But mod lever does the thing most people most often want the mod control to do... and if you're going to add morph functionality to my broad list of key characteristics above, well, that eliminates everything. In the end, the more detail you get into and the more requirements you create, the more the conclusion turns into that there IS no rival for the NS3. Which is a defensible position, but not necessarily the most helpful one for someone who's asking for boards of a similar general capability and operational approach, which is the perspective I came at this from.
I did list the more flexible output routing for the NS3 as a particularly significant difference, essentially one of my 4 biggest reasons a YC might fail to meet the needs of someone looking at the NS3. Obviously, if that's a feature you need, the YC won't do it. But it's still not a feature
everyone needs. Likewise, there are some people who must have more precisely placed split points as on the YC, but not everyone does. Nothing gives you everything.
The overall point is that I was never trying to say that any of these boards were "better" or "worse" than the NS3, or that they are directly feature matched... but just that they are broadly competitive (based on the kinds of things I mentioned above).
st2ex wrote:I think Korg Kronos to be a real competitive keyboard.
I agree with Analogika... sure, it can accomplish many of the same things you can do on the NS3 (and many others), but the whole operational approach is quite different. Mostly because of my criteria #2 above.
st2ex wrote:Well, as the Kronos has engines for Piano, Synth and Organ, it is a competitive board.
By that criteria, you could also add a number of Kurzweils, the aforementioned Vox and Roland VR09/VR730, maybe some others... I guess it comes down to what lines you draw in terms of what most makes a Stage a Stage.
maxpiano wrote:Maybe we could mention also the recently introduced Viscount Legend70's family as a NS competitor, at least as far as hammer action models are concerned
Without an organ engine, I see that as more a Nord Piano competitor. I'd put that in a category with the Yamaha CP73/CP88 (rather than the YCs), Korg SV2, Crumar Seven.
