Nord User Forum

[anotherscott]

Minor typo, I'm sure: The Grand does obviously have a piano section, but no organ section

yup, fixed, thanks!

[Quai34]

Craft: "In my case I'm in 4-piece band that covers a wide range of material. So my end goal is to end up with three physical key beds (Weighted, Waterfall and Synth) in as compact a form as I can get. I come from the old school CP70, Hammond, Oberhiem/minimoog days and while I don't want to carry that sort of gear around, I appreciate the versatility having those tools provides. Its mostly the physical key beds that define those instruments and how and what you can play on them. So, in the end I'm back to three keyboards and/or controllers."

Well, I was never able to get that dream set up back in the days so, I made it now.... stage + C2 + Synth(S).... Ok, too much synths but I understand your point, even better, your feelings...

[kbmatson]

I too have come from the days of multiple keyboards of all size - Hammond, Rhodes, CP70, clav, minimoog, several polysynths, etc. I think I was on stage with about 7 or 8 at my peak in the early/mid 80s. As I've gotten older and lazier LOL, I have been quite happy to compromise and have cut down now to just one NS3 Compact - 22lbs of keyboard player dream! Nothing like being able to set up in five minutes and tear down, put it in the bag, and take it home like a guitar player. Do I sometimes miss a weighted 88 for a few songs? - yeah occasionally - two manuals for organ? nah not really? "fast" synth keyboard - not so much - I find the S3 fast enough. My only debate now - for the sake of covering enough synth sounds at once in a new band I'm in - is do I bite the bullet and add my 12 lb Yamaha MX49 to the mix!

[soultrane]

I guess the option would be to wait and check out the Nord Grand's action, but then you're out on the pitch bend, mod wheel, etc, which would make it useful as a controller for VST's.

You'd be out the whole A1 based synth engine, which was originally your biggest motivation for the change! Also the organ, the ability to split/layer more than two sounds, etc.

NS3 = piano, organ, sample playback and VA synth, ext MIDI controller, x2
Grand = only piano, sample playback, x1 - but a better piano action.

I guess the only thing for me to figure out now is, are my gigging days over, or am I going to get out there and start playing live dates again?

If yes to live dates, the NS3 would be a no brainer. Even with the Stage 2 and the Sample Editor I was able to cover most top 40 / R&B situations with one keyboard.

If no, then I have to evaluate how the NS3 stacks up as a purely studio piece. I do use the NS2 in the studio quite a lot... I record the piano sounds (although I do use VST for ultra critical parts) and I find the Nord sounds, when paired with UAD processing (or other good plugs) is very powerful and a lot easier to tweak than most mega gig sample libraries.

I was actually surprised by how much better the samples sounded on the NS3; not sure if it's because they've implemented new fx algorithims but there's definitely a clearer more defined sound. So, it may be a real workhorse in the studio as well....

[stringtapper]

My current "dream" setup would be a NG plus a NS3-SW, but that is twice the price and double the instruments to drag around...

Same here. I'm still wondering if the Compact would fit on the wooden top of the Grand. That definitely seems like a dream setup to me.

[cgrafx]

is do I bite the bullet and add my 12 lb Yamaha MX49 to the mix!

If only my setup concerns were just the addition of 12lbs... lol..

I supply the PA and Lights, so my keyboards are a very minor addition from a weight standpoint. But setup and teardown time is critical so anything that can be done to reduce size, and cabling is important.

Picture is me, my keys our drummer and half the PA system. Our full rig with lights completely fills a ford E350 extended cargo van.

[soultrane]

OK I made the jump... the only thing I can say is that people who don't like the Stage 3 more than the Stage 2 must really REALLY love their Stage 2's.

The keyboard action is different, but it just takes getting used to, it's tough to call one better than the other, it's all just a matter of getting used to it.

The main thing about it is, though, it's a real synth now. As much as I loved my Stage 2, I was always looking for something to pair with it, an Integra, A Virus, something, but those will always leave you thinking "u-He does this better."

I feel that the A1 ends that search... there's so many things you can do as far as layering with the synth and the piano section it's great. The synth has a warm, clear, but vintage sound, I've paired it with that little Behringer D for monosynth duties and it's very very versatile indeed.

Also, the ability to run samples through the A1 makes it more powerful than the A1 itself in some ways. I've been messing around with the new soundbanks, yes it's a whole new instrument in many ways, but I really like the updates. Very happy especially since the price I paid to upgrade would have been about the same as the A1 itself.

Will comment more as I play it more but it's pretty much a beast of a swiss army knife of keyboard sounds now.