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Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby mstahbee » 17 Jul 2018, 17:21

My local music store has the NP4 in stock, priced at 2600 EUR (3000 USD). They have also priced down the NP3 to 2000 EUR (2300 USD). I have played the NP4 and was really impressed. The NP3 however had to be ordered, so I was not able to try them both out and compare.

Being someone who does not have a lot of money, the price difference is very important to me. I thought getting the NP3 with a discount was a great idea, but having read about the knocking noise issues of the NP3, I am not so sure anymore. Most of the new features of the NP4 don't really matter to me (crossfade split, seamless transitions, etc). The only thing that could interest me would be the higher polyphony, alas I haven't been able to test that in the store.

Is the knocking noise still something to be worried about? Is the lower polyphony of the NP3 noticeable?

I would be glad to hear your personal opinions or recommendations.
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Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4


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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby jefsco » 17 Jul 2018, 23:23

there has been plenty of discussion you could review regarding the knocking issue, but suffice to say it would not be a reason to purchase a piano4 over a later model piano3.
some have specified serial number pd11184 as being when the issue was addressed by clavia, though i have not seen any official statement from clavia/nord.
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby Sprenzy » 18 Jul 2018, 19:46

is this only in europe? the nord price decreasing?

I checked sweet water and amazon but they are still 3000usd and the nord piano 4 is still for preorder (in sweetwater)

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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby jefsco » 18 Jul 2018, 20:16

Sprenzy wrote:is this only in europe? the nord price decreasing?
I checked sweet water and amazon but they are still 3000usd and the nord piano 4 is still for preorder (in sweetwater)


piano4 is supposed to debut ‘late summer’ in the usa.
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby mstahbee » 19 Jul 2018, 21:09

I have finally found a music store nearby which has the NP3 on display, so I tried it.

Seems like the 40 voice polyphony for piano is more than enough. I could not hear the limit being reached, even when playing more complex pieces with a lot of sustain and reverb. For the sample synth section however it is quite easy to hit the 15 voice limit. I don't mind though, because most synth samples sound horrible when so many notes are sounding at the same time (especially when sustained). So in practice I don't think you would hit the 15 voice limit that often.

The music store gives 5 years of warranty on it, so I guess that solves my worries about any possible keys with knocking noise.
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby mstahbee » 19 Jul 2018, 21:15

I have finally found a music store nearby which has the NP3 on display, so I tried it.

Seems like the piano polyphony of 40 voices is enough. I couldn't audibly reach the limit, even when playing more complex pieces and using a lot of sustain. For the sample synth section however the 15 voice limit is quite easy to reach. I don't really mind though, because at that point most synth samples sound horrible due to so many notes sounding at the same time (especially when sustained or when they have very long release time). So in practice I don't think you would reach that limit very often.

The music store also gives 5 years of warranty on it, so I guess that solves my worries of any possible keys with knocking noise.
Last edited by mstahbee on 19 Jul 2018, 21:16, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby varignet » 26 Jul 2018, 10:45

I'm in a similar situation and was considering a new nord piano 3. I was wondering is the action the same as the nord piano 4 or has nord updated it (i.e. new felt padding etc)?
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby jefsco » 26 Jul 2018, 15:39

varignet wrote:I'm in a similar situation and was considering a new nord piano 3. I was wondering is the action the same as the nord piano 4 or has nord updated it (i.e. new felt padding etc)?

action is the same fatar tp40h.
no indications that nord has changed the pad used successfully in the later piano3.
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby varignet » 25 Aug 2018, 21:02

I have a dilemma:
I'm interested in either getting a nord piano3 or stage3. the stage3 is 300£ cheaper than when it came out. Also the np4 is preordering at £2350 whereas the ns388 is currently on sale at £2730. It's just a 400£ difference in price.
So I can't justify the np4 price tag compared to the np3.

So I have a nord lead 1 which I like (except for the lack of a display). I also just found a good deal on a new nord piano 3 at £1699.

I have no rush to purchase the np3 however stocks are disappearing and I can't see the price of the np4 justifiable. So I'm torn between:
-selling my nla1 and getting in the near future a new nord stage 3 88
-getting a np3 now

regarding keybeds I've owned a stage2 ex 88 for a while and tolerated the piano action but didn't love it. On the other hands I enjoyed the convenience of having a synth engine. And would rarely if never use the organ engine.
What are your thoughts?
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Re: Buying a new NP3 vs. NP4

Postby Mr_-G- » 25 Aug 2018, 21:37

I would get the NS3, but you really should go to a shop and test them to make sure that you get what you like and not what I like. :angel:
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