Nord User Forum

Just curious what people's setup is and what has worked and what didn't work for you. I'm really having a lot of trouble getting a good sounding piano or mellotron to come out of my yorkville bloc 100k. They both have such harsh high tones. Anyone use tube amps or mostly solid state? Sup people?

Great topic. I struggled with my Yamaha MOXF8 to get a realistic sound and continue to experiment since moving up to the NE6. The answer for the Yamaha is to have a stereo monitor, but the Nord doesn't seem to be so sensitive to this. The piano will always sound better in stereo, but without setting up a stereo monitor it is working pretty good. So far, I've tried a Behringer 212 (not good for piano or vocal), the Roland KC350 (got an acceptable piano but needed better vocals, moved to a QSC K10 which has much better vocal and good piano (plenty of bottom end from the 10" speaker), but I finally landed on using the ElectroVoice ZLX15P. It gives an acceptable piano with good vocals, but mostly it matches the main speaker we are using so I know what the mains sound like. So far it is working great. Without a stereo monitor setup it is difficult to get the dynamics of some of the effects, but the NE6 piano in mono mode is working great and is much more realistic than the Motif sounds in mono mode. In ear monitors are like sitting in the middle of a 9 foot grand (amazing), but they are not ideal for my situation since I am the only one with in ear monitors. I'll probable end up with a combination of in ears and the EV monitor. Anxious to hear how others are dealing with this.....tony

There's a lot of threads already dealing with amplification... and on the recommendations contained therein, I purchased a Centrepoint Spacestation V.3. I'm very happy with this lightweight amp/speakers and it is great in my bigband situation. I get some extra boost on stage by subbing out of it to the front PA/Speakers. Good clarity paired to either nord piano or nord electro and easy to transport/carry/setup.

twofarmers wrote:I finally landed on using the ElectroVoice ZLX15P. It gives an acceptable piano with good vocals, but mostly it matches the main speaker we are using so I know what the mains sound like. So far it is working great. Without a stereo monitor setup it is difficult to get the dynamics of some of the effects, but the NE6 piano in mono mode is working great and is much more realistic than the Motif sounds in mono mode.

I was just checking that speaker out! My setup uses a submixer where I have an aux out go to one speaker/monitor and the main outs to the FOH. As of now I'm using the yorkville as my aux out speaker/monitor. I was thinking the ZLX15P to replace that. Do you think I could keep the Nord in stereo mode for piano's and use the setup I'm talking about? And does that ZLX produce proper piano sounds at loud volumes (not ridiculously bass-y and smooth upper frequencies)?

AllanH wrote:There's a lot of threads already dealing with amplification... and on the recommendations contained therein, I purchased a Centrepoint Spacestation V.3. I'm very happy with this lightweight amp/speakers and it is great in my bigband situation. I get some extra boost on stage by subbing out of it to the front PA/Speakers. Good clarity paired to either nord piano or nord electro and easy to transport/carry/setup.

Do you play in a rock setup? My band gets pretty loud so anything that might sound good for jazz levels can sometimes sound terrible when pushed to rock volumes.

re. the SS v.3 in a band with the electro ...We have our loud moments with many different big band arrangements ( the most volume I've dialled is just past halfway on the SS and about three-quarters on the nord.).... not tested in a rock band situation... but subbing to a PA really boosts the level.
( I just checked out the EV ZLX15P... and it has way more Horsepower then my little SS V.3 )
cheers,Allan

I use an Electrovoice zx-a1, which is a powered speaker. It produces a very nice & highly accurate acoustic piano sound, and has a second benefit: It weighs only 19 pounds, which is very important to me because I have had 3 back surgeries. Other people use QSC powered speakers and are very happy with them. While I have not done A/B testing, based on the comments of others whose opinions I respect I would guess that you would find a large improvement in moving to either an Electrovoice or QSC powered speaker.

Most of the Nord acoustic piano sounds have a second issue in that they don't sound good when using a single speaker: they really need to be heard in stereo. Several of the grand models sound quirky in the octave from middle C down to the next C below when run in single speaker mode. The Royal Grand is a notable exception - it sounds really nice even when using a single speaker. But I have not figured out how to get it to "cut" in a covers band situation yet.

I currently have a range of gear depending on what the situation might be and what my goals are:

(from bottom to top):
- CPS SS V.3
- QSC K8.2s
- QSC K10s, K12s
- RCF EVOX J8s
- RCF TT08-as
- Fulcrum Acoustic FA12acs

... and a few different RCF subs.

That list doesn't include past equipment (e.g. Bose L1 Model II, Motion Sound, keyboard amps, etc.). Nobody needs that much gear, it's an indulgence of mine. They all have different strengths and weaknesses.

That picture of me on the right was me playing through a pair of super high end FA12acs. Note the big grin on my face.

If you tell us what your situation is and what your goals are, it's pretty easy to narrow things to a few popular choices.

The NE6 has a mono mode that helps a little with the ZLX15P. The Yamaha MOXF8 sounded much worse in mono mode, but Nord seems to have found the right balance for mono monitors. I use the Royal Grand in mono mode and it cuts through the clutter well without the harsh edges. I am using the Behringer XR18 mixer and was using the channel EQ to remove the midrange "honk" of the Yamaha S80 and MOXF8, but the NE6 does not need the EQ and has a much better sound. I expected the QSC K10 to sound much better then the ZLX, but I had them both connected so I could A/B them at home and the ZLX sounded just as good at half the price and weight. In retrospect, maybe the ZLX12P would work as well and take up less stage real estate....tony

Update: tried the zlx12 and hated the sound. The horn is unacceptable. since I need vocals also, the zlx15p is working great.

Update: 10/27/19 After much trial, I reverted to the QSC K10 in stereo. My impression changed when I moved to a live setup. I needed the stereo sound, ZLX15P took up too much real estate and the K10 sound for vocals is much better. Bought everything new, so it was easy to resell and get out without a loss. I read lots of info on monitors that were "just about as good" as the K10, so I spent the bucks on a pair of used K10's and really like the sound. Next option to try may be a Spacestation, but I haven't heard what happens when you try to mix in the vocals.

Actually, i have a HK Audio Lucas 608i that i use as a stereo monitoring. It's compact, very light and powerfull in regard to it size.
It can also be used as an ultra compact PA system in very small locations.