Nord User Forum

Worst thing is I didn't get a Nord Stage 3 sooner.

elsongs wrote:Four complaints about the NS3:

1. Weak clavinet sounds
2. Not enough onboard RAM to load *any* soundsets in the Nord library
3. Lack of Auto-Wah filter effect found in Electro 2
4. No one makes a case for the NS3HA88 that can fit in the backseat of my car.

5. No audio over usb
6. Not possible to make velocity-layered patches with different samples per key

Don't have the Nord, but I guess the one-knob dialing of the piano sounds must be a bummer

elsongs wrote:Four complaints about the NS3:

1. Weak clavinet sounds
2. Not enough onboard RAM to load *any* soundsets in the Nord library
3. Lack of Auto-Wah filter effect found in Electro 2
4. No one makes a case for the NS3HA88 that can fit in the backseat of my car.

Please forgive my input here, however I'd like to address these points carefully...

1: Clavinet sounds do need some calibration to get them to sound "ideal" but in their basic settings I would agree that they need a bit more charm.
2: I agree with regards both Piano Sample RAM and Instrument Sample RAM, this does need to be improved upon. 2GB for the piano module is rather poor, as an example, if you wanted to load XXL editions of certain pianos, others would have to go or be substituted with lower spec samples, that's not exactly a good thing. I'd say at least 3GB would cover a fair bit, 4GB would be the absolute ideal but that's expensive stuff. Instrument sample RAM should be at least 1GB as I too use a lot of instrument sample data.
3: Yes, I'd agree here but we can't always have what we want.
4: The only viable way of transporting your stage 3 in a case is to get an aluminium custom case with dimensions just a touch over inside with hard foam lining and wheels profiled under the case with foot stops if wheeling the case around.

I'd also like to add a couple of matters here...

5: No USB Audio / MIDI, this would help a lot in certain scenarios where taking an audio interface on a session can be annoying, to have Audio / MIDI over USB would help a fair bit.
6: The synthesis engine though useful in many ways, could benefit from merging both the Nord Lead 4 and Lead A1 together to offer full functionality of both.

I've owned various Nord rigs over the years, my previous studio was full of virtually every Nord synth and stage piano because I trusted their equipment, still do. I'm getting back on my feet after a very difficult time and on Monday of next week, will be taking on a replacement Stage 3-88 and Nord Grand, along with the Piano Monitors, thanks to an amazing supporter through a charity grant.

Some things we do need to consider here...

Sampling via Nord Sound Editor, alongside the handling of the actual sampler engine supporting one velocity map, this does need to be addressed as there are a number of circumstances where a particular sampled instrument would benefit a multi-sampled velocity specification. We could also do with Nord Sound Editor giving us the ability to create our own piano libraries including digital piano / hybrid instruments. After all, let's get this to brass tacks, this is basically a mellotron on steroids with a synth and organ setup added.

LewTheKeysGuy wrote:...

1: Clavinet sounds do need some calibration to get them to sound "ideal" but in their basic settings I would agree that they need a bit more charm.
2: I agree with regards both Piano Sample RAM and Instrument Sample RAM, this does need to be improved upon. 2GB for the piano module is rather poor, as an example, if you wanted to load XXL editions of certain pianos, others would have to go or be substituted with lower spec samples, that's not exactly a good thing. I'd say at least 3GB would cover a fair bit, 4GB would be the absolute ideal but that's expensive stuff. Instrument sample RAM should be at least 1GB as I too use a lot of instrument sample data.
3: Yes, I'd agree here but we can't always have what we want.
4: The only viable way of transporting your stage 3 in a case is to get an aluminium custom case with dimensions just a touch over inside with hard foam lining and wheels profiled under the case with foot stops if wheeling the case around.

I'd also like to add a couple of matters here...

5: No USB Audio / MIDI, this would help a lot in certain scenarios where taking an audio interface on a session can be annoying, to have Audio / MIDI over USB would help a fair bit.
6: The synthesis engine though useful in many ways, could benefit from merging both the Nord Lead 4 and Lead A1 together to offer full functionality of both.

I've owned various Nord rigs over the years, my previous studio was full of virtually every Nord synth and stage piano because I trusted their equipment, still do. I'm getting back on my feet after a very difficult time and on Monday of next week, will be taking on a replacement Stage 3-88 and Nord Grand, along with the Piano Monitors, thanks to an amazing supporter through a charity grant.

Some things we do need to consider here...

Sampling via Nord Sound Editor, alongside the handling of the actual sampler engine supporting one velocity map, this does need to be addressed as there are a number of circumstances where a particular sampled instrument would benefit a multi-sampled velocity specification. We could also do with Nord Sound Editor giving us the ability to create our own piano libraries including digital piano / hybrid instruments. After all, let's get this to brass tacks, this is basically a mellotron on steroids with a synth and organ setup added.

Agreed
Politely put!

LewTheKeysGuy wrote:5: No USB Audio / MIDI, this would help a lot in certain scenarios where taking an audio interface on a session can be annoying, to have Audio / MIDI over USB would help a fair bit.

I'm just getting my DAW set up, been taking it slow and learning a lot. Could someone please confirm, the Nord Stage 3 MIDI is only through the actual MIDI ports?

It's not also available via the USB?

I just haven't gotten to the point where I could plug it in. Somehow I got the impression that there were both actual MIDI ports and it did USB-MIDI.

Nords have all supported MIDI over USB for many years now.

- Samples in sampling section, except some strings and some winds maybe....are really very poor. NS 3 worst point. No doubt for me.
Just one layer you can hear on most of them, so there's no dynamics, no expression. Guitars and basses for example are very dissaponting. Korg M1 guitars and basses (from 80s...) sounds much better.
- Very poor RAM space on piano and sampling sections, and even worse you CANNOT expand it!
- CP80 deserved better sampling, it's not XL, it's in SMALL format...
- I don't like how ALL piano programs sounds/reacts in the higher section (maybe highest octave, or octave and 1/2..). There's no really FForte samplings when you press very hard. It happens on all acoustic and electric pianos.
- You don't have some relevant programable parameters on effects sections. Like reverb time, reverb pre delay, or phaser stages, or auto pan waveforms, etc..Anyway the effects quality is very nice and there are lots of variety.
- There's no way to invert the keyboard pitch, or play another scales than the equal temperated
- Broadly, I think NS 3 should have more expressive tools. Like an interesting matrix modulation, a ribbon controller, etc...
All this is just my humble opinion
regards

Claucar wrote:- Samples in sampling section, except some strings and some winds maybe....are really very poor. NS 3 worst point. No doubt for me.
Just one layer you can hear on most of them, so there's no dynamics, no expression. Guitars and basses for example are very dissaponting. Korg M1 guitars and basses (from 80s...) sounds much better.
- Very poor RAM space on piano and sampling sections, and even worse you CANNOT expand it!
- CP80 deserved better sampling, it's not XL, it's in SMALL format...
- I don't like how ALL piano programs sounds/reacts in the higher section (maybe highest octave, or octave and 1/2..). There's no really FForte samplings when you press very hard. It happens on all acoustic and electric pianos.
- You don't have some relevant programable parameters on effects sections. Like reverb time, reverb pre delay, or phaser stages, or auto pan waveforms, etc..Anyway the effects quality is very nice and there are lots of variety.
- There's no way to invert the keyboard pitch, or play another scales than the equal temperated
- Broadly, I think NS 3 should have more expressive tools. Like an interesting matrix modulation, a ribbon controller, etc...
All this is just my humble opinion
regards

The orchestral samples are, in many cases, reasonably usable... but I definitely agree that there is something strange going on in the upper register of the piano samples, and for me it is particularly pronounced on the XL grand pianos. The Imperial and 3D seem to have disproportionately short decay/sustain even with the sustain pedal pressed - they just don't ring out properly. So far, I have got around that by using the Silver or Bright Grand if I have to do a piano solo using the top octave and a half. But this is quite a serious problem for a keyboard that I spent more than 3 times more than my last, which has a more resonant piano sound across the entire keyboard.