Nord User Forum

Hello everybody. First of all, sorry for my poor english and thanks in advice for your attention.

I'm a happy user of an electro 5D 73 for 4 years. I play pop-rock stuff, basic 70-80-90 music.
The main problem for me has been the limit for using two synths sounds at once. I know synth sound is not the strenght of the E5D but is very usefull for me, specially due I,m not an expert programming synth sounds.
I'm considering to buy an A1 for more flexibility on live situations, and additionally to get more 80's synth sounds.
The bad thing about it is to carry 2 keybs instead 1.

What do you thing is better solution? The E5D73 and A1 or an only keyboard like Stage3?

And additional question, stage 3 or stage 3 compact? Main differences? I,ve saw "https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-stage-3/comparison-chart" and less weight and size, 73-key Semi-weighted and the drawbars is a success on compact version. What is the main reason for not going on a compact? (in addition to the number and type of keys).

Greetings from Canary islands.

I had an Electro 5d 73 and also this question. I bought the Nordstage 3 88 keys for two months ago.
I am very happy with this move. (Piano, Hammond and Synth together on one keyboard.)

ok, maximum two synth sound layering but on stage it is enough for me.

I don't use the second keyboard anymore for the slight so I use now one keyboard Nord 3 + Forscre (IPad) on the midi port.

Luis de Paz wrote:What do you thing is better solution? The E5D73 and A1 or an only keyboard like Stage3?

There are a few different questions to consider there:

1) How does the A1 synth compare to the NS3 synth? That's largely answered at post95442.html?hilit=a1#p95442 (though the larger pitch bend range has subsequently been added to the NS3 as well).

2) What are the advantages of having two keyboards instead of 1, that could make it worth the inconvenience? There are a few...
...having a spare. If a keyboard fails at a gig (which can include things other than reliability, like the possibility that someone spills a drink into it, or it gets dropped), you have a backup that you can get through the gig with/
...the ability to have piano-action for piano sounds, organ-action for organ sounds
...more total "real estate" compared to splitting one keyboard, eliminating any concerns about, for example, having enough synth keys for your synth part while also having enough piano keys for your piano part

ETA: One could also benefit from getting the NS3 to combine the Electro/A1 functions into a single board while still adding some other second board for the advantages of having two, thus kind of ending up with the functionality of three boards. For example, the NS3 plus something like a Yamaha MODX gives you Electro and A1 functions AND a bunch of stuff that the Yamaha does better, like strings, brass, etc.

3) What else would you gain or lose switching your piano/organ from the NE5D to the NS3?
...the organ of the Electro 5 has some more adjustable parameters that are missing on the NS3, and the overall approach to assigning keys to sounds is different (on the Electro, you pick a bunch of keys--upper or lower--and assign a sound to theml on the Stage you do the reverse, you pick a sound, and assign a key range to it)
...The NS3 has a lot more EQ and effects capabilities than the Electro, more sample memory, morphing, seamless sound transitions, ability to split/layer two piano sounds, more flexible output routing, much more MIDI functionality, compatibility with the newest (.nsmp3) sample library, better patch navigation (e.g. 5 patch select buttons instead of 4 and a numeric pad mode)

Luis de Paz wrote:And additional question, stage 3 or stage 3 compact? Main differences? I,ve saw "https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-stage-3/comparison-chart" and less weight and size, 73-key Semi-weighted and the drawbars is a success on compact version. What is the main reason for not going on a compact? (in addition to the number and type of keys).

You've covered it all. Compact keys (same kind as on your Electro) are best for organ, worst for piano. The 88 keys are best for piano. The HP keys are in between the two for piano and worst of the three for organ.

One more thought: If you're happy with the Electro 5 except you just wish it had the ability to play two synth sounds at once, you can take advantage of the Electro 5's ability to "send MIDI on Part Upper in KB split mode" to add a second synth sound (either layered with the Nord's, or split above one of the Nord's) by attaching an external synth of some sort... that second synth sound can come from a small module (like a Roland Boutique) or an iPhone/iPad if you have one, allowing you to have two synth sounds without having to bring a second keyboard. (Note that you'd have to call up your external patches from the external device itself rather than from the Nord's own patch select buttons.)

p.s. -- you could combine both approaches... e.g. you could put an iPhone/iPad on the NS3, too, and that would give you up to 4 split/layered synth sounds (2 from the Nord, 2 from the iOS device), and in that case, the Nord's own patch select buttons can recall patches on the iOS device as well, and you also get other NS3 synth advantages on the iOS synths, i.e. pitch stick, mod wheel, aftertouch.

Luis de Paz wrote:What do you thing is better solution? The E5D73 and A1 or an only keyboard like Stage3?

I have the E5D 73 + A1 combo, and faced the same decision as you when I bought the A1. I can't really comment on comparisons with the Stage, but I find this a killer combo for playing live. I'm often playing both boards at once, so I've gotten used to the real estate afforded by 2 keyboards. I have the Nord soft case (with the backpack straps) for the Electro and a Gator TSA 61 for the A1, and I reckon if I really had to I could load in to a gig in one trip. In our rehearsal spaces I have everything set up so I only need to bring the keyboards so it's an easy schlep.

I still sometimes regret not just getting an S3 compact, but the E5d is such a great board, it's hard to let go. And the A1 is a powerful and fun synth.

Having all in one is more convenient when touring a lot and need minimum gear to carry around. Otherwise a second keyboard is more versatile.
Me to, like CountFosco, play with two boards, E4-73 and Wave, it's a perfect combination. I play hard rock / heavy metal stuff and having the ability to load samples on the synth makes it easier to recreate sounds of the 70's and 80's, leaving the electro only for organ and pianos. Sometimes when I need more synths and no organ I use the electro for the less important (pad or strings) and play the most distinctive ones with the wave. The morphing capabilities of it also let me change drastically the same patch in many ways. In some cases I have resampled sounds from the wave and created multi sampled instruments that I use with the electro that has bigger key range.
Have in mind that even if the stage has the same synth engine as A1, however it is not equal to an electro + an A1. The organ, as anotherscot said, has more adjustable parameters on the E5, and the A1 features 4 panels (=4 different synths) when the stage has just 2. Plus more keys in total when having 2 boards.

As brilliant as they are I would never use a Stage3 for my whole rig, if a fault occurred I could lose everything. I always try to to have a range of different manufacturers instruments, with different sound production techniques. So with my Nord E5HP I midi up a Yamaha TX7 with the classic FM EP sound, and have that midied to a Roland module with a classic synth strings patch, on a volume pedal. These modules are quite old but sound amazing for these particular requirements. If a fault occurred on my Electro5 and it had go in for repair I could use a backup board still retaining most of my familiar sounds. I have never had to ditch a gig through faulty equipment, the only negative is increased set up time.