Discuss other brands keyboards, synthesizers, modules, software, controllers including how they compare or work with the Nords.

NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby peteques » 15 Nov 2020, 14:57

Hi all,
Ive had my NS3 for about a year now. I bought it for the piano samples as a friend recommended it. But........Ive just seen on youtube someone review the new Korg Nautilus. It seems amazing, has anyone seen it? The piano samples sound great and seem to be many more parameters that you can alter easily - something that poss my Nord doesnt have? Not sure now whether to keep NS3 or trade in. Any thoughts anyone?
Thanks Pete
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NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??


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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby alex78 » 15 Nov 2020, 17:30

it features the same engine with the Kronos indeed, at least that is what they said on a review video I watched the other day. It is actually a stripped down version of Kronos, thus a cheaper one.
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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby baekgaard » 15 Nov 2020, 17:55

The Nord gives you (currently) 12 grand pianos, 12 uprights and 10 electric. You cannot tweak the basic sound of the acoustic pianos, but you can of course apply 3 built-in filters and quite a lot of EQ to make them suit different uses, and you can also adjust a few parameters like sympathetic resonance. For the electric pianos, you have 5 filter-tunings that does a lot to tweak their sound and character, plus of course EQ and whats-not in terms of effects. Between those, I think there are many many options to find something that suits your musical style(s).

Before going all-in on the Nord, I used to have a piano where I could tweak a bunch of settings. The underlying samples were somewhat boring, so you would in fact need to tweak some of the parameters a lot. I spend quite some time doing so, especially on the electric ones, but I never found something that was convincing.

With the Nord, it's like playing a real instrument -- it comes with a full package and each have their own tonal character. I personally find that I can always find a basic sound I like, and tweak it (with filters and EQ and effects) to suit just about any style I need, and I can do so with 30 seconds of adjustment, not hours of tweaking.

YMMV, of course -- but I'd personally rather have a few really good samples than infinite tweakability of somewhat less than stellar material :-)
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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby cphollis » 15 Nov 2020, 19:34

I took a close look at the Nautilus, and (along with MODX and Fantom) they offer a lot of value for the money. I call all of them "preset players" as you're not going to do much sound sculpting in realtime.

The Nautilus, in particular, has a number of arranger features which could be fun, plus it does all the great Kronos sounds that Nords struggle with -- horns, woodwinds, etc. Not a big deal in my gigging bands, although in a studio setting the balance might tip.

There are many other differences (tag @anotherscott for a full explanation), but it's hard to imagine that a Stage 3 is a "wrong" choice. Stepping back, Nord set a high bar with the Stage 3, and it's obvious that competitors have taken notice. The Stage is built around a set of design principles you either agree with, or don't. If you agree with their design principles, there's nothing better in my opinion.

EDIT: btw, I am an acoustic piano sample purist. From my perspective, the only things better than Nord piano samples played through great amplification are 1) multi-gigabyte virtual instruments (not going there, thanks) and 2) something outrageous like a Yamaha AvantGrand.

As mentioned above, Nord gives you a wealth of source pianos which can be shaped and layered to your heart's content :)
Last edited by cphollis on 15 Nov 2020, 19:40, edited 1 time in total.
I think I have gear issues ....
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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby Schorsch » 15 Nov 2020, 23:48

Pete - one question: does the NS3 satisfy you in what you do and need? If the answer is “Yes” there is nothing to worry about, if the answer is “No” you should look for alternatives, it’s as simple as that. I think nothing else should drive your decisions, and questioning your current gear because of something that’s been advertised as new and potentially better in one specific way is not what should have you doubt about the Nord
Last edited by Schorsch on 15 Nov 2020, 23:48, edited 1 time in total.
Regards Schorsch

Want to convert programs between NS2 and NS3?
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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby Nord33 » 23 Nov 2020, 19:54

Well, let's make it this way:

There are plenty of different keyboards out there. Many of them share some features, but every single of them is unique. Most important thing is that every musician has it's own needs and not only needs but wishes and preferences.
I don't own Nord unfortunately, yet. But I hope I will some time soon, finally. For my needs, workstation would be the go for keyboard, for making my own music quick and easy, but for my live sessions, church and so on... Nord is the one and only to go (in my opinion).

So to finally get to the point I wanted to say: there can be many keyboards that can share some important features that matter to you, but there is a catch, there must be something that you need more from one keyboard than the other. So if sound quality of new Nautilus is great (and I'm sure it is), probably piano sound can be very close to Nord's one or the same for example, but don't forget that Nord is keyboard made for live playing. Nord will give you something that no other keyboard can give you in such way. It's up to you what you need for you keyboard. If that's live playing, I would say stay with Nord because sound difference can't be so drastic. Nord is top class keyboard and has one of the best piano samples and more... think twice before you decide.

Sorry for long comment, I hope I helped somehow.

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Re: NS3 - did I buy the wrong thing??

Postby alex78 » 23 Nov 2020, 20:38

Exactly that. Ferrari is one of the most expensive and fast cars out there, even if I had the money I would n't buy one to go for safari!

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