Nord User Forum

Good morning all. New to the forum, and new owner of an Electro 6d73. I play in a rock band mostly for fun with the occasional “party” gig. I’ve read some of the posts about using the Yamaha stagepas for amplification. I currently use a Roland KC 300. It’s ok but I don’t think I’m getting the best sound. There are currently some used stagepas’s on C/L, so wondering if there is any recommendations/ opinions on the stagepas or other amp systems. Any help is appreciated.

Hi David

and a very warm welcome to this wonderful forum of nord enthusiasts. I guess you‘ll get lots of individual recommendations within the next days. I use one of the „column“ PAs, similar system to HK Audio Polar 10. The main thing to look for is, that you‘ll be able to link both the left and the right channel of your nord to get stereo sound which is tremendously important for the pianos.

A Yamaha Stagepas seems at least worth a try.

Cheers, and stay healthy everybody

I wasn't happy with my Stagepas 400.

Maybe, you consult the Amplification FAQ on the forum (accessories-and-amplification-f8/nord-amplification-faq-t16772.html)! In the end, it depends on the sum you want to invest.

I'd guess, if you talk about "best sound", things might start with a pair of QSC CP8 for relatively crisp sound (I only read about them - have the 'bigger' brother QSC K8.2 myself).

If ever you need high quality monitoring on your own.

It finally comes down to how much you are willing to lug around. Keyboardists already are burdened not just with their instrument, but also a keyboard stand and (likely) a bench. So that's three things compared to the one that a guitarist is carrying, before we even get into amplification and gear bags. You basically have three options:

1) Bring a monitor and go into the band's PA system. Five things to truck in (board, stand, bench, gear bag, monitor).

This is the easiest thing to do, and you are guaranteed that your sound will be stereo and FOH will hear it. Downside is you don't have a lot of control over what's happening, except for maybe your monitor if your band is using wireless software for that.

2) Bring your own PA system. Eight things to truck in (board, stand, bench, gear/mixer bag, monitor, two PA speakers, pole bag).

This guarantees you the best sound and the most control. But you are running a second PA system that is competing with the soundboard, and you can get into issues with the sound people or other band members. It's also a ton of stuff to carry in and set up - while everyone else is tuning and noodling, you are unspooling XLR cable and extension cords for power, and then futzing with your personal mixer - which is going to need a stand or table too, yet another thing to carry in.

3) Use an amplifier like a Roland KC or a Fender Twin and put it behind or angled to the side of you to double as a monitor. Amps are powerful enough to push sound to FOH with or without miking. Five things to truck in (board, stand, bench, gear/mike bag, amplifier). You can also use a powered speaker in place of the amplifier, if you want a creamier sound for your acoustic piano samples.

This is a classic setup and gives you a lot of control over your sound. But amplifiers will not give you the best acoustic piano or bass sounds, and powered speakers doubling as floor monitors will get drowned out for the rest of the band and anyone front of house (I don't care what their specs promise), and they must be miked and managed by the sound people.

Bottom line - keyboard amplification in a live band setting is a pain, most "sound guys" don't have chops to mix them properly, and you end up bringing in more equipment than anyone else except an acoustic drummer. It's a continuing struggle for all of us and the only people I've seen on this forum who are truly satisfied are the ones who are essentially running their own PA system - which requires a lot of equipment, sweat, and setup. I wish the news was better

One big decision is whether you feel the need to hear your acoustic piano sounds in stereo (from two speakers). There can also be benefits for the certain EP and organ sounds to hear them in stereo, but it is the acoustic piano sounds where most of us find the biggest difference: many of the Nord-provided acoustic piano sounds suffer quite it a bit if you only hear them from one speaker. Some have said that the White Grand works very well in mono (in single speaker mode). The White Grand sound is not supported on my old Electro 3, so I have not been able to try it myself.

I suggest you find out whether or not you can be happy with your Nord acoustic piano sounds when using a single speaker. Your choice on this point will have a big impact on what amplification you select.

You wrote that you have a Roland KC-300. I have a KC-150, and it is rugged and dependable. It also drove me batty with a harshness centered on the "G" that is 1.5 octaves above middle C. Playing "chucka-chucka" acoustic piano parts like for the chorus of China Grove was painful. My KC-150 is now my backup amp. I use an Electrovoice zx-a1, which sounds so much better and weighs only 19 pounds. Many keyboard players are happy with one of the QSC powered speaker models - there might be more of us using a QSC than are using the zx-a1. For me the low weight of the zx-a1 was the tiebreaker.

As above, it all gets down to (a) how much better you want to sound, (b) what type of situations do you play, (c) how much schlep is ok, and (d) how much do you want to spend?

Going back to the "party band" scenario, you will never sound great because (usually) no one else sounds that great either, with the PA doing only vocals. Assuming it can get a little loud and raucous, I'd bring either (a) my CPS SSv3 [low schlep, stereo, ballsy sound] or (b) a pair of QSC K8.2s (or similar) on short poles behind me [louder, cleaner, but more schlep]. If we were getting paid, probably (b).

From there, it's all about "it depends". A pair of self-powered 8"s can be used in a lot of different situations, so that makes a good "buy one thing and use it everywhere" approach. Smaller acoustic gigs I'd go in a different direction (column speakers with mini line arrays and similar) and if it was a produced stage gig it'd probably be my IEMs.

Sometimes I have to bring a big stage sound because everyone else is bringing a big stage sound, so I can break out all sorts of crazy stuff when that happens -- and ear protection to go with it!

I play piano in a big band and we have various short fast gigs on street festivals, garden parties or christmas markets. etc.. where we need to amplifiy the piano, but without having the time to build up a PA.
Therefore I have a pair of RCF-Art-310-A which are very cheap but the piano sounds incredible naturally over them. They also have the power to prevail agains the sum of brass instruments. With a weight of 12kg each they are not that heavy. The price forr one is around 330 EUR.

In the past my band used to breathe a sigh of relief if the bar had its own PA - now we cringe, because some of that stuff is old and crappy, and the sound boards can be a total mess. Venues with their own PA systems don't prioritize upgrading those systems unless they are like classical music halls - dance floors just want to hear that bass, man.

Anyway, if you don't want to only push your sparkling, beautiful Nord samples into some ancient set of wall speakers that were bought twenty years ago, invest in a decent pair of powered QSCs or something similar and poles. Decent means $$ but they will be worth it.

The most natural amplification for keyboards, especially piano samples in keyboards, unless you're getting into really esoteric stuff, comes from QSC/RCF/EV. The EV stuff is way less expensive.
I've got a pair of Electro Voice ELX-12P's that sound great and have served me well. EV has smaller woofers as well. If I have one negative comment about mine it's that the tweeter coverage isn't very wide, but others might find that a good thing.
It's also about how much power you need, of course. Good luck, this stuff is a PITA.

I play in a rock covers band, with an Electro 5. I use a Yamaha DBR-12 powered PA speaker, laid down on its side next to me, and it's easily powerful enough to hear clearly even though I'm normally set up right next to the drummer. Sound is good. It has different EQ presets, so I normally have it on Monitor which takes some of the bass off. For gigs the Electro 5 goes directly into our PA, in stereo, then I have my own monitor channel through the DBR-12 which I can mix to get the right balance of keyboard, vocals etc. For rehearsals I just go straight into the DBR-12. It works for me - no stereo, but the speaker isn't too heavy and is robust. I've been using it for three years without any problems - that's over 100 gigs.