Nord User Forum

I've been posting in other threads about the action and merits of the Electro 6HP.

I played one today for at least an hour and also compared it with other keyboards.

Unfortunately, for me, the action is just too rigid.
People have spoken about it 'wearing in' and becoming looser or lighter with time.

I wouldn't call the HP action slow or unresponsive. Repeated notes aren't too difficult.

It's literally the down weight required to get a note to sound. I kept playing trying to talk myself out of the issue but I can't deny too large a problem to overcome.

As a pianist, the action/touch is of paramount importance. In essence, you are better served to have a great action and an average sample.

Obviously, the goal is to have a great action and a great sample. I feel Nord have achieved half of the job.

The price is premium. In Australia I am looking at $3500 minimum. To spend that kind of money I must be at least 90% comfortable.

I wait to see what action Nord puts in the Electro 7HP.

The Piano 4 action had a better relationship with the piano sound but Im not going to buy one of those. No value there.

I honestly think Nord needs to re-think the Fatar action they are using for the HP keyboards.

I'm a highly experienced professional and I've never come across a piano action or electric piano (Rhodes) that's anything like the HP action.

If I had measured the down-weight and compared it to a Yamaha C3 or Fender Rhodes it would be many grams heavier down-weight.

Of course down-weight is not the full story. The up-weight needs to be considered as well as the interaction with the sample.

I managed to have a better relationship with the Yamaha CP73 action. Whilst still not ideal, the action is playable for me and I think I have a much better chance of adapting to it.

Nord is a premium product. I consider their sounds to be premium quality. However, their keyboard actions are not.

Now, I will probably purchase the Yamaha and wait to see what Nord does with the Electro 7. My hunch is that they will use the same action and just add more memory and possibly extra functionality.

Nord must learn that the number one concern for any player is the place they touch the instrument. That is the keyboard.

You need to do what works for you. The best we can give you is our individual experiences and subjective input. What works for some won’t work for others, and I don’t think there is a single ideal solution that satisfies everyone.

Best of luck on your decision.

I also own a Nord Electro 6 HP, and totally agree that the action is no good. I only keep the keyboard because I like the light weight. At home I prefer HA action on my Nord Stage. But I have read that the new TP/110 is much better than TP/100 used by Nord HP now. Maybe the next Nord Stage 3 EX and Nord Electro 7 HP ships with Fatar TP/110 ?

luts1976 wrote:As a pianist, the action/touch is of paramount importance. In essence, you are better served to have a great action and an average sample.

yes, since you can always upgrade the sound (e.g. by connecting to an external sound module, iPad, or laptop) but the action is always what it is.

luts1976 wrote:Obviously, the goal is to have a great action and a great sample. I feel Nord have achieved half of the job.

The HP action (TP-100) was specifically designed to be light to carry around. The 6HP is 25 lbs. That's it's big virtue over many other hammer action designs.

luts1976 wrote:I honestly think Nord needs to re-think the Fatar action they are using for the HP keyboards.

There aren't a lot of options available to Nord if they want to keep travel weight down. Hopefully the new Fatar TP-110 will help address that.

The funny thing is, I've played the TP100 in different boards, and while it's never one of my favorite actions, I'm okay with some of them, and hate others. I don't know how much of that may be actual differences in the action (I mentioned elsewhere that Fatar seems to have made some changes over time), vs. difference in other elements of the board (the physical mounting of the action into the chassis, the software for doing the velocity mapping, whatever). I haven't actually played the 6HP, though.

luts1976 wrote:I managed to have a better relationship with the Yamaha CP73 action. Whilst still not ideal, the action is playable for me and I think I have a much better chance of adapting to it.

I really disliked the CP73 when I first played one, it felt kind of "dead." But I just got a YC73 (same action) and did the new software update which gives you a lot more control over its velocity response (similar to an update that came out for the CP a while back), and it really came alive.

I think its a subjective topic.

I've come from three previous Nord boards with HP action and got on very well with the playing experience on all of them. I think the action to sound was very precise and controlled. My only criticism is that it doesnt feel very robust over time and a few keys developed unwelcome clacks after more usage but was nevertheless always a joy to play for me.

Interestingly I bought a Piano 5 73 a few months ago which has the HA keybed. In the shop it felt a much more substantial action. Much quieter and posher feeling. I had wanted an upgrade in features from the Electro 5HP that it replaced however I have to say I'm really struggling to get along with the action to sound connection in the same way I did with the HP. Yes the action feels heavier and smoother but I'm not finding it as enjoyable to play as the HP action - kind of wishing I bought a Stage 3 76HP instead now.

Digital piano actions are of course a huge compromise vs a real acoustic action so you can only expect so much I think. That said some acoustic grand actions are incredibly heavy and others are very light so it would be unfair to judge on key weight. The light touch was the reason I chose my particular acoustic grand and its easier to play for me than the Piano 5 HP action. Figure that out