Nord User Forum

It's probably still an individual matter. I tend towards Valpurgis' notion as I consider myself a piano man and am coping well with the NS3C action. It's not bad in my eyes, even if it could well be a very little less heavy.

Of course, I don't take the NS3C action for piano keys. Nor use the built-in keys for piano playing. But like it for organ and synth parts. I'm still convinced that this way round (weighted MIDI keyboard for piano playing) is the better compromise.

I don't think that your statement, anotherscott, is realistic that piano keys would "hardly push back at all". Of course they do: through some weight plus the hammer being pushed back from the strings (a moment later). So the keys always come back, and even quicker when hit hard and short. But you are right that this 'pushback' feels very different and obviously softer than the one the springs produce.

My perception on the forum until now is: There are customers who don't like any of the three actions on the Stage 3 versions. But amoung the existing actions, I'd see the SW version as the most loved one, followed by the HA version (until a newer AT strip may have improved the HA feeling lately - someone mentioned that impression). But of course, that perception may be totally wrong.

FZiegler wrote:I don't think that your statement, anotherscott, is realistic that piano keys would "hardly push back at all". Of course they do:

We don't disagree, because "hardly" means they DO. Just, not very much, certainly in comparison to the NS3 Compact. Play a chord on a grand piano, and let your hands just rest on the keys, it's very comfortable, there's not much sense of the keys pushing back against your fingers even though, of course, they will return to the top as soon as you release your fingers. But you can actually let up somewhat on the force you're applying, and the keys will remain fully depressed, until you really let off. On the Nord, you'll feel the keys pushing your fingers back, it takes more force to hold them down... the slightest release of force will see the keys starting to come up. IMO, that makes the Nord more tiring to play, because it's always pushing back at you, much more than a real piano does.

Playing a piano requires much more dynamic control than playing an organ or a synth for triggering a sound on/off. When using a light spring action to trigger percussive sounds like a piano emulation I find it much more difficult to play dynamically and easier to activate unwanted keys when not hitting spot on the key. Spring actions is not ideal for playing piano, the lighter the action the more difficult to be expressive is my experience being mainly a piano player.

Valpurgis wrote:Playing a piano requires much more dynamic control than playing an organ or a synth for triggering a sound on/off. When using a light spring action to trigger percussive sounds like a piano emulation I find it much more difficult to play dynamically and easier to activate unwanted keys when not hitting spot on the key. Spring actions is not ideal for playing piano, the lighter the action the more difficult to be expressive is my experience being mainly a piano player.

Yes to all of that. And the particularly high spring tension Nord uses is, I think, designed to help address the inherent shortcomings of using a spring based action for piano playing (for example, it does make it harder "to activate unwanted keys when not hitting spot on the key"). But it also has the negative side-effect of pushing back quite a bit. There are always compromises.

Keybeds are much like bass drum pedals. Some prople get used to one type and never want re-learn the dynamic feel. I would possibly be happier if the NS3C keybead was a tad bit lighter, but its no deal breaker. One advantage is that i can get excited on stage and still be able to play dynamically, because the action has enough resistance.