Nord User Forum

Try this to balance your two keyboards.

Start with the Nord since it has a lower output than the Roland. set the Nord master output at 2 or 3 o'clock. This will give you the ability to adjust the volume up if needed. Then adjust your Amp in a similar way. Set the Chanel volume at 3 o'clock and adjust the master volume to get the level that you need. If needed bring up the channel volume.

Once you have the Nord level set, then add the Roland. Start with the roland master output around 70%, then bring up the amp channel level (for the Roland) to balance the two keyboards.

Interesting to read this issue about organ volume. I have posted twice previously about it and was offered suggestions on how to deal with it.
I have tried these suggestions.e.g, save the piano programs at a much lower volume and so on. The bottom line is all these work arounds are
a pain in the neck and I think it is an issue Nord should deal with.The organ volume issue kept me from buying a Electro 5 or 6, after owning a 2 and a 4.
I hope it is something they have worked out when a 7 comes out. I love the Electro but the organ volume issue is very difficult at gigs, even
with the work arounds.

I've owned the following Nord Keyboards

Electro 2, 3, 5 and currently have a Nord Stage 3 compact. I haven't had any difficulty in getting the levels correct. They all vary depending on the piano sample/program and specific organ settings.

There is no specific output volume in any one section that will be correct for all variations of piano and organ settings. Every single one of them has to be considered independently.

But its really not that hard to get them to balance.

Another thing to consider is that drawbar position has a dramatic effect on the volume. It's possible that what people are experiencing as a quiet organ is a result of their programmed drawbar settings. I bet they'd get MUCH more volume if they just yanked all them things out all the way . I think using them to set and vary volume was a more common way to do things when players were sitting at real Hammonds.

On my Electro 3, the organ program has a gain of 10 (i.e. max) and all others are around 5. On my Electro 5, an organ/piano split has a 50/15 volume ratio.

So both is true: the organ is notably quieter AND it is not that hard to balance.

There seem to be different issues handled in one thread: a) the output of the Stage 3 organ is low in comparison to other instruments; b) the organ volume of the Stage 3 is very low in relation to the piano section of the same instrument.

And there seem to be different explications: drawbar settings or headphone adapters. Plus maybe the swell pedal: Is the volume too low if no or the wrong swell pedal is connected?

In any case, I'm attentive, but a bit puzzled about part of the descriptions: on my NS3C, it's absolutely fine to have most organ sections on 10 and piano sections on 7~8. Which is not the same level, but not too far apart. I have to add that I always have a dedicated swell pedal (+ extra control pedal) attached.

To add a bit the Organ output level challenge...

I have found that relative to my other keyboards (e.g., Roland RD300) the overall output level of the NORD organ part is very low. So the organ output levels are not just a Nord Organ Part versus the Nord Piano or Synth Parts. To balance across instruments, I need to run my NORD Electro 6D mains very high and the Roland at about 1/4. (into the same amp or into the PA). This can be "managed" but it is not a practical setup as it leaves very little head room on the NORD and very little floor on the Roland.

Hi,
Hm... puzzling. Some ideas:
Does this happen with headphones as well?
Is this with any program with the organ sound or just a particular one?
Do you have the Level and Master levels both set appropriately?
Do you have an expression pedal that you can try? Set it to Swell and see if that changes anything.
Can you make a recording for others to compare using a particular factory program?

I recently experienced my organ sounds being incredibly quiet. For some time they've been slightly quieter than the piano. When soundchecking I would have master gain set to 12 o'clock for piano and organ I would set to 2 o'clock. A bit of a faff.
Now having experienced the almost complete degradation of the organ sounds I felt I needed to explore further. Interestingly (well to me anyway), the organ volume was fine when connecting an expression pedal in the organ swell.
Having reviewed a number of threads on this forum, and not finding a satisfactory explanation I think I may have stumbled upon something. I racked my brains for what I may have done to trigger this problem and remembered experimenting with a new damper pedal, the Roland DP-10. In the course of trying it out, I recollected accidentally connecting it to the Control Pedal input (someone on a similar thread had suggested this may be a cause), so I got that pedal out again, reconnected it to the control pedal input and experimented with it. Well the default appears to be to act as a volume pedal, disengaged is quiet and volume increasing as you engage it. I depressed the pedal fully and while holding it at this level I switched off the Nord Stage. I removed the Roland pedal from the Control Pedal input and switched my Nord Stage on again...fingers crossed. Well it worked, it appears when the pedal is connected it saves whatever setting is active when you power down, the default being quiet.
I decided to recreate my problem and solution and found it to be the case. So I depressed the pedal to a reasonable volume and switched off, saving this volume.
Now I have an organ that us equally as loud, if not slightly louder than the piano.
Hope this helps anyone experiencing a similar issue

That's weird .... you tried it on your Stage Ex, right? Would be interesting to check if this is true for other Nord Stage like the NS§, can't check it by myself since I do not own a damper pedal with half-damper capabilities