Nord User Forum

Sweetwater has been advertising the Nord Stage 3 Compact 73 for $3499- like everybody else- with the disclaimer." Only at this price until 4/1/23." I'm kinda getting the vib that maybe Clavia will drop MAP on the Stage 3 to sell off the rest of their Stage 3 line. Thoughts/opinions? Also a lot of the Nord dealers have "open box/repackaged/customer returns at a lower price, but I don't want to buy a returned item that will have no factory warranty if there are defects not apparent when purchased. Anyone bought Nord refurbished units?

I keep watching the Sweetwater site. I find they seem to put a lot of NS3 Compact 'demos' on the site on Mondays and Tuesdays. The going price is $3149 for a demo in pristine condition with a 2-year warranty. I'm holding off purchasing to see what happens in April with NAMM and prices. Not sure if they will go down more, but I'm not in a hurry. I'm still leaning towards an Electro 6 for my needs, but if prices of the NS3 Compact keep coming down, it will be hard not to pick one up.

gtholden wrote:I keep watching the Sweetwater site. I find they seem to put a lot of NS3 Compact 'demos' on the site on Mondays and Tuesdays. The going price is $3149 for a demo in pristine condition with a 2-year warranty. I'm holding off purchasing to see what happens in April with NAMM and prices. Not sure if they will go down more, but I'm not in a hurry. I'm still leaning towards an Electro 6 for my needs, but if prices of the NS3 Compact keep coming down, it will be hard not to pick one up.

You’re talking the difference of a few hundred between a NS3C and a 6D 73 at this point. Seems like a no brainer.

wkrbee wrote:Sweetwater has been advertising the Nord Stage 3 Compact 73 for $3499- like everybody else- with the disclaimer." Only at this price until 4/1/23." I'm kinda getting the vib that maybe Clavia will drop MAP on the Stage 3 to sell off the rest of their Stage 3 line. Thoughts/opinions? Also a lot of the Nord dealers have "open box/repackaged/customer returns at a lower price, but I don't want to buy a returned item that will have no factory warranty if there are defects not apparent when purchased. Anyone bought Nord refurbished units?

I would check with the various dealers about the warranty. I've purchased "open box" Nords with a full warranty in the past.

I've always found Sweetwater to have excellent customer service. I'd be shocked if they refused to take care of an open box / demo unit within the warranty period unless the item had been abused by the buyer.

I managed to buy a used Stage 3 Compact 73 during the last month, from someone where the situation made it a very safe buy, even with no warranty whatsoever. The price I paid was not very much less than the price gtholden mentioned, which I assume would come with a warranty.

I have no ability to forecast what will happen with any future price changes. I will just say that I would much rather have a Stage 3 Compact 73 than an Electro 6, because of the additional capabilities in splits and synth in particular.

As a former Sweetwater sales engineer (left in 2019 for family reasons) I can assure you that Demo items, unless explicitly stated, are still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, as well as the 2 year Sweetwater warranty.

MarkJames wrote:

gtholden wrote:I keep watching the Sweetwater site. I find they seem to put a lot of NS3 Compact 'demos' on the site on Mondays and Tuesdays. The going price is $3149 for a demo in pristine condition with a 2-year warranty. I'm holding off purchasing to see what happens in April with NAMM and prices. Not sure if they will go down more, but I'm not in a hurry. I'm still leaning towards an Electro 6 for my needs, but if prices of the NS3 Compact keep coming down, it will be hard not to pick one up.

You’re talking the difference of a few hundred between a NS3C and a 6D 73 at this point. Seems like a no brainer.

I agree, when comparing a demo price from Sweetwater vs a full retail of a 6D 73, but I'm seeing a lot of 6D 73's for $2200 on CL (no tax) or even for $1900. The difference then is pretty significant between demo+tax (~$3370) vs 6d 73 at $1900. I've been working with a borrowed S3 88 and just can't seem to really dig the synth section...both from a use case and sound case. I find it awkward to add a second oscillator by using two hands (shift and turn a knob), then play the keys to see how it sounds as opposed to my Subsequent 37 that has a knob per function. Also, I find this high pitch shrill with the supersaw wave and saw waves. Maybe it's just user error on my part as I'm still trying to learn my way around the board, but I'm having a hard time matching the lushness of an OB6-style pad on the NS3. I'll keep trying...it sure is fun playing the board, but the 88 is too big for my space and needs so I'll certainly look for a 73, either NS3 or 6D. Thanks for all of the input on this forum!

gtholden wrote:

MarkJames wrote:

gtholden wrote:I keep watching the Sweetwater site. I find they seem to put a lot of NS3 Compact 'demos' on the site on Mondays and Tuesdays. The going price is $3149 for a demo in pristine condition with a 2-year warranty. I'm holding off purchasing to see what happens in April with NAMM and prices. Not sure if they will go down more, but I'm not in a hurry. I'm still leaning towards an Electro 6 for my needs, but if prices of the NS3 Compact keep coming down, it will be hard not to pick one up.

You’re talking the difference of a few hundred between a NS3C and a 6D 73 at this point. Seems like a no brainer.

I agree, when comparing a demo price from Sweetwater vs a full retail of a 6D 73, but I'm seeing a lot of 6D 73's for $2200 on CL (no tax) or even for $1900. The difference then is pretty significant between demo+tax (~$3370) vs 6d 73 at $1900. I've been working with a borrowed S3 88 and just can't seem to really dig the synth section...both from a use case and sound case. I find it awkward to add a second oscillator by using two hands (shift and turn a knob), then play the keys to see how it sounds as opposed to my Subsequent 37 that has a knob per function. Also, I find this high pitch shrill with the supersaw wave and saw waves. Maybe it's just user error on my part as I'm still trying to learn my way around the board, but I'm having a hard time matching the lushness of an OB6-style pad on the NS3. I'll keep trying...it sure is fun playing the board, but the 88 is too big for my space and needs so I'll certainly look for a 73, either NS3 or 6D. Thanks for all of the input on this forum!

I was actually comparing retail to retail at the moment, but yes, you’re likely to find better deals for a 6D out there. I bought my NS3C around a year and a half ago for close to what they are going for new, but that was used with no warranty. The price for them new right now is a steal in my opinion.

Today I saw an open box / demo NE3C on Sweetwater for $3150. I couldn't pass it up. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to set-up the various boards, but the NE6D 61 is going to be sold. I really didn't care for the 61 key keyboard.