Nord User Forum

Nordlicht wrote:

cphollis wrote: Can't have chorus on your pianos and horns. Can't have phaser and chorus, for example.

No, that’s wrong.
You can apply every single effect (type) to every single layer, no matter if it’s a piano or synth layer.
Of course you can only apply one of the different effects of each FX group (MOD1, MOD2 etc.) to one layer but that is the only limitation.

Look at the picture above: there are 4 sources in each FX group available. It’s a kind of matrix.

OK, looking at the picture you have 1 Mod1 unit (destination) that can process any of the 4 sources (manual says only Piano "or" Synth, not "and") but it seems you can"t have for example Chorus and Phaser in the same Program and addressing different layers.

Or if you can, as you say and FXs are "per layer", what would be the button sequence to do that assignment, for example the settings you posted before? As looking at panel and manual it doesn't seem possible.

maxpiano wrote:Or if you can, as you say and FXs are "per layer", what would be the button sequence to do that assignment, for example the settings you posted before? As looking at panel and manual it doesn't seem possible.

You hold a layer button and then press an FX button, e.g. Piano Layer B + MOD1. Then the source LED Piano B is On. Now you can apply any of the available effects of section MOD1 to Piano Layer B.
In this way you have direct access to the effects of each layer.
And you can actually apply for example TREM1 four times to all four layers and with individual settings/amounts.

As mentioned before, the only limitation is that you can only use one effect of each section for one layer. So Flanger and Chorus isn’t possible for the same single layer.

EDIT: sorry, misunderstanding on my side, see my post below…

Here’s the description of the various methods for applying effects:

Thanks, if it is like that then the manual anyway is not clear because what I read is different from what you explained, but you have a NP5 so...

Anyway you can't assign Trem1 to Piano A and Wha to Piano B, or can you? And how would the leds look in that case?

Sorry guys, I was wrong!

I just checked it again on my piano: there’s actually only one FX section per program available, so 1 x MOD1, 1 x MOD2 and 1 x AMP for either 1 or 2 pianos or 1 or 2 synths.
EQ and Delay can be applied to 1 to 4 layers (with same settings) and reverb is global.

I really was sure there were programs with individual effect settings, but I scrolled through a bunch of factory presets, and obviously it’s not that comfortable as it looks like and it might be.

Sorry for the confusion!

According to a review I was reading, there seem to be even more restrictions:
a) reverb is global,
b) EQ and delay can be assigned to up to all 4 layers,
c) Mod1, Mod2 and Amp/Comp can only be assigned to either piano(s) or synth(s) each but not both engines at the same time.
No idea if I understood that correctly.

EDIT: Sorry, seems as I'm saying the same as what you, Nordlicht, were just posting before.

Nordlicht wrote:Sorry guys, I was wrong!

I just checked it again on my piano: there’s actually only one FX section per program available, so 1 x MOD1, 1 x MOD2 and 1 x AMP for either 1 or 2 pianos or 1 or 2 synths.
EQ and Delay can be applied to 1 to 4 layers (with same settings) and reverb is global.

I really was sure there were programs with individual effect settings, but I scrolled through a bunch of factory presets, and obviously it’s not that comfortable as it looks like and it might be.

Sorry for the confusion!

That seems to be more in line with how Nord products (Piano and Electro) have worked in the past. Based on this explanation, the parameters that are independent between the piano layers are then those contained in the Piano section of the UI, e.g., instrument selection, level, acoustics, timbre, etc. Same would be true then in the sample synth section.

As I had alluded to before, I was wondering if you could set two distinctly different EQ settings to each piano layer, independent of one another. It doesn't seem that is possible, but I imagine there might be work arounds by using the Timbre parameter in the piano section.

Nordlicht thank you so much for taking the time to double check. And thank you to everyone else for your interest in answering this rather offbeat question.

Nordlicht wrote:Sorry guys, I was wrong!

I just checked it again on my piano: there’s actually only one FX section per program available, so 1 x MOD1, 1 x MOD2 and 1 x AMP for either 1 or 2 pianos or 1 or 2 synths.
EQ and Delay can be applied to 1 to 4 layers (with same settings) and reverb is global.

I really was sure there were programs with individual effect settings, but I scrolled through a bunch of factory presets, and obviously it’s not that comfortable as it looks like and it might be.

Sorry for the confusion!

All good! To say it more plainly?

For each effect section, the behavior is identical. You only get one choice per effects block.

Press once you get Piano A, twice for Piano B, three times for both Pianos A and B.
Press again you get Synth A, again for Synth B, three times for both Synth A and B.

Best reason yet to upgrade to a NS4 73 HA, which is what is going to happen to my current NP5. The dynamic compression feature is a boon to pianists who want to be heard in louder bands.

[/quote]Best reason yet to upgrade to a NS4 73 HA, which is what is going to happen to my current NP5. The dynamic compression feature is a boon to pianists who want to be heard in louder bands.[/quote]

Nobody noticed, but there is also another addition on the Nord Piano 5 revision B which is particularly interesting, it is the compressor dedicated to the piano section, and it is exactly the same as the one that the found on the Nord Stage 4. It's really a good and not insignificant novelty.

Nobody noticed, but there is also another addition on the Nord Piano 5 revision B which is particularly interesting, it is the compressor dedicated to the piano section, and it is exactly the same as the one that the found on the Nord Stage 4. It's really a good and not insignificant novelty.

Rusty Mike wrote:

Nordlicht wrote:

Rusty Mike wrote:can the effect settings be different for each layer/sample.

Yes.

You can apply every effect type (section) to any layer once but individually.
Example:
Piano Layer 1: MOD1 = Pan1, MOD2 = Chor1, AMP = Small, EQ = (whatever you like), Delay = Feedback1 + pingpong…
Piano Layer 2: MOD1 = Wah, MOD2 = Flang, AMP = Drive, EQ = (whatever you like), Delay = Feedback2, no pingpong…

And it’s the same with the two Synth layers.
In fact there are 4 totally independent effect chains available, one for each layer.
In this way the Piano 5 is more advanced than the Stage 3.

Edit: This is what I was looking for! 4 independent effects chains was not an answer I could easily find and is indeed a game changer.

Thank you Nordlicht!

I just want to be precise on the statement about 4 totally independent effect chains (effect blocks).
It is NOT possible to select different effects for each layer in the same effect block (e.g. MOD1).
So it's not possible to have
Pan1 for Piano Layer 1 and
Wah for Piano Layer 2
in the same MOD 1 effect block.
You can decide to assign the ONE selected effect (e.g. Pan1) to Piano Layer 1 but not to Piano Layer 2.
But not different effects on the same effect block (MOD1) for different Layers.
So there are NOT 4 independent effect chains per block.
There are 5 different effect blocks (MOD1, MOD2, AMP/COMP, EQUALIZER and DELAY) which can each be assigned to combinations of Layers:
Piano 1 or 2 or both,
Sample 1 or 2 or both,
All layers: Piano 1/2 and Sample 1/2
Reverb is always assigned to all layers.

Example:
Pan 1 from MOD1 assigned to Piano 1
Flanger from MOD2 assigned to Piano 2
TWIN assigned to all layers (but using the same TWIN amp model, with the same DRIVE/COMP setting for all layers).
EQUALIZER to SAMPLE 1 and 2 (but with the identical Bass/Mid/Treble settings for both layers)
DELAY to Piano 1 and 2 (but with same Ping/Pong and Feedback settings for both Piano layers).
REVERB to all layers.

Please note that combinations of one Piano Layer and one Sample Layer are not possible.
So assign same Pan 1 from MOD1 only to Piano Layer 1 and Sample Layer 2 is not possible.