Nord User Forum

+1 on Ignatius' recommendation. Make sure you can hear yourself and let the rest take care of themselves. If they're not bothered by your playing (by playing very loud themselves) that is very telling about their view of being in a band. Don't join the band volume war.

Ignatius, you are probably right about my group! Anyhow, I think I am going to buy a Qsc 10.2 or 8.2. Do I need TS or TRS cable to connect from my keyboard to the speaker or mixer????? Sorry for so many questions, didnt realize I needed to have an electronics background to play this haha!!!!

A pair of TS cables would be sufficient as the nord's outs are unbalanced ones, if you want to go the direct way. I play my 2 boards through a small mixer which has balanced outs. So I would recommend first to think about the whole chain in the long run before buying wrong cables. The mixer gives me the possibility of a seperate monitor just for me - as someone else mentioned above. Balanced outs at the mixer as well as balanced inputs at the QSC 10.2 require TRS cables. Have fun.

Thanks. You mentioned Ts at first, but do I need TRS to just connect from the Nord directly to the QRS? Promise Ill get there with this at some point. You guys are great!!!

For the direct connection nord to QSC two TS cables are all you need - one from left out to one QSC and the other from right out to the other QSC. Easy.

Amendment: I was thinking PA-like with a pair of speakers, for left and right channel. If you're contemplating only one box then you would need only one cable. TS is enough.

And another point: If you don't trust in any of the nord's outputs to use for just one mono sound, you can let the QSC do the stereo-to-mono-mixdown. Connect both nord outs to both QSC ins (2 TS cables!), set line level - and that's it.

Thank you again!!

I gig with about 5 different groups at a time so I try to set up my instrument as simply as possible and have only one Grand Piano that I can rely on for everything. My preference and what seems to work well with my particular style is the Bösendorfer Grand Imperial. There was only one isolated instance where it just didn't seem to work and Pablo Mastodon suggested the Bright Grand and possibly the Silver Grand for Rock. Concert Grand 1 also seems like a good alternative. There are many great Keyboard manufacturers out there but their Pianos have all suffer from the same thing: No top octave. This however is not the case with the Nords. They've gotten it right. I have gone through the P.A. on some gigs and at some jams but I feel can never hear myself even with a monitor close by, which is why I always prefer my own amp if possible. The best amp for Keyboards by far is Yorkville. They sound amazing and are reliable as hell. I use the KB 100 model which has a channel with special circuitry specifically tailored with highs and lows for Piano that you can engage but with the Nord I never use it. The Rolands, Peaveys and Hartkes all sound very uneven and erratic to me. They're either weirdly colored or just plain distorted but the Yorkville delivers pure clean sound.

I play primarily rock oriented gigs.

1) I use Grand Imperial and Bambino.
2) Add compression. Only a little is needed but it will keep the bass from getting to loud and punch up the high octaves. Add it to the point where you can hear the compressor and then back it down a little. You will notice it when you're listening through headphone or solo but trust me, this will help it cut through. For my Stage2 and Stage3, I use the imternal compressor. For my electro, I use a cheap ($300) ART compressor. Don't laugh. It does the job and cheap to replace.
3) EQ down the bass, add some treble and set the mid to the lowest freq and reduce the gain a little. This helps tame the 100-200hz mud. These freq seem to have a lot of harmonics which can impact the clarity of higher notes.
4) If you are going to be playing out of an amp or pa speakers that have 15" speakers, you will need to reduce the bass setting. Turn on the 75Hz roll of
5) Set the piano to MONO. Yes, MONO. Keyboards in stereo in a loud band is useless - it gets lost in the mix. It may sound mice in headphones, but no one can tell the difference.

I also play in jazz combos and use the same approach but not as much EQ and compression.