Layering Piano Sounds

[okay1]

Can I layer two piano sounds on the Nord Stage 3 or Piano 4, from the piano section.

e.g.

1. Two acoustic piano sounds

2. An acoustic piano and an electric piano. (or two electric pianos)

3. An acoustic piano and an electric piano. + a string sample from the sample piano section?

[analogika]

A Stage 3 program has two "slots" (A & B), with one organ, one piano, and one synth engine EACH.

You can layer/split any combination of those two organs, two pianos (electric/acoustic/harpsichord/clavinet), and two synths (including virtual analog, FM, wavetable, or sample-based) as you wish.

Also, if you layer two acoustic pianos, there is a "detune" function that will detune the piano on one slot for a richer, chorusey sound.

Effects are also per-slot (so two of each), but apart from compressor and reverb, you can only assign each effect to a single engine — organ, piano, or synth — at a time.

So, for the Stage 3, the answer is "yes", to all three questions.

[baekgaard]

On the NS3, you can layer two pianos of any kind from the piano section (plus two synth based sound and two organs, if you wish) -- or (partially) split them. You can additionally layer -- as mentioned -- one or two samples from the synth section, so you can have e.g. acoustic and electric pianos layered with a string sample (from the synth) on top. The piano section itself cannot play string samples.

On the NP4, you can only play one piano from the piano section, but you may be able to find a sampled piano/epiano that can play from the synth section, and you can then layer those. But NOT two pianos from the piano section.

For for the NS3: 1 yes, 2 yes, 3 no or yes (yes if you mean you can can play two pianos with strings from the synth).

For the NP4: 1 no, 2 no, 3 no (but you can play one piano and another piano OR string sample layered with it from the synth section). But there are examples of layered pianos (epiano with acoustic) in the Nord piano library too... so if those would be OK for you, they may allow you to get close to what you want.

EDIT: Just overlapped with analogika's reply -- and then fixed a misunderstanding I had wrt your 3rd question, which I'm not sure either of us got fully right?

[analogika]

Ah, I ignored the "sample piano" phrase from question 3, as I took it to mean the sample playback engine that is part of the synth on the Nord Stage. The Piano, after all, has only that, and not a "synth" engine, per se.

[baekgaard]

Well, I'm not sure if I got it right either wrt the 3rd question -- not entirely sure.

But I think we agree, as usual, otherwise

[okay1]

Thanks baekgaard and analogica.

If there was one more reason to buy a Nord instrument, it would be this forum, invaluable.... the quality of the user forum - uninterrupted by Nord, is the best I have seen in the keyboard world..

The only major reason not to buy a Nord is the cost, everything else is exemplary and I am assured that with the competition from Yamaha's CP88 where copying what Nord has been doing for over 5 years, is the greatest testament to the effectiveness of the Nord approach..

I do hope with the Nord Stage 4 they ditch the Fatar keyboard - ,, does not instill a lot of confidence, which is the other reason some of us have been reluctant, for over 6 years, to invest in a Nord weighted keyboard instrument.

My hope is amplified by the selection of a Kawai keyboard for the Nord Grand....

I'd still have a Yamaha, but I'd love to add a Nord to the kit list. Excellent sounds, especially for live work....

[Quai34]

Honestly, if you consider that the stage is meant to be used live with 3 different engines, the Keybed is very good for me, up to a pure jazz set up like a trio jazz band....The only thing I agree with everyone is that for pure classical part, fast ones or very subtle ones, the stage has its limits...maybe the Nird Piano is better, well, for sure on fact but I'm not convinced by the Kawai plastic Keybed in the new Nord grand piano....

[NordPH]

On the stage, there are also 3 settings of detune between piano slots A and B if you use two pianos at once.
Pretty cool feature