Nord Electro 6HP/Piano 4 HA vs Yamaha CP 73/88

[lsal1]

Very conflicted stage piano buyer here....hi,

So I am selling my trusty Kawai MP7, mainly due to not ever finding that piano sound that I'm like: "ooh that's the one". I just never clicked with any of the patches (the EP's were great though!)
My concerns with Nord seems to be action related, as I love their AP's and can probably find one I like, but don't have the opportunity to play one (I played a Stage 3 HA last night...it was difficult...seemed like a very light action and almost pretty cheap at times). Do any of you have the Electro with the HP or the Piano and can chime in on the action? I'm a more heavy/banging (sorry) kind of player, but play mostly AP & EP so those two are the priorities in terms of sound. Ive heard VERY mixed things about the HP, whereas the new HA on the Piano 3 & 4 seem to be pretty good. To me, Nord has the most realistic piano sounds on the market (aside from VST...which I don't like using), which is a huge draw. Their pianos to me just have so much character! Their EP's from what I've heard aren't AS good as what I've heard on the Yamaha, but I haven't heard much of their EP's so I'm not gonna put that against them.

With the Yamaha, I'm really attracted to the design and layout, but most recordings I've heard of it are not as inspiring as Nord's samples. Idk but to me the Yamaha Acoustic Pianos (from a pure listening perspective) sounds like you're playing a keyboard whereas the Nord sounds like you're at a piano, which I like. I know the Yamaha features a "Tone" knob so that could change things, but alas I am not able to play one, as there's none where I live. I believe the action though to be better on the Yamaha's from reading online. Another good for Yamaha is I think they did a good job on sampling their EP's, though their sub sounds I've heard aren't the best (but not bad when listening to them)

So you see my dilemma? Anyone care to chime in on this? Trying to make a purchase fairly quickly (in need of new board).
I've thought about purchasing one product (maybe the electro?) and then see how I like it, if I don't then can return it and cross it off my list and look at the others.

Also to note- The Nords I'm interested in is Electro 6HP and I actually have an opportunity to get a B-Stock Piano 4 for a little bit more...Organ sounds aren't necessarily important but would be fun to play from time to time.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[ponkine]

Hi!

This strongly depends on several things

1- Budget. Of course.
2- The action. Not only on paper, but in REAL situation. I've found the action of the 6HP to be heavier than REAL PIANOS. The pursuit of the "real Gran Piano action feel" and blah blah obsession has become too far off. And this is not only for Nord, but from other brands as well. It seems to be a competition for which brand has the heaviest, stiffer, rock hard and less playable keybed. The experience should be a joy, not a "fight" against the keybed. Haven't tried the CP 73 yet
3- Flexibility. In this camp, Nords is much better than Yamaha. They have 57 sounds, yes 57. That's unacceptable these days. And you can't replace them. Yamaha doesn't have free libraries, and so on.
4- Sound quality. Of course, this is subjetive. One wonderful sound for a person, is another one terrible. But from what I've heard, Nord is way head this Yamaha.
5- Possible resale value. Yes, you have to analyze this option too. Nord releases an Electro every 3 years. The 6 is from 2018. So the next one is coming in 2021. This is the first CP of this kind, and God knows when Yamaha are going to release another model. So it's quite possible you'll end up keeping the CP for more years than the Electro 6

[kirsty]

Hi

Ive had the HP action in two previous Nords, I found it to be quite pleasant to play on. Contrary to the above comment I found HP lighter to play than the HA action and certainly lighter than my grand piano. I have yet to find a keyboard action that feels heavier to play than a real piano.. the acoustic requires more effort to produce sound unless you start setting a heavy velocity curve.

I had the Yamaha CP4 at the same time as my Stage 2EX HP76 - The CP4 action was 'better' but the sounds were thin, synthetic, lifeless and uninspiring. From what I can see of the new CP line they are still using these same tired old samples of the CFX, the S6 and the CF Grands.. these are in desperate need of an update to come anywhere close to the quality of the Nord samples which are totally in another league. Isal above hit the nail on the head that the Yamaha sounds like a digital keyboard, clean perfect and over processed, the Nord does sound and behave like a real piano, almost imperfect and raw and full of character.

Your need of pianos is similar to mine, Acoustic and EP sounds. I too had no use for organs.
In the Nord world the output of AP and EP sounds from the Electro and Piano models are identical so choosing between the boards is a matter of other factors.
The Piano 4 will have the 'more' realistic action, full 88 keys but is heavier and bigger for transporting
Electro has the less realistic action (still perfectly fine in my opinion) but is very light for transporting, also shorter keyboard at 73 keys.

Depends whats important to you.. Good luck with your choice

K

[baekgaard]

The HP action is quite different to the HA actions. You need to test it to see if you like it -- some perceive it as a bit heavier than the HA actions.

The HA actions in the NS3 is lighter than the one the NP4. For (acoustic) piano playing, the NP4 is more suited than the NS3.

You need to spend a little more time on those boards than just playing them for a few minutes. My experience is that you quickly adjust to the board, and they usually grow on you, so maybe you'd be happy with either, once you get used to it?

There is also the new Nord Grand, which has an even better action, it looks. But that you cannot find 2nd hand, of course!

If you don't mind the weight (as @kirsty also points out), the NP4 would be my recommendation.

However, the Electro with HP action is a nice compromise, and I know at least one heavy-banging jazz-cat here that loves the HP actions of the Electros...

Bottom line: I'd try them out before committing to one, if I were in your shoes! Check out the NE6HP and the NP4 (or the NG, once you can).

[ponkine]

Nord sounds much better

Yamaha screams DIGITAL all over

Even with your eyes closed, you can notice within seconds which one is which

And you can see a lot of reviews where people aren't happy with the CP 73/88 in general (not only pianos). Organs reviews have been pretty harsh!

[anotherscott]

I have yet to find a keyboard action that feels heavier to play than a real piano..

Funny, I find almost all digital pianos to be heavier feeling than many real pianos. But of course real pianos vary a lot, too.

[cphollis]

I sat down and played a CP88 the other day at a local GC that happened to have one. I have no idea why they'd have this sort of instrument in and among all of the cheapo keys stuff they usually have. But I digress.

It's not a bad board. The action was friendly and familiar, given that I have other Yamaha actions in my world. The piano sounds through mediocre amplification did not suck. If it was 10 years ago, I'd be seriously tempted to buy one.

But it wasn't a better experience than a Nord on a few levels. Actions are debatable and adaptable. I seem to take well to Nord AP actions on the NP2 and NP4. No complaints, really. The Nord sample library of pianos and other instruments is hard to beat. And, well, I just seem to connect organically with Nord sounds, workflow, aesthetics, etc.

15 minutes with the CP88 and I realized -- not my thing. It's a decent board, and will certainly appeal to others.

[kirsty]

I have yet to find a keyboard action that feels heavier to play than a real piano..

Funny, I find almost all digital pianos to be heavier feeling than many real pianos. But of course real pianos vary a lot, too.

It is interesting how people experience different things from the same actions.

Im typically a very light and gentle player and owned only digital instruments most of my life before I bought a grand not so long ago. I do get that piano actions vary lots between models but over the years I have played on many different acoustic grands and uprights. When moving to an acoustic piano it always instantly occurred to me that more effort was required, ie i had to push harder on the keys before sound is produced than on the digital instruments.


Chuck
Thanks for your analysis of the CP after testing it.

To provide some clarity perhaps on my above comments
I remember when I got the CP4 initially I thought the sounds were great (probably because the sound they produce is very different to the Nord) They samples are not totally 'rubbish'. I could certainly live with them, but I did find the longer I spent playing the CP4 the less I liked its sounds, especially when for comparison above it on the upper tier the Nord blew it away every time. When you have them side by side through the same speakers it would quickly hit home that you hit the Nord keys and you get enveloped in a rich and deep piano sound that is delightful on the ears. Move down and hit the CP4 keys and you get a thin lifeless sound in comparison.

I am heavily nitpicking but when you have the benefit of having them next to each other the Nord is worlds apart in my opinion. My CP4 was sold as it wasnt inspiring me to play it anymore.

[lsal1]

I sat down and played a CP88 the other day at a local GC that happened to have one. I have no idea why they'd have this sort of instrument in and among all of the cheapo keys stuff they usually have. But I digress.

It's not a bad board. The action was friendly and familiar, given that I have other Yamaha actions in my world. The piano sounds through mediocre amplification did not suck. If it was 10 years ago, I'd be seriously tempted to buy one.

But it wasn't a better experience than a Nord on a few levels. Actions are debatable and adaptable. I seem to take well to Nord AP actions on the NP2 and NP4. No complaints, really. The Nord sample library of pianos and other instruments is hard to beat. And, well, I just seem to connect organically with Nord sounds, workflow, aesthetics, etc.

15 minutes with the CP88 and I realized -- not my thing. It's a decent board, and will certainly appeal to others.

I would love to sit down with the CP88 and just gauge how I feel about it. I ordered the NP4 and it should be here this week, but my issue is in the action, as I've never played one and don't know whether or not I will like it. How would you compare the action of the NP4 and the CP88?

[cphollis]

@Isal1 -- AP actions are intensely personal choices. What works for one person will often not work for another.

That being said, I am fortunate to have many choices regarding AP actions. I have a nice Yamaha AG N3 in one place, a Bosie 200 in another. So I know what a decent action might feel like

I will not say the Nord Piano 4 has the "best" action among digital slabs. I will say that it's more than good enough for me (all things considered), and the other strengths of the instrument seal the deal. Then again, I've been playing Nord weighted actions for many years, and I've become quite comfortable with them. Although that new Nord Grand with the Kawai action definitely has my eye!

It's sort of like comparing two cars with one having 10 more horsepower than the other. Yeah, nice, but what about the rest of the car?