This 'unofficial' Forum is dedicated to the Clavia Nord Keyboards, including the Nord Stage, Nord Electro and Nord Piano. Discuss any issues around Nord's keyboards, share your favorite patches, samples, and music. We are not affiliated with Clavia!
Everything about Nord keyboards in general; which one to choose, the sound manager, sample editor, and general discussion about the sample and piano libraries.
It's not a secret at all that Fatar keyboards have been such a source of problems, frustrations, issues and malfunctions for ages. Noisy keybeds, clunks and clanks, squeaks, keys not responding, etc. Needless to say, heavy and sluggigh action. Specially compared with brands that make their own actions like Yamaha or Roland.
Just a quick search on this same forum and you'll have plenty of examples from nearly all Nord Products (Pianos, Electros and Stages. Esp. HP models. But also SW).
So, now that Nord are releasing the Grand with Kawai action, I'd like to know what do you think.
To change the action won't be easy for Clavia. Besides the big three (Yamaha, Kawai, Roland), who usually don't licence their actions, Fatar seems to be about the only manufacturer offering key actions for other companies. So Clavia either needs to repeat a licensing deal such as in the Nord Grand, or continue to use Fatar actions.
Or a new action manufacturer needs to come into being But that's not easy either, it will require quite a bit of experience to offer a high quality action that is both reliable and competitively priced. Go try for yourself
I don't understand the negativity towards Nord Products???or the key actions....
I've been using Nord Keyboards since 1995 never had a squeak/click or pop or mechanical malfunction out of any of my Nords and I've owned a lot of Nord Keyboards in that time,ok the NL Synths keybeds are not the best action I've used,but I have no problem with them whatsoever,infact the reliability and build quality is one of the reasons I have always stayed brand loyal to Nord and will continue to for as long as they keep making quality products.
You hear horror stories about reliability issues from all brands,Nord are not without their faults for sure but not from my experiences,other than a few minor bugs that have appeared in various OS of some Keyboards I've had,I have never had an issue with Nords,and those issues always have been addressed with OS updates anyway,So to me I don't get the constant complaints about Nords products,Its odd how people focus more on the negative side of things instead of celebrating what great instruments they are,if they don't suit you then find a brand that does and move on.
With Regards to the Fatar Actions,I've owned a Virus TI since 2008 and its keybed is Fatar its one of the nicest synth action keybeds I've used,I still to this day and refuse to sell it because the keybed is so nice to play on,I also enjoy the SW73 Stage 3 action it has a nice response and feels as tight and responsive as a synth action should.
I have no interest in the Nord Grand irrespective of its "Upgraded" keybed,its not a keyboard or key action that interests me,nor would it cloud my judgement on future purchases of Nord keyboards if they continue to use the same old keybeds that they currently use,Instead of fitting these more luxurious keybeds to the products,that is surely going to increase the price.
I think Clavia's image and reliability speaks for itself really,if not then Clavia wouldn't still be in business especially with so much variety and cheaper alternatives that are on the market nowadays,Clavia products are a niche market product and not going to compete with the Japanese/Chinese brands that can build them in vast numbers for next to nothing,there is a reason why so many users choose to use Nord products,over the cheaper brands Keybed action is a always a factor but I would say there are far more factors why people choose them and not just because they have a luxurious keybed fitted to them,Key action is always a personal experience but on a whole i would say most users are pretty happy with Nords choice of key action.
Last edited by AdamStage2 on 31 May 2019, 16:43, edited 4 times in total.
AdamStage, perhaps you'll understand this negativity even less when you find out that ponkine has never played a Nord. Right ponkine? Ranting about Nord limitations, problems and price before you've ever played one is wearing thin.
"It's not a secret at all that Fatar keyboards have been such a source of problems, frustrations, issues and malfunctions for ages. Noisy keybeds, clunks and clanks, squeaks, keys not responding, etc. Needless to say, heavy and sluggigh action. Specially compared with brands that make their own actions like Yamaha or Roland. "
I don't agree with this at all.
Forums like this are where people turn to when they're experiencing a problem. The 99.99% who may be happy won't really have a reason to post here. Like many here, I've had multiple Nords over many years and never had a problem or complaint with the keybed. I'd beware of making vast generalizations based on cherry picking a few forum posts.
With Nord, the choice of keybed is immutable, just like the color red. You either like the package, or you don't. And while we all might agree that keybed action is a factor, it's certainly not the only one.
Regarding weighted AP actions, I've owned Yamahas, Rolands and of course a nice Bosie. The NP4 action is quite nice to play for me, and I have no issues going back and forth between a real AP and the NP4. I am interested in the new Nord Grand (of course) but the Kawai action would be just one factor among many.
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ponkine wrote:Needless to say, heavy and sluggigh action.
Only the TP100 boards generate that complaint... and the people who really dislike them typically don't buy them. Others feel it's an acceptable trade-off for the low travel weight. I don't think you see a lot more complaints about these actions than you do about some other lightweight hammer actions, like the Yamaha GHS or the ones that Korg uses in the Kross and Krome.
Since most people on this forum own Nords, and likely would not have purchased them if they were among those who really dislike the Fatar actions, I'd expect that most people looking at this survey are not too bothered by the current actions. And Nord seems to be selling lots of keyboards, so lots of people are apparently okay with them. The people who try them out and don't like them (and post online about how unsatisfactory the actions are), logically, will probably end up buying something else, and won't be on this forum, unless they ended up buying some other Nord model with a different (but still Fatar) action.
Like several above, I'm also wondering about the continued apparent need to discuss potential shortcoming of a keyboard with which one isn't familiar... If the OP wants a Nord, then get one and get used to play it -- all keyboards are a matter of getting used to.
In the "old" days, many of us had to do with whatever upright or grand was available at the venue, and they were radically different (and often times out of tune), and we got by. What we have now is a great luxury of truly portable boards with much better action than a beaten up piano. And I think >95% of us can adjust to whatever action is in the keyboard we really like to play and love the sound of.
As also mentioned, the Fatar actions are a compromise we're willing to accept -- and even if they would have been perfect for acoustics, they would not be for Rhodes, Synth or Organ, etc. They are not bad by any means; I've played Yamaha and Roland and now Nord, and am very happy with the Nords (and prefer those to my previous boards).
Fatar is, as far as I know, in a lot of boards out there, and it is simply not feasible for Nord to start making their own. There have been suggestions to add a Kawai keybed in the high-end piano range for some time, and now that Nord have done so, you will have a choice. But it's probably not as good if you would play synth leads or Organ on it. Will it make it to the Stage range? Not sure it will increase the sales, as it appears to come with a cost in terms of weight and maybe size restrictions. And it's still a compromise then, since it's tailored to acoustic pianos...
My only gripe with with my Electro 3 keybed since I got it in Dec 2012, is that twice I have had to open it up to remove a tiny particle that had gotten in a sensor/contact and was preventing one key from playing. My only previous board was an M-Audio 88es MIDI controller which I used from 2006-2012, and it never had this issue. Maybe there is something I am doing wrong to encourage particles to get in, but I use the exact same handling and routines with my Electro 3 as I did with the M-Audio. To me, this is something that should not happen.
I realize that all digital keybeds are basically disposable and have a finite life - a Casio used at my church had multiple sensors wear out in the gray rubber membrane material. But this problem of tiny particles getting in, and needing to be removed, has nothing to do with wearing out.
On the plus side, the experience of opening up my Nord Electro twice has taught me that it is made with a nice build quality, and with what seems a very clever design for how it gets put together.
But that's not easy either, it will require quite a bit of experience to offer a high quality action that is both reliable and competitively priced. Go try for yourself 
