Nord and Fatar keyboards. Time to move on?

[kirsty]

Those who complain about FATAR actions should be so lucky that they didnt have the misfortune of owning a Technics board like the one I grew up playing. The 'fully weighted' key action was about as realistic as playing on a Xylophone!

No complaints about FATAR here, and have personally found them pleasant to play with a satisfying action to sound connection.

As others have already said they might not have the reputation as the 'best' on the market but they are far from unpleasant any decent musician should be able to quickly adapt to how they respond to input. Actions labelled as the best are down to a matter of personal preference anyway so I tend to ignore such commentary and just try things out for myself.

[dhbp-nord]

Loving my NP2 still, Fatar and all. Tempest in a teapot.

D.

[hector space]

Probably already been said in spades: Nord’s need for Fatar keybeds is driven by economic necessity. It’s a compromise between the ideal and what you can afford to make and successfully sell.

I’ve owned a NS2 Ha88 (TP40M) and still own a NE3 73. I also own a Kurzweil Forte which has the Fatar TP40L keybed. I’ve also owned a Kawai MP7SE (RHIII) several Roland pianos RD700SX, GX, RD800 and now the RD2000. So I’m in a lucky place to compare and comment. I play maybe 70 gigs a year and a ton of piano and organ.

Over the years I’ve complained a lot about the Fatar TP40 basically because it isn’t as good for piano as my Roland keybeds or the Kawai or the Casio PX5s or the Yamaha GH3 or the Korg RH3 etc.. But the truth is that for most live situations you need a compromise to cover piano, electric piano, synth, strings, brass and organ. It turns out that the TP40 is actually very good at this compromise. It isn’t the most accurate or controllable keybed but you don’t need a huge dynamic range gigging. It is built like a tank. Over the years I’ve hammered my NS2 and my Kurzweil Forte. Both keybeds are still going strong.

The Fatar TP40 is a solid, reliable keybed that is perfect for live work where you need to control a huge variety of different sounds.

BTW the grass isn’t greener over at Kawai, their RHIII (basis of the new Nord Grand) is problematic. I’ve had two MP7se pianos - which I love! But sadly the RHIII keybed failed within weeks on both of them. As of the end of last year(2018) Kawai couldn’t make them reliably. I’m pretty sure it is to do with the manufacturing tolerances of the keyswitch mechanism. Hopefully Nord will push them into sorting this out. If they do, the Nord Grand will be great coz the RHIII is a great keybed to play.

[fpiano]

Hi to all, I am a new user. I signed up to ask for help on a key problem, I'll open a dedicated thread of course.

I respect all the opinion I read, this is the mine and in response to some of you...everyone write their own experience, not all musicians in the world write here on problem occurs and certainly Nord keyboards are quite simpler and have fewer pieces than cars...

I purchased a new Nord Piano 3 for gigs and as a "toy" to get to know the Nord Keyboards world, try sounds, quality, etc.
IMHO piano and electric piano sounds are awesome, as the practicality of the entire instrument. Nothing to say. But... now, after 26 moths (bye bye warranty) and really little little use, one key starts to click after releasing. I thought: it's not possible!

Before having my main instruments Yamaha Grand Piano and Rhodes Electric Piano where I daily study and play, I always had top keyboards, Yamaha CP, P, Roland RD, for practicing, study, gigs, ZERO problems.

Without doubt I was unlucky with this keyboard, or I was lucky with all the others instruments but, the name also says it, keys on a keyboard are the main parts!!
Ok if a button fails, ok if a knob fails, ok if a led burns out, ok if the red paint goes away but, for a pianist, key problems are not allowed, mostly in a top product like this, mostly in a top keyboard little used. Come on guys, how many entry level keyboard are hit without break??

I love the made in Italy but my final thought is that this Italian made mechanical keyboard doesn't respect the quality level of Nord Brand.
Good day

[baekgaard]

@fpiano: Sorry to hear of your problems with a clicking key. If you search here, you will find others have had similar issues, and some have also posted information and videos on how to fix it, so you may be able to fix this, or have a friend help you fix it. But yes, it's annoying when things break.

As for other keyboards, I've played Roland and Yamaha too. My Yamaha had to have a number of keys replaced after some years of playing, and one of my Rolands needed to have the entire keybed replaced after 4 months due to wear. The last Roland keyboard has lost some of the contra-weights and the glue that should hold it in place has crept into neighbouring keys, so they stick together. The buttons have also been replaced on the front (many of them have failed) and the faders are noisy. The Yamaha has a faulty jack connector too... Most of the Rolands at the music school where I'm connected also break or fail due to wear.

So all of them have failed and needed repair. My Nords are surviving the same conditions and have (so far) NEVER failed me during the 10 years I've been a Nord player. My acoustic instruments have been more costly to maintain...

[fpiano]

[quote="baekgaard"] Thanks for your reply! Music instruments and money don't get along!
I am really happy to hear positive experience about nord keyboards. I believe in this brand and I really like its approach of musical instruments.
However when expectations are high you get angry a lot at the first problem occurs.
Hope it is the first and last