Nord Electro 3 mono pianos

[area51recording]

Hello all! I have an Electro 3 that I absolutely love....my one issue with it is occasionally I find myself taking it to gigs as my only keyboard, and I'm having a hard time finding a piano (Upright or grand) that works for me. Everything I've tried sounds fine in the lower octaves but gets kind of plinky and thin in the upper register. This is strictly a problem running in mono (which nearly all my gigs are), as I play the E3 at home in stereo and there it's my go to piano sound, either with the Silver Grand or the Black Upright (I think that's what it's called anyway). Engaging the "mono" button sounds....different, but not really better. My question is, are any of you all playing the Electro 3 in a mono configuration, and have you found any of the samples that would minimize the problem I'm experiencing? Thanks in advance!

[harmonizer]

On my Electro 3, the AP sound which sounds best with a single external speaker is Royal Grand - I use the "L" size. I did not detect a big difference in how well it sounds using a single external speaker based on whether or not the Mono button is pressed. Many of the other AP sounds sound wonky in the octave immediately below middle C when used with a single speaker, but the Royal Grand does not. But I have not been able to make the Royal Grand sound "cut through" for my satisfaction, when playing in a covers band.

My son came up with these EQ settings which helped somewhat with the Royal Grand: Bass at "1pm", Freq at 4K, Gain at +5, and Treble at "Noon".

Before the Royal Grand came out, I had tried the Black Upright, but I find the low end more satisfying in the Royal Grand.

I barely know how to play keys (sax and backup vocals are my main thing). For playing simple 1-handed AP parts (like "chucka-chucka" parts in LedZep "Rock and Roll") I still use the POS AP sound from my Roland FA-07. The Roland FA-07 AP sound sounds like crap in isolation, but works well for a cutting AP sound in my situation, playing simple 1-handed parts in a 7 piece covers band.

[vortmaxx]

The Rain Piano has been my go-to for pretty much everything I've done over the last 10 years. I usually run my keys mono because it's just simpler. I don't engage the mono button, I just take the signal from the left/mono out.

For context, most of the bands I play with would fall within the genres of rock, blues, reggae, folk/americana, etc.

I've listened to it from out front on many occasions while someone else played my rig. To me it is a very authentic sounding upright with its own unique flavor. I find myself able to play it expressively enough considering the semi-weighted action. I used to adjust the EQ to compensate for my personal monitor, but I've found that it sounds better out front if I don't, as long as the sound guy isn't doing anything too egregious with my sound.

[Remnant BoB]

I have an Electro 6 rather than a 3 but have had a brief look at the specs - if it’s the same as the 6 then the left isn’t a mono out - it’s just the left, which in the case of a stereo piano is the lower part of the keyboard. Might explain why the lower octaves sound better than the upper ones.

[area51recording]

I will have to check that....I believe you're correct about there not being a designated output for mono on the E3.....I'll have to try running from the right output and see if that helps the response in the upper part of the keyboard.....EDIT:....on checking the keyboard itself, the Left output IS labeled Left out/mono, but it makes me wonder....I might try running out of the right output, with a dummy plug in the left output so the E3 thinks it's running in stereo. That might give the upper part of the keyboard a bit more oomph.....

[maxpiano]

You may also try to play with the Output Routing (System Menu) and set it to SO which routes Organs to the Left out and Piano/samples to the Right out (so of course both sections output will be mono in this configuration)

[michael_C1]

To get a mono piano acceptable to you will be time consuming, picking a sound, trying in through the L or R output with the mono button engaged or not. Last time I played out, which was before COVID, the Royal in mono with just the left output didn't seem bad, but it wasn't great.
Bottom line, the Nord pianos are meant to be played in stereo, that's when they sound extraordinary, but in a noisy environment the audience might very well not hear a difference. Depending on the situation, outputting your sound in mono to the audience, but monitoring yourself in stereo might give you the best of both worlds.