Nord Stage 4

[reggoboy]

IF and when a Stage 4 comes out...that will be the perfect time to buy an "obsolete" end-of-production Stage 3!

That’s what I would hope. But the NS2 HA88 is still selling used for $3200…

[BrainFreeze]

I cannot help but to giggle at people that are impatiently waiting for a NS3EX or NS4. At this point it is futile and trying to throw Nord's historical "time to market' stats is borderline inappropriate based on current events in the world.

The current gear is amazing and anything new will be great in an incremental fashion. How about we focus on what we have and making the most of that, versus speculative queries towards a small boutique firm, based upon small scale wishes?

I could honestly play my NS2 until I die...what else do people really need here?

[reggoboy]

What is a "triple sensor keybed"?

Because my english isnt so good to explain it with typing words..

Check this video

You can have more action and more detail in pianisimo to fortissimo dynamics with triple sensor compared to dual sensor keybed..

Interesting! But he doesn’t explain why the problem can’t be solved by simply moving the two existing sensors closer to the “string” so that they can calculate velocity without having to lift the key.

[M1tsos]

What is a "triple sensor keybed"?

Because my english isnt so good to explain it with typing words..

Check this video

You can have more action and more detail in pianisimo to fortissimo dynamics with triple sensor compared to dual sensor keybed..

Interesting! But he doesn’t explain why the problem can’t be solved by simply moving the two existing sensors closer to the “string” so that they can calculate velocity without having to lift the key.

I dont know why they dont do it or if it is possible to do that…

I can tell you only that the difference from my nord stage 3 ( dual sensor ) vs my nord grand ( triple sensor ) is huge in dynamic range and headroom

For example the white grand xl sample has complete different behaviour at nord grand and its a lot more detailed compared to stage 3

[reggoboy]

What is a "triple sensor keybed"?

Because my english isnt so good to explain it with typing words..

Check this video

You can have more action and more detail in pianisimo to fortissimo dynamics with triple sensor compared to dual sensor keybed..

Interesting! But he doesn’t explain why the problem can’t be solved by simply moving the two existing sensors closer to the “string” so that they can calculate velocity without having to lift the key.

I see at least two reasons (one generic, the second more Nord Stage specific) :

1) the 3rd sensor detects a partial movement of the key, to reproduce the behaviour of a real piano when you don't completely lift the key when playing fast repetitions so the escapement is not (fully) released; this determines also a different sound (sample) being generated by the piano. Think of it as something similar to the half-pedal concept, if you wish.

2) in case of the Nord Stage, you would make the "High Trigger" feature less effective

[reggoboy]

I can tell you only that the difference from my nord stage 3 ( dual sensor ) vs my nord grand ( triple sensor ) is huge in dynamic range and headroom

For example the white grand xl sample has complete different behaviour at nord grand and its a lot more detailed compared to stage 3

Wow, interesting! That's the kind of feature that would be huge for me. My tastes favor a $150K Steinway lol, and a big part of that is dynamics.

Let me ask you this. On my NS2, the White Grand has 4 settings for Dynamics: Off-1-2-3. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that the MIDI distinguishes up to 4 different velocities, mapped to 4 different sets of samples? And secondly, does that quantization have anything to do with the dual/triple sensor technology?

[DJKeys]

I cannot help but to giggle at people that are impatiently waiting for a NS3EX or NS4. At this point it is futile and trying to throw Nord's historical "time to market' stats is borderline inappropriate based on current events in the world.

The current gear is amazing and anything new will be great in an incremental fashion. How about we focus on what we have and making the most of that, versus speculative queries towards a small boutique firm, based upon small scale wishes?

I could honestly play my NS2 until I die...what else do people really need here?

People are always talking about "New Features" and "More Memory" and in many cases it seems clear that they haven't really mastered their instruments and fully explored the features they already have.

It would be great if the next major release was nothing but OS updates to fix existing issues and the final development of NSMP v4 for the current instruments besides the P5, the NS3, NW2, E6.

-dj

[reggoboy]

Interesting! But he doesn’t explain why the problem can’t be solved by simply moving the two existing sensors closer to the “string” so that they can calculate velocity without having to lift the key.

...the 3rd sensor detects a partial movement of the key, to reproduce the behaviour of a real piano when you don't completely lift the key when playing fast repetitions so the escapement is not (fully) released; this determines also a different sound (sample) being generated by the piano. Think of it as something similar to the half-pedal concept, if you wish....

Okay, you may have partially answered my previous question I'm guessing you're right. I forget the terminology, but I know that to increase speed, grand actions don't return the hammer all the way back until you fully release. This allows for faster playing and probably a different feel. I'm not clear on why that would result in a different sound/velocity, but I have no doubt that it makes the difference you guys rave about.

[maxpiano]

I can tell you only that the difference from my nord stage 3 ( dual sensor ) vs my nord grand ( triple sensor ) is huge in dynamic range and headroom

For example the white grand xl sample has complete different behaviour at nord grand and its a lot more detailed compared to stage 3

Wow, interesting! That's the kind of feature that would be huge for me. My tastes favor a $150K Steinway lol, and a big part of that is dynamics.

Let me ask you this. On my NS2, the White Grand has 4 settings for Dynamics: Off-1-2-3. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean that the MIDI distinguishes up to 4 different velocities, mapped to 4 different sets of samples? And secondly, does that quantization have anything to do with the dual/triple sensor technology?

Those are 4 different velocity curves, just that.

[reggoboy]

People are always talking about "New Features" and "More Memory" and in many cases it seems clear that they haven't really mastered their instruments and fully explored the features they already have.

Thanks for the reply. A few things to note:

1. You don't have to master all the features of your instrument in order to know it lacks features you need. There are several things on NS3 I wish I had on my NS2, and there are things that NS3 lacks that I already know I want (don't want to go into details here).
2. Anyway, you don't even have to be in want of new features to know that technology is always improving and that, if you are also growing as a musician, your needs will also grow with time. And so if you're going to spend $4500 of money that you can't easily replace on an instrument, you want to buy one that is a bit future-proofed and leaves you room to grow.

I'm at a strong growing stage as a musician, and I've already outgrown the NS2 I got used not long ago (besides the fact that it's acting a bit flaky). This means I have to upgrade, which also means reprogramming all my patches from scratch. If I buy the NS3, that's $4500 and a ton of reprogramming to get 5-year old technology that already has a few shortcomings I know about, and I don't have a lot of money.

If you understand this use case, it should make perfect sense why someone like me would be eager to place that same money and time into an NS4, that I won't outgrow or have to reprogram for maybe a decade.