Rental units on tour

[Latebloomer]

Hi

Thanks to everybody reaching out and helping me out in my other thread. Still considering options but will most likely end up with a NS3 Compact.

So I see that there will be quite a few fly dates on tour. I will order a NS 3 as backline for these dates, as these in general are pretty easy to get. Most likely I will get the 88 and not the compact in most situations, but that's fine. From my understanding programs will work fine on either units, and the best way is to bring a file containing a bundle of my programs, and store them to an empty bank on the rental unit. So question one; Is there a way to also upload the setlist from the song mode? Can this be included in the bundle in any way?

So, the next question. From experience rental companies don't always provide exactly what has been asked for. So I want to be prepared for showing up at the gig and finding a NS2 instead of a NS3 on a few occasions. Any advice on how to prepare for this? can the bundles be converted in any ways? Or do I need to get my hands on a NS2 and make my programs and save it as a bundle?

Thanks for your help here. All my previous experiences with the Nord Stages has been to show up at the gig, hit the Live button and find an acousti and some electric pianos.
This whole thing with lots of program changes and super fast transitions is pretty new to me.

[Latebloomer]

Hi,

I have not been working with bundles but I see that the factory restore bundle of the NS3 does contain a song section with Bank 1 included, so I would suppose that the songs are saved as well if you create a full backup.

You cannot transfer bundles/programs/songs/settings etc of the NS3 to the NS2. NS3 and NS2 are not compatible to each other, thus manually re-creating all programs on an NS2 would be the only option, which will not always get you to the same results since the synth sections are different

[cphollis]

I have never tried a partial load using available space, as there rarely enough "spare" space without deleting a bunch of samples, and by then you've already altered the state of the rental instrument. Instead, I go with a full backup/restore. Restores can take a l-o-o-o-n-g time, or not, depending. But at least I know the complete state of the instrument afterwards -- every program, song mode sequence, etc.

Also, the NS2 and NS3 are fundamentally different, so no program-swapping unfortunately. You'd need to recreate everything with a NS2, and that would be a major pain in my world, leaving aside the stuff the NS2 just doesn't do.

I must admit I don't know what's involved, but I'd see what's involved in flying with a NS3C, as I know others do it frequently.

[Latebloomer]

Thanks, I would rather not depend on a full restore because of how long it could take. Also flying with the compact is possible, but I will try to avoid it.
Things don't have to be too complicated. It just need to be well organised. One XL piano, one or two Ep´s and a few synth pad patches will easily get me through the gig. Those samples shouldn't take too long lo load. But all programs would need to have some kind of split points and most songs would require a different program. But I can alternate the between the same few samples when I make the programs. Thats why I thought of making them all in one bundle, and upload the bundle to an empty bank on a rental NS. I guess the download time would be very quick compared to a restore, and nobody really wants to hang around soundcheck waiting for me to load patches into a keyboard.

I also know that NS3 programs can't be used on NS2. Just wondered if there was anyway to convert the files or something like that. I suppose there is not, so I will just get my hand on a NS2 for a day and make ready a set of programs I can use if I need to.

[Latebloomer]

I also know that NS3 programs can't be used on NS2. Just wondered if there was anyway to convert the files or something like that. I suppose there is not, so I will just get my hand on a NS2 for a day and make ready a set of programs I can use if I need to.

There is not such thing as an automatic converter, but a forum member has created this useful tool where you can load a program and see the settings for that specific program. This way you can re-create it on the other board (depending on synth complexity - NS2 and NS3 differ in that way).

[Latebloomer]

Most of the questions have been answered here other than the one about Songs. Songs would get picked up in a full backup/restore, though as already noted, this is a more time-consuming and memory intensive move. I've found that the full backup can be avoided by simply saving bundles of Songs. I've been doing this for some time now related to Songs I have in my NS3 for 3-4 bands. I have these Songs set up in different banks with naming conventions that make them easier (e.g. initials of the band in some cases are part of the Songs and Programs).

So let's say I have 50 Songs for one of my bands saved in their own space on my NS3, each with pointers to up to 5 unique programs. If I select these Songs in the NSM and upload them as a Bundle to my laptop, then I'm getting everything I would possibly need. The Songs, the Programs, and anything within those Programs (samples, pianos, synths, etc.).

Then if I go to a different target instrument to download this instrument, during the first attempt to download, the NSM will flag a message such as "you need x more memory to download this bundle" and then I can go over to each area and clear the appropriate memory. Once the first big download is there and you make incremental changes to the Songs/Programs, the subsequent downloads take a lot less time as you would have the pianos, samples, etc. already resident in the target instrument.

I have two NS3, which I mostly have set with one for gigs and always lives in a flight case, while the other is for rehearsals and I carry it around in a Nord soft case. When I'm actively working on new sounds or setting up different Songs etc., I will intentionally save off some new bundles so that I can synchronize the other NS3. I don't always get it perfect, though as long as the gig instrument is squared away, then I'm fine. I found at a rehearsal last night that I'd done a few edits on my gig NS3 that I hadn't transported into the rehearsal NS3...which was slightly annoying though not too big of a deal.

If Nord ever does some kind of iOS app for sound management, I think that would be cool.

[ajstan]

If Nord ever does some kind of iOS app for sound management, I think that would be cool.

I agree. As an alternative, I've been using an old Dell Venue Pro 8 Windows tablet that I repurposed to update setlists when we have back-to-back gigs so I can leave my rig in the car and update both boards at the gig instead of having to unload at home to connect to my computer.

Due to its slow processor, the DVP8 is slow to verify the backup file (3-4 minutes before restoring vs. 15-30 seconds on my regular laptop). I've been considering a Surface Pro tablet as an upgrade for around $799 which would give me the form factor of a tablet, with the speed and functionality of a full Windows machine. There's also a smaller Surface Go tablet with a low-end processor for $399, although I would not want something that would take more than a minute to verify a file before uploading the backup.

As for backups and restores, they are very fast (only a minute or two) as long as you are not replacing or adding samples from the piano or synth libraries to the backup file or to your keyboard.

[WannitBBBad]

In preparation, you can use the Nord Sound Manager to list all of your programs with the pianos and samples used to help decide what's needed for a Stage 2/2EX. The NSM list of samples has info on how many programs/synth presets use each sample. Similarly NSM could be used to quickly assess where you stand with the pianos and samples of the backline Nords. I would suggest also taking copies of the latest OS for the Stage 2, Stage 2 EX, and Stage 3.

[Berretje]

I've been considering a Surface Pro tablet as an upgrade for around $799 which would give me the form factor of a tablet, with the speed and functionality of a full Windows machine.

Make sure to check out this post before considering buying a MS Surface Pro. Not sure if the issue mentioned in that thread is applicable to all models...

[ajstan]

I've been considering a Surface Pro tablet as an upgrade for around $799 which would give me the form factor of a tablet, with the speed and functionality of a full Windows machine.

Make sure to check out this post before considering buying a MS Surface Pro. Not sure if the issue mentioned in that thread is applicable to all models...

Thanks, Bart. In case anyone is comes across this thread in the future, I wanted to close the loop on my experience with a Surface Pro 7+ running Windows 11 Home. Here's what I needed to do to get NSM to work:

1. Open RegEdit and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\HypervisorEnforcedCodeIntegrity
2. Set "Enabled" to "0".

That's it. I have no knowledge of how this would work with other Surface models and/or other versions of Windows. Hopefully at some point in the near future we will get an updated version of NSM that works with this new Windows security feature.