Nord Christmas Gift ?

[Schorsch]

> Easy to find just negative flavored definitions only, eh?<

Is not sounding like a Yamaha a negative definition?

Ok that’s true …. what I meant to say is that there are as many „positive“ options to define character as there are „negative“ ones, and most of the time writing in a way that is negative is not really appropriate - a bit more objective view would help. Maybe it’s just me who feels that negative vibe and maybe I misunderstand - apologize in that case

[maurus]

Character: something recognisably unique.

This

[Gambold]

>“Character” as applied to a piano sound is all about imperfection, even decay, both of which in pianos are associated with having been around for many spins around the Sun.<

An honest response, that perhaps cuts to the nut of the definition....a character-rich piano is one you wouldn't want to pay a lot of money for.

It's easy to celebrate samples that feature defective notes, the echo of warped wood, the sound of odd timbres and the like when we aren't paying for them (although we kind of are). But those same charming imperfections are not always desirable. Sometimes precision is what's called for, especially in a recording environment. Not everyone wants to sound like they are banging away on Grandma's beat-up old parlor piano all the time.

The most desired piano samples remain the Grands, and we've only seen two new Grand samples in the past SEVEN years. One was the Royal Grand 3D, a sampled Yamaha in a sonic experiment that was designed specifically for headphones. That experiment has not been repeated. The other is the White Grand, a sample of a medium-size Steinway that has been given positive, but not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, reviews.

Neither of these Grand samples has received the accolades that the Grand Lady D, the Imperial, and even the Bright earned in their heyday. It's been a long wait for the next "amazing" Grand sample. In the meantime we've had a flood of character-rich Uprights that are all interesting in their own ways, but not candidates for a flagship sample or a desert-island pick (where you just get one).

So I'm done celebrating character. I want to see all this new technology that is responsible for these enormous file sizes produce one (or two!) definitive new Grand samples for 2020s. Now, not later. They can be revisits of the Fazioli, the Bosendorfer, or any of the earlier classics, I don't care...but I am saying to Clavia please STOP with the all these quirky uprights until you've given us a couple new grands!

[harmonizer]

Tried this new piano (M size) at (6 piece, electric) rehearsal last night. As the demos suggest it is indeed a great option for stride/boogie styles. No obvious issues with the sound for me in those conditions, so Pearl will replace Bambino for me on my NE5D. The bass is a lot tighter than the Bambino.

Do you use stereo amplification (with two speakers), or are you running with keyboard amplification that uses only a single speaker? Thanks.

[dkernohan]

Tried this new piano (M size) at (6 piece, electric) rehearsal last night. As the demos suggest it is indeed a great option for stride/boogie styles. No obvious issues with the sound for me in those conditions, so Pearl will replace Bambino for me on my NE5D. The bass is a lot tighter than the Bambino.

Do you use stereo amplification (with two speakers), or are you running with keyboard amplification that uses only a single speaker? Thanks.

At my Christmas Eve gig was stereo front of house, single speaker (well, woofer/tweeter) monitor. Certainly sounded good through both!

[agcohn]

Finally got around to trying the Pearl XL, and wow, this is a beautiful, warm piano sample that gives off a very, nostalgic, homey vibe. I think I like it over the Amber, which sounds a little sad / blue by comparison. Definitely a keeper with the White, Bright and Grand Upright. I’m currently also experimenting with the Velvet, which has most of the qualities I love about the Imperial, but sounds more evenly recorded.

[NordDocZac]

My Piano 5 arrives some time next week, and I plan to load in about 10 XL acoustic piano samples and look forward to this one. I’d love to see the next sample be a grand or release a remastered XL Grand Lady D. Surprised Nord doesn’t have the Steinway D in XL.

[PScooter63]

Giggled with the Pearl XL in place of the Bambino XL last night - a jazz/blues trio in an unfamiliar venue. I thought the Pearl was quite nice, but not quite as flagrant in character as the Bambi.
My regular group is on hiatus in January, so I’ll keep the Pearl in the mix until at least mid-February. I actually think there’s arguments for even keeping both.

[agcohn]

>“Character” as applied to a piano sound is all about imperfection, even decay, both of which in pianos are associated with having been around for many spins around the Sun.<

An honest response, that perhaps cuts to the nut of the definition....a character-rich piano is one you wouldn't want to pay a lot of money for.

It's easy to celebrate samples that feature defective notes, the echo of warped wood, the sound of odd timbres and the like when we aren't paying for them (although we kind of are). But those same charming imperfections are not always desirable. Sometimes precision is what's called for, especially in a recording environment. Not everyone wants to sound like they are banging away on Grandma's beat-up old parlor piano all the time.

The most desired piano samples remain the Grands, and we've only seen two new Grand samples in the past SEVEN years. One was the Royal Grand 3D, a sampled Yamaha in a sonic experiment that was designed specifically for headphones. That experiment has not been repeated. The other is the White Grand, a sample of a medium-size Steinway that has been given positive, but not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, reviews.

Neither of these Grand samples has received the accolades that the Grand Lady D, the Imperial, and even the Bright earned in their heyday. It's been a long wait for the next "amazing" Grand sample. In the meantime we've had a flood of character-rich Uprights that are all interesting in their own ways, but not candidates for a flagship sample or a desert-island pick (where you just get one).

So I'm done celebrating character. I want to see all this new technology that is responsible for these enormous file sizes produce one (or two!) definitive new Grand samples for 2020s. Now, not later. They can be revisits of the Fazioli, the Bosendorfer, or any of the earlier classics, I don't care...but I am saying to Clavia please STOP with the all these quirky uprights until you've given us a couple new grands!

Gambold, I too am really looking forward to the next Nord Grand Piano sample release, but if you haven’t tried out the Pearl yourself, I would really beg that you not write it off just yet. You might like it a lot. Especially as I know from prior conversations that you are a big fan of both the White and the Amber… the Pearl has great qualities of both, the unique tone of the Amber but the richness of the White. I thinks it’s the most versatile piano sound I’ve tried, alongside the White. Everything sounds good on it.

[Gambold]

>but if you haven’t tried out the Pearl yourself, I would really beg that you not write it off just yet.<

I'm sure it's splendid but every new sample gets the same wave of enthusiasm and "this is the best one yet!" posts. After about six months the excitement fades. Granted, the Pearl samples are ridiculously and unexplainedly huge in size, so they musta done sumthin right...but it's YET ANOTHER UPRIGHT AND WE'VE GOT A BOATLOAD OF THOSE ALREADY.

Sometimes a sample flops out of the gate - like the Felt or the Velvet - but most of the time each new one is greeted like a new blue dawn after a dark and wintry night. Some of us have been around long enough to remember the hosannas for the Italian, including video encomiums from Piano Man Chuck, who truly loved it - no-one is playing the Italian now, or even talking about it:

general-nord-forum-f29/it-s-that-time-a ... ml#p155107

SO - while I understand that after waiting so long for anything, anything is considered is awesome. But I'm calling foul on Clavia for not giving us a new Grand. Like I said, they've only released two in the past seven years. I consider sample updates as part of the high purchase price and I don't think that is an acceptable rate for Grand samples - which I maintain are the only ones that really matter.