NORD STAGE 4 officially announced for February 16th 2023

[jrcornelisse]

It really feels more like a Stage 3 EX rather than 4.. guess I'll wait until 2029!

shocking that this is what we get after six years
I understand these aren't cell phones that sell to millions of people
and only a small group of people on earth will be willing to shell out $6000 for a keyboard
but why bother coming up with the new iteration at all if this is what you get?
The piano and every single memory should have been expanded
memory costs 10 times less than it did six years ago when the stage 3 was introduced
it should have been tripled for the stage 4
nothing short of ludicrous that it hasn't

Totally agree. Although it is just a feeling, I hate it that I am not able to just put all XL (or even L) piano samples in my Stage 3. No room left for external own synth samples as well.

But - I will stop complaining, because after 20 years of Yamaha playing this Nord board is for me still a great friend.

[Gambold]

>when you try to maintain a form factor just for the hell of it <

This was more likely a cost decision. And I guess 2GB of memory is the permanent ceiling now. No increase from the Piano 5 or Grand. Or Stage 3, for that matter.

It does have lots of pretty lights.

[analogika]

>when you try to maintain a form factor just for the hell of it <

This was more likely a cost decision. And I guess 2GB of memory is the permanent ceiling now. No increase from the Piano 5 or Grand. Or Stage 3, for that matter.

It does have lots of pretty lights.

And lots and lots of pretty functions.

[WannitBBBad]

YouTube video coming up:
Nord Stage 4: Timothée Bakoglu - Roots Like This

[GeeDeWee]

Just realised: in the comparison charts, you can have now presets for Organ, Piano and even FX (as it used to be in the NS3 for synths) I like that one

Maybe that's why the song mode disappeared. You can store 2x64 Organ presets, 2x64 Piano presets and 8x64 synth presest, all including effects.
The 512 Programs - with seamless transition - are left for combining them and organizing them for live playing. Seems adequate to me.

[anotherscott]

Oh, the triple sensor semi-weighted on the Compact is interesting, too. The only other board I've seen that on is the Hammond XK5, which uses the extra sensor to better simulate the staggered contact triggering of a tonewheel organ. No mention of that feature on the Nord, but it is something that could theoretically be taken advantage of in that way. Other than that, it could make it the only non-hammer board that permits retriggering a (non-pedaled) piano note without lifting it so high as to silence it first, and could facilitate low-velocity note repetitions, as this feature typically does on hammer action boards.

[JackD]

At the end of the day, is a good improvement over NS3, but I believe that NS3 is still a powerhouse.
Considering the current differences in the prices, I am not that sure what I would buy.
NS3 could jeopadize Nord Piano 5 sales, I guess

[analogika]

memory costs 10 times less than it did six years ago when the stage 3 was introduced
it should have been tripled for the stage 4
nothing short of ludicrous that it hasn't

A common misconception.

NOR Flash, which is the special type of Flash RAM used in devices like these, is MORE expensive than it was six years ago, due to the pandemic. Though prices are gently declining now.

This is not the Flash used in external SSDs — which, incidentally, does not cost "10 times less than it did six years ago", either.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but you should base it on reality IMHO.

[Gambold]

So who comprises the Clavia house band that is backing up each one of these Nord Artists? They are all wearing Nord hoodies...where can I get one of those?

[spalding12]

It really feels more like a Stage 3 EX rather than 4.. guess I'll wait until 2029!

shocking that this is what we get after six years
I understand these aren't cell phones that sell to millions of people
and only a small group of people on earth will be willing to shell out $6000 for a keyboard
but why bother coming up with the new iteration at all if this is what you get?
The piano and every single memory should have been expanded
memory costs 10 times less than it did six years ago when the stage 3 was introduced
it should have been tripled for the stage 4
nothing short of ludicrous that it hasn't

Totally agree. Although it is just a feeling, I hate it that I am not able to just put all XL (or even L) piano samples in my Stage 3. No room left for external own synth samples as well.

But - I will stop complaining, because after 20 years of Yamaha playing this Nord board is for me still a great friend.

I'm glad you said that
I know it makes some sense to have all the samples but why shouldn't you be able to have them
we are all the new sounds?
It isn't about one manufacturer against another
but the biggest problem with the sounds is that you're forced to put in less than the full quality sample because of memory limitations
which is dumb in 2023 because memory is cheap
and quite frankly when someone's willing to spend $5800 on a keyboard that same person would spend $300 more to have three times the memory
all of Apple's computers are overpriced but it doesn't stop people from buying them
there memory upgrades are stupid costing but people still do it because they want the convenience
Nord should have learned that lesson a long time ago.
The memory limitations of this almost $6000 keyboard are the result of nothing less than stupid thinking all the way up the corporate line