NORD STAGE 4 officially announced for February 16th 2023

[spalding12]

it isn't about punishing them
it said they really don't care what people do want
you can find another keyboard even for $2000 less that has so little memory
and not one bit more than six years ago
in the same exact chipset by the way is what I hear
where were they even find those?

You probably didn't follow other discussions on this topic of Nord technology platform, the limit is likely related to the "chipset" (DSP) family they use but switching architecture and porting your code to a new one is complex (and as you say they already had to for NE6/NS3 do due to discontinuation of the original Fresscale DSPs they used) and... how many of the 40 Nord employees do we think are working on R&D?

Just trying to understand, not justify or support (or "excuse"), but Nord would be crazy if they could fulfill this recurring request of "more on board memory" and they didn't do it "just because", imho, or not?

[spalding12]

it isn't about punishing them
it said they really don't care what people do want
you can find another keyboard even for $2000 less that has so little memory
and not one bit more than six years ago
in the same exact chipset by the way is what I hear
where were they even find those?

You probably didn't follow other discussions on this topic of Nord technology platform, the limit is likely related to the "chipset" (DSP) family they use but switching architecture and porting your code to a new one is complex (and as you say they already had to for NE6/NS3 do due to discontinuation of the original Fresscale DSPs they used) and... how many of the 40 Nord employees do we think are working on R&D?

Just trying to understand, not justify or support (or "excuse"), but Nord would be crazy if they could fulfill this recurring request of "more on board memory" and they didn't do it "just because", imho, or not?

Not to forget the special memory technology used on the Nords, it's not a standard and relatively cheap memory like computer RAM, as it was also discussed couple of times in this forum

[spalding12]

>shocking that this is what we get after six years<

I don't know if it's shocking. It's a top-end product, and the best of its kind out there. The pricing is an assault, but...if they can sell them regardless of that, than the market has spoken. They will likely get a lot of institutional orders, and maybe that's all they need to maintain the pleasant buzz of running a small, well-regarded company and keep the coffers full. Innovation and major design changes cost a lot of upfront money - why spend that when they are humming along.

I think this is it...they know they can sell them anyway....

that may very well be
but I never saw NORD.... A company with overpriced equipment is being run by a bunch of jerks
I thought they were nice people who cared a great deal about those who scrape together the money to buy one of their beautiful and well-made pieces of equipment
I know I'm concentrating on one thing but no keyboard in history especially the flagship has ever been updated even two years later let alone six with the same exact memory capacity
that has never happened since the dawn of time
why has it happened now
six years have elapsed and this simple thing to change in a world when memory chips are infinitely cheaper than they were six years ago
let everyone concentrate on the other things
but this does help me start to question who's running the ship at Nord and whether it is IGNORANCE or RUDENESS that caused this egregious oversight
it is really THAT simple to ME

[spalding12]

it isn't about punishing them
it said they really don't care what people do want
you can find another keyboard even for $2000 less that has so little memory
and not one bit more than six years ago
in the same exact chipset by the way is what I hear
where were they even find those?

You probably didn't follow other discussions on this topic of Nord technology platform, the limit is likely related to the "chipset" (DSP) family they use but switching architecture and porting your code to a new one is complex (and as you say they already had to for NE6/NS3 do due to discontinuation of the original Fresscale DSPs they used) and... how many of the 40 Nord employees do we think are working on R&D?

Just trying to understand, not justify or support (or "excuse"), but Nord would be crazy if they could fulfill this recurring request of "more on board memory" and they didn't do it "just because", imho, or not?

I will follow along now
and I appreciate the education
I truly do
you've helped me to understand
but I still think that making a terrible mistake
again this isn't the newest iPhone or Samsung flagship phone that would put the company out of business if they pull this kind of stunt
but nonetheless you seen what Korg has done with its memory
of course a bigger company and I'm not comparing the quality etc.
you can't offer the same memory capacity six years later
when technology moves at least at the speed of sound
$6000
and you still have to compromise with taking the keyboard out to a gig
juggling between number of piano samples and quality of those samples
but once again I do appreciate the education very much

[spalding12]

it isn't about punishing them
it said they really don't care what people do want
you can find another keyboard even for $2000 less that has so little memory
and not one bit more than six years ago
in the same exact chipset by the way is what I hear
where were they even find those?

You probably didn't follow other discussions on this topic of Nord technology platform, the limit is likely related to the "chipset" (DSP) family they use but switching architecture and porting your code to a new one is complex (and as you say they already had to for NE6/NS3 do due to discontinuation of the original Fresscale DSPs they used) and... how many of the 40 Nord employees do we think are working on R&D?

Just trying to understand, not justify or support (or "excuse"), but Nord would be crazy if they could fulfill this recurring request of "more on board memory" and they didn't do it "just because", imho, or not?

Not to forget the special memory technology used on the Nords, it's not a standard and relatively cheap memory like computer RAM, as it was also discussed couple of times in this forum

fully understood
but it's still infinitely cheaper than it was six years ago
they have to come up with a solution
and I guarantee 99% of the people who spent $6000 would spend $6400 to get twice as much memory
not talking about the people who buy $1500 keyboards
I'm talking about those of us who would spend this kind of hard-earned money

[Gambold]

>why has it happened now<

It hasn't happened now. The 2GB limitation has been in place for a long time now - the Stage 3, the Nord Grand, and the Piano 5.

I know it sucks, since the samples get more numerous and larger in size. Probably the architecture would require an expensive re-design to boost the memory. Nord is not innovating anymore - they are matured, like old wine. The Grand is pretty much a gussied-up Piano. There is nothing NEW on it, save a better, outsourced keybed.

Hell, they aren't even mentioning their 40th anniversary, which is something any company with designs on the future would do - celebrate its past as a launching point to market their reputation and expand their customer base. They don't need or want to.

[cphollis]

Nord markets their products as musical instruments, not technology platforms. How easy is it to create great music? That, in turn, depends a lot on workflow. Putting all those geegaws on the front panel where you can easily get to each and every one of them is not an inexpensive design decision.

If I am being honest, I use maybe 10% of my 2GB memory capacities (NS3C) 98% of the time. Go-to piano voices, go-to samples, etc. I have no need to browse the entire universe of Nord-supplied and user-supplied samples in a performance-oriented board. In a studio, I'd use software and not expect a hardware keyboard to play that role.

So, long story short, I do not find the memory a limitation for how I use it: live gigging. OT: I used to write code that ran in 16k of memory. Song mode and set list functions will be sorely missed, as I use those on each and every gig. I do like the individual presets for organ/piano/synth -- that bit is useful. But I'd like to summon the right combinations in the right order as easily as possible without resorting to an external control plane.

[florence]

or keep this one for technical spec discussion only and the other for... the rest

[Swampfox]

IMO, moving away from panels and having independent effects is a big step forward. A triple sensor key action on the 88 is also an improvement and step forward, although I'm not sure what it adds to the compact. The loss of the extern panel is a disappointment, it was one of the most powerful aspects of the NS3 and deserved upgrading and simplifying, even if was underutilized. The lack of a adding network connectivity or upgrading USB is confounding and disappointing; most the limitations of limited memory could be mitigated by being able to quickly reconfigure the instrument. Likewise, not having full ADSR on the synth engines in any fashion is a disappointment.

[spalding12]

Nord markets their products as musical instruments, not technology platforms. How easy is it to create great music? That, in turn, depends a lot on workflow. Putting all those geegaws on the front panel where you can easily get to each and every one of them is not an inexpensive design decision.

If I am being honest, I use maybe 10% of my 2GB memory capacities (NS3C) 98% of the time. Go-to piano voices, go-to samples, etc. I have no need to browse the entire universe of Nord-supplied and user-supplied samples in a performance-oriented board. In a studio, I'd use software and not expect a hardware keyboard to play that role.

So, long story short, I do not find the memory a limitation for how I use it: live gigging. OT: I used to write code that ran in 16k of memory. Song mode and set list functions will be sorely missed, as I use those on each and every gig. I do like the individual presets for organ/piano/synth -- that bit is useful. But I'd like to summon the right combinations in the right order as easily as possible without resorting to an external control plane.

That makes a lot of sense to me as well
I appreciate that you took time to tell me about that experience of yours
very much