New EP, "Stockholm"

[Shatnerized]

>I'll be honest i tend to use EP1: MK I low-deep the most because it sounds the most like my actual MK I Rhodes.<

That one is still my go-to. When I first came onboard the EP7 amped version had just been released and that was on everyone's hotlist for a time...but it soon faded, the "amped" aspect not really helping or improving the sounds of the original set. Then came Nefertiti and everyone went bonkers - but i always thought it was a bit murky, and as I have an unreasonable aversion to using EQ to "fix" samples, I dumped it pretty quickly.

Now with the Stockholm I'm running it through the paces. It's not quite as charming as the EP1 but it's a lot clearer and better-sounding than the Nefertiti. So we will see...I'm also of the opinion that Rhodes samples can only sound so good on a semi-weighted waterfall keyboard like the one on my Electro. The percussive nature of a fully-weighted Rhodes keybed was a big part of the attack and sound of that instrument.

I still have to try out the EP8 Nefertiti to see how it compares to the EP1. The EP8 is the last Rhodes that i can put on my stage classic unfortunately. Anything that is V6 software is off the table for me, which includes the Stockholm and also the White Grand which I would love to try out, but the Royal 3D still has a legacy sample for my old nord to utilize and sounds excellent.

I know this isn't a question direclty related to the EP, "Stockholm" but, if you had a 15 yr old stage classic revision c, do you think it is really worth the upgrade to even a stage 2 just for the sheer fact you can open up access to all of the V6 XL/Enhanced sounds? I don't think I could justify going right to the cream of the crop Stage 4 unless someone handed me an extra $2,000 cash, but I have been watching video reviews of it and the synth section looks pretty incredible, but my main weapon on Nord is the piano library a mixture of EP's and grand/upright. With my stage classic i can only have 1 medium sized grand/upright at a time if i also want to have several EPs/wurly/CP80 at the same time. So I have always been limited by the on board storage figure of 124mb. That gets filled up in a hurry!

[agcohn]

I know this isn't a question direclty related to the EP, "Stockholm" but, if you had a 15 yr old stage classic revision c, do you think it is really worth the upgrade to even a stage 2 just for the sheer fact you can open up access to all of the V6 XL/Enhanced sounds? I don't think I could justify going right to the cream of the crop Stage 4 unless someone handed me an extra $2,000 cash, but I have been watching video reviews of it and the synth section looks pretty incredible, but my main weapon on Nord is the piano library a mixture of EP's and grand/upright. With my stage classic i can only have 1 medium sized grand/upright at a time if i also want to have several EPs/wurly/CP80 at the same time. So I have always been limited by the on board storage figure of 124mb. That gets filled up in a hurry!

If you mostly play AP/EP sounds, I think I would personally want a used Piano 4 for the triple sensor keybed, otherwise a used Electro 5D or Stage 3 if the organs or synth are also important.

[Rusty Mike]

I know this isn't a question direclty related to the EP, "Stockholm" but, if you had a 15 yr old stage classic revision c, do you think it is really worth the upgrade to even a stage 2 just for the sheer fact you can open up access to all of the V6 XL/Enhanced sounds? I don't think I could justify going right to the cream of the crop Stage 4 unless someone handed me an extra $2,000 cash, but I have been watching video reviews of it and the synth section looks pretty incredible, but my main weapon on Nord is the piano library a mixture of EP's and grand/upright. With my stage classic i can only have 1 medium sized grand/upright at a time if i also want to have several EPs/wurly/CP80 at the same time. So I have always been limited by the on board storage figure of 124mb. That gets filled up in a hurry!

Just my 2 cents, but you could get some better longevity if you could stretch your budget to a pre-owned Stage 3. Having owned multiple generations of Electros, it seems Nord improves the DACs with each passing. The Stage 3's DAC's I'm sure are an improvement over the Stage 2/2EX. In addition, if Nord's treatment of the Stage 3 support is anything like they've done for the Stage 2/2EX, there may be an OS update to support the next-gen piano sample anyway.

If you're still considering a Stage 2 (and depending on where in the US you are), I'm about to put my Stage 2EX 76 up for sale.

[23skidoo]

I agree, if longevity and new samples are your goal I'd get a Stage 3 and not a 2/2EX. That *should* get you at least one extra generation of samples beyond the current, plus a lot of memory. That said, if you really value more APs and EPs, then the 2EX is a great budget-minded option to get a lot of storage and access to the at-least-for-now top of the line samples in the piano library.

I'm not so convinced the DACs are really that much better version to version. A decent 48kHz 24-bit DAC has been there for several generations now. The improvement in sound that people hear is likely more to do with the internal DSP algorithms than anything else. Better filters that require faster DSPs, more correct pitch stretching and looping, higher precision coefficients, all of these make for a much more audible improvement in sound quality than DACs for the most part, once you're at or past 44.1kHz/16bit.

[tsss27]

Agree with all the above, skip the 2 and grab a Stage 3.
Alternatively if you are only interested in the pianos and sample playback (I.E. you don't need full VA synthesis,) a Piano 5 is worth a look. You still get both piano layers like in the Stage, and 2 sample players. No organs, of course. But these can be found pretty cheap if you have the patience, and they're even newer than the Stage 3.

[Gambold]

>do you think it is really worth the upgrade<

If you can afford to upgrade, upgrade....especially if you are playing a model that is two or more issues behind. The new features, functionality and expanded memory will open up all sorts of new options and "reboot" you as a Nord player.

[DJKeys]

I know this isn't a question direclty related to the EP, "Stockholm" but, if you had a 15 yr old stage classic revision c, do you think it is really worth the upgrade to even a stage 2 just for the sheer fact you can open up access to all of the V6 XL/Enhanced sounds? I don't think I could justify going right to the cream of the crop Stage 4 unless someone handed me an extra $2,000 cash, but I have been watching video reviews of it and the synth section looks pretty incredible, but my main weapon on Nord is the piano library a mixture of EP's and grand/upright. With my stage classic i can only have 1 medium sized grand/upright at a time if i also want to have several EPs/wurly/CP80 at the same time. So I have always been limited by the on board storage figure of 124mb. That gets filled up in a hurry!

Just my 2 cents, but you could get some better longevity if you could stretch your budget to a pre-owned Stage 3. Having owned multiple generations of Electros, it seems Nord improves the DACs with each passing. The Stage 3's DAC's I'm sure are an improvement over the Stage 2/2EX. In addition, if Nord's treatment of the Stage 3 support is anything like they've done for the Stage 2/2EX, there may be an OS update to support the next-gen piano sample anyway.

If you're still considering a Stage 2 (and depending on where in the US you are), I'm about to put my Stage 2EX 76 up for sale.

I also think the NS3 is the way to go if you can swing it. That version had many updates from the NS2 that customers had requested.

I had this same experience, I had a Stage 2 for 6 years and when I bought the Stage 3 I noticed a definite difference in fidelity of the sound in my studio using the same gear-

-dj

[harmonizer]

I recently bought a used Stage 3, to upgrade from my old Electro 3, with the biggest incentive being able to use the White Grand AP sound.

I opted for the Stage 3 because a used one was offered for sale by one of the reputable members here, so that provided some assurance for me about the particular used device I was buying. I might have also considered a used Stage 2 EX, since that would have also given me access to using newer Nord sound libraries, but I preferred getting the extra capabilities of the Stage 3.

[daniel70]

Maybe it’s only me, but i find this thread is going a bit off topic…?

[Nordine]

Maybe it’s only me, but i find this thread is going a bit off topic…?

Me too.