Ne6d medium vs large piano samples

[Nord4thewin]

Hello, I have an nord piano 5 that I really like and recently added the electro 6 for more portability and quick gigs. I really like it also. But I have questions about the sample sizes. My piano 5 has xl samples for white n royal 3d. As in the ne6 there's no white grand and the only four grands in it are medium. I since removed grands and uprights I didn't like and added as follows. White L. Royal 4d L. Imperial M and silver M. Plus my favorite uprights black and rain in M. I know the Xl samples are fully mapped, but my question is are the large samples worth the extra space on the ne6? So far they sound both very close. Thanks

[Rusty Mike]

Depends on the kind of music you are playing on the Electro. If you're in a band situation (especially a louder band), the difference between L and XL probably won't matter at all. If you are playing solo or in quiet environments where the nuances can be heard, it might make a difference.

I also own a Piano 5 and Electro 6D. I keep the White Grand L in the Electro and I use it mostly for small jazz combo gigs.

Of the grands, I find the White most playable for my own needs. I also like the Amber Upright a lot. Your situation will be different I'm sure.

[Nord4thewin]

Hi Mike, I play mostly jazz in trio or a larger group. The stock royal 3d in medium did the trick initially. But finally got around to adding sounds with the manager. I like the white grand first, royal 3d 2nd, silver and imperial are good but not user as much. And yes I really enjoy the xl samples on my piano 5 for solo work. Now I just need a stage 4!!

[cphollis]

In most bands, you'll be lucky to hear the keyboards at all, never mind the sample size!

[Rusty Mike]

In most bands, you'll be lucky to hear the keyboards at all, never mind the sample size!

Not necessarily Chuck. Us jazzers are pretty lucky in that the piano is a prominent instrument. We’re not fighting through a wall of guitars like you pop and rock musicians.

@Nord4thewin, in small combos the challenges in getting nuanced playing from the semi weighted action on the Electro is going to outweigh any audible differences between the L and XL samples. As I said above, I like the White Grand and Amber Upright the most. I also like the Mellow and Pearl Uprights. The Silver Grand works great for brighter Latin tunes. I just reloaded the updated Studio Grand 2 which I’m going to give a try again. That was a pretty versatile piano years back.

The nice thing is that you can load up a sample and try it out at the gig or rehearsal. If you don’t like it, swap it out. To be honest, you will notice the small differences more than your band mates, never mind the audience. Unless, of course, you are lucky enough to have a 100% attentive and knowledgeable audience.

The Electro is a blast because I get to use the organ on a few tunes. EPs play very nicely on that action as well.

[Gambold]

It's true that in a rock band environment, you really don't need more than a Medium sample, unless you the keyboardist are the featured player. Which in a rock band environment is rarely the case. And if it is, it's usually for playing DX7-type motifs, not acoustic piano

BUT - unless you are out performing several times a week, you probably spend more time playing your Nord by yourself, or maybe at family gatherings or to woo a romantic partner...and then you kinda want the richer sounds an L or XL sample can provide.

Since it takes time and some thought to download and/or swap out samples, it gets to the point where you probably just leave the big samples on, no matter where you are playing. At least it has for me. So I gave up on the notion of having 10 acoustic pianos loaded on my E6 and now just have a few, almost all in XL. White Grand, Amber Upright, and Bright are the big three. I have the Honky-Tonk on as a Med, and maybe the Black, I'll have to check. Right now like everyone I'm checking out the new Studio Grand 2, but just as an L.

[Nord4thewin]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. So far on my ne6 I've made enough room for 4 grands and 4 uprights. White and silver are my favorites. The funny thing is I got used to the np5 with xl samples and lots of variety and when going to the electro there's only 4 grands and they're all medium and white isn't one of them!! I see the np5 as my serious keyboard for big jobs and for studio use. And my electro is for live gigs where sonic definition isn't as important. The ne6 has already shined in my bigger jazz groups playing mostly the royal 3d in M.
Another topic was whether it's worth going to v6 samples. So far I've heard of issues with them. I only have white grand v6 all the rest are v5.

[Nordlicht]

Another topic was whether it's worth going to v6 samples. So far I've heard of issues with them. I only have white grand v6 all the rest are v5.

Only the V6 samples offer "dynamic compression" (what’s only available on the Piano 5 and Stage 4).
But there are also a couple of V6 samples that (at the moment) don’t provide "soft release".
There are little differences in the file sizes (except the White Grand, where the V6 sample is significantly smaller).

[Nord4thewin]

I was really glad the updated white grand is 45 mb smaller. I was confused at first when loading the sound manager for first time and seeing a 245 mb file seeing that it wasnt on the website. I swapped it with the 200 mb v6 and sounds the same.
I'm still debating about going M on all my pianos in the electro so I can keep more variety. Right now I have some in L and the rest M. The electro comes stock with all medium samples. If I could do it over I would get the stage 4 compact and keep my np5 for the weighted keys if I need them. I love the weight of the electro/s4c for gigging!