NP5 : What are your favourite sounds?

[Batteruno]

Hi everyone!!

I'm glad to enter this community as.. there is currently a NP5 brand new in his box in my living room (Thank you P6 to live)!!

I love this customization concept very much, I'm planning to use only XL libraries except some characterful ones with the place remaining for layering purposes or into effects.

For what I experienced with the YC88 I don't like the bright "cutting through / pop sound" of Yamaha's pianos, I like warm instruments with character, I remember for example having liked the Italian Grand and the Bambino upright form Nord website previews and youtube videos. I will mainly play solo jazz with those pianos so I'm looking for those jazz sounds I heard thousand times on legendary jazz recordings..

Then I want XL EP's too, I'll just keep one or two digitals for layering and all others in rhodes/vintage/warm/distorted style.

On the sample side I'm going for a lot of Mellotron for sure and I liked the Spitfire String and Swing! collections too, do I need to remove much stuff in exchange as it seems there are no XL versions on this side?
I was not thinking using much synth stuff but I have to experience it because they could be interesting in sublayers as for acoustic instruments samples, that's the purpose of that instrument afterall, isn't it (I love sound design)?

What about you, experienced users? What are you using the most?

Is anybody recognizing himself in my warm/acoustic/imperfect/analog tastes?

Sorry I'm sure this has been discussed a lot already but I only found very old topics, if there is one topic of reference on that subject I'd love to know his title..

Thank you very much for sharing!

[Gambold]

Coupla things:

The XLs are great for private playing or when you are entertaining as a solo artist in a tea salon. If you're playing with band, no-one will notice the difference and you can go to the L versions if you need to save space.

The Italian Grand experienced the biggest and quickest downfall in popularity of any acoustic piano sample on this forum. Where it polled high in the beginning, now we don't even talk about it. It never happened. Nord also bailed on it early - it only appeared in the factory loads of 2-3 boards and vanished after 2017. Even the Velvet, which has never been loved much, is still getting a factory load on every new Nord board.

The White Grand is the clear winner, but then the most recent Grand always is, with the notable exception of the wretched Soft Grand, which Nord released in 2023 to the excitement and acclaim of absolutely no-one. The Felt Upright, another "piano played under a wool blanket" sample, had been released a year earlier in 2022 and more than satisfied anyone's need to make their audience feel like they were wearing earplugs. The Imperial with its thunderous bass has proven to be the most popular of the old-timers, as well as the Stage Grand 2, which is the one sample that has appeared on every single Nord keyboard release....likely because it was recorded with the mikes right up close, a rarity for Nord piano sampling. Oh, and the Bright Grand is essential if you play in a pop combo, because it will carry over the din of the guitars better than the rest.

The Uprights are fabled for their "character," but don't have a lot of practical use. Over half of the Upright samples are 15 years old and they sound like it. You will likely find one you like the most and play that maybe 5% of the time, just to change things up. The Amber is generally regarded as the biggie, although there have always been solid votes for the Black and the Mellow. The Baby and the Bambino (don't those mean the same thing?) are not full-sized uprights so again...not a lot of practical use there, but they could be needed in some context that I can't personally imagine on a $3500 digital keyboard. There are some silly pianos like the Saloon if you want to be fun at parties. And who doesn't?

For EPs, the Stockholm Rhodes is head and shoulders above the Nefertiti, which was the Big Shizzle until the Stockholm came out and blew it out of contention. All the others are old and kind of weak, although I personally still have a soft spot for EP1 and its lovely bell sound. The Wurlitzers will sound much better if you use the Dyno features on your board. Without those they are pretty murky. Nord is in no hurry to provide us a new Wurli sample...the most recent one is 12 years old now.

Is Mellotron still a thing? Thought that went out with joss sticks and patchouli....

[Mighty Motif Max]

In prepping for my Stage 4 purchase and being something of an Excel fanatic, I've actually gone through the entirety of the sample library versions (including the now-offline archive and the unreleased Gospel Keys stuff) and the Piano Library as well to figure out what I'd be looking for. I threw that all into a spreadsheet while subtracting the sizes from the available memory space for each section to make sure I stayed within the confines of the available memory (2GB piano, 1GB sample). My general suggestion is to consider starting with a blank slate, and clearing out most of the factory content before loading in what you want.

This is what I ended up with for my Piano Library section - I'm a pianist first, but am also coming over from the Yamaha side, so I can relate to your preference for warmer instruments that sit well when exposed. I've played a few NS3's at churches over the past few years, and I found that some of the older samples actually work really well still (case in point - the Queen Upright has been my go-to general-purpose upright and it's from 2011). I disagree with Gambold on the usefulness of the uprights - for jazz, worship music, ragtime, and some solo pop work, they're exactly what the doctor ordered.

Piano Library Table - Space Remaining: 181.68MB

.............................................................................
:                        Name                         : Version : Size (MB) :
:.....................................................:.........:...........:
: White Grand (Steinway Model B-211)                  : XL Size :    203.65 :
: Royal Grand 3D (Yamaha S6)                          : XL Size :    208.05 :
: Bright Grand (Yamaha S4)                            : XL Size :    195.43 :
: Grand Imperial (Bosendorfer Imperial)               : XL Size :    197.57 :
: Felt Upright (Yamaha SU118)                         : XL Size :    185.46 :
: Queen Upright (Bosendorfer)                         : L Size  :     66.13 :
: Black Upright (Petrof 132)                          : L Size  :     78.78 :
: Saloon Upright (Baumgardt)                          : L Size  :      61.1 :
: Bambino Upright (Baldwin Spinet)                    : XL Size :    131.98 :
: Grand Upright (Yamaha U3)                           : XL Size :    160.35 :
: French Harpsichord 1A Lower 8                       : Regular :     15.27 :
: French Harpsichord 1C Low8 Up8                      : Regular :     14.93 :
: Marimba                                             : Stereo  :     14.99 :
: Vibraphone                                          : Stereo  :     27.47 :
: Hohner Clavinet D6                                  : Regular :      5.66 :
: Electric Grand CP80 (Yamaha)                        : Regular :      8.47 :
: Electric Grand Amped                                : Regular :     21.51 :
: EP9 Stockholm (1976 MKI Stage)                      : XL Size :    100.89 :
: EP5 MK I Suitcase, Bright Tines (1975 MKI Suitcase) : XL Size :      23.5 :
: EP1 MK I, Low Deep (1978 MKI Stage)                 : L Size  :     11.87 :
: Wurlitzer 2 Amped (200A)                            : Regular :     23.02 :
: DigiGrand 1 (Roland JV)                             : Regular :     11.68 :
: Ballad EP2                                          : Regular :      17.3 :
: Silver EP                                           : Regular :     23.03 :
: DX Full Tines                                       : Regular :     20.54 :
: JD800 E.Piano Crystal (Gospel Keys)                 : L Size  :     21.24 :
: MK80 E.Piano 1 Contemporary (Gospel Keys)           : L Size  :     16.45 :
:.....................................................:.........:...........:

For the sample library, what I ended up doing was mapping out what types of sounds I would want for gigs, and how many variations thereof, before going through the sample library and finding samples that worked for those needs. That helped me cut down on adding unnecessary samples that I would likely never use, and maximizing my available memory in the event I needed to add more samples. You'll notice that there are a few holes in my sample library list - for example, there's no useful solo contrabass sample available.


Sample Library Table - Space Remaining: 484.1MB

.............................................................................................
:           What?           :                 Name                 :  Version   : Size (MB) :
:...........................:......................................:............:...........:
: Warm Synth Pad            : Warm Pad 1                           : V4         :       1.2 :
: Warm Synth Pad 2          : Super 12 Pad                         : V4         :       6.4 :
: Warm Synth Pad 3          : Super M Pad                          : V4         :       4.7 :
: Warm Synth Pad 4          :                                      :            :           :
: Vocal Pad                 : Vocalise Pad                         : V4         :       3.6 :
: Vocal Pad 2               : Choir1 PolyC                         : V3         :       1.5 :
: Square Pad                : Hollow Pad                           : V4         :       2.5 :
: Square Pad 2              : Environs                             : V3         :       1.3 :
: Medium Synth Pad 1        : Abba Pad NL3                         : V3         :       2.2 :
: Medium Synth Pad 2        : Paddington JX-3P                     : V3         :       2.5 :
: Medium Synth Pad 3        :                                      :            :           :
: Medium Synth Pad 4        :                                      :            :           :
: Breathy Pad               : Digital Air Pad                      : V3         :       4.6 :
: Bright Synth Pad          : Aha Pad                              : V4         :       3.6 :
: Bright Synth Pad 2        : PWM Pad                              : V4         :       3.6 :
: Solo Cello                : Solo Cello 2 Vibrato                 : V3         :       3.5 :
: Solo Contrabass           :                                      :            :           :
: Solo Violin               : Solo Violin 2 Vibrato                : V3         :       4.1 :
: Ensemble Contrabass       : 8-Basses Legato                      : V3         :       2.4 :
: Aggressive Marcato        : ChamberStr Marc HiVib                : V3         :       4.1 :
: Big Strings               : SwingStr Legato Amb                  : V4         :      13.8 :
: Medium Strings            : ChamberStr Leg HiVib                 : V4         :      10.6 :
: String Quartet            : Spitfire String Quintet              : V4         :        12 :
: Fast String Quartet       : Spitfire String Quintet Fast         : V4         :        12 :
: Slow Quartet              : Spitfire String Quintet Flautando    : V4         :       9.4 :
: Marc Quartet              : Spitfire String Quintet Marc Short   : V4         :       2.4 :
: Soft Quartet              : Spitfire String Quintet Soft         : V4         :      14.8 :
: Spiccato Quarted          : Spitfire String Quintet Spiccato     : V4         :       2.3 :
: Staccato Quartet          : Spitfire String Quintet Sptaccato    : V4         :       2.4 :
: Trem Quartet Soft         : Spitfire String Quintet Trem Soft    : V4         :         7 :
: Tremolo Quartet           : Spitfire String Quintet Tremolo      : V4         :       7.6 :
: Synth Lead                : Triple Saw Lead 3                    : V4         :       2.4 :
: Tremolo Strings           : OrchStrings Tremolo                  : V4         :        10 :
: Fast strings              : Pop Strings                          : V4         :       3.8 :
: Marcato strings           : OrchStrings Marc Vib                 : V4         :      11.3 :
: Legato strings            : OrchStrings Legato                   : V4         :       4.9 :
: Spiccato Strings          : SymphStr Spicc Amb                   : V4         :       2.2 :
: Con sordino strings       : SymphStr Sordino Cls                 : V4         :      13.2 :
: Pizz Strings              : SymphStr Pizz Cls                    : V4         :       2.4 :
: Small Pizz Strings        : Spitfire String Quintet Pizzicato    : V4         :         1 :
: Steel guitar              : Ac Guitar Pick                       : V4         :       3.6 :
: Nylon guitar              : Classical Guitar                     : V4         :       2.5 :
: Clean electric            : E Guitar S 62                        : V4         :       4.3 :
: Clean electric            : E Guitar T 57                        : V3         :       4.2 :
: Clean electric            : E Guitar LP Neck                     : V3         :         1 :
: Clean electric            : E Guitar LP 55                       : V3         :       3.5 :
: Jazz Guitar               : Jazz Guitar                          : V4         :         2 :
: Amp electric              : OverlandGuitar__PSv4 (?? Check)      : V1 Archive :         - :
: Distorted Electric        : DistGit__DVv4                        : V1 Archive :         - :
: Muted Guitar              :                                      :            :           :
: Acoustic Bass             : Swing Upright Bass                   : V4         :       3.4 :
: Acoustic Bass Slap        : Swing Upright Bass Slap              : V4         :       2.2 :
: Electric Bass             : Fend Jazz Plectr Preamp              : V4         :       4.1 :
: Electric Bass 2           : Six-String Bass VI                   : V4         :         2 :
: Electric Bass 3           : Fend Prec Preamp                     : V3         :       0.9 :
: Pick Bass                 : Fend Prec Pick Damp                  : V3         :       0.3 :
: Fretless Bass             : Fretless Bass MM                     : V4         :       2.6 :
: Mute Bass                 : Violin Bass Hof                      : V4         :       1.5 :
: Slap Bass                 : BCL Slap Bass                        : V3         :       0.8 :
: Synth Bass                : Thrill Bass                          : V4         :       1.1 :
: Synth Bass 2              : Chop Bass 1                          : V4         :       0.3 :
: Synth Bass 3              : Detune Bass 2                        : V4         :         2 :
: Synth Bass 4              : SynthBass 10                         : V3         :       0.4 :
: Synth Bass 5              : SynthBass 6                          : V3         :       0.1 :
: FM Bass                   : FM Bass 1                            : V4         :       0.9 :
: Lately Bass               : FM Late Bass                         : V4         :       1.1 :
: Synth Comp                : G2 Stage Key                         : V4         :         1 :
: Synth Comp 2              : Litely NL3 Ste                       : V4         :       1.3 :
: Synth Comp 3              : Bell Synth                           : V4         :       3.1 :
: Synth Comp 4              : Jan Chords NL2X                      : V3         :       1.3 :
: Synth Comp 5              : Mallet 2 NL3                         : V3         :       0.8 :
: Synth Comp 6              : PointedTrianglesHard NL2X            : V3         :       1.1 :
: Synth Brass               : Analog Brass 1                       : V4         :       2.1 :
: Synth Brass 2             : Horns MMM                            : V4         :       2.1 :
: Synth Brass 3             : Rich Synth Brass                     : V4         :       3.7 :
: Synth Horns               : Horn Saw                             : V4         :       5.6 :
: Synth Strings             : ELKA Rhapsodie Str2                  : V4         :         2 :
: Synth Strings 2           : Godwin Symphony 8+4                  : V4         :       1.8 :
: Synth Strings 3           : Korg Trident Combi 2                 : V3         :       1.1 :
: Solina                    : Logan Str Melody 8+4                 : V3         :       1.3 :
: FM Strings                : DX7 Strings                          : V3         :       2.2 :
: FM Strings 2              : AnaStrings DX7IIC                    : V3         :       3.5 :
: RMI Electra Piano         : RMI Electra 368x                     : V1 Archive :      13.4 :
: Harmonica                 : Bluesharp                            : V3         :       0.1 :
: Musette accordion         : Musette Accordion                    : V3         :       1.4 :
: Master accordion          : Victorini Accordion 1                : V4         :       1.8 :
: Bandoneon                 : Bandoneon                            : V3         :         1 :
: Harp                      : Harp 1                               : V4         :       6.5 :
: Brass section             : Brass Section Double 1               : V4         :       8.3 :
: Brass section 2           : Brass Section Pop 3                  : V3         :       5.4 :
: Brass Falls               : Brass Section Fall Double            : V3         :         1 :
: Small Brass Sect          : Soul Horn Trio+Baryton               : V3         :       3.6 :
: Solo trumpet              : Trumpet Soft                         : V4         :       1.2 :
: Tenor saxophone           : Saxophone Multi                      : V4         :       1.7 :
: Sax Vibrato               : Saxophone Vibrato                    : V3         :       0.8 :
: Tape Choir                : 4VoiceMaleChoir Mellotron M400       : V4         :       6.4 :
: Tape Strings              : 3 Violins Chamberlin Mmaster         : V4         :       5.1 :
: Tape Flute                : Flute Mellotron MkII                 : V4         :       5.1 :
: Tape Brass                :                                      :            :           :
: Tape Guitar               :                                      :            :           :
: TapePiano                 : Piano 61 Mellotron M300              : V4         :      10.2 :
: Tape Pizz Strings         : Pizzicato Violins Chamberlin Mmaster : V4         :       1.8 :
: Tape Harpsichord          : Acoustic Harpsichord Chamberlin M35  : V4         :       9.5 :
: Celeste                   : Celeste                              : V4         :       2.1 :
: Celeste 2                 : J-Celeste                            : V4         :       0.8 :
: Belltower                 : Belltower Gefle                      : V4         :         2 :
: Glockenspiel              : Glockenspiel                         : V4         :       2.5 :
: Glockenspiel 2            : Glockenspiel 2                       : V3         :       0.1 :
: Pipe Organ 1              : Principal 8                          : V4         :       3.7 :
: Pipe Organ 2              : Rorflojt 4                           : V4         :       3.6 :
: Pipe Organ 3              : Cathedral Organ 3                    : V4         :       3.6 :
: Marimba                   : Marimba                              : V3         :       0.2 :
: Vibes                     : Vibraphone                           : V4         :       2.4 :
: Bowed Vibes               : Bowed Vibra                          : V4         :         6 :
: Kalimba                   : Kalimba                              : V4         :       0.1 :
: Aah Choir                 : Men+Women Ah Soft                    : V4         :       4.5 :
: Ooh Choir                 : Men+Women Oh Soft                    : V4         :       4.5 :
: Big Choir                 : Big Choir                            : V3         :       3.1 :
: Clarinet                  : Jazz Clarinet                        : V4         :       3.2 :
: Oboe                      : Oboe Multi                           : V4         :       1.2 :
: Flute                     : Flute Mellotron MkII                 : V3         :       1.2 :
: Pan Flute                 : Bolivian Panpipe                     : V3         :       0.8 :
: Recorder                  : Recorder Multi                       : V4         :       2.9 :
: Recorder 2                : Alto Recorder                        : V3         :       1.1 :
: Ney                       : Ney Flute                            : V4         :       0.8 :
: Irish Flute               : Tin Whistle                          : V4         :       2.4 :
: French Horns              : French Horns 2 Leg                   : V4         :       3.2 :
: Soft Brass                : Muted Brass Legato                   : V4         :       2.5 :
: Orchestral Brass          : Orchestral Brass                     : V3         :       4.5 :
: 12 String Guitar          : Ac Guitar 12 Str                     : V4         :       3.9 :
: Banjo                     : Banjo 2                              : V4         :       1.2 :
: Cimbalom                  : Cimbalom Hard                        : V4         :      12.3 :
: Santoor                   : Indian Santoor                       : V4         :       4.5 :
: Bandura                   : Ukrainian Bandura                    : V4         :       2.1 :
: Orchestra Layer           : Full Orchestra 1                     : V4         :       3.3 :
: Sample Piano              : Bright Piano 2                       : V4         :       4.3 :
: Toy Piano                 : Toy Piano LA                         : V4         :       2.4 :
: Cloud Drum                : Sun Drum                             : V4         :       1.8 :
: Tubular Bells             : Tubular Bells                        : V4         :         1 :
: Tubular Bells 2           : TubularBells                         : V3         :       2.6 :
: Xylophone                 : Xylophone 1                          : V4         :       0.8 :
: Xylophone 2               : Xylophone 2                          : V3         :       0.1 :
: Celtic Harp               : Celtic Harp 1                        : V3         :         1 :
: Oud                       : Oud Asian Lute                       : V3         :       0.4 :
: Santur 2                  : Persian Santur                       : V3         :       2.4 :
: Saz                       : Saz Long Necked Lute                 : V3         :       1.8 :
: Sitar                     : Sitar 1                              : V3         :       0.9 :
: Clavinet A                : Clavinet 1 Mic 1                     : V3         :       0.9 :
: Clavinet B                : Clavinet 2 Mic 2                     : V3         :       0.9 :
: Clavinet C                : Clavinet 3 Mic 1+2                   : V3         :         1 :
: Clavinet D                : Clavinet 4 Mic 1-2                   : V3         :       1.1 :
: DX FM Epiano              : DX7IIC FineTines                     : V3         :       1.9 :
: CP80                      : ElGrand CP80                         : V3         :       1.1 :
: Rhodes                    : Epiano 1 Soft                        : V3         :       0.8 :
: Rhodes Hard               : Epiano 2                             : V3         :       0.9 :
: Upright Piano             : Grandmas Upright                     : V3         :       5.4 :
: Grand Piano               : GrandPiano YaC7 Stereo               : V3         :       2.7 :
: Harpsichord               : Harpsichord                          : V3         :         3 :
: Harpsichord 2             : Harpsichord Italian Double           : V3         :       3.5 :
: Harpsichord Lute          : Harpsichord Italian Lute             : V3         :       2.1 :
: Honky Tonk                : HonkyTonk Piano                      : V3         :       3.7 :
: MKS EP                    : Piano 80                             : V3         :       2.1 :
: M1 Piano                  : Piano Korg M1                        : V3         :       0.4 :
: Upright Piano 2           : Rain Piano                           : V3         :         3 :
: Wurlitzer                 : Wurlitzer                            : V3         :       0.9 :
: Experimental Tuned Perc   : Almglocken                           : V3         :       3.1 :
: Experimental Tuned Perc 2 : Thaigong                             : V4         :       2.7 :
: Bagpipes                  : Bagpipe Combi                        : V3         :       0.8 :
: Celtic Pipe               : Celtic Whistle                       : V3         :       0.6 :
: Woodwinds Comb            : Flutes + Oboe Legato                 : V3         :       2.3 :
: Shakuhachi                : Shakuhachi                           : V3         :         2 :
: Zurna                     : Shehnai                              : V4         :       0.4 :
: Hohner Pianet             : Pianet N                             : V1 Archive :         5 :
: Hohner Pianet 2           : PH Pianos                            : V1 Archive :      17.4 :
:...........................:......................................:............:...........:

Hope this can give you some inspiration and an idea for tracking what all you can fit in your memory space. It helped me wrap my head around what my options were.

[Gambold]

Coupla things:
(…)

Excellent summary, on the point!
Although, I prefer the Royal Grand 3D to the White Grand, but that’s really a subjective matter of taste.

[Gambold]

The Royal Grand was the Big Cheese for some time, and yes, many people still prefer its slightly darker tone.

The whole 3D thing was an experiment...they were attempting to reproduce a piano that would sound best in headphones. But I don't think it mattered and most people can't tell any difference in the sampling procedure. If anyone can, please jump in and tell us what you hear that sticks out as unique.

Honestly I think they should quietly dump the 3D label since it's weird and doesn't mean anything. You don't hear the Royal in 3D compared to other pianos in 2D.

I would load the Royal on my Electro but I have no room. I have the White XL, the Bright L, Studio 2 XL and the Velvet L. The Royal is conceivably a good swap for the Velvet (which I don't use much), but I didn't want to have 3 out 4 of my Grands being Yamahas. I don't use M or S samples at all for acoustic pianos - I didn't spend all this money on a Nord to play samples where different sections of the keyboard have less features.