Does the Nord Soft Case really offer adequate protection?

[232323]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a new case to keep my Stage 4 88 in great shape. I gig with it about 4 times a week at the moment, so lots of travel. For my E6D, it fits snugly and safely in a MONO-61 case, which I love. Just looking for opinions from some of you who might own the Nord Soft Case - does it prevent your keyboard from getting too beat up? For tours/road gigs where it'll be stacked in the trailer with other gear, I'll definitely be looking at a hardshell. But for gigging around the city, that extra weight doesn't seem super practical. I've read a lot on here about the Gator cases, too. In any case, I'm willing to spend the money to protect this instrument...thanks in advance for your thoughts and experiences.

[ovrdrvn]

Yes it does. It's quite substantial and I'd argue that they'd be foolhardy to sell it if it wasn't. If people complained about a damaged Nord (given the prices) in their own official case...would be bad PR. I wouldn't drop a few hundred pounds on it as you might be able to with some flight cases. but it's well protected and the wheels are decent. For non flight, heavy truck loading situations...I'd say a great case.

[M_a_c]

I have the NS473(HA) and the SoftCasePiano73-Bag. The key fits perfect and the bag protects it enough for all sins I usually do when carrying it from stage to rehearsal and from the car to my flat.

It will probably NOT help, if someony jumps on it or a heavy weigth falls on it from high, but for all other attacks, it should more than suffice.

On the other hand - it has 7Kg weight and with the NS4 inside, it comes to more than 20Kg. This is a lot and when you consider this weight anyway , you could think about hardcase-solution also...

I keep this bag and I´m happy and satisfied with it!

[catosim]

Hi
I used the softcase for several years with no issue, until one day the volume-pot on my NS3 was snapped off.
Don’t know the cause, the case (with the synth) was just lying in a corner after the gig and I didn’t notice any special.
Maybe a kid stumbled over the case, or maybe it snugged a corner when carrying it to the car….I have no idea.
Anyway, the volume-pot was glued a cuple of times - until I had to replace it (a couple of hours work) - and I replaced the softcase with a Gator case.
It’s like riding a car without using a safety belt…..works well until the one time I need it.

[M_a_c]

Hi
I used the softcase for several years with no issue, until one day...

Sorry to hear that. As I wrote, I use the "Nord SoftCasePiano73"-Bag - what bag did you use here? There are really differences within the models. A "SoftcaseElectroHP" or "SoftCase73" f.e. is quite different and maybe not that reliable. And in the end, my 73Key is more simple to carry than a 88one - there should surely be other rules for...

[FZiegler]

... - and I replaced the softcase with a Gator case.

Do you mean a hard shell or a soft bag? Which exactly? I've already been looking for a hard case, but didn't come to a final conclusion - and am happy with a Gator soft bag for the moment, as I move it only 20 times for rehearsals and about 5..10 times for gigs per year.

[cphollis]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a new case to keep my Stage 4 88 in great shape. I gig with it about 4 times a week at the moment, so lots of travel. For my E6D, it fits snugly and safely in a MONO-61 case, which I love. Just looking for opinions from some of you who might own the Nord Soft Case - does it prevent your keyboard from getting too beat up? For tours/road gigs where it'll be stacked in the trailer with other gear, I'll definitely be looking at a hardshell. But for gigging around the city, that extra weight doesn't seem super practical. I've read a lot on here about the Gator cases, too. In any case, I'm willing to spend the money to protect this instrument...thanks in advance for your thoughts and experiences.

As long as you're transporting your own gear, the soft cases are wonderful in my opinion. I don't gig with an 88 anymore, but when I did I loved the middle handle and wheels for easy transport. I can't comment on the 4x week usage, but mine have held up many years under lighter (weekend) use. I'd have no hesitations.

[Spider]

I'll be the devil's advocate and say that in my opinion, the Nord 88 bag is not worth on several levels.

First of all the price: it's really, and I mean REALLY, expensive for a soft case.

Protection: it's not bad at all, but not especially good either. It's a moderately padded soft case, that's it.

Size, weight and portability: for me this was the real deal-breaker. It is HUGE, and quite heavy (If I remember well, the 88 weights about 10 kgs by itself). The wheels help, but only if you never have to climb a single step in your life.

In the end, the reason to choose a soft bag over a hard case are that it's cheaper, lighter and smaller. The Nord soft bag hardly has any of these advantages.

I replaced it with a Gator G-PG case that offered comparable protection but was much cheaper, more compact and portable with shoulder straps etc. And it gave me an overall impression of higher quality in the zippers, fabric thickness etc.

[DJKeys]

I have used the Nord gig bag for my NS2 and NS3 for14 years with no issues. Only local gigs, no fly dates. When I bought the Wave 2 in 2020, the gig bag wasn't available yet, but I got the Gator Pro Go Slim 61 bag (for $100!) and it fit perfectly. That bag has also served well for 5 years now.

-dj

[catosim]

... - and I replaced the softcase with a Gator case.

Do you mean a hard shell or a soft bag? Which exactly? I've already been looking for a hard case, but didn't come to a final conclusion - and am happy with a Gator soft bag for the moment, as I move it only 20 times for rehearsals and about 5..10 times for gigs per year.

Hard case