Logo for Nord should be a snoring human

[Gambold]

>I wonder if similar things are happening with attrition of their engineers and the knowledge of each product is so niche that if someone leaves then evolving upon that design becomes difficult or impossible. <

One thing this forum has never had access to is an insider in Stockholm. We sort of had one with Pablo Mastodon, who was nominally supported by Clavia to be here, but he left under mysterious circumstances about five years ago and was never replaced. Since then it's been radio silence, and attempts by several posters here, including yours truly, to get feedback from customer service all hit a wall.

[analogika]

Hi,

Usually, if there is a long time of silence, they‘re doing something really huge. Let’s hope.

Primarily, they're probably just getting the f*cking Organ 3 done.

[Gambold]

We are fast creeping into Fall. Which is an important season for two reasons: it's the start of the school year, and many keyboards are bought by and for music students like right now...and it's when dealers have to start thinking about how they are going to order and stock for the holidays. THAT buying season starts in about ten weeks, here in the consumer-crazed USA. Yep, right after Halloween.

SO - what does Nord have to sell us? The new combo organ SHOULD be out by then, although that is a pretty niche product. My guess is it will be just about the greatest Hammond clone available, but that's not the fat part of their market. That would be held by the Electro, Stage, and Piano. There already are new and expensive versions of the Stage and Piano out. So Nord really really needs to get out a more affordable shiny new Electro for the rest of us.

I'm starting to fear that's not going to happen this year. Seems to me it would be ANNOUNCED by now if it was. If it's not RELEASED by mid-October, they miss the holidays.

[analogika]

We are fast creeping into Fall. Which is an important season for two reasons: it's the start of the school year, and many keyboards are bought by and for music students like right now...and it's when dealers have to start thinking about how they are going to order and stock for the holidays. THAT buying season starts in about ten weeks, here in the consumer-crazed USA. Yep, right after Halloween.

SO - what does Nord have to sell us? The new combo organ SHOULD be out by then, although that is a pretty niche product. My guess is it will be just about the greatest Hammond clone available, but that's not the fat part of their market. That would be held by the Electro, Stage, and Piano. There already are new and expensive versions of the Stage and Piano out. So Nord really really needs to get out a more affordable shiny new Electro for the rest of us.

I'm starting to fear that's not going to happen this year. Seems to me it would be ANNOUNCED by now if it was. If it's not RELEASED by mid-October, they miss the holidays.

The Pro audio market does not follow back-to-school sales cycles.

[cphollis]

We are fast creeping into Fall. Which is an important season for two reasons: it's the start of the school year, and many keyboards are bought by and for music students like right now...and it's when dealers have to start thinking about how they are going to order and stock for the holidays. THAT buying season starts in about ten weeks, here in the consumer-crazed USA. Yep, right after Halloween.

SO - what does Nord have to sell us? The new combo organ SHOULD be out by then, although that is a pretty niche product. My guess is it will be just about the greatest Hammond clone available, but that's not the fat part of their market. That would be held by the Electro, Stage, and Piano. There already are new and expensive versions of the Stage and Piano out. So Nord really really needs to get out a more affordable shiny new Electro for the rest of us.

I'm starting to fear that's not going to happen this year. Seems to me it would be ANNOUNCED by now if it was. If it's not RELEASED by mid-October, they miss the holidays.

"Honey, I have to get little Johnny a $6k Nord Stage 4 Compact for his music class" -- said no one ever.

"Merry Christmas, dear, I got you that Nord Organ you wanted!" -- maybe that's happened, but never to me.

[Gambold]

>The Pro audio market does not follow back-to-school sales cycles.<

>"Honey, I have to get little Johnny a $6k Nord Stage 4 Compact for his music class" -- said no one ever.<

I understand that elitism drives a segment of Nord's market, but I think it's erroneous to assume that a) Only "pro" musicians buy Nords and b) No-one buys Nords for their kids for school or gifts.

Maybe this is what Clavia is assuming now, which would go a long way to explaining the collapse of their marketing presence and customer service. BUT - while it might be pleasant to consider one's self as part of The Select, the hard facts are that (here in the States at least) Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, and the numerous other online music dealers are not just hoping to sell Nords to Sarah Bareilles, Julliard, or long-time posters on the Nord User Forum.

It's also possible that telling ourselves that Nord is exclusive and limited allows us to overlook just how dated several of their products have become. Certainly I've made the argument that this forum is fast becoming a vintage keyboard group. So, let's lift our glasses of 25-year Glenfarclas and happily go down with the ship, as long as we are sitting in First Class.

[analogika]

the hard facts are that (here in the States at least) Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, and the numerous other online music dealers are not just hoping to sell Nords to Sarah Bareilles, Julliard, or long-time posters on the Nord User Forum.

I’m inclined to agree with you (which is rare) that the shops are looking at selling Nords to as many musicians as possible, not focusing just on the pros and semi-pros.

However, I also agree with the others here that the time of the year to release a new Nord does not really matter, I believe that people don’t look at buying a Nord because of back-to-school.

I remember seeing people complain about Nord not bringing up new products at NAMM because Nord would miss the most important point in time throughout the year for new products, now it’s “back-to-school”’ so we have already 2 most important points of time, what’s next? There is Chrismas coming, then Easter time, the carnival season in Germany and other countries, not talking about various birthdays over the course of the year for many people (in total 365) - so Nord shouldn’t miss any of these? (irony and sarcasm off)

[Gambold]

>However, I also agree with the others here that the time of the year to release a new Nord does not really matter, I believe that people don’t look at buying a Nord because of back-to-school.<

Well, there ARE shopping seasons, and even a company dedicated only to the pleasures of the rich like Clavia isn't immune to seasonal purchasing. People get spendy around the holidays - bonuses come in, moods improve - I would wager that more Nords are sold in the final quarter of the year than the first.

And while I'm sure many of us here were raised in the school of hard knocks, parents DO buy their kids keyboards for college, and if you're sending your brat to an Ivy-League school, you have the coin to look at Nord as easily as you might look at Yamaha. Speaking of, my Dad bought me this for college, in 1981, and it was super heavy but had great action (sadly I no longer have it):

https://reverb.com/item/7170755-vintage ... tric-piano

We can justify and defend and poo-poo all we want, but I maintain the original premise of the thread stands - compared to the glory days of the past, Nord is asleep at the wheel. How's that organ coming, the one that was announced back in January? And whither, Electro 7?

[alexmarinojR]

Think of your last few phones, especially if you change them every year. Do you find a big difference? That's like saying Apple is asleep. Same phone every year, still people buy it.
Technology develops less and less the more advanced it is. That's normal. Only when there's a whole new thing on the block things start to get interesting. Nowadays it is the VST really.
Don't expect Nord to change their ways and the winning formula they found. They will drown like Nokia, but they will never turn away from their core philosophy.
Music is not about technology, it's about having fun with the tool. We unfortunately forget that, as a species, not only in music. We are so blessed today, or rather spoiled, with the endless options in instruments, music, learning. What do we do with all those choices? We complain that the instruments are million years ahead of what our heroes used.
Go have fun!

[Gambold]

>That's like saying Apple is asleep. Same phone every year, still people buy it.<

Not a good comparison. Apple has approximately 1.56 billion iPhone users worldwide as of 2025. They aren't going away anytime soon...and there is no VST phone to make people dump their iPhones for that.

Nord is a niche product that has become increasingly dependent on their long-term users to buy new models - and we are inevitably aging out.