Catching up on some of the Nord sounds...good times!

[Rusty Mike]

It is a good time to be a Nord user! I haven't done as much downloading and trying out the more recent Nord offerings. Since we have a snow and ice situation that is keeping me locked up at home, I am doing a bit of this today. At least while I still have electricity, which is predicted to be a bit questionable as snow changes to sleet to freezing rain here on the east coast of the USA.

I am downloading the new Astoria grand to try it out in my NS3. I have been remiss on trying out the new for 2026 Supreme Horns, so I am listening to the demos and picked 3-4 of my favorites to try out. Meanwhile, I found the Swing! sounds and love a few of those, so I will give those a try. There's a blast from the past (2011) with the Electric Grand Gerbstedt...I do not remember if I ever tried this in the past...so I'll check it out today.

As I look around on Nord's site at all the various Piano Library, Sample Library, Sound Collections, Signature Sound Banks...it is clear that Nord has invested a lot of time in providing a very wide range of different options that are compatible across so many of their instruments and generations of those instruments. This is part of what we are getting with the higher price of admission that comes with being a Nord owner. Thank you, Nord!

[tsss27]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the sounds you try!

I will say, though I haven't loaded them yet, the horns did not convince me on any clip I've heard; certainly I prefer the Yamaha sample I already have. But I love the new grand! One of their best IMO.

[ericL]

I ended up trying out most of the Supreme Horns samples and didn't find anything that would up my game too much. I have a few horn samples I think from the original Nord library that work well for me on songs like Sledgehammer. These are sounds like Brass Section Double and Brass Section Pop. I do really like the Supreme samples such as Supreme Modern Fp that has a little swell built into the end of the sample. Also the Marcato samples are pretty nice as well. In the Swing! collection there were a few nice staccato string samples that blend well with some fuller string sounds I use on songs like Never Tear Us Apart.

The Astoria XL grand is interesting. It has a lot of character. I don't think I'd be able to use it as my flagship piano. I still am stuck on Imperial Grand XL, probably because my ears are used to it for 10+ years, maybe dating all the way back to when I got the NS2 in 2011 if it was around back then. I just checked the Nord website and sure enough, it has "Released March 2011" in the notes...so I have been using this piano as my main piano for around 15 years! I also have the XL version of White, Silver, Studio 2 and a few others loaded, which I will rotate around for fun. I will try the Astoria for some songs with a more vibey piano and see how it works live.

[cphollis]

I found it's a worthwhile exercise to periodically revisit and tweak all of my programs: EQ, FX, compression, etc.

Funny, though, even though I evaluate all the newer samples, there's nothing really there that would change things: most of the older samples are plenty usable and I didn't feel I was wanting.

I will say that every time I've moved from NS2->NS3->NS4 I've upped my game considerably, just by exploiting all the new features. On the NS4, the big ones were per-engine FX and dynamic compression for those quiet passages, not to mention 3 fully featured synth engines.

So, yeah, when the NS5 comes out I'm gonna be pretty motivated to move.

[Gambold]

I've posted ad nauseam (as is my wont) on the inappropriateness of using the Astoria as the A11 flagship acoustic piano on the Electro 7. That said, I have it on my Electro 6 and I do like it as the quaint, old-timey piano it's supposed to be. Were I performing in some small off-Bourbon street bar in New Orleans (I wish), I just might use it there.