Embarrassing newbie question

[RainyWoods]

Hello there. After much swooning over the red beast, I just took the plunge and placed an order on the Nord Stage 2 HA88. I have never been more excited in my life. However something has just struck me.. where does the sound come from!? Can it be played out of the box or will I need to buy some kind of amplifier? It will be quite a shame if so as I may not be able to afford one for quite some time. If that would be the case, I hope that a pair of headphones would suffice while I get to grips with things. You can probably tell that I am someone who just plans to play the keyboard for self enjoyment and such at home. This is such exciting stuff but I fear I may have jumped in a little bit at the deep end buying this keyboard as im very clueless and scared of technology. I'm used to just plugging things in and having them work

[mjbrands]

Welcome to the forums. You'll find people here are a very friendly and responsive bunch.

There are no speakers in the Stage, so you'll need to connect it to some speakers, which could even be your regular stereo. And of course a headphone will work fine for practicing, etc. but will make it rather hard for people to admire your work

As for plugging things in right: the manual is excellent and on the top of the Stage (near the ports on the back) there's a word describing what each output is for (such as headphone). If you plug stuff in the wrong port, you won't break it. Note that you'll need a headphone with the bigger (professional) 6,3 mm plug, not the consumer (and standard) 3.5 mm plug. You can of course use an adapter for that. There is a 3.5 mm socket on the back in which you could plug your regular 3.5 mm headphone plug, but that is actually the input you connect something like an iPod to, if you want to play along with music and want to hear it via the headphones.

Someone on the forum has also made some introductory videos - maybe someone can post a link to that specific post.

I'm sure you'll love the NS2; it is an awesome machine. While the NS2 88 is light for an 88-key weighted stage piano, it is still quite heavy with its 18 kg. I wouldn't be surprised if its a bit bigger and heavier than you were expecting

[RainyWoods]

Thank you soo much Mjbrands for you wonderful response and help. I did feel quite stupid at the thought of coming here and asking for help as I imagine you are all professional musicians whilst i'm a totally clueless amateur, although one with a strong burning passion inside.

You've comfirmed my worries although made me optimistic once more I have a cheap computer speaker I can use until I can afford a nice amp. I'm quite lucky in that i'm used to poorer quality sound anyway and that I like things that sound old or quite lofi. Just using the Nord will be a luxury in itself i'm sure.

I'd still like to practice with headphones though so looks like I shall be needing a 6,3 mm plug converter. I'm too fond of my Audio-Technica ATH AD700 headphones to not use them with my new Nord although im not sure how suited they shall be to it.

I shall look out for those introductory videos. I have been non stop watching videos of the keyboard for the past few weeks. I literally cannot WAIT to start twiddling around with all the effects, experimenting and such. It's a dream. It seems very capable of the very haunting, nostalgic, ambient sound I seek.

Thank you for making everything soo easy for a newbie like me to understand. Hopefully in time i'll understand all the jargon used.. But I guess I gotta get there by maybe sometimes asking silly questions first

[mjbrands]

Thank you soo much Mjbrands for you wonderful response and help. I did feel quite stupid at the thought of coming here and asking for help as I imagine you are all professional musicians whilst i'm a totally clueless amateur, although one with a strong burning passion inside.

Professional, me? Ha! More budget than skill, that's me.

'd still like to practice with headphones though so looks like I shall be needing a 6,3 mm plug converter. I'm too fond of my Audio-Technica ATH AD700 headphones to not use them with my new Nord although im not sure how suited they shall be to it.

Doesn't your Audio-Technica come with one of those screw-on 3.5-to-6.3 mm adapters? Most decent headphones do and that Audio-Technica is certainly in the 'decent headphone' category. I have an Audio-Technica A900 and that did come with the adapter. You might also want to ask around; I know lots of people have those adapters lying around (I know I have several). Not all the screw-on ones work on all headphones, but a lot of headphones use the same type.

But I guess I gotta get there by maybe sometimes asking silly questions first

As I said the people on this forum are rather friendly, compared to some of the other forums I read. Worst case, someone might refer you to the manual (or google) for asking a 'silly' question, while on some forums you get shouted at, etc. Still, google (or the search function on this forum) is your friend.

[jazzystu]

I run mine though an old hifi amplifier and some decent quality, 3 way speakers. It sounds great.

I'm rebuilding my Wharfedale studio monitors which will be the most ideal. If I didn't have those, I'd look for some Celestion Ditton 44 speakers and a half decent amp.

When I get around to it, I will get a rotary speaker and run a line to that as well.

If you try using some gucci modern hifi, you will find it sounds thin. Big, infinite baffle speakers are the way to go. I've deliberately avoided the question of small PA rigs, as I don't think they are HIFI and if you want the best out of it, you'll need HIFI.

[bdodds]

I imagine you are all professional musicians

hahaha! Hardly. I'm sure the vast majority of us here have day jobs and have been amateurs all of our lives. You'd be surprised how average we all can be. Welcome to the forum, hope your experience with the Stage is everything you hoped it would be and more! Don't hesitate to ask questions, but as mjbrands says, the manual is excellent, so read through that to see if you can figure things out.

[bdodds]

Oh, also, you'll find there are many, many opinions here, especially in the world of amplification, so definitely you'll want to use your own ears to make your decisions, but you can use the info in the forums to educate yourself on what's popular, at the very least.

[hg123]

I'm looking for a good solution right now. I'm currently running my Nord through my older Yamaha CP300 speakers! I was looking at two options for my own use. Yamaha HS50M pair or a powered PA pair (Yamaha MSR100, Mackie Thump) that I can use on stage as well. Any thoughts on those options?

EDIT: I missed similar topic recommending HS50M's: http://www.norduserforum.com/nord-stage ... t3151.html

Also, I've noticed something interesting about the amateur vs. pro space. The amateurs have real jobs and buy a Nord Stage. The pros don't have any money and buy a Roland Juno Stage

[Frantz]

Welcome on the forum RainyWoods, feel at home We are all pluging things.

[arnie zip]

is there a list somewhere of the pre-recorded sounds in both the piano and organ library for a nord 3 electro?