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Everything about Nord keyboards in general; which one to choose, the sound manager, sample editor, and general discussion about the sample and piano libraries.
So I have been playing piano for a very long time and am in a band now, ive recently bought a nord electro 4d after having used an absolutely terrible yamaha keyboard (worth about $200...maybe) and i am so confused! i dont understand the instructions/when i try to do what the manual says it doesnt work!
i have a gig on saturday too so when i find a sound i want (mostly just by pressing different buttons until it sounds good) i dont know how to store it ive tried pressing the store button (lets say that the 1sr program button is lit), it flashes but then if i press the 2nd program button and then go back to 1, the sound is gone
have you turned off Memory protection?
It's the first item in the Menu and it's meant to preserve factory settings.
After you turn it off, every change you make can be saved.
These users thanked the author Spider for the post:
Assuming you have set memory protect off, you press [store] once and the button will flash. While the light is flashing, you should select the location where you wish to store your new sound. Once you're ready to proceed, press [store] again and the button will stop flashing and your sound is stored.
These users thanked the author Darren for the post:
I'll admit your 4D may feel strange .... it will take a little time. Hang in there. For you upcoming gig ---> keep it simple!! Over the first weeks or more, then dive right in. The forum is a GREAT place to ask questions and if you get stuck (I did) ... call your rep. The Nord may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they "cook & rock" when you learn their way of thinking which is for sure - a little "out of the box." But once out, you'll either run or NEVER go back!
These users thanked the author chatfd for the post:
Thank you so much! as stupid as it sounds, i thought i had turned memory protection off but hadnt, also, would someone please be able to give me a simple explanation of the method involved in finding sounds because right now i am literally pressing buttons until something sounds good which proves difficult when i want to go back to a sound ive found before, there are two lots of up/down buttons? the page/menu button changes the sound but then so do buttons near the 'model' window... again thank you!
OK, here goes, but I've never read the manual, and I'm not in front of the Nord right now.
There are the presets, these are not in any particular order, all kinds of sounds mixed up. This is the top display. I forget whether the 4D has four live buttons or not, but if you're in live mode it constantly stores whatever changes you make, but there are only four (or maybe one) slots, as compared to 128 memory slots.
I would recommend not changing the presets while you get to grips with the instrument. Start with anything, turn off all the effects, the experiment.
Then there are the sounds. You choose either the Organ or the Piano.
If you choose the organ, the drawbars come into action. Look also for the model at the far left, normally you'll want B3 but it can also do the Vox and Farfisa. Play with the drawbars and see what good sounds you can get. First three on full, rest on zero is a classic registration. Do some reading on Hammond drawbars if you want to know more.
If you choose piano, the second numeric display comes into action. You choose first the type (Grand, Upright) then the model within that type. Sometimes there will be less to choose from in some categories than others. Biggest category is the last one, the sampled other sounds.
Once you've found a sound you like, try experimenting with the effects, one at a time, until you get a feel for what they're doing. Above all, use your ears. Pianos need nothing more than a bit of reverb to start with. Electric pianos you could try some chorus, also the pan. Organ, try the Rotary effect, which uses both the Amp section of the effects, and the Fast/Slow buttons at the far left bottom of the control panel.
Then, once you've got this feel for things (which should only take a couple of hours), try changing presets and finding the ones that sound good. Look at what settings they're using. Remember that the drawbars and effects knobs don't move, so you can't "see" them easily, and the only way to find out what they're set to is to move one until it sounds like it did before you moved it.
The only way to remember the presets is to note down the number and call it up again when you want it. Personally I've gone with the "ignore presets" route and just dial up the sounds I want live for now.
Every Nord keyboard comes with great documentation, including an up-front tutorial that can have you navigating the basics in about 10 minutes. If you've lost the physical copy, it's also at the Nord web site: www.nordkeyboards.com
I think you've probably spent much more time trying to figure it out the hard way, rather than just reading through the first few pages of their tutorial. Of course, most of us males prefer to do things the hard way
1) To save sounds you need to have the memory protection turned off.
This is silk screened to the top on the right side of my Electro 3.
Most of the more complex functions require you to push & hold the shift button while you push another button to access the desired feature.
To see a list of the sounds on your keyboard you can connect a USB cable to your computer & use the sound manager.
I usually make a list of the sounds I use and put them in the first few slot nos.
Or tape an index card to the top of the keyboard with the sounds you like & location.
Good Luck
so when i find a sound i want (mostly just by pressing different buttons until it sounds good) i dont know how to store it 
