HELP! I can't get a good piano sound

[jdrew619]

Hi,

So I have owned a Nord Stage EX 88 for over 4 years now. However I have always been terribly disappointed with the acoustic piano sounds (to the point of hating playing live gigs and practicing with the nord). It seems like no matter what I do, no matter what amp I use or how I try to EQ the piano it just sounds awful and tinny. I recently acquired a good set of speakers and a sub with a Yamaha mixing board and I was hoping for a great improvement but I am still incredibly disappointed. I have heard these same speakers on a Roland and it sounded amazing. Am I doing something wrong or is it possible that the Nord does really terribly when it comes to acoustic piano sounds? Any help at all would be very appreciated.

Thank you,

P.S, I am a jazz pianist so i mainly use acoustic piano sounds on gigs.

[Osland]

Which piano sample(s) do you use? When you record them, do they sound the same as the demos on Clavia's website? If not, there might be something wrong, e.g. stereo-to-mono summation.

I have always heavily EQ the piano section, but since the Stage EX doesn't have the sweepable mid that the Stage 2 has, I can't really provide any useful info. One important thing about the EQ section may not be immediately obvious: Turning all 3 knobs in the same direction does not merely increase volume, it actually leaves some parts of the spectrum unaffected. So if you haven't yet, that's one thing you could try.

Another thing that helps is to run the output through a compressor (not the built-in compressor of the NS2, a real one!). When set up correctly, this helps to even out the sustain; normally the notes drop off really quickly on the NS2.

[jdrew619]

Thank you for the reply. I have always found that the piano samples i use sound radically different than the demos on the website. The mids and highs are particularly bad, I often avoid playing anything over C above middle C on gigs because the high register sounds far too tinny and can actually hurt the ears. The demos on the website sound much warmer, richer, clearer and altogether more realistic. I must admit that I am not the most gear savvy person so if you have any suggestions on how I could EQ my piano that might be helpful. As i said I have a yamaha mixing board but right now I have Bass, Mid and High all at the same value (the knobs are all in the middle of the spectrum).

Thanks again!

[Ledbetter]

How do they sound through the headphones, and do you play in mono or stereo? IMHO, the samples sound much better in stereo.

[jdrew619]

What speakers are you actually using?

There are basically two possibilities here:

1. Nord pianos are notoriously very fussy about playing through good quality speakers. If you're not gear-savvy, it's possible that your speakers are not as good as they might be. Just because they're good enough for other brands doesn't mean they're good enough for the fussy Nords. The fact that they sound tinny or harsh in the treble suggests that you need better speakers, as, whether you like the sound of Nord pianos or not, they are certainly not bright pianos - quite the opposite.

or

2. You simply don't like the Nord piano sound. (Nothing wrong with that).

One suggestion might be to listen to them through a decent set of headphones. If you still don't like the sound, it might be that the Nord is simply not right for you.

[wartaler]

Hi, i agree with the above suggestions,
everything in the chain has/can have an effect on the sound; from settings on your Stage, to mixer, amp, and speakers / phones - I guess you already tried various piano models, velocity curves (!), eq settings, effects, mono/stereo mode on your Stage itself .. (Have you tried the new 'mellow upright' ? ) - a good pair of headphones is a good suggestion! (& Perhaps try another Stage in a store nearby, hopefully nothing wrong with yours)
But as Leo says, it could still be that you simply don't like the Nord piano sounds, but there are quite some variables to experiment with!
Cheers,
Albert

[fccmt]

If you are connecting your keyboard to a mixer you should do it with a DI box (balanced versus unbalance)

[FunKey]

The demos have been recorded straight from the output of a Nord instrument as far as I can tell. So they should sound exactly the same when played over the same sound system. If they don't, something needs to be fixed, and EQ is probably not the answer.

[Six-string-man]

Check List to get good A/P sound.

1. Are you using stereo? Nords are designed for stereo, if you are using mono, the effect is less than half as good IMHO.
2. Do you like the piano sound through headphones? If you don't then you can try EQ ing, but maybe the Nord Piano sound is just not for you.
3. If the stereo sound through headphones is good, the problem is probably your speakers or P/A. I have posted extensively on here about Nord acoustic pianos and speakers. They are very hard to get "right". I have tried them through expensive stuff, and still the sound is " meh". Most of my playing is organ and electric piano, I use a pair of Yamaha DXR 10's, which are great for everything, and the a/p sound on them is no better than "OK".

Some speakers that makes a/p sound good:

EV ELX 112 P. ( The ZLX 12 sounds muffled to me)
Line 6 L2T.
RCF TT 08.

The EV and Line 6 are spendy, the RCF are ridiculous, but they all work for Nord a/p. I'm sure there are others around, but these are the ones I know personally.


SSM

[Six-string-man]

Oh, I just remembered, I have a friend who uses a pair of EV ZX A1 90's for acoustic piano, he says they are good, and he generally has a good ear, but I haven't heard them myself. may be worth checking out.


SSM