Nord Stage suitability for theatre pit keyboard parts?

[crfossey]

Just wondering if people use their Nord Stage for theatre pit jobs - i.e. playing a keyboard patch part for a musical? My understanding is that so called 'workstations' are used for this which Nord doesn't label itself as. I guess you can set up a patch list order on the Nord using the computer software? Does Nord have a patch change pedal ability? Anyone who can offer their experience would be great! Also, are the samples the best out there i.e. strings, wind, etc.?

[RedLeo]

No, the Nord Stage is not a workstation. It's a stage piano/organ/synth with some basic "workable" samples. For theatre pit work you will need a workstation to get the samples you need.

to answer your other questions:

Yes, you can rearrange your patches however you like with the Nord Sound Manager software.

No, it doesn't have a pedal input for changing patches.

The samples (strings, brass etc) don't have the sophistication of a workstation, as I said above.

A popular way of doing things is to pair a Stage with a workstation, which is an extremely power and flexible combo.

[crfossey]

Thanks - what workstation would you recommend out of interest?

[RedLeo]

They'll all do the job fine. I can't really recommend one over another, as it's pretty much a matter of personal preference. As long as it does the job, go with whichever sounds the best to you. Motif, Triton, Fantom, Kurzweil, Kronos, they're all great. However, if you're going for one of the cutdown budget versions, you will need to check more carefully that it will actually have all the functions you need. They're lower priced for a reason

If I were you, and assuming budgeting is a problem, i would buy a second-hand model of one of the aforementioned big boys. They're all well built and robust, and a second-hand one should last you for years - decades even. You also don't need the latest and greatest model (I use a Korg Trion Extreme myself) as slightly older models will still have more than you could ever need. However, don't buy anything too old, it will work fine and still be reliable, but you can get issues with older technology - parts no longer available, or compatability issues or somesuch. For example, I had to upgrade from an older model of Triton because it still loaded samples via floppy disk!

Anything roughly five to ten years old should be fine.

[crfossey]

Thanks! I still do think the Nord samples sound really great. What is it that makes the Nord unsuitable exactly? What doesn't it do that the others do?

[RedLeo]

Well, some people just don't think they sound as polished or produced as workstation samples. If they work for you go for it. However, another potential problem is that workstations have extensive layering and multitimbral possibilities not available on the Stage. For a theatre production, you may need to set up a lot of layers or a large set of sounds to be available simultaneously. A typical workstation may be able to use 16 different sample sets simultaneously in one setup, whereas a Stage is limited to two sample sets at a time.

Put it this way: for a local or amateur production, a Stage might work, but it definitely couldn't handle a professional production by itself.

Another possible way to go would be to add a multitimbral sample module to your Stage, which would give you more power and flexibility at a lower cost than a full workstation. The Roland JV 1080 and 2080 modules are the sort of thing I'm talking about. There are plenty of others as well

[sakari]

Kurzweil PC is very flexible and is widely used in professional theatre pits...check it out...

[analogika]

I've moved to MainStage on a MacBook Pro and a master controller keyboard for those sorts of productions.

The Kronos I was using before has similar capabilities and is arguably quicker to set up before the show, but MainStage is MUCH more easily programmable and flexible.

My Stage is used for less complex gigs.

[monsterjazzlicks]

Crfossey,

I used my NSC with a ROLAND JV1080 for a couple of years on the ships. Then I swapped it (with a mate) for a ROLAND XV5050 which also works fine.

Best,

Paul