Forgive me for opening up another topic, but this might be long and the other threat is already.. 11 pages
Hope you understand.So here are all informations about the Nord Stage 3 I could collect on Musikmesse. I had a really nice talk with Lars Peter, the german Promoter for Nord Keyboards and Staffan from Nord Keyboards. They are both really nice guys and were interested in the Nord User Forums opinion about the Nord Stage 3.
My Impression of the Nord Stage 3 is that it is a really powerful development over the NS2-series. Of course Nord isn't able to fulfill every wish out there, but I think they opened doors into some very interesting and powerful directions!
- Staffan playing the Nord Stage 3 (HA 88 in this case)
- Nord Stage 3.jpg (506.81 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
I’ll do this to the best of my ability and my knowledge. I’m not a pro and Musikmesse is busy and noisy so please forgive me if I get anything wrong.
I also compare everything to my NS2 and my NLA1.. so you get an idea of where I'm standing.
1st: The Center Section
So the Center Section changed a lot, since it has the OLED-display now.
The TRANSPOSE function has moved to the top, which is good. I know somebody who accidentally pressed the TRANSPOSE-button during a song (in a concert).
The SPLIT function has changed, as you already know. There are 3 split points now (equals 4 zones).
The Crossfade Option can be signed to the split points not the zones.
That means you get three options:
- Off - No Crossfade - The Splitpoint-LED will be green.
- Small - The two neighbor split zones will blend over by 6 keys in every direction - The splitpoint-LED will be orange.
- Large - The two neighbor split zones will blend over by 12 keys in every direction - The splitpoint-LED will be red.
The split points still can't be set to any key of course, this would be very untypical for Nord. (EDIT: It's possible the "small" range was 8 keys and the "large" one 16.. not sure about that. 6 and 12 makes sort of sense since it is 1/2 and 1 octave.)
As said in some posted videos the seamless transition feature is not implemented in these protoypes yet, but will be when they ship in July. So I couldn't try that and also it wasn't demonstrated.
The Nord Stage 3 has a Song List Feature - I guess this is close to the NE5 so I wasn't asking about this all that much. This is especially awesome in combinations with the seamless transition functionality, of course.
Also new: The COPY PASTE function that came from the NLA1 (maybe some other keyboards, too). I find this VERY useful. Something simular was possible on the NS2 (hold the Slot-Key and select another Slot, I think), but that typical Copy-Paste-Process seems to be very intuitive.
The pending mode of the NS2 is gone... not longer needed because of the upcoming seamless transition (?)
Somebody was asking about the new Banks / Programs and if it's still easy to navigate to a program. I was talking to Lars Peter about that, he says it's really well made with that OLED screen, but I still couldn't really try. EDIT: Didn't say that specifically, but Banks can be switched with BANK LEFT / RIGHT.
The MORPH function of the NS3 has changed, as you all know. A lot more parameters are morphable now, which is really great! But only the volume knobs of the instruments have these LED rings left. Everything else works without a LED ring. Of course the LED rings were nice but it's obvious they couldn't put an LED-ring around every morphable knob...
In general (and this is close to the NLA1) everything with an green status LED on the lower left corner can be morphed.
You should be able to see in the pictures I'll post, which knobs have that LED. I was trying to create a program with a morph to every assignable parameter. Sorry if I forgot a morphable parameter here. I didn't have much time.
Also new: MULTI EDIT. This is also familiar on the NLA1 where you can control parameters on all slots (of a performance) simultaneously. I think on the NS3 you just press "MULTI EDIT" in the center section and change parameters on both slots. Since ROTARY SPEAKER, REVERB and COMPRESSOR are assignable to Slot A or/and B this is important to get back the "global" effects!
Behind the center section there's now a connector PROG UP/DN PEDAL for the pedal that lets you switch between songs.
- The Center Section (bad light, I know)
- Center.jpg (714.51 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Setting the split points... (unfortunately no picture of Crossfade options)
- Center2.jpg (588.28 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Restructured BANKS / PROGRAMS. Copy/Past Functionality and MULTI EDIT
- Center3.jpg (449.08 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- The PROG UP/DN PEDAL can be connected here (back side)
- Center4.jpg (350.98 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- The new connection for the PROG UP/DN PEDAL
- Back Pedal Trigger.jpg (286.08 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
Not soo many changes but important ones. The Piano Effect Section within the Piano Section (Brilliant, Treble, Medium, Soft) can now set on any piano, not only Clavs. (EDIT: I think they don't vary between grands and Rhodes for example. Lars was saying they can be used to make a piano sound for example more mellow. So they should be some kind of EQs within the piano section.)
The LAYER sounds is a new category within the Piano Section. These are new piano-files that you are able to download on the Nord Homepage. So they will come to older keyboards as well. You may have noticed they changed the categories of the piano section - the Layer Sounds will go into E-PIANO 2 on the older Stage models. As you guys remember, after NAMM they put the Wurlitzers over to E-PIANO 1.. So definitely some movement here.
Basically these LAYER-sounds are factory layered sounds already. This is very great for all Nord Electro players, since you guys weren't able to layer sounds, right?
One thing that I saw about all the instruments of the NS3... The GATE [and EDIT: also LATCH]-functionality (accessible by SHIFT and OCTAVE UP / DOWN) is gone. I'm not sure if it's somewhere else now. Maybe somebody else knows something.
Velocity curves: I'm pretty sure nothing will change about this.
- The Piano Section (sorry for the bad light)
- Piano.jpg (277.69 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
Organ Section is much more independent now. You can play B3 on Slot a and VOX on Slot B for example. Rotary Speaker can be assigned "Slotwise" (like mentioned above). There are two PIPE organs know, one is very bright, the other one is slightly detuned. They are quite cool to have, I guess.
What I see now on the pictures.. There are some additional DRAWBAR options on the drawbar model! Probably how the parameters react to the setting of the drawbars..
A forum user asked about this percussion effect with the 8th drawbar.. I was asking Staffan about this, they are aware of this and it's implemented into the C2D, as far as I understood that right.. I can't really tell you anything more about this, sorry.
- Nord typical pitch stick / modulation wheel
- Organ 1.jpg (746.23 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- See the additional drawbar settings
- Organ 2.jpg (627.57 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Drawbars on the Compact Version...
- Organ3.jpg (476.12 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
The NS3 has this Synth Engine of the A1, it does not have an A1 built in, of course. So no 4 slots per Synth of something.. 2 Synths, one Slot A, one Slot B. The OLED-screen of the Synth Section is quite useful and provides you with some basic graphics about your settings. That is really nice and will make it easier to understand how everything works I guess. The NS2 already had a synth library with synth presets but it was somehow hidden. It took me a couple of months how until I found a way to use it really
So the synth library is now much more present. Also the OLED-screen helps you to better navigate through these presets.Same applies to Samples. They can soon be organized in categories and the NS3 is able to navigate in these categories!
There is a new LP+BP filter which is great for making Mellotron sounds (for example) a bit less aggressive, if you know what I mean. It is not a Notch-filter of course. It is able to make samples a bit more "pad-like". Can't say much more at this point.
The new S-Wave "Super-Wave" Waveforms are somehow tweaked, special samples (I'm really not sure if they were samples, but I think they are). They sounded seriously powerful and I'm very excited to see what will come here. They are sort of the Synth-opposite for the LAYER-pianos of the piano-section.
One thing that I find a bit complicated... If you tweak parameters in the synth-section, these parameters are displayed in the center OLED-display. This is somehow weird.. Maybe they'll changed that. In General all parameters are displayed in the center OLED-display.. but since the synth has its own OLED, it's like I said a bit weird.
- The Synth Section (sorry for the bad focus;) )
- Synth.jpg (554.54 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Nice graphics.. here: 2nd oscillator mode.
- Synth2.jpg (599.42 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Still not so much info on S-Waves
- Synth3.jpg (488.75 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
EFFECT 1&2 fields are basically the same as before. DELAY has some filters and an Analogue Mode. These weren't fully implemented into the NS3 prototypes yet, so I can't say that much about this. The LP24 and HP24 filters in the AMP SIM/EQ-part of the effect sections are AWESOME, since they can be set to any instrument and also be morphed. The frequency and the resonance can be tweaked by the two knobs below (frequency and MID of the EQ).
The Compressor has an additional setting FAST.. can't really say anything about this. Same for the BRIGHT functionality of the reverb. The reverb is a bit more brighter, guess what. Anyway, REVERB is morphable!
- The Effect Section
- Effect.jpg (779.1 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- The Filters of the AMP SIM/EQ-Section. Controllable in Frequency and Resonance
- Effect3.jpg (433.62 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- Morphable REVERB with new "Bright"-Mode
- Effect4.jpg (427.45 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
- COMPRESSOR with new "Fast"-Mode
- Effect5.jpg (336.4 KiB) Viewed 5491 times
So.. specific answers to still open questions:
- I think they said it's the "old" not closed 122-lesley simulation. EDIT:
- I THINK samples can be fully tweaked by the A1-engine, not 100% sure. Sorry, no better anwer here.NordPH wrote:I just got it confirmed from the Nord staff that the 122 close model will be in the stage 3
- Pitch stick can't be changed to anything else than +/-2 ST.
- They don't have the NP3-keybed. If there was JUST the HA-version, they'd have it, but it's not possible to built it in, because there are the versions of the NS3-keyboard. Nord is limited as a small company in what they're able to produce. I'm sure they have their reasons.
- List of morph destinations.. please look at the pictures - everything with a green status LED in the lower left corner can be tweaked by a morph (simular to NLA1)
- I didn't find a way to change aftertouch in the settings. Well in the process of applying the morph you can set the morph to a smaller range but anything else than that... not that I know.
- The S-Waves won't come to the NLA1 I think, because I think they are (as mentioned above) sample based...
- Like always: Old NS2-programs are not compatible to the NS3. I was asking if the synth section was able to play NLA1 files. Staffan said this is possible in theory. But most likely they won't implement that, since it's very complex and there are indeed some differences between the NS3-synth and the NLA1. Still I think there are not so many interested in that.
That's all.. If I forgot anything, please ask / let me know. I might just add/correct it to this post!
Hope this post was helpful. Have a great day everybody!!
Jonathan
EDIT:
Something else I find important. They told me they were thinking about giving the NS3 three Slots (A, B, C). But with 3 slots the realization of seamless transition is much more complex than with 2 slots. And it was more important for them to have the seamless transition feature than 3 slots. In my personal opinion they made the right choice about this.
