Copia wrote:With the significant inclusion of the A1 engine, a different key action struck me as a possibility for a Stage. I've played the SW keys on the Electro 5D, organ keys supposedly also in the Nord Stage 3 73 compact, and they didn't impress me. Now, I play exclusively synth and piano styles but not organs, so there's my bias. However, I love the action of my NL A1 and NL4. And I could seriously see myself playing that action on a compact Stage 3. Compared side-by-side with the Stage 2 HA, the speed and playability merits of the synth keys feel like they hold their own.
More specifically, the issue of key length in the other Stage 3 thread may be closely related to why I feel at home with the smooth leverage of synth keys or strength of piano ones but not the slightly smaller organ style keys (which must change the feel with the smaller moment arm). Now I'd love to put a Stage 3 compact on top of my bottom tier Roland RD-2000, but I just can't get myself to switch my pre-order from the 88 key HA to the 73 key SW. Suddenly, playing my NLA1 today struck me: I'd switch in a heart beat for a 73 key synth action Stage 3, where I feel right with the keys, the weight, and the world.
I wonder if I'm the only one. With a synth engine as impressive as the A1, could there be a market for a 73 key synth action Stage 3, 76 key SW organ-style with drawbars, and 88 key HA?
So this is all a dream. But before I wake up, a synth keybed in a Stage feels right to me.
First of all congratulations on being one of the first to own a Stage 3. I'm sure no matte what you get it will be awesome, but I will express an opinion here I have before...
I own a Stage 2 SW73 and prior to that I had been lugging around a Rhodes Suitcase piano along with a Yamaha S80 and my fellow band members were losing there patience with having to help me muscle in 200 pounds worth of gear every night so, I made a decision to downsize. I was a die hard piano player up until this point and had only nurtured the pianist in me by purchasing 88 key weighted controllers and rarely deviating from pianos and electric pianos in my soundsets...
Once I was in the position to buy a new keyboard I hadn't done much research and my brother (who plays bass) told me "you gotta get a Nord Stage 2 ." At that point I began to try to answer the age old question; which action should I get?
I scoured these forums and others before eventually getting in touch with from Pablo Mastadon (resident Nord guru and customer service/tech for Nord in the US.) He went out of his way to locate nearby stores where I could demo all three models at the same time. Only problem was the nearest one was four hours away from where I lived at the time and I couldn't make the trip... However he also mentioned other types of keyboards that had smilar keybeds (albeit without the Nord customization) that I may be able to find locally to at least have a basic idea of the action. As it turned out that wasn't possible either. So it came down to basing my decision on something Pablo said and keeping my fingers crossed. Mind you this isn't verbatim but basically he told me "You'll be happy with whichever model you choose, but I own the Compact and I have to say at the end of the night I feel like the coolest guy in the room being able to strap the keyboard on my back to carry it out." (It only weighs 21 pounds mind you)
Well after reading that my mind was made up.
I decided to abandon my previous lifestyle of back-breaking labor and opt for the featherweight NS2 Compact. And though I was making a big purchase of something I had never seen in person I figured "whats the worst thing that could go wrong? It arrives and I hate it so I have to exchange it? I knew it would work out one way or another.
So, after deciding to go with the Compact and save $1000 (which I would inevitably spend later.) four days later it finally arrived! I was so stoked, I took a couple days off work and I wouldn't doubt if I played this thing for eight hours straight a couple times in the first few weeks.
Once I became acclimated to the action (which was in no time) I absolutely loved it. I kept telling my fiancé how happy I was I resisted the mentality and urge to think just because something is more expensive it must be better. At least in my case I felt I had picked the best. Pianos felt just fine, electric pianos felt great and I didn't fatigue myself despite playing for long periods of time.
The other advantages of this keyboard other than it's light weight would become evident once I started exploring other parts of the board, like the organ section and the synth section (which were basically a foreign language up until that point) soon became my favorite parts of the board. The lighter action and ability to do palm swipes really brought the organs to life and fast tempo synth solos were effortless. I knew right away (especially after taking to practice a couple times) that I had made the right choice (for my needs) and it's been over two years and I still feel that way.
Subsequently I took the money I saved and added an 88 key Roland Juno DS88 which is 35 pounds (not bad) and has synthetic Ivory keys and amazing piano action. So now I have the best of both worlds and many here will tell you, you really need two different boards if you want something that is good for piano and something that's good for organ.
If you were thinking about an RD2000 on the bottom I would encourage you to at least try the $1500 cheaper (and slightly lighter) Junk DS88. Performing fast passages with repitive notes required that I change the velocity curve to "Light" but otherwise it feels great. You could probably spend half that and get a Yamaha controller and they are good too.
Don't get me wrong, I know the Stage 3 76 and 88 are incredible... But the 73 seems to be more suited to more adeptly utilize all three sections of the board. As a matter of fact I still got with the SW73 by itself.
I use the 88 key to control the Nord and I use it for recording but the 73 has everything you need especially if you don't have roadies.
In conclusion I'm certain you will be thrilled by whichever model you go for.
